24-05-2025
'Enough Is enough': Cyclists ride in silence to remember those killed on New Mexico roads
May 23—More than 50 bicyclists stood quietly in formation Wednesday evening near Winrock Town Center. Helmets and reflective vests lined the pavement, and cyclists donned red and black armbands — symbols representing those they've known who were injured or killed by motorists while commuting.
The cyclists joined others worldwide participating in the 23rd annual Ride of Silence. Hosted by BikeABQ, a nonprofit that advocates for cyclists locally, the annual event reminds motorists to be mindful of other forms of transportation.
This year's ride carried a somber weight. In recent months, cycling advocate Chuck Malagodi was killed in a hit-and-run crash. Around a year ago, according to police, Sandia Labs engineer Scott Habermehl was fatally struck by a group of teens in a stolen car.
Statewide, seven cyclists have been killed by motorists this year, three of them in Bernalillo County. Between 2019 and 2023, 39 cyclists were killed in New Mexico, including 15 in Bernalillo County, with nearly 1,500 cyclists being involved in a crash, according to New Mexico Department of Transportation data.
Dozens of cyclists silently pedaled over 4 miles through the streets Wednesday night, escorted by police vehicles. At the center of the procession was a carriage carrying a ghost bike, a white-painted bicycle representing those riders, like Malagodi and Habermehl, who never made it home.
Local leaders, including Mayor Tim Keller, City Councilor Tammy Fiebelkorn and Rep. Marian Matthews, D-Albuquerque, vowed during the opening ceremony to propose new juvenile crime legislation, referencing the death of Habermehl. Three boys, ages 11 to 16, are accused of striking the cyclist, telling the 13-year-old driver to "bump" Habermehl while recording video of the crash.
"Enough is enough," Matthews said before the ride kicked off. "Change starts now, not in January before the Legislature."
Habermehl's wife, Jamie Philpott, was also in attendance and said her husband's death highlighted "the ongoing failure" of the state's Children, Youth and Families Department and juvenile justice system to serve juveniles in need or deter them from committing crimes.
"Chuck Malagodi was instrumental in supporting the Ride of Silence, and we thought he deserved to be honored in this manner, along with all the other cyclists that have fallen victim to motorized vehicle incidents," said Craig Degenhardt, co-founder and lifetime member of BikeABQ. "It's basically a funeral procession, a moment of silence that continues for the entire bike ride."
David Harding, a volunteer who worked with Malagodi at Free Bikes 4 Kidz — a nonprofit that provides children with bicycles — attended the ride in honor of his friend and fellow advocate. Harding said he was "just aghast" to hear of Malagodi's death. Harding uses his wheels exclusively in the mountains, where he said it is safer to ride than in the streets.
"With mountain biking, there is a chance that you'll go too fast around a turn or hit a rock funny, but in road biking, you can't really control other drivers that might be distracted texting or something else and could accidentally or intentionally kill you," he said.
Leila Murrieta depends on her bike and on the Albuquerque Rapid Transit bus to get around. As events coordinator for RideABQ and a board member of the Greater Albuquerque Active Transportation Committee, Murrieta is focused on making streets safer for cyclists and wants to remind others that biking is more than just a hobby, but a mode of transportation.
Murrieta has been hit by a car in the past, and said she frequently struggles with distracted drivers. "The amount of times I've seen people watching full movies while they're driving on the freeway... it's scary," she said.
Despite the challenges, cyclists said New Mexico's infrastructure is ahead of many other states.
"We have so many bike lanes, bike trails, and we are a silver-ranked city by the League of American Bicyclists, but we need to go for gold," Degenhardt said. "We can do that by increasing facilities like bike lanes and segregated roadways for cyclists, along with education for motorists and cyclists."
During the 2025 legislative session, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed a law allowing Idaho Stops, which allow bicyclists to treat stop signs like yield signs and red lights as stop signs to improve cyclist safety in intersections.
Some cyclists participating in the Silent Ride want drivers to know that as of July 1, when the law goes into effect, it will be up to motorists and bikers to keep one another safe.
"I want to remind people that everybody they see biking is a person who has family and people who care about them," said Ryan Harris, a member of RideABQ. "I wish people would value human life a little bit more."
