Albuquerque Bicycle Rental/Cycling

As part of the drive towards Albuquerque becoming a more environmentally friendly, sustainable city, cycling is very much at the heart of local transport policy. So much so that in 2006, Albuquerque was named one of "The 21 Best Cities for Cycling" in America by Bicycling Magazine.

For starters, visitors to the city can download a free bike map of the area, while hints and tips given as part of the BikeNow initiative can be found at: http://www.cabq.gov/transit/bikenow.html (with accompanying information for traversing the city also found here). It’s also wise to acquaint yourself with unfamiliar road signs and local traffic rules, the most important of which are:

- ride on the right-hand side of the street in the same direction as the flow of automobile traffic;

- stop at all stop signs and look left, right, and left again for traffic; 

- ride single file; 

- use reflectors and bicycle lights (mandatory for night riding).

For hints, tips and advice on local routes visit: www.bikeabq.org and the New Mexico Touring Society, while information on summer mountain bike trails in the Sandia Peak Ski Area can be found at: www.sandiapeak.com. Well-regarded cycle and rental shops in the area include the Albuquerque Bicycle Center, Two Wheel Drive, The Bike Coop and Bike World.

Carbon Footprint Reduction

Each day, by planning trips carefully in advance and, where possible, taking advantage of the city’s extensive transit network (which uses a new fleet of diesel hybrid buses that will be enhanced still further by the introduction of an energy efficient street car service in 2009) you’ll be actively working to keep your carbon footprint down to a minimum.

ABQ Ride’s Customer Service Center provides customers with up-to-date bus/shuttle information and assistance with trip-planning. Available Monday-Friday from 6am-8pm and Saturday-Sunday 8am-5pm, requests can be made by calling 243-RIDE, in person at 100 1st Street SW, or by email to: nmanole@cabq.gov.

In short, city transport consists of regular bus services and Rapid Ride (which utilizes a fleet of 60-foot articulated buses on two routes running seven days a week). Routes cover most of the city’s major streets, together with commuter journeys that ferry workers to/from the city center. East-west routes and commuter routes across the city terminate at the Alvarado Transportation Center downtown, from where it’s possible to connect to New Mexico Rail Runner Express services. 

In most cases, buses start at 6 am, with the most popular services running through the day until around 10:30pm. In summer, a ‘Rapid After Dark’ service extends those hours until 3 am on Friday and Saturday evenings.

Ultimately, of course, hiring a bike or walking is the best option of all. What’s more biking is a great way to explore Albuquerque, especially as the city has been officially recognised as being one of America’s most cycle friendly.