Trixi Madrid Bike Tours celebrates its 15th anniversary
Happy Birthday Trixi!

Our story actually started in Barcelona 20 years ago where Eva and Gerald, the founders of Trixi Barcelona, lived.
In 2003 we started here the first bike taxi / rickshaw service in southern Europe. Already then Trixi was dedicated to showing the city to the visitors in a fun and sympathetic way.

In 2007 we thought “why not expand our business to Madrid”? Said and done! We were courageous enough to start a new venture in Madrid.

Who better to manage the new Trixi Madrid shop than our bike taxi driver Michal and his friend Maria. We asked them and they liked the idea very much and thought that it would be a great adventure to stay a few years in Madrid and launch the business there.

Fact is that Maria Dulas and Michal Zasowski have been staying in Madrid for 15 years and already have 2 children! A very long short adventure;)

But, how did we get the bike taxis to Madrid? It wasn´t just a transport by truck but much more spectacular and unique:

3 bike taxi colleagues crossed the country during a “Trixi Magic Tour” from Barcelona to Madrid peddling the bike taxis for more than 600 km along highways, smaller streets, cities and villages where people had never seen vehicles like these before. In some places people thought extraterrestrials came to see them! They were the big attraction of every place they came through!

Many people offered something to drink, food,a place to sleep and many conversations. Children were amazed with the bike taxis and wanted to have a little ride. By the way, we still have photos of this trip exposed in our Trixi Madrid shop if you would like to come and see them.

For the 3 drivers and a colleague, who went by bike and looked after the mechanical part of the bike taxis and the mental state of the drivers, this trip was one of the most challenging and life changing experiences; rich in all sorts of aspects: human, resistance, travel, friendship, adventure and the sense of their physical and mental possibilities and limits.

In the middle of the route we organised a party for the village people and colleagues. The team spirit and excitement caused in the village in Teruel was impressive. The whole trip was a big adventure!

At the end of the tour the drivers passed majestically the Puerta de Alcalá in Madrid and arrived after 2 weeks of pedalling happy and exhausted in the centre of Madrid at Puerta del Sol where we were waiting for them as well as quite a number of press people. No one had ever seen something like that! The media impact was unbelievable!

We then went to our new shop to inaugurate it and celebrate with friends, colleagues and some invited agencies.

It turned out that the procedure to get the permits to circulate with the bike taxis in Madrid was more difficult than expected. You have to imagine that bikes were quite new in Madrid at the time and there were only a few bike riders who even knew each other. Madrid’s politicians were a bit overwhelmed by our innovative idea and didn’t believe we would really make our announcement true.

So in the end we decided to open a bike shop for rental & tours– we were one of the first few bike shops in Madrid – in a street called “Calle de los Jardines”, the street of the Gardens. This name inspired optimism and prosperity, exactly what we needed to have a good start.

We feel very comfortable here as this street has its own ambience, it is a small urban road but still in the middle of Madrid in the “ Sol” neighbourhood and can be reached very easily by our visitors. We are right in the heart of Madrid a few steps away from Puerta del Sol.

In 2009 all the neighbours organised a festival of plants, flowers, and balcony decorations so we got to know all the neighbours and felt finally completely integrated.

Meanwhile, the entrance to the street already pays tribute to the street’s name:on the corner of Calle Montera – known for the bars and clubs of special interest that are there – to be discovered by yourself 😉 – there is a wonderful vertical garden.

In 200 square metres there are 8.000 plants of 22 different species. The project was completed in record time: one and a half months. Simply beautiful!

And here in the number 12 of Calle de los Jardines, Trixi Madrid has been offering bike and walking tours and bike renting for 15 years.

There are tours for all tastes and nationalities: from a City tour with the Highlights of Madrid, a Tapas tour, a Real Madrid tour, a Retiro Park bike tour or a tailor-made tour.
We cater for all types of clients: students, families and friends, companies (events and incentives, MICE) etc. We are here to fulfil your needs.

At our 15th anniversary we have to say “Thank you” to many people who have worked with us:
Thanks for the great commitment of Maria and Michal who manage the shop day by day, for the loyalty of colleagues that have accompanied us for many years and for the work of the many guides who give their best every day.

And of course “Thank you” to our partners and the many agencies who work with us at national and international levels.

All of them contributed to what is Trixi today at its 15th anniversary! One of the leading bike companies in Madrid!

Trixi is all of us!