Cycling in NOLA
By Brent Badeaux


Old friends seem puzzled when I tell them about my new cycling hobby. Many of them don’t think of New Orleans as a biking town, and with good reason. I say, of course it is!-- pointing out all the folks careening into gas stations and convenience stores on $800 Canondale, Raleigh, and Next bikes. How could anyone think otherwise? They’ll ask you for a dollar, then ride off on a tricked-out Trek, just like the one your friend or neighbor or you used to have before it mysteriously disappeared one day.
Despite “vanishing bike syndrome,” New Orleans has one of the highest percentages of people who ride bikes, estimated at about four times the national average in 2000. However, it is rated near the bottom for accommodating infrastructure, as is Louisiana, which has one of the highest fatality rates for cyclists. However, this statistic may be changing. In 2004, the Metro Bicycle Coalition’s “5% for Bikes” campaign helped press the city to earmark $4 million from a $260 million capital improvements bond to construct a network of bikeways. The first bicycle lane opened in May 2008 on a three-mile stretch of St. Claude, a step in the right direction, but far from adequate.
Most New Orleanians seem to take a pragmatic approach to biking. Traveling on the streets, riders need bikes suited to the potholes (yet to be annihilated by Nagin’s pet behemoths, the Pothole Killaz). Mountain bikes, hybrids (mountain/road), and basketed, big-tired cruisers are more common than narrow-tired street bikes. Cycling in the streets offers the rider a unique view of one of the most beautifully built environments in the world. The city’s tree-lined streets offer shade while its architectural nuances come alive. There is danger here however. Dodging rough spots is only part of the equation. There are open car doors to be considered and of course, cell phoners, texters, smokers, drinkers, other bikers, and people who don’t consider bikes at all. Safety is a major concern here as in any other city.
There is one place in the city where bikes dominate: the Mississippi River Trail, which begins at the Fly (behind the Audubon Zoo) and clings to the river 3000 miles straight up to Minnesota, I heard tell (or will someday; as of now the Trail is 60% completed). I have only been the 19 or so miles to the Destrehan Bridge, but I can tell you it is a beautiful and exhilarating (and often windy) journey. To the left of this narrow path paved atop the levee is the mighty Mississippi. At certain points, the barge and ocean liner-speckled river meanders across the horizon and looks like the sea, and the sunsets are gorgeous. The River Trail is the purview of the road bikers who speed by in a high pitched whirl as if you weren’t moving at all. It is often difficult to tell where the Lycra-clad riders end and their bikes begin.
Audubon Park offers a tamer riding experience. When the weather begins to cool off though, the park becomes overcrowded with people, and consequently with people who have no regard for other people or seemingly, themselves. Just the other day, I was riding there and had to dodge countless runners and walkers on the wrong side of the great wheel/foot divide. This was made even more difficult by pedestrians staying on the dividing line, which should be kept clear and used only when passing or avoiding accidents. Verbal passing alerts are futile, as everyone’s got iPods dangling out of their ears, so you just have to wait until a clear path opens up. When I reached the Magazine entrance to the park, I was almost hit by one car pulling out, and then, magically enough, the other car pulling in. In about two seconds I was nearly hit by two cars 10 feet apart who should have yielded to me. The words I yelled were a far cry from what is appropriate in a family-oriented park, a kind of temporary near-miss Tourette syndrome.
There have been efforts to increase safety, such as the “Enforcement for Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety” training program for law enforcement officers held in 2007 by the Greater New Orleans Pedestrian and Bicycle Program. It also included a three-week radio campaign to inform motorist, cyclist, and pedestrians of basic behaviors to improve safety on the roads.
Despite the dangers, biking remains my preferred method of travel. While it seems most people do make allowances for bikers on the streets most of the time, riding here continues to be a hair-raising experience.
In addition to the abovementioned options, other popular cycling destinations include City Park, the path on South Jefferson Davis, Lakeshore Drive, and the Tammany Trace on the Northshore. There are also many bicycle shops in the city, including Bicycle Michaels on Frenchmen, GNO on Carrollton, Bayou Bicycles on Toulouse in Mid-City, Adam’s Bicycle World on Jefferson Hwy., Wallingford Bicycle Parts on Oak, Westbank Cyclery and Pedal Shop on the West Bank, and several others. The biking community is a welcoming one and offers many group riding activities, with something for every kind of rider.
The city also has an amazing amount of biking-related resources, from The New Orleans Community Bike Project (a.k.a. Plan B) in the Marigny, which offers free bicycle repair and cheap prices for parts and whole bikes, to numerous bicycling clubs for all tastes and styles. There is even an effort underway to create a bike map for the city. Its aim is to include the streets and also their condition, car speed, and specific caution areas. They are currently looking for volunteers to help in the creation of the map that will hopefully be completed by late spring. For more information on this effort, go to www.nolacycle.blogspot.com, which also contains numerous links to other New Orleans biking sites.
Increased visibility, ridership, and information concerning biking in New Orleans will eventually lead to increased safety and an overall healthier citizenry. Better biking in the city could also have an economic impact. Not just for the rider facing high gas prices, but also for the city itself. There are at least two organizations currently offering bicycle tours of the city, Crescent City Cruisers and Laid Back Tours. Already filled with many characteristics perfect for cycling—scenery, shade, mild year-round temperatures, and the close proximity of commerce and residential areas—New Orleans is posed to become a major cycling destination. Remember keep an eye out and to share the road.

Useful Cycling Links

www.nolacycle.blogspot.com
www.rubarbike.org
www.bikeproject.org
www.confederacyofcruisers.com
www.nolabikerace.com
www.nopolo.org