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Bicycle in Mexico City
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lozwich



Joined: 25 May 2003
Posts: 1536
PostPosted: Fri Jul 18, 2008 4:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Heee hee, you're right... Laughing Living in this place has made me a little paranoid.. Embarassed
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Guy Courchesne



Joined: 10 Mar 2003
Posts: 9650
Location: Mexico City
PostPosted: Sat Jul 19, 2008 12:04 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Is Bogota that bad? I thought it was much safer than given credit for.
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lozwich



Joined: 25 May 2003
Posts: 1536
PostPosted: Sat Jul 19, 2008 5:05 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
It is much safer than its given credit for. But I live in a "nice" area, which is also one of the places where the highest rates of paseo millionarios (get in a cab, get knocked on the head and taken to an atm and forced to withdraw all your money) start, and about 10 blocks from where a friend of mine has seen several people killed in the last few months.

Nothing really, once you get used to it. It does tend to make you a little on your guard though..
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MO39



Joined: 28 Jan 2004
Posts: 1970
Location: El ombligo de la Rep�blica Mexicana
PostPosted: Sat Jul 19, 2008 3:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Loz, when you get to Mexico City, maybe you should check out my neighborhood, pleasant and convenient, with fairly friendly (but not terribly snoopy) neighbors, and pretty safe, too. No murders committed around here in recent memory, though the Lebanese owner of my favorite caf� was mugged a few days ago, but this is the exception rather than the rule.
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jfurgers



Joined: 18 Sep 2005
Posts: 442
Location: Mexico City
PostPosted: Sat Jul 19, 2008 4:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
lozwich wrote:
I live in a "nice" area about 10 blocks from where a friend of mine has seen several people killed in the last few months.



OK please explain to me why you would want to keep living in a place close to where people are being murdered??
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Guy Courchesne



Joined: 10 Mar 2003
Posts: 9650
Location: Mexico City
PostPosted: Sat Jul 19, 2008 8:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
jfurgers wrote:
lozwich wrote:
I live in a "nice" area about 10 blocks from where a friend of mine has seen several people killed in the last few months.



OK please explain to me why you would want to keep living in a place close to where people are being murdered??


Isn't that why you left the states to come to Mexico?

Wink
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jfurgers



Joined: 18 Sep 2005
Posts: 442
Location: Mexico City
PostPosted: Sat Jul 19, 2008 10:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Guy Courchesne wrote:


Isn't that why you left the states to come to Mexico?

Wink


Good point. I feel safe where I'm at though because I never HEAR of anyone getting kiled close to where we are. There's too many cops around here with automatic weapons. Plus we're in like a gated community. I did stop watching the local news when I was in Texas because there were lots of stories of people killing each other everyday. The whole world is going mad. Shocked
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corporatehuman



Joined: 09 Jan 2006
Posts: 198
Location: Mexico City
PostPosted: Tue Jul 22, 2008 12:46 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
I bicycle everyday in D.F. and find it overall safe and much faster than subway, or car. I also use the ciclopista at 6:30am or so...and it is safe. PARTS of the ciclopista are good, other parts (specifically the part that brings you into the historical center) can be really dangerous. Especially outside of Balderas and one other intersection. In fact there are actually sometimes BETTER ways to go than the ciclopista...if you are going to the center.

In terms of traffic laws I break every one of them. I mean going through red lights etc. etc. I'm always watching for cars, and it's not like I put myself in danger. But if there is a red light and no cars coming I will go through it. If I lived in the US I would probably not do that, but as an honorary Mexican I feel I have a right to break laws at my own leisure...you know I'm just trying to fit in!!

I wear a hemlet and have a light, and I recommend buying from Benotto if you get a bike. I have an 18 speed that I bought for 1,200 pesos.

Also I think a mountain bike is better for the city because of the roads, AND parts of the ciclopista (the ones going to the center) force you to go over the gratings of the subway...and if you have a thin tire it would FALL right through.
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aroha



Joined: 08 Oct 2004
Posts: 66
Location: Mexico
PostPosted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 4:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
notamiss wrote:
There's a bike path (ciciplopista) to Cuernavaca that follows the ex-railroad (although the final section isn't paved, you can still ride on the dirt trail all the way to Cuernavaca). My daughter does this trek about once a year. Here's a map: http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/mexico/mexico-df/499396785. Here's some more detail: http://www.geocities.com/agcronicas/ciclopista.htm including information about the locations of stations where they sell food & drink, bike rentals and bike parts and repairs.


Notamiss, thanks for the info about the Cuernavaca bike route! I have a friend arriving in a couple of weeks and we are thinking about giving it a go. Not surprisingly, none of my Mexican friends had ever heard of this route and doubt its very existence.

I would also like to ride my bike to work in the early mornings, where the most direct route would be riding about 10km straight down Division del Norte from Colonia Del Valle. Any tips or suggestions for a more tranquil route?

I've noticed an increase in the number of cyclists and bike shops around the local area, so the bike lanes will follow eventually...
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Phil_K



Joined: 25 Jan 2007
Posts: 2041
Location: A World of my Own
PostPosted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 4:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Quote:
I've noticed an increase in the number of cyclists and bike shops around the local area, so the bike lanes will follow eventually...


Let's hope for your sake that they are on part of the sidewalk, as most drivers wouldn't respect them if they were on the road...as they don't respect bus lanes (with the exception of the Metrobus).
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MO39



Joined: 28 Jan 2004
Posts: 1970
Location: El ombligo de la Rep�blica Mexicana
PostPosted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 10:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
corporatehuman wrote:

In terms of traffic laws I break every one of them. I mean going through red lights etc. etc. I'm always watching for cars, and it's not like I put myself in danger. But if there is a red light and no cars coming I will go through it.



I hope that when you go through red lights, you check for pedestrians as well as for cars. Wink
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Gary Denness
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 25, 2008 3:10 am    Post subject: Re: Bicycle in Mexico City Reply with quote
Guy Courchesne wrote:
Anyone else have a bicycle in Mexico City? I only recently picked one up. I was skeptical at first, given the traffic and bad drivers here, but have been pleasantly surprised at how well the ciclopista works and how many different places one can go with a bike, and a helmet of course.


I got a shiny new Benotto back in January, to cycle to and from Lilly which is about, at a guess, 3 miles away. No ciclopista down here though!

Do you go on the Ciclothon on Sundays? I've been a few times now. All good fun, if a little tiring.

Phil, I obey only one rule. the one about staying alive. That by necessity means I have to break all the other rules I'm afraid! Smile
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Gary Denness
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 25, 2008 3:51 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
notamiss wrote:
There's a bike path (ciciplopista) to Cuernavaca that follows the ex-railroad (although the final section isn't paved, you can still ride on the dirt trail all the way to Cuernavaca). My daughter does this trek about once a year. Here's a map: http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/mexico/mexico-df/499396785. Here's some more detail: http://www.geocities.com/agcronicas/ciclopista.htm including information about the locations of stations where they sell food & drink, bike rentals and bike parts and repairs.


Fantastico! I'm going to have to have a go at that! Anyone wanna come?!
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sarliz



Joined: 22 Feb 2006
Posts: 198
Location: Jalisco
PostPosted: Fri Jul 25, 2008 4:18 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
On a bike-y side note, there's a fun group of bici-rights types that do Critical Mass-esque night rides in Guadalajara to help advance the idea that cars should not run over bikes riding on the roads (GDL is not quite so advanced as to have a ciclopista. I think they're planning to build one someday.). The rides are usually on Wednesdays at 11pm, leaving from the glorietta at Av. Mexico and Chapultepec, and are usually an hour long.
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notamiss



Joined: 20 Jun 2007
Posts: 908
Location: El 5o pino del la CDMX
PostPosted: Fri Jul 25, 2008 4:27 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Gary Denness wrote:

Fantastico! I'm going to have to have a go at that! Anyone wanna come?!

I asked my daughter if she had any tips for you, and she says:

1. Definitely go in the direction Mexico�Cuernavaca, not the other way around; that way you'll be doing the harder uphill parts on the paved part, not gravel.

2. There are a couple of places in the last part (gravel) where the path kind of dissipates and you have to do some guessing and scouting to find the trail again.

3. Start early in the morning or you may get caught in the forest when it gets dark.

4. If you don't make it all the way, you can stop at Tres Mar�as and catch a bus to Cuernavaca.

5. Resist the temptation to take it easy and take rest stops near the beginning. That is the easy part.

6. It's beautiful!
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