Here's the details on all the events happening this weekend.
FRIDAY:
Bike Bash Opening Party with GOLDSPRINTS @ HANDSOME WILLY’S
10pm-12am…218 s Robertson
$2 to race per round, FREE to watch! What are Goldsprints, you ask. Well check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goldsprint for answers.
Meet other guys and gals that like to put the fun between their legs as we kick-off a great weekend of bike fun in New Orleans. Come out to Handsome Willy’s and cheer on your friends that choose to race the Goldsprints. But what are Goldsprints, you say? Well, you know how way back in the 70’s, everyone had stationary bikes that turned into clothes hangers in the 80’s? Then everyone wanted to go spinning at the gym. Well, it’s kind of like that, except, with a big projection screen behind the stationary bike, and the faster you peddle, the faster the scene changes behind you. Oh, and to make it better, you’re competing with your friends lined up next to you, and you have screaming crowds cheering you on to victory. Sounds fun, doesn’t it. It is. We have drinks specials, too, just be careful drinking and racing.
SATURDAY:
VIEUX CARRE RIDE
10am…esplanade and royal
FREE!!!
Participate in an awareness ride highlighting bicycle safety in the French Quarter. This ride will take you on a scenic tour of the historic Vieux Carre (French Quarter), while showing the importance of bike safety in shared spaces with motorized vehicles and pedestrians. Afterwards, the tour will continue north to RampART along North Rampart Street and then up the Lafitte Corridor, a planned greenway which will feature a trail from the French Quarter through Treme, Mid-City and ending at Canal Blvd. The ride will terminate halfway up the corridor where it intersects Bayou St. John, a natural inlet from Lake Pontchartrain, and also another established bike route the Jefferson davis and Wisner Trails) stretching from Uptown all the way to the lake: very much the future bicycle cross-roads in the middle of New Orleans.
N.O. BIKE POLO OPEN
10am-6pm…canal and villere
FREE to watch!
Come out and watch talented players from all over the world (literally) with impressive maneuvering skills battle it out in a 2 day tournament. Teams are flying in from all over to show off their skills during the N.O. Bike Polo Open. It’s tough, it’s rough, it’s gritty, and dirty. And it’s loads of fun. Want to participate? Go to www.nopolo.org.
BAYOU BBQ & VOLLEYBALL
12pm-2pm…moss and toulouse
FREE!!!
Ride your bike to end of Bayou St. John (near Lafitte) and enjoy some BBQ and volleyball. Mid-City Volleyball is a very active organization in helping get the Lafitte Corridor plan approved along with the Friends of Lafitte Corridor organization. So Mid-City Volleyball will be setting up volleyball nets for a nice social afternoon to be accompanied by some grilled foods provided by the Metro Bicycle Coalition (omnivores, carnivores, and herbivores are all welcome). This is a great opportunity to get off the bike, socialize with fellow enthusiasts, and refill with some much needed calories to finish your day on the bike.
BIKE RODEO 4 KIDS
1:30pm-4pm…n. tonti & gallier (RUBARB)
FREE!!!
Bike Rodeo for kids of all ages. Learn how to ride safely and be more predictable around motorists and pedestrians. You’ll learn about which way to ride down the street (with traffic or against), the way to signal when you’re making turns left and right, and a lot more. This is a great training for anyone unfamiliar with what the laws really say, and to help parents teach their children correctly, as well. We’ll have a prizes, too!!
VEER MOVIE SCREENINGS @ NOLA CANDLE FACTORY
Two showings @ 5pm & 8pm…4537 n robertson (Candle Factory)
$8
There is limited seating, so feel free to bring your own chair. Enjoy New Orleans’ first screening of Veer, the movie. Veer explores America’s fast-growing bicycling culture by profiling five people whose lives are inextricably tied to bicycling and the bike-centric social groups they belong to. The film follows these characters over the course of a year, offering a behind-the-scenes look at their personal struggles and triumphs. Veer examines what it means to be part of a community, and how social movements are formed.
Recognized as an official selection for the Lincoln Center New York Film Society Green Screens Series, Victoria Film Festival, Winner of Best Documentary at the Calgary Underground Film Festival, Nominated for Best Documentary at the San Joaquin International Film Festival, this screening should not be missed. Watch the trailer: http://www.veerthemovie.com/trailer.asp
There will also be beverages available for purchase and popcorn.
SUNDAY:
AUDUBON ZOO BIKE RIDE 4 KIDS (AND THEIR FAMILIES!)
8:30am-9:30am…6500 Magazine (Audubon Zoo)
$4 per bike (Children in Safety seats or pulled in bike trailers free)
Early morning bike-ride through the Audubon Zoo for children. Register ahead of time with Monica Pasos (mpasos@auduboninstitute.org ) at Audubon Zoo, so you can be one of the 50 bikes to ride through. The ride will last one hour, with several stops to see the animals along the way. This is a great opportunity to get into Audubon Zoo before it opens when it’s quiet, animals are out, and the crowds have not yet arrived. When the ride is over, you can go back to the zoo a little longer to sight-see some of the animals you missed, or browse the shops.
NOLACYCLE MAPPING RIDE IN PONTILLY
@ ROME PARK PLAYGROUND
10am-12pm…robert e lee and st roch
FREE!!!
Help complete NolaCycle’s mapping project while enjoying a ride in Pontilly. NolaCycle is a grassroots organization that recently joined forces with the Metro Bicycle Coalition. Led by Lauren Sullivan, the group has ridden all over New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina to grade the roads of the city by width, quality, and speed of motor vehicles. You’ll be given a small quadrant map and a few markers so you and your team can graphically illustrate block-by-block what the conditions of the roads are from a cyclist’s perspective. When this data is completely collected, a GIS map will be created and distributed showing the best blocks to ride on, in order to inform a cyclist’s route across the city. What’s better is that Acorns of Hope, an organization set out to replant trees along coastal Louisiana after Hurricane Rita, will be making their annual bike ride to plant trees, and end up in New Orleans on this day to help with the mapping. We welcome our tree-planting-cousins from Southwest Louisiana, and are glad they can be here to help make New Orleans a more sustainable city. We’re especially excited that they’re biking the whole way here!
N.O. BIKE POLO OPEN
10am-6pm…canal and villere
FREE to watch!
BIKE DRAWING & RACK INSTALLATIONS & SPONSORSHIPS @ PO BOY FESTIVAL
11am-6pm…Oak St.
Where Ya’ Rack? is the latest Young Leadership Council project to come out of the Leadership Development Series in the fall of 2008. The purpose of the project is to have plentiful, safe and secure bike parking installed all over New Orleans. There will be a raffle for a bike at the Po Boy Festival, as well as information for individuals and businesses to learn how to sponsor one or more racks for installation, and tell us where it is you live, work, and play, so Where Ya’ Rack? can install racks where demand is greatest.
METRO BICYCLE COALITION BBQ @ N.O. BIKE POLO OPEN
12pm-2pm…canal and villere
FREE!!!
Chow on some BBQ while watching Bike Polo. This will be the end of the internationally attended New Orleans Bike Polo Tournament. Come by, have some food (again, all omnivores, carnivores, and herbivores are welcome), and see which teams come out on top.
BIKE BASH AFTER PARTY @ ALL-WAYS LOUNGE
9pm-?…2240 St. Claude
$8
Fund-raiser for Plan B at the All-Ways Lounge (formerly Cowpokes). Will have 3 bands and 2 DJ’s. More info forthcoming.
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