Traffic signs alerting and recalling the presence of cyclists

Spain = the European paradise for cycling.

Locations like Mallorca, Barcelona and its surroundings, Girona, La Rioja, or Canary Islands, are just few examples of the massive offer for every keen cyclist willing to ride on amazing roads, climb some of the most known and iconic mountain climbs from La Vuelta or Tour de France, while enjoying privileged weather and one of the best gastronomic offer which suits everybody’s taste.

Aware of the increasing number of cyclists on the road the Spanish administration during the last years has been making a phenomenal effort to organize and make the safety of urban and leisure cyclists their priority.

The most evident results can be already seen by the number of different signals which we now can find in the majority of roads and paths around our country.

In general drivers in Spain are quite respectful with cyclist but we also have their support with this signs recalling drivers to have precaution in several roads. Roads where in some cases you may find  more people biking than driving. And of course, recalling them to leave the 1.5m. when they want to pass a cycling group or just a single biker

This is the SIGNAL by excellence, is the signal of warning cars to keep 1,5 meters distance when overtaking a cyclist, and now a usual sight in some Spanish roads and the plans are to install many more of these across the country’s road network. Luckily enough not only this very important signal starts to abound, there are some other types which can be found in our country and it is worthwhile to comment as these also are part of the effort of making our routes safer which is what we need when enjoying our beloved sport. These signals are:

Start and end of bike path.

Bike path shared with circulation lane, this indicates with the warning signal and the speed limit on one of the lanes the frequent presence of cyclists. The number of arrows indicate the number of lanes and their direction.

Bike path signals: urban and off road, the urban path signal ( left image  ) is painted on the tarmac and is a familiar sight in most Spanish cities and show the lane which cyclist have to stay on. The green signal indicates a greenway path which usually is off road and it is cyclable.

This is a summary of the main signals which we need to observe when cycling in Spain and we must stress the importance of respecting these in order to avoid accidents.

We would not like to end this report without explaining some other signals which are starting to predominate in hilly mountain roads and ironically “warn” about other type of dangers such us the gradient of the slope, the kilometres left to reach the summit and all other details which can help us in measuring our efforts when tackling some of the best climbs which can be found in our country.

Some of the signals which can be found are:

Signal on the infamous ANGLIRU probably the hardest climb in Spain, 21,5 % ¡¡¡

At some climbs in Catalonia you will fnd signal showing distance, slope or height of the climb. In this case this is Rocacorba one of the famous climbs near Girona where many pro-riders who live in this sity north of Barcelona, use it as a test.