What's going on, Albuquerque?

gosh darn it, I just plain dig this town

So, my partner is out of town on business (which I remembered only when he woke me up this morning to say "See you tomorrow, sweetie" to which I responded "See you tomorrow?! What the hell does that mean?!") and I took advantage of his absence to indulge in one of my fav rituals of single life. Namely, dinner alone at il vicino, with the most recent issue of my favorite magazine and a glass of red wine. If you show up early, and it's not a weekend night, no one cares if you occupy a table for a couple of hours and dawdle over your crusts.

I stood in line behind a couple who smiled with me about il vicino's "pizza dough for playing," which is handed out to all young customers. I sat a few tables away from these folks and almost immediately a very loud and friendly couple sat between us and announced they were from out of town. Rather than being offended by the un-ignorable interruption, the couple started chatting with them about what to see and do in Abq. and answered questions about Old Town and elsewhere. I jumped in after a bit to recommend that the out-of-towners could ask the waitress for a sample of the il vicino brown they'd expressed an interest in, which she kindly did. Another friendly woman who flies helicopters for the air force (I just have to mention that "I fly helicopters" is a kickass answer to "what do you do?") is just in town while stationed briefly at Kirtland and she spoke up to tell the visitors about the tram and a couple of Santa Fe attractions she likes. We both waxed poetic about the allures of 10,000 Waves. We were mentioning businesses and sightseeing spots and saying "Oh yeah! That place is great!" in excited voices. If anything, the people from out of town were overwhelmed with info. about Albuquerque and Santa Fe and, I hope, left with a good impression of our town and her citizens.

I bumped into the first couple again as I was unlocking my bike in front of ecco gelato and had a nice chat about bikes and the great neighborhoods we have. It was an unexpectedly pleasant night (not that I figured I'd have a bad time, it was just really nice). Sometimes it's good to have a reason to talk up your town to people who don't know it or to meet folks in your neighborhood who seem to enjoy it as much you do. It can be a reminder that, even when times are rough and looking to get rougher, people are generally decent and we have a lot going for us in Abq., not just in the businesses we can frequent, but in the neighborhoods and communities we inhabit and the people we don't even know who are our neighbors.

The night wouldn't be complete though, without a mention of the journey home. I was almost run over on my bike at Silver and Yale by a guy in a Mini Cooper who told me to get on the sidewalk. I replied "Bikes are supposed to be in the street." I started to tell him (in my best goody-two-shoes voice) that he could check out all the laws regarding bikes online, but he cut me off to say "Get out of my way, bitch" before pealing off in his oh-so-tough emblem of british thrift and german engineering. Ah, Albuquerque. In some respects I guess we do have a way to go, or I might just have to accept that some things'll always be the same. Home sweet home.

1 member likes this

Comment by Kelly on March 4, 2009 at 10:06am: I know two Mini owners who are delightful people, respectful of bicyclist rights.

Comment by once banned twice shy on March 4, 2009 at 10:27am: Dude in the Mini Cooper is going to be bumming when Silver finally turns into a Bike Boulevard. Our bikes will have priority.

Comment by Flozilla on March 4, 2009 at 11:42am: I love meeting new folks too! Il Vicino is the perfect place for striking up or contributing too a neighbors convo.

Hey, have you ever been to the Il Vicino taproom? This nice weather has been helping along my itch too sit on the patio and watch the cars go by with a tall brown.

Comment by Kat on March 4, 2009 at 6:15pm: So, you made have to find out about 10,000 waves. I looked at their website and it made me wish there as a place like this in ABQ. I lived in Korea for 3 years, and I never thought I would miss being in a giant tub with naked women, but, well, I really miss it! So, any places like this closer to home?

P.S. I love ABQ, too. We picked it out of a hat when we were looking to move back to the states, and we really feel we couldn't have picked a better place for us. We move every few years (maybe we are masochistic), but it's going to be hard to find a place to beat albuquerque.

Comment by hettie on March 4, 2009 at 8:40pm: kat, you have to try betty's. they're exactly what you're looking for, really affordable ($11 for as long as you want, plus you get a discount if you bring your own towel), and right in town. they also offer massage and some great spa services (although those things are pricier). they used to keep track of how many soaks you'd had and you earned one on the house after 10 paid visits or so. I don't know if they do that still, but it's worth an ask.

Comment by Phil_0 on March 4, 2009 at 8:56pm: Il Vicino taproom is really cool...hard to find, though! What are the cross streets again?

Comment by Benny the Icepick on March 4, 2009 at 9:11pm: //I replied "Bikes are supposed to be in the street."//

Ahhhh, thank you, Hettie. Sorry for the rudeness, but if we can educate them one at a time, we can make progress.

Comment by Pat O. on March 4, 2009 at 10:54pm: "Bikes are supposed to be in the street" should be "Bikes are required to be in the street" unless there's a bike path available. So far as I know only children's bikes are allowed on sidewalks.

Comment by hettie on March 4, 2009 at 11:14pm: pat, I've always understood that a cyclist can be on the sidewalk only when the street is not reasonably safe for bikes. although I can't find the text online that makes me think this is the law (little help, benny?). of course, that begs the question, what's "reasonably safe?" if someone wanted, they might make an argument that there aren't many abq. streets which meet that standard.

I'm always frustrated when I'm walking back and forth to school and people on their bikes fly up behind me and pass without warning. it's dangerous to all involved (what if I stepped to the side to avoid a ladybug and they hit me?) and I feel as if seeing so many bikes on the sidewalks is what leads drivers to think that's where they belong. those sidewalk bikers are endangering pedestrians and cyclists who actually obey the laws. grrrr. but I digress. and I still dig this town.

Comment by Benny the Icepick on March 4, 2009 at 11:26pm: //although I can't find the text online that makes me think this is the law (little help, benny?)//

The site that hosts Albuquerque's laws online seems to be down at the moment. Bicycle ordinances are covered in section 8-3-3, and were overhauled this past Fall for the first time in over 30 years. The wording about sidewalk riding was revised to discourage the activity more strongly than the previous version.

There are very, very few situations where riding on the sidewalk can be considered "safer" than riding in the street - "sideriding" ties with riding against traffic as the #1 cause of bicyclist fatalities. Very fast, major roads can be quite harrowing to ride on (I've had my share of riding on streets like San Mateo and Eubank), but rather than riding on the sidewalk, a better alternative is to take a parallel side street.

Sorry, you set me off on my "Omigodletstalkaboutbicycling" pedantry mode.

Back on topic, yes, this is one hell of a town.