Every first Tuesday of the month I head over to Bicicleta Verde with a group of friends to pick up…read morea bike and ride around and discover the city -- for free!
Why the first Tuesday of every month? La Bicicleta Verde supports Critical Mass, the international bikers rights movement, giving both locals and tourists the opportunity to use their bicycles to join the city's cycling activists.
This is by far one of the most fun (and free) activities you can do while in Santiago. After you pick up your bike (in exchange of an ID and phone number) you will go to Plaza Italia where you will meet up with hundreds of local cyclists (including baby ciclists as well as dogs! ) there will be a short speech from a representative of Furiosos Ciclistas to get you pumped up and explain the route (the route changes every month) and then you are off! Bikers join along the way, accumulating up to a couple thousand cyclists by the end.
During the 1 hour journey throughout Santiago, you will sing, ring your bike bells loud, in unison, while running red lights and in general, disobeying common traffic laws.
Thousands of singing cyclists not obeying traffic laws, you say? Don't worry, this outing is VERY safe and the group has a police escort at all times. Just remember to bring a bike light, ask for a helmet from the Bicicleta Verde crew and get ready for a fun night!
To warm up, start practicing your Chilean "gritos" now. To get you started, here is one of the chants:
"Somos caleta, andamos en bicicleta"
Important: If you are feeling like you might be lost at anytime, look out for the green Bicicleta Verde bicycles (they stand out) and you know you are in good company. Also, make sure to stay in a group, as you don't want to speedily crossing a red light by yourself. As you finish, meet up with the Biciverde crew and head back to their office together.
