BIKING TO THE BALLOONS HAS NEVER BEEN EASIER
Biking to the Balloon Fiesta will be less hassle than ever
Nine hundred secure bicycle parking spaces will be waiting for you in this year’s bike valet at Balloon Fiesta Park.
Getting to the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta by bicycle has come a long way since the days of “sharing the road” with traffic and locking your bike to a fence post.
The paved North Diversion Channel Trail can be accessed as far south as the University of New Mexico and crosses under all the major streets from Interstate 25 north all the way into the Balloon Fiesta Park, terminating just north of the Anderson-Abruzzo Albuquerque International Balloon Museum.
At the end of the trail is the free bike valet, with room for 900 bikes and staffed by volunteers to keep your ride safe while you roam the field.
New this year will be a “pop-up station” of some of the city’s new Pace ABQ Bike Share bicycles.
Aususta Meyers, communications manager for the Mid-Region Council of Governments, said the presence of the Pace station is to encourage those who can to use their own power to get to and from Balloon Fiesta Park as well as to make the community aware of the city’s growing bike-share program.
“We’re thrilled to be part of this event and to showcase this community amenity,” said Terry Doyle, director of the Rio Metro Regional Transit District. “It’s also a fun way to get to the event, as well as to the nearby Balloon Museum.”
The pop-up Pace station was installed earlier this week and will be available until Oct. 14. The Balloon Museum will provide Pace riders free entry to the museum during the event. Riders will need to show the ride receipt to the ticket booth.
Those riding Pace bikes can lock them near the station or at other spots outside the park gates. Bicycles are not allowed on the field.
Those who want to use a Pace bike will need to download the free “Pace Bike Share” app, available in the App Store or Google Play. The app allows riders to locate available bikes and parking locations and unlock bikes. Rides cost $1 per 30 minutes, and the first 30-minute ride for every new user is free. (using the promo code riometro will get first-time riders $10 in ride credits)
To view a map and more information on how to use Pace ABQ Bike Share at this year’s Balloon Fiesta, visit: riometro.org and click on “Take Bike Share to Balloon Fiesta.”
For those using their own bicycles, the bike valet has been providing free, secure storage for cyclists at Balloon Fiesta for the past 10 years.
Ann Overstreet, one of the bike valet service coordinators, said the service parked more than 4,600 bikes at the fiesta in 2017.
“Some bikes carried multiple people, such as tandems, bikes with Trail-a-Bikes or trailers, or child seats. So the number of people served was greater than 4,600,” she said.
The largest number of bikes parked in one session in 2017 was a little more than 700, she said.
At the station, volunteers will give riders a two-part ticket with one-half going to the rider and the other half securely attached to the bike. Simply present your half of your valet ticket to retrieve your bike.
Volunteers from local bicycle groups staff the service, which operates from 4:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. and from 4:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. throughout the fiesta.
For information on the bike valet services, go toballoonfiesta.com and look under “Guest Guide.”