Bicycle subculture gains momentum in Albuquerque

The fixed gear trend has found its way from bicycle messengers to commuters

by CHRISTOPHER DOWNS

When Jake Klink is on his bike at the University of New Mexico, he looks like just another student riding around campus. A closer look, though, gives a glimpse into a growing trend in Albuquerque.

Klink is on a fixed gear bicycle.

“When I had to replace my bike after getting hit by a car, I got a fixed gear because I had seen them around, and when I looked into getting one they were less expensive than other bikes,” Klink said. “And now I’m obsessed with fixed gears.”

Fixed gear bikes – which have only one gear and require the rider to pedal when the bike is moving -- were originally used by many bicycle messengers because the mechanics of the bikes are simple.

Because there are fewer mechanical parts on a fixed gear, for messengers who depend on their bikes for work, there are fewer parts to repair.

In many big cities, law firms, architectural firms and government offices often need to get papers or packages from one office to another. Because of traffic congestion, bicycle messengers can often deliver faster than couriers in cars or vans.

In places like New York City and San Francisco, where bike messengers are common and on the cutting edge of fashion and art, the fixed gear bicycle scene has erupted. Messengers have created a subculture around themselves and small communities of messengers have expanded into larger social circles where the focus is fixed gears.

These subcultures have a way of starting in a big city and finding their way to smaller cities, like Albuquerque. The fixed gear bicycle trend is no different.

Although fixed gears aren’t the most efficient bicycles to ride, they have become a subculture of bicycling that has gathered a massive following. Many of the riders on them are young, hip and look to cultural epicenters for trends. Because cities like New York and San Francisco often set those trends, perhaps it’s natural that the fixed gear fad also originated in those places.

Around Albuquerque, especially Nob Hill and the University of New Mexico campus, the number of fixed gear bicycles on the road has steadily increased over the past few years.
UNM students, like Klink, have begun to use these bikes as their main modes of transportation.

Alleycats
Jesse Giordano was introduced to fixed gears when he lived in Seattle, working as a messenger.

He moved to Albuquerque to attend graduate school at UNM, and said he was surprised when he got here and saw so many people on fixed gears.

"It’s more surprising that I see so many new people on fixed gears,” he said. “I feel like when I leave town for one week, I come back and there’s 10 new people on fixies. It’s cool.”

“I was riding a cyclocross bike when I started, but like 75 percent of the messengers were riding fixed gears,” he said. “They would do skids and tricks. It just looked cool, so I got into it.”

Bicycle messengers also originated a unique type of racing for themselves, and dubbed them “alleycat races.” Part bike race, part scavenger hunt and part navigation, an alleycat race can take many forms.

Most alleycats have a starting point, a number of check points and a finish. The races are often based on a theme. Generally there isn’t a designated course. To get to the checkpoints, racers can choose any route they think will get them there the fastest.

Often the checkpoints can be done in any order and the first one to complete them wins. The route finding was the true test of messengers when the events were first put on in the early 1980s.

Over the past two years there have been a number of alleycat races in Albuquerque. Giordano organized one that was held April 13.

Giordano’s race was titled Virgen de Guadelupe. The race began in Downtown and finished near the intersection of Carlisle Boulevard and Gibson Boulevard. The seven checkpoints were at various churches and shrines throughout the city. The course ranged from Hazeldine Avenue in the Barelas neighborhood, to Griegos Road in the North Valley, going north and south. From east to west, the checkpoints were from Downtown to San Mateo Boulevard. Some riders did it in an efficient 18 mile route to less efficient routes that took some participants as far as 30 miles, as reported by some of the racers.

The local races have gained in popularity and have gone from less than 20 participants a year ago to almost 50 at Giordano’s event. Racers ranged from longtime bike racers to commuters to some who had bought a fixed gear in the past month.

“It was a fun event,” Klink said. “It’s cool to see a lot of skill levels all coming to one place and riding hard and having fun.”

The event was a success in Giordano’s eyes, as well.

“Any race where nobody gets hurt and people have fun, is a successful event for me,” Giordano said.

The Downside
Still, problems have arisen around the fixed gear scene. Riding fixed gears safely can be difficult. New fixed gear riders, especially young ones, see experienced riders with no brakes and think it’s cool, said Spencer Lemon, a UNM student and fixed gear rider.

“People don’t seem to understand how dangerous riding a fixed gear can be,” Lemon said. “And when they do it without the right tools, like a brake or toe clips, they can just be stupid.”

The contention between cars and bicyclists has also increased. As more cyclists use the road drivers have to be more aware of them, but cyclists have to be aware too, said one local motorist near the UNM campus.

“Bikers have to obey laws, too,” the driver said.

Dan Lucero, owner of the local bike shop Bikeworks, said he would like to advocate the use of helmets. He said he doesn’t see enough people wearing them and would like to make helmets affordable and acceptable.

Tragedy struck the alleycat community in February when a racer was struck and killed by a motorist in a Chicago race. According to news reports, a pack of 20 or so racers went through an intersection when the light turned red. One of the first riders through was struck.

The incident in Chicago sent a chill through the bicycle community. And for organizers like Giordano, it brings up the issue of liability for the riders and the sponsors of the events.

“It’s a balance trying to put on a safe event and reminding people that this is just fun and it’s not worth getting hurt or killed for,” he said. “People get competitive so they have to be reminded to ride smart.”

More than a trend?
For some, riding a bike, whether it’s a fixed gear or a more traditional bike, is an alternative mode of transportation. As gas prices go up people are looking to other ways to commute. For many college students it’s not worth driving 15 blocks to school when gas costs so much, Klink said.

“I’d rather just ride my bike than have to drive and park and deal with a car,” he said.

Some people aren’t riding fixed gears for the trendiness; they’re doing it because it’s practical, Lemon said.

“Anything that gets people on bikes is a good thing,” he said. “If they’re doing it because it’s cool, that’s fine, because the less cars the better.”

Written April 15, 2008

Go to Top