Bike Commuting video - one of the many fun things that show up in my google e-mail alerts

Joey Brooks has put together some videos of cycling in New Orleans. I really like this one because it reminds me how much I love high-speed bike rides through the French Quarter and Downtown. I'm getting new cranksets for both of my bikes (hopefully really soon) so I'm looking forward to the insanity of riding on Decatur and Canal during the holidays zooming around cars and confused tourists. Oh, opps, did I say I weave around cars? I meant I love traveling at the same speed as everyone else and following every single traffic law.



Anyway, who the heck is Joey following in this video? I can't figure it out and it's really irritating me because it's probably someone I know and I thought I could recognize almost all of the fixie kids by their bikes and back of their heads.

Also, if you haven't watched the NO Bike Race Alley Cat videos, these are awesome too. They feature almost all of my favorite New Orleans cyclists, so that's an extra bonus when I'm feeling homesick because I'm stuck in Ohio writing a freakin' 80 page paper about biking in New Orleans.

Louisiana Bicycle Festival - June 20th in Abita Springs

Shoot, this is happening the day I'm supposed to leave Ohio (4eva!!!). Maybe I should talk my brother into driving down to Louisiana with me a day earlier.

Anyway....June 20th is the Louisiana Bicycle Festival in Abita Springs (Northshore). I didn't go last year for some reason I can't remember, but I've heard its a good time. The festival includes a parade and bicycle show (see "competition" below). There will be a lot of vintage bikes for sale as well, so bring your cash money. It runs from 10am to 4pm. And since you're in Abita Springs already, you can use that opportunity to visit the Abita Brew Pub - one of my favorite places on the Northshore. That still gives you time to go to my # 1 favorite Northshore location - Fontainbleau State Park. Man, maybe I really should come back to Louisiana early....

Here's what you need to know about the Louisiana Bicycle Festival

Competition: Bring some bikes and your may win a prize. Prizes may be awarded in a variety of categories: Original Pre 1940; Original 1940 - 1960; Original Post 1960; Restored Pre 1940; Restored 1940 - 1960; Restored Post 1960; Custom; Decorated; Novelty; Art from Bikes or Bike Parts; and Best in Show - judging is very unorthodox - judges may be bribed (this is Louisiana) and categories may be created and deleted as the judges mingle with participants.

Past prizes have included new bikes: a new 3G bicycle, a Huffy, a Schwin, bicycle books, posters, tee shirts, bike memorabilia, certificates suitable for framing, and fantastic bragging rights!

Schedule: 10:00am - The festival officially starts at 10am. Most bicycle enthusiasts arrive on the festival grounds hours before. Many "deals" are made before 10am.
12:30pm - The parade takes shape
2:00pm - The ballots are collected and counted
2:30pm - The awards and prizes are announced.
4:00pm - The festival is officially over, however some participants who came from out of state may have already left to return home, and some participants will stay a few more hours, enjoying the fellowship with the remaining bikes and local beverages

Website:
http://www.labicyclefestival.com/

Need more information? Contact John Preble of the UCM Museum, http://ucmmuseum.com or john@seelouisiana.com

"The New Orleans Bicycle Book" - Only took me like 9 months to find this...

So I finally found the name of that infamous "awesome book about biking in New Orleans that was written in the 70s or 80s." All the people I've talked to about NolaCycle who are over 40 kept telling me "you should really find that book. I can't remember the name or the author though..." Well, I ordered a copy of it today for $8.50 off ebay from some book seller out of Missouri (good things do come out of the Mid-West sometimes). I'm super pumped to get this book in the mail. You can few a little bit of the content online, but only a few pages work. I'm also trying to contact the author, Louis Alvarez (the e-mail address on there doesn't work). If you know how I can get a hold of him, help me out!

Once I get this book, feel free "borrow it" aka, come over to my house and read it. For how rare it is, I don't think I want to risk loosing.

Cyclist killed last night in New Orleans East in a hit and run

From nola.com:

"Ruben J. Soria, 56, died immediately after a motorist struck him as he pedaled a bike in the 12000 block of Chef Menteur Highway near Paris Road, coroner's chief investigator John Gagliano said Tuesday.

The car didn't stop after striking Soria, police said, and authorities are still looking for the motorist that killed him."

Bicyclist killed in hit and run in eastern New Orleans

This is really terrible, and not the only only hit-and-run that has happened lately. RIP, Ruben Soria. My condolences go out to his family and friends. Hopefully the police are able to figure out who is responsible and bring him or her to justice.

The rest of the details of this incident have not been released yet as the investigation is on-going. If you have any information on this murder, please call Crimestoppers at 504.822.1111 or toll-free at 1.877.903.7867.

If you haven't been out to New Orleans East, it is by far one of the least bike-friendly parts of the city. The roads there are much more suburban in character and route choices to get from one part of the East to the other are extremely limited. Despite how unfavorable it is for cycling, if he was coming or going from Village de L'Est or NASA, Chef Menteur might have been his only option for a route. New Orleans needs to make bicycle improvements a priority throughout the city, including areas outside the core such as the East. The lives of people who live and work in those communities depend upon it.

NolaCycle now has a Flickr photostream

Pictures from mapping events, local rides, and also examples of road conditions around the city.

Feel free to use the photos for your website, school report, or presentation - just make sure to give credit to the photographers. And don't make money off of them unless you're giving that money back to us - we could use it.

Check out Andy Menking's Local Food Map with bike routes!

Mapping volunteer Andy Menking has used the NolaCycle date to create a bike route map in GIS connecting local food sources (farmers markets, community gardens, and a couple produce stores) to one-another (because sometimes you have to go Hollygrove and Crescent City to find all the ingredients for your weekend feast) and to the East Bank neighborhoods.

I'm really excited that our data set has been put into use even before our map is done!

NolaCycle will be working with Andy's help to build off this map to create a "Bike to the Market" map for the Crescent City Farmers market this summer. Keep posted and look for it around later July or August!

Cheap bicycle rentals has finally come to New Orleans

Zac from NolaBikes (mobile bike repairs) is expanding his business and is now offering bikes for rent for only $10 a day. So now all of you can stop e-mailing me about where to rent a bike really cheap because you can just call Zac now instead! Problem solved!

Also, all of you who don't have a bike for the Bicycle Second Line this Saturday can rent one from Zac and still come out for the fun!

From Zac:

Tired of walking? Only $10 a day.

Come by the place right off broadway to select the right bike for your or call and have one dropped off to you anywhere- free deliveries to Audubon Park.

Use your credit card to avoid a cash deposit.

Absolutely the simplest and most convenient way to rent a bike.

If interested please call,

Thanks,

Zac
917.517.6291
www.nolabikes.com
^^

specializing in mobile repairs for the uptown/campus area.

Annnual Bike Removal at Tulane happening May 19-20 - DON'T LEAVE YOUR BIKE ON CAMPUS THOSE NIGHTS

Get your bike off campus after commencement, unless you want the TUPD to take it off your hands. I'm not sure if UNO, Loyola, Dillard, or Xavier do anything similar, but you might want to check just to be sure.

From Tulane (via a friend's e-mail):

Annually, following Commencement, police officers on the uptown campus remove bicycles locked to fixed objects (bicycle racks, handrails, trees, etc.). Abandoned bicycles take up valuable space on campus bicycle racks, and they tend to attract an unsavory element to campus. This year, bicycle removal will occur over a two-night period, May 19-20. Removal is accomplished between the hours of 8 p.m. and 6 a.m.

Faculty, staff and students commuting to campus by bicycle should not allow their bicycle to remain on campus during the dates and times designated for removal. Students residing in uptown residence halls will be allowed to secure their bicycles in their residence hall rooms during the dates and times noted for removal.

Tulane University Police Department

Bicycle Second Line

The Metro Bicycle Coalition will be hosting New Orleans' Inaugural Bicycle Second Line on Saturday, May 9. The event will start at 10:30am from Washington Square Park (Frenchmen & Royal).

Stops along the way include:

• Global Green, to see sustainable affordable housing in Holy Cross
• Lafitte Corridor to hear about the progress of the Greenway, and
• City Park for an after party

For more info got to www.mbcnola.org

Where are these international NolaCycle.com visitors coming from?

So I've noticed in the last couple of days there have been a lot of visitors from Europe and some from South America on my blog. The "FEEDJIT" blog traffic widget I had on there didn't tell me where you all were coming from (as in what website you visited before you visited here) because I thought that was a little silly and stalkerish, but now I'm curious. I mean, shoot, my project isn't even done yet! I should be working on the map right now, but instead I'm being a lazy before I have to drive 4 hours to Detroit to pick up a sweeeet mountain bike (I'll post pictures when I bring it home! Pictures of me tearin' the horse trails at Mom & Dad's).

So I upgraded to the fancier FEEDJIT blog traffic widget that will tell me what hip Europian bike blog is leading you to me. I think I'll e-mail that blog author a virtual high-five for promoting my project!

Anyway, I'm really super super flattered that people around the world have now heard about NolaCycle!!!! A couple of month's a ago a coworker told me he overheard someone mention my project at a wedding reception in Houston. I thought that was really awesome. I mean, Houston, shoot, that's like 5 hours from New Orleans! But France, Peru, Sweden - that's a way bigger deal than Texas (sorry Texas, but you're really not exotic). Keep those international visits coming!

And if you're planning a trip to New Orleans and were hoping my map was finished, you can still e-mail any of the team members - Lauren@nolacycle.com, Dan@nolacycle.com, Tom@nolacycle.com - and ask us for advice on getting around by bike.

Bicycle Rolling Stop Animation - Idaho Stop Law

Check out Urban Velo's post about a new proposed bike law in Oregon based on a law that now exists in Idaho. It allows cyclists to treat stop signs as yield signs, so they don't have to loose momentum by coming to a complete stop when the intersection is clear. But it does continue to make "flying through a stop sign" illegal and increases the fine.

In New Orleans, I'm pretty sure 95% of us already treat stop signs as yield signs, but there are a good 5% or so percent that don't stop or yield - they just fly right through causing dangerous situations for themselves, drivers, and pedestrians. Perhaps legalizing rolling stops for cyclists and taking on a strong public advertising campaign to explain the law would help with the situation. Apparently, the rolling stop law has worked really well in Idaho and the state overall has a very good bike safety record.

Bicycle Rolling Stop Animation - Idaho Stop Law


Bicycles, Rolling Stops, and the Idaho Stop from Spencer Boomhower on Vimeo.

Tour de Lis ride raise money for cancer research/support - Saturday on the Lakefront

This Saturday, April 18th, the Tour de Lis ride is taking place on the New Orleans lakefront. If you haven't heard about this ride before, it happens every year and is open to cyclists of all ages and ability levels. It's not a race, but ride to raise money and awareness. Last year they raised $165,000 that went to organizations helping cancer victims and their families with treatment, fiancial assistance, support, education, and research.

Pre-registration closed today at 1 (sorry I didn't post this sooner), but if you show up before the ride on Saturday, you can donate $50 to participate. Ride begins at 8 am and ends at noon.

Event Features

• A ten-mile loop on picturesque New Orleans Lakeshore Drive
• Police support
• Food, snacks and beverages
• Free bike support
• Goody bags for riders
• A New Orleans party atmosphere
• Fundraising awards

Ride one loop, one hour, or the whole day-- solo or on a team! Individual and team participation is encouraged as participants can ride the entire time, part of the time or recruit and have a team relay. It’s a ride for a cause – not a race.

Please Note:

• No minimum fundraising required.
• All donations are greatly appreciated.
• All cyclists must be at least 12 years of age
• All cyclists must wear a bike helmet
• Baby seats and child carriers attached to bikes are not permitted
• Tour de Lis begins and ends at 8000 Lakeshore Drive near Landry's Restaurant

New Metro Bike Coalition Website - I'm super late updating our link!

If you haven't checked it out yet, Metro Bike Coalition has a new website with a new website address - http://www.mbcnola.org

It's all pretty, shiny, and new! Check it out and update your links/bookmarks!

Transport for NOLA - new transit advocacy group getting started in New Orleans

Straight from my e-mail inbox to your computer screen - It's finally happening! People have come together to make a multi-modal transportation advocacy group for New Orleans! We're talking bikes, buses, light rail, streetcars, pedestrians, unicycles, hovercrafts, mules & horses (alright, maybe not too many horses because biking through poo is no fun).

But seriously, folks, Transportation Alternative in NYC has made a huge impact on improving mass transit and bicycle and pedestrian amenities and advocating for the people of the city who decide not to drive. Transport NOLA is bringing that multi-modal, "we're all in this together," model of advocacy to New Orleans. Transport NOLA is starting their campaign by focusing on rail improvements, especially pushing for a light rail system that will serve the entire city and just not a handful of neighborhoods like our current streetcar system. Check out the "Where" section and you'll see where bike and pedestrian facilities come into play too. (I'm not too crazy about this "bike lane in the middle of streetcar tracks" idea in the Tulane Station model, but maybe with modern streetcars, you and do it up so wheels don't get caught. I'll look into this and make sure a bunch of poorly designed bike lanes don't end up all over the city.)

I knew this was brewin', but I was really surprised to see how quickly this has come together. The website looks great and they already have some concept designs online!

The kick-off event is THIS FRIDAY at the Rusty Nail (1100 Constance St in the Warehouse District a few blocks south of Lee Circle) from 6-9 pm.

I, of course, will not be there due to this "you have to be in Cincinnati to take classes"/"you're too close to graduation to transfer" situation, but you should really go and get involved. This will be an excellent opportunity to create a forum in which all of us (advocates and users are various non-personal motor vehicle transportation modes) can come together, and work together, to improve the city and region.