Cycling in the Big City

December.2006

I still do not find the perfect nominative to this eccentricity. Is this road cycling? No. Is this cycloturism? Yes and no. Is this urban cycling? Decidedly yes. This section is a homage to doing it in the Metropolis.

Mexico City fascinates and frightens me at the same time. Want to know the meaning of loneliness? Use the subway in Mexico City, rush hour. If it is of some relief, imagine a perfect stranger stabbing you for your wallet and the rest of the people just looking away. On the other hand, it is a microcosm as stimulant as it is diverse, very much of Cristina Pacheco's style. And besides the city is big... impossibly big.

So, a route through the city would be necessarily limited in its reach. With an average of 3 to 4 hours the standard duration of a touring night for this noctambulist writer, the most representative option would have to be the Insurgentes-Reforma axis.

To begin with, transport. Taking the bikes from one place to another is a complicated task. For a modicum sum you can ask the carrier to allow getting your bike wrapped in cardboard into the bus, to avoid scratches. Such option does not require disassembly and packaging. But being a little bit stubborn I preferred to pack an older bike (in case the trip was more dangerous than previously thought).

Priceless

Bus tickets Cuernavaca-Mexico City: 60 pesos
A few bucks for the luggage boy: 15 pesos
Taxi cab from the bus stop until the 'refuge': 20 pesos
That you hail a Tsuru taxi cab so that at the end, the bike fits in a beetle... priceless

Logbook

Departure was scheduled for 2:00 a.m. Before that hour, it is still too early, and there are lots of cars in the streets. Since we would be starting from Av. del Iman, just close to Gran Sur, the route must include Insurgentes until we find Reforma, and then go towards the Angel de la Independencia and then to the Bellas Artes palace. According to how much time we had left, we explored the possibility of reaching the zocalo area, but time constraints made it impossible, as we might see. The plan was to arrive home by 5 a.m. Vampires must retire before the city awakens.

Throughout Tlalpan a light but constant slope is inevitable, until Reforma. There, the streets are pretty wide, and the city virtually stops, except for the occasional automobile. Being December, nights are cold, and the wind only heightens the misery of whomever is not wearing a jacket. A light jacket is enough in the early hours of the morning. Because it is cool, you sweat very little, so it is not mandatory to carry much water. One litre must be enough (and I believe is too much already).

Insurgentes is another story. The avenue is practically a straight road, but a little bit busier. You can find pedestrians still (when I first wondered what the hell they were doing at that hour, walking on the street, I thought maybe they were actually thinking the same about me, in a bike... yeah... we are such loonies), and because there were repairing the road (at the time, due to the metrobus), there were plenty of workers throughout the avenue. Automobiles begin to be numerous, but, fortunately, the sidewalks are wide, with ramps in between blocks, so there was no risk of being hit by a drunk driver.

Once in Reforma there is beauty all over: completely flat, broad streets, lots of surveillance; the nice part of town, and has a lot of things to take pictures of. Knowing that the hardest thing had already gone we decided to eat two multi-energy bars (15 pesos) in the Monument to Nezahualcoyotl. Then we went to the Glorieta del Angel de la Independencia. Police surveillance is heavier in the perimeter of the U.S. embassy. In a 200 meter corridor there were 10 agents on foot and three patrols, they were awake, vigilant, walking around the place. 3:30 a.m.

We then wanted to go to the fine arts palace, Bellas Artes. The Hemiciclo a Juarez was a mandatory stop. Unfortunately, time was a prime concern and the Zocalo was out of our reach. But the pictures we took until that moment were worthy. We went back to Monumento a la Revolucion just to take the same route back home. A quick visit to Madero's grave and the one they say is Pancho Villa's (but according to Paco Ignacio Taibo II they buried an unknown lady instead). Nobody rushed to see Carranza's. Time to get back. We didn't want to discover shortcuts in the heat of the battle.

Our return was rather boring. Hurry mandated looking the least and pedalling the more. Natural exhaustion was evident and early morning's cold started to be felt. By the time we reached UNAM there were plenty of cars in the city. We took the campus route and the trip finished by 5:30 a.m., more or less. Just in time.

I consider this a very healthy experience. Our next night-time excursions will have to include, necessarily, Centro Historico. But the invitation is open tu suggestions.

Trip Notes:

Cold nights and wind demand that you take some goggles to avoid your eyes getting irritated. It always helps a scarf to prevent you from inhaling cold air. Gloves are always good to be carried, so that you don't get your knuckles numb after a while.

Soon

Cycling in Ciudad Neza...! (at 3 a.m.? yeah, right...)

More Pictures