My Best Friend; My Worst Nightmare

If you have been to Sevilla in recent years, you may recognize the handy little bicycle station pictured above. This is a Sevici station-- one of the several across town where you can pick up and drop off bikes at your leisure. Pretty clever, right? Depending on the day, I may either love it or I hate it. There is no in between. Feelings are usually pretty extreme.

Lately though, I have been loving it. The Sevici gods have been smiling upon me, and I am happy to report that the last several bikes that I have rented have been good ones. No broken seats, no crooked pedals, no popped chains, broken handle bars, broken bells, or bikes that won't stay in gear. Or, maybe I have just learned the art of choosing a bike more carefully.

I like Sevici for a lot of reasons. Probably most of all, I love the word play. I love the way Sevici takes advantage of the interchangeable V and B in Spanish -- Sevici, Sebici ... same thing. And so dang clever. (I'm sorry, but ValenBici just doesn't have the same ring to it.)

Anyway, coming in close second, I love how easy Sevici is. I don't have to take care of a bike, worry about where to park it, or about it getting stolen. And I have a station right outside of my house. Sevilla is a rather bicycle friendly city, too. It's flat, and there are plenty of bike lanes. And cutting your walking times down by more than a half is definitely a perk when you're always late like I am.

But it's not all perfect, either. There are days when Sevici can be your worst nightmare. Imagine --- you're already running late for work. You take a Sevici thinking it will get you to the metro in no time. You ride your bike all the way there, only to find NO EMPTY PARKING SPACES! (This may or may not have happened to me once.) You continue riding along the path of the metro, hoping to find a space to park it. And 3 (yes, THREE) metro stops later, you finally find one. Needless to say, it probably would have been easier to walk in the first place.

And the opposite nightmare is common as well. When you really want a bike, sometimes there are none available! (I don't think this is quite as dramatic, though.)

Another frequent Sevici nightmare includes the broken bikes. And they can be broken in any number of ways, many of which I listed above. Yes, it's nice that I don't have to take care of a bike -- but it's frustrating that people destroy the bikes that aren't theirs to begin with -- especially when I happen to rent one of those broken bicycles.

This weekend, I experienced yet another nightmare. A new nightmare -- or new to me, anyway. The nightmare of the poorly parked bike. (Is it just me or does that sound like an Are You Afraid of the Dark episode??) When you return a bike to the station, you have to wait for it to beep. Twice. I swear I heard it beep, as always, but when I happenstantially went to the machine to check how long I had had the bicycle out, it told me that a técnico would have to come make sure I actually parked my bike. That was on Saturday. And surely technicians don't work on weekends. Which meant a full weekend without a bike. (Lucky for me, I have a pretty awesome roommate who doesn't mind lending me her Sevici card.)

Anyway, despite the complaints, I'm rather glad that Sevici exists. It makes life so much easier (usually). And I can cover way more ground than I could walking.

Two thumbs up, Sevici! Way to go.