How to Enjoy a Free Sunday Morning Bike Ride in Mexico City
Sunday Morning Bike Rides in Mexico City
No matter how many times I visit the chaotic capital of Mexico, I’m constantly amazed at how a city of millions manages to shut down one of its biggest streets once a week. Every Sunday in Mexico City, from 8:00am to 2:00pm, locals and tourists alike cycle down Paseo de la Reforma with free rein, and some even on free bikes.
Muevete en Bici is a government-backed initiative that aims to promote a healthy and active lifestyle for residents of Mexico City. Cyclists, joggers, families and even their dogs take over the otherwise congested streets of the city every Sunday morning. If you’re up for having more local experiences during your travels, this is definitely an activity worth taking part in!
While there are several bike rentals in Mexico City, a quick and easy way to enjoy a free Sunday bike ride is to head straight to Glorieta de la Palma. At the northern point of the roundabout, there is a tented booth run by young locals where you can borrow a bike for up to two hours. We like to start here earlier in the morning, cycle along Paseo de la Reforma toward Chapultepec park and make our back in time for lunch.
Free Bike Rentals in Mexico City every Sunday
Free bikes are available between 8:00am and 2:00pm at a booth on the north end of Glorieta de la Palma at the intersection of Paseo de la Reforma and Rio Rhin.
ID is required to borrow a bike and is held until you return your bike. I know some people are hesitant to hand over their passports to a complete stranger (with good reason) but we provided our Canadian driver’s licenses and had no issues.
You’ll have to fill out a short form with your name, an address in Mexico City and a phone number where you can be reached. One of the attendants actually called my number on the spot so that I would have a way to reach him should I have any problem with my bike.
Rentals are good for a maximum of two hours and a ‘late fee’ of $50 pesos is charged if you pass the time limit.
This is a first-come-first-serve scenario and these free rental stations are known to run out of bikes. We arrived at around 10:30am and there were about a dozen bikes left to borrow.
Because the streets reopen at 2:00pm, you’ll have to arrive by noon at the latest to benefit from a full two-hour rental.
We were given a ticket to keep on hand and return to the booth along with our bikes.
The bikes are not in the best condition with respect to brakes and tire pressure but we enjoyed our ride just the same!
Helmets are not available at this station.
This is a great initiative for residents of Mexico City and budget travellers. If you’d rather be joined by a guide, you might like this half day bike tour which is available 3 times a week and includes your rental, helmet, water bottle and insider Mexico City tips.
This event takes place every Sunday providing (almost) traffic-free access to over 50 kms of roads in Mexico City. I say almost because there are some stretches where you do share the road with cars like at roundabouts and some intersections but these are all clearly marked off by either traffic cones or volunteers. The main stretch of road closures is along Paseo de la Reforma but sections of the historic centre are also closed and several streets in the south of the city are closed off as well.
Muevete en Bici’s Facebook page provides the most updated routes and event info. For instance, a few days prior, they’ll post the exact road closures for each Sunday as well as times and locations for fitness classes and family activities like yoga and Zumba. For young children who are still learning how to ride their bikes, separate Biciescuela sections are blocked off and supervised by locals. There’s also the occasional Paseo Nocturno which features bike rides after dark and is centered around holidays like Dia de Muertos and Valentine’s Day.
These Sunday bike rides in Mexico City are something we look forward to doing every time we’re in town. We hope this guide helps you experience one of our favourite things to do in Mexico City and look forward to reading about your bike ride in the comments!
