CDMX Sunday Bike Ride: The Best FREE Thing to Do in Mexico City! | Mexico Travel Vlog

Good morning! It's another beautiful day here in Mexico City and if you've been watching for long or follow me on Instagram you know that I really love to show people that travel doesn't always have to be expensive and one of the best ways to see Mexico City is by bicycle. You can explore Mexico City by bicycle any day of the week. They have really great bicycle lanes and sometimes the traffic is not great so it really is a great option for seeing the city and then on Sundays they actually close down some of the major roads including Paseo Reforma. So I'm going to show you today how you can go get a free bicycle to go explore the city. So I'm starting out today in Contesa because that's where I'm staying but you can actually find the free bicycle stations in a few different places. If you just google Bici Gratis then you can find where you can rent them. I've got one just around the corner from me and I can already see all the bicycles of that. So the Eco Bici's are another option if you don't want to go to the free bike station or if it's just more convenient for you but those aren't free. You do need to pay for them and there's like an app that you need to download. So I'm headed to Glorieta de las Palmas which is kind of the main bicycle renting hub. I will need to leave some sort of ID. I'm not sure if they'll want my driver's license or my passport. I've got them both with me though. So you will want to get a bit of an early start just because well first of all it's spring and it gets quite warm in the afternoon. Right now it's actually a little bit chilly so that's perfect and then also if you want to rent a free bicycle you want to make sure that there's plenty available. The roads are closed between 8 and 2 p.m and I heard that it gets a little bit busy around noon and also you can only rent bicycles for two hours at a time. So you want to make it before noon anyway if you want to get the most out of it. This is so fun. I'm seeing people on bicycles, scooters, rollerblades. They're pulling dogs behind them in little carriages. There's families. People have speakers. They're playing music. It's a whole event. The first time I saw this I was just walking around La Roma and I thought it was some sort of marathon and I mean look at this. That's what it looks like today but this is just a regular Sunday and I think it's so cool that they do this every Sunday. Obviously the idea is to get people out, to promote a healthy lifestyle and so many people participate every week. It's also jacaranda season. If you haven't seen my last video go check that out. So it's just a really great time of year to be exploring the city this way. You guys this is Reforma, a street that is usually full of buses and cars and it's completely shut down on both sides just for the bicycles. So I found one of the three bicycle stands, Bicicletis, and I'm actually just in front of the Angel of Independence so I didn't even go as far as I was expecting to have to go. There is a bit of a line because I didn't make it quite as early as I wanted to but it's about 9 45 and I still see that they have quite a few bicycles so I think I'll be fine. So I got my free bicycle. It did take a little while to get through the line. I would definitely recommend getting here at maybe 8 or 9 a.m. They took my driver's license instead of my passport so that was great and I get to keep it for three hours so let's go! So from the Angel of Independence I rode up towards Alameda Central like near the Palace of Fine Arts but then I turned around because I know that the route also goes through Chapultepec Park and I think that'd be a really pretty ride so I'm gonna head that way now. So I'm passing through Chapultepec Park now on Reforma but the great part about this is that well first of all you don't have to wait till Sunday to do this. There's bicycle paths that go all through the park so even on a Sunday you can go kind of off the beaten path and go into the park and kind of see some more secluded areas. Also the Jacarandas here in Chapultepec are amazing right now and then also I'm about to come up on the Museum of Anthropology and I know that there's a lot of food stands outside so I'm gonna stop and get some street food because I am hungry. So I didn't exactly come prepared. I forgot to bring cash. I only have 40 pesos cash so we're gonna see what I can find for 40 pesos. So I see some tlayudas. Those are 40 pesos. So I'm seeing hamburgers and hot dogs and elotes which I do like but I think I'm gonna probably go for the tlayudas because I know I like those too. So I've just found a little tree to sit under. Got my bicycle there and my tlayuda. It's got green salsa, salsa verde, some cheese. It looks like refried beans and lots of cilantro so let's eat. So good after riding all morning. A little bit spicy though. I think it has some green pepper on it too. All right so I am all fueled up and ready to head back but I wanted to point something out. When I rented my bike today the guide did not speak any English and when I ordered my tlayuda just now she also did not speak any English and of course there's a lot of people in Mexico City that do speak English but that's not something that you can expect when you travel to another country and at the bare minimum you need to learn a couple of key phrases. Now I have studied some Spanish before but I've also been practicing lately with a company called Mextalki. They specialize in Mexican Spanish which I don't know if you know but it's actually quite different than Spain Spanish or say Argentinian Spanish and it's a small company here based out of Mexico City. They have online courses, they do conversation classes, they have a podcast, they have a lot of different opportunities for you to help increase your Spanish so if you are coming to Mexico City or Mexico in general it really is a good idea to learn a few things. Anyway so if you are planning on a trip to Mexico check out Mextalki and learn a few things before you get here. I'll link them down in the description below. So I've just returned my bike, I got my ID back. I did actually go to the wrong place because there's a couple of these along Reforma so that's good to know as well if you maybe go to one and they're out of bikes. Wow what a fun day though. If you have a free Sunday in Mexico City I definitely recommend it. If you like this video and found it informative then please give me a like and subscribe so you don't miss any future videos and I'll see you next time!