El Paso police officers on bicycles quietly zipping along residential streets have become a more familiar sight in the Northeast.

Police bicycle patrols have been a mainstay in the bustle of Downtown for decades. But the Northeast bike unit, which had largely died out, was given a rebirth last spring in an effort to pinpoint problem spots.

Since its restart, the Northeast bike patrol has helped disrupt crack cocaine deals in the troubled Angel's Triangle neighborhood, curbed teen troublemakers at parks and improved communication between residents and police.

"Everywhere we go, we ride," Northeast bike Officer Robert Romero said last week at Veterans Park where Romero and his partner Officer William Hooks caught a teen skateboarder skipping class.

The bike unit has been patrolling the park and the surrounding neighborhood to handle concerns about after-school fistfights, marijuana smoking and mischief by students.

Rick Armendariz, director of the park's recreation center, said the patrol has helped eliminate problems at the 44-acre park.

"When we see them (bike officers) out there we wave and say 'How you doing?'" Armendariz said. "It's good to see them. It sets a good tempo."

There are 11 officers in the Northeast bike unit in three shifts, with team members rotated to regular patrol as needed. The team works days and nights and the unit will ride in all types of weather, except for strong winds, lighting and snow.

During one assignment, the team pedaled five miles on Dyer Street from the Northeast Regional Command Center to the Lower Dyer area to keep a watch on bars.

Bicycle duty can be physically challenging, especially with El Paso's 100-degree summers. To stay hydrated, officers wear "camel packs," a backpack filled with water they drink through a tube.

Training includes steep uphill rides on streets north of Downtown and a scenario were trainees rush at full speed to a spot where they then have to "fight" an instructor wearing a padded suit.

"We endure it because of discipline and motivation," said Hooks, who joined the Police Department after retiring from the military and, except for his white pencil-thin moustache, does not appear his 56 years of age.

Among the bike team's first assignments was to patrol the Triangle, a densely populated, high-crime neighborhood with clusters of apartment buildings.

The officers would scout drug spots, watch for sales and swoop in to bust buyers and sellers.

"We had one guy, a dealer, who was telling his customers, 'Watch out for those bike guys,' " Romero said. "So, that was kind of nice."

Those bike guys' interruption of crack sales was successful enough that the team has received threats, police said.

West-Central city Rep. Susie Byrd, who used some of her office's discretionary funds to purchase two bicycles for the unit, said the bike patrol shows the Police Department's commitment to improving the Triangle.

"I think it has given folks in the neighborhood a level of safety because they are always there. They feel (the officers on bikes) are more accessible," Byrd said.

The fully-equipped mountain bikes cost more than $1,000 each, officers said.

Members of the Northeast bike unit are quick to praise their forerunners patrolling Downtown who helped train them. There are also bike units at other police regional commands.

Following the Northeast unit's revival, the Pebble Hills Regional Command re-started its bike team, which is used to patrol shopping areas, nightclub parking lots and around high schools.

Bicycles are transported by vehicle to patrol zones because the Pebble Hills region on the East Side is so widespread, region Cmdr. Patrick Maloney said.

"They (bike patrols) come up on things quietly," Maloney said. "If they see someone breaking into a car, they can ride up on them without being seen as opposed to a (patrol) car. For a lack of a better word, it's got a stealth approach to it."

Daniel Borunda maybe reached at dborunda@elpasotimes.com