ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – Beating the traffic to Balloon Fiesta Park can mean the difference between seeing a mass ascension up close and personal or watching from the roadside. A lot of people still take their chance on avoiding morning traffic jams; others are finding alternate routes. “It’s really a spectacular thing for our city; it […]
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – Beating the traffic to Balloon Fiesta Park can mean the difference between seeing a mass ascension up close and personal or watching from the roadside. A lot of people still take their chance on avoiding morning traffic jams; others are finding alternate routes.
“It’s really a spectacular thing for our city; it brings so many people here and you know we love getting to share Albuquerque with folks in that way around such a positive, beautiful event that really doesn’t happen anywhere else to this scale,” said Josh Arnold, co-owner of Routes Bicycle Tours and Rentals.
During the 52nd Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta (AIBF), hundreds of balloons still take to the skies at dawn, while roughly 80,000 people pack the park every day. “Traffic is usually busy,” said Amanda Brady, Transportation Manager with the AIBF. “We ask that you be patient. We only have two roads in and out of Fiesta.”
“Anyone who’s been to Fiesta before has probably sat in traffic for a very, very, very long time. And then you’re paying for parking, and then there’s a long line at the admission gate as well,” said Arnold. “Sometimes, in the past, my wife and I have tried to go to Fiesta by car and missed the whole thing.”
That’s why, some people opt out of the traditional drive, and decide to take a two-wheel approach instead. Since 2011, Routes Bicycle Tours and Rentals has been offering a guided tour called ‘Bikes and Balloons’, starting near Los Ranchos.
“We get to the park, right around the time the mass ascension is going off, we provide you with your choice of breakfast so you’re not standing in line for that either. We have tickets for the park included,” said Arnold. “Again, you’re not standing in that line.”
Aside from their tour, Arnold said biking to Fiesta is now so popular, the event brings one of their busiest weeks for rentals. “That room behind me will be empty for the entire week, basically. So, it is, it’s amazing how many people want to come in and enjoy the outdoors here in Albuquerque and also bike to Fiesta itself,” Arnold said.
Because it’s dark and early when people ride, Arnold advises people to ride with headlamps and bike lights and dress warm. He said it’s an easy, non-stressful way to get to the park. “You’re happy when you get to the park,” said Arnold. Especially in light of the bike valet Balloon Fiesta offers to these intrepid travelers.
“They can bike into Fiesta, avoid traffic, avoid parking fees, and they get to come in and this is a second event area so we always are fully staffed. They have a secure ticket check-out so that their bikes are nice and safe,” Brady said.
Event staff park the bikes, along with scooters and electric bikes. “Our ‘special shapes,’ as we call them,” said Brady.
The service has increased in popularity over the years. “We parked 3,400 bikes two years ago. Last year, we parked 6,411 bikes during our event. And, the Balloon Museum has been gracious enough to allow us to expand bike valet as a result, so we handle all of the people who want to come in on their two wheels,” said Brady.
Aside from driving and biking in, Balloon Fiesta has park-and-ride options around the city to bus people in and there are new special lots for Uber and Lyft. “We have people coming in literally from all sides,” Brady said.
Experts recommend being patient when heading to the field. “However you get to Fiesta, it’s such a beautiful event,” adds Arnold.
For those who drive, the Balloon Fiesta has added QR codes for each parking lot, which you can scan later in the morning to get directions back to your car.