Start with the grid. Barcelona's Eixample, the nineteenth-century extension designed by Ildefons Cerdà, is a field of identical square blocks with the corners cut off, so that every junction becomes a small octagonal plaza. It was meant to be egalitarian and airy, and for a rider it is wonderfully legible: you can always work out where you are, and the wide avenues let a motorcycle breathe. The city also has more motorbikes and scooters than almost any other in Europe, so drivers are used to them and parking for two wheels is routine rather than a fight.
Gaudí's buildings are scattered among the blocks, with the Sagrada Família still under construction after more than a century, and the Casa Batlló and La Pedrera on the Passeig de Gràcia. Beyond them the old Gothic quarter holds the Roman foundations of the city, and Montjuïc, the hill over the harbour, gives you a view across the container ships to the sea. The traffic is dense, so take your time, watch for tram tracks and wet paint on pedestrian crossings, which are slick when it rains.
Getting out is the real skill. The Ronda de Dalt and Ronda Litoral are fast ring roads that can jam badly at rush hour, and it is best to leave before eight in the morning or after ten. Once through, the hills of Collserola, the large natural park behind the city, offer twisting roads and long views. Further out the Montseny and the Garraf coast give proper riding, with hairpins, cork oak and the smell of pine and dry herbs.
Fuel is everywhere. Eat late: the city does lunch at two and dinner at nine or ten. For a quick coffee stop, any neighbourhood bar will do, with a cortado and a small pastry at a counter. The ride that starts here heads for a prehistoric rock shelter inland, a good reminder that this coast was inhabited long before the Romans arrived.