Albuquerque honored the memory of a beloved cycling safety educator Monday by renaming two city facilities that embody his life’s work, a tribute that resonates deeply in a city where bicyclists face significant safety challenges.
The community bike hub that Chuck Malagodi helped create is now officially the “Chuck Malagodi Esperanza Bicycle Safety Education Center,” while a section of the North Diversion Channel Trail south of Balloon Fiesta Park, one of his regular commute routes, also bears his name. The ceremony took place on what would have been Malagodi’s 65th birthday.
Malagodi was killed on Jan. 19 in a hit-and-run crash while riding his bicycle home near Kathryn Avenue and Carlisle Boulevard. The 64-year-old had just finished fixing bicycles for Free Bikes 4 Kidz when a friend offered him a ride home. “I’ll ride my bike,” Malagodi told his friend, according to news reports. He was struck about a mile from his house around 4:30 p.m. by a white Ram 1500 whose driver fled the scene…