More than 500 hectares of countryside to pedal through on an electric bicycle… and completely free of charge. This is what Bicibebas is all about , the new lending service that the Madrid City Council has launched to travel by this means of transport through the Valdebebas-Felipe VI forest park and the Princesa Leonor park.
The initiative, according to the Madrid consistory, aims to “promote sustainable mobility” and has 60 bicycles in total -40 of them electric and 20 mountain bikes-.
The lending point is located at 186 María Mercedes de Borbón street, near entrance 14 of the Princesa Leonor park and its Interpretation and Environmental Education Center.
The flock of sheep from Colmenare.
The image of a flock of sheep in the capital will no longer be an exclusive image of the Transhumance Festival: as part of an experimental project of controlled grazing, the Madrid City Council has installed a small herd of 15 sheep of the Colmenareña breed (a native species from Colmenar Viejo) in the northwest of the Valdebebas-Felipe VI forest park.
The aim is to “evaluate the effects of a flock of sheep on the evolution of the soils and the composition of the flora in certain areas of the park,” they explain. To this end, they ask visitors to cooperate by not feeding the sheep in order to avoid possible digestive problems for the animals.
Bicibebas timetable and regulations
Reservations -as well as possible incidents and suggestions that may arise- will be managed through the mobile application of the same name. The schedule in which the bicycles will be available is as follows:
- Winter (October-March): from 11:00h to 17:00h (last loan at 15:45h).
- Summer (April-September): from 10:30h to 20:00h (last loan at 18:45h).
- It will not be open on December 24, 25 and 31, and January 1 and 6. On January 5 it will be open only in the morning.
Regulations
The maximum time during which a user may use the bicycle is 90 minutes, and the trips made with it must take place exclusively within both parks.
On the other hand, children under 16 years of age who wish to use one of these bicycles must have adult authorization and wear a helmet, which is provided by the service itself.