Sunday Funday!
On Sundays, the Paseo de la Reforma…read morecompletely shuts down to cars. Most of the intersections are blocked off to traffic, and instead, the streets are handed back to the bicyclists and runners!
We saw they were simultaneously holding a 5k for runners!
Bicycles cram the street by the thousand! It's not a race, but a leisurely ride. Some riders come with fantastical bicycles that defy description. Many people ride ridiculous or costumed bikes, some with weird themes. The ride takes you up and down the major arterial street for Mexico City- one of the busiest boulevards in the world. It's hard to believe that the whole thing is shut down for the bicyclists, but it decreases pollution, and gets people out to exercise!
If you're not participating, and just want to drive through, there are still ways to cut through the bike traffic if your driver is on the ball. My trip involved going around the roundabout at the Angel of Independence - in the opposite direction than normal on the roundabout. Hair raising!
My city of San Antonio, Texas 'borrowed' the idea from Mexico City, and we have a similar event called "Ciclovia" on a quarterly basis. This is cool that it's weekly!
It's FREE!!! Even if you don't have a bike, people can just walk or run.
There are places to rent bikes from the kiosks along the way, and bike rental huts all along the Paseo de la Reforma.
