OPINION: Remembering Chuck: His love of cycling and his students

The Albuquerque cycling community is mourning the one-year anniversary of the death of bicycle and pedestrian safety educator Chuck Malagodi. Chuck was killed in a daylight hit-and-run crash while cycling home, after a shift fixing bicycles for Albuquerque’s children. Chuck’s life’s purpose was devoted to creating accessible and safe alternatives to vehicular transport — and his death is a cruel reminder of the importance of his work.

Chuck worked as a program manager for the city of Albuquerque’s Outdoor Recreation Education program for 25 years. He developed a model outdoor recreation program, an elementary and middle school safe-cycling curriculum that serviced over 10,000 students per year, developed and implemented bike mechanics/share the road/safe routes to school programs and created the city of Albuquerque’s Esperanza Community Bike Shop.

How can we affect the positive change that Chuck embodied in this world? At Free Bikes 4 Kidz NM, where Chuck volunteered in the last years of his life, we are carrying his legacy forward. We continue to celebrate his life and honor Chuck’s memory by refurbishing used bicycles and returning them to communities across the state. If you are interested in 1) donating a used bike to be regifted to someone in New Mexico, 2) volunteering a few hours each month as a cleaner or mechanic, or 3) receiving newly upgraded bicycles (from Striders for the youngest children to bikes for teenagers), contact fb4knm.org/.

Chuck’s killer has not been apprehended, although the alleged suspect (and his truck) were found the day after the crash. According to an Albuquerque Journal article published in February last year, “A witness took photos of the truck and gave them to police, who … found the truck with damage to its front end and beer cans and bottles inside parked at a home in the 3400 block of Anderson SE, blocks away from where the hit-and-run took place, according to the complaint.” The suspect offered a story about someone borrowing his truck, the same truck that he was driving when the life of a happy, generous man was cut shot. (Albuquerque police in February charged Jose Ivan Rios Sanchez, 24, of Albuquerque, with knowingly leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death and careless driving in the case, but he has not been arrested.)

What can we learn from this? Slow down while you’re driving and leave the cellphone in the backseat, with the ringer off. Enjoy our amazing mountainscape and look for all the vulnerable users on the road: parents with baby strollers, motorcyclists, pedestrians, the elderly with caregivers, cyclists, dog walkers, your friends, families and neighbors. Chuck’s not here, but as long as we are, we can be more mindful and considerate of all New Mexicans on the road. Be safe out there and remember Chuck when you give your full attention to driving carefully, for all of us.

I’ve thought about how Chuck would enjoy a scene in the fifth episode of the new "Pluribus" series, where the entire city of Albuquerque empties out. Spoiler alert: The hive mind leaves the city, with motor vehicles exiting east and west on Interstate 40. There’s this zoomed out view of the Big-I, and it is car-less. No moving vehicles on any roads. I envision him calling all the bike safety students he had taught over the years, then all of them jumping on their bikes to join him. He’d be feeling like a kid again, cycling on clear and safe highways, for as far and as long as his eyes could see.

Elena Kayak is an environmental educator, volunteering as the Bicycle Helmet Safety Specialist for FB4KNM.