Bicycling was popular in 1890's New Orleans

      In the late 19th century bicycling was a huge recreational activity in the U.S. attracting hundreds of thousands of the middle and upper class to buy bicycles and learn to ride them.  And New Orleans was very much a part of the fad, says Dale A. Somers in his 1972 book, "Sports in New Orleans 1850-1900," published by Louisiana State University Press and available in area libraries.
     Velocipedes (the rider straddled a bar between two wheels and provided motive power by pushing of the ground with his feet) were being raced on shell roads on the city's outskirts as early as 1869.  Ordinaries, bicycles with tall front wheels, hence the name "highwheelers" arrived in the Crescent City around 1880 spawning the birth of the New Orleans Bicycle Club in 1880.  The club, composed mostly of "men of affairs of fairly high standing," built a spacious club house with a bowling alley on the corner of Prytania and Valance in 1889.
     But as in the rest of the nation, the appeal of riding highwheelers was limited to young, and wealthy (ordinaries could cost as much as $200) men who found the dangers of riding the big wheel fast part of cycling's appeal.
     Bicycle racing was the focus of the sport in New Orleans even with the introduction of the safety bicycle (rear wheel driven by a chain, wheels same size) in the 1880's. Riders with national standings raced in the Crescent City, sometimes drawing thousands of spectators.  A cement track was built at the intersection of Carrollton and Tulane.
     However bruising fights with the League of American Wheelmen, bicycle racings' sanctioning body at the time, over who was or was not a professional, racial segregation and Sunday bicycling, deflated interest in the sport in the city.   Somers reports that by 1892 cyclists had eschewed the racing scene and were (GASP!) using their "steel steeds" almost exclusively for necessary transportation, "contented to pedal to and from their places of business."
     Bicycling rebounded to a new peak of interest in the city around 1895 when news reports claimed the dozen or so bicycle dealers in New Orleans were selling as many as 5,000 bicycles in a three-month period.  The revival surpassed anything the city had witnessed before with some cycle clubs fielding 700 members.  The majority of the riders participated in "pleasure riding" defined as Sunday bicycle excursions to  Bay St. Louis, MS, Abita Springs, LA and Baton Rouge, LA and in the after-ride dances.
      Then, as now, not everyone was thrilled with bicyclists on the roadways.    There were instances of physical attacks of cyclists and times dogs were set upon riders in rural areas.  "Road hogs," carriage drivers who would not allow packs of riders to pass on narrow shell roads were a constant aggravation for cyclists of the day.
     In 1890  the state legislature recognized cyclist's right to the road conferring "the same rights on the public highways of this state as are prescribed by law in the cases of persons using carriages drawn by horses," but this did little to make riders welcome on public roads.  About this time laws were passed in New Orleans requiring cyclists to keep at least one hand on the handlebars at all times, stay to the right and use lanterns when riding at night.
     Cycling was a boon to the status of women who soon viewed the sport as "the symbol of emancipated womanhood."  Cycling was the catalyst for significant changes in what was socially allowable in dress and behavior for women in the 1890's.  Split skirts and "bloomers" became accepted female attire.  One New Orleans female offered this advice to be accepted socially when cycling; "...never, never chew gum, conduct yourself altogether in a ladylike manner and sensible people will not shake their heads in disapproval when you ride."
    Good advice in any age.

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Times-Picayune (NO) will stop daily publication in fall

"I read the news today oh boy"

     The Times-Picayune, New Orleans' only daily newspaper, will publish a printed paper only three days a week beginning this fall (2012).  The paper, which has been published daily since before the Civil War will continue to "publish" a daily edition everyday on line.
     This is shocking but not unexpected news.  For those of us who anchor our morning routine around the plop of the paper in our front yard each and every morning it has been painful to watch a New Orleans tradition wither away, shrinking pica by pica as advertising has slowly migrated to other, newer media draining the paper of its financial life's blood.
     Everyone in the city has a connection with the Times-Picayune and here's mine:  I used to write for it.  For 19 years as a freelancer I contributed columns on where to hike, bike and paddle within a reasonable drive of the city.  And some fitness columns.  The kind of thing this blog is about.
     I was not the only one with an outdoor orientation whose words appeared in the paper. Others would write about hunting and fishing and there was coverage of outdoorsy things in the paper's magazine section.  In recent years beat reporters would cover the painfully slow governmental process of developing bike trails, recreational areas and the establishment of new refuges and parks.
     I hope the content of the printed paper will thrive in a new home on line attracting new readers and new advertisers. I can only hope the online versions of the T-P in the fall will be better than what is offered daily now-the horrible nola.com.
     Oops, this is starting to sound like an obit and it's not.  The Times-Picayune is still here and even when seven days of "dead trees and ink," as a younger friend tactlessly refers to print journalism, is cut to three, a Times-Picayune will still be a daily paper.  Just "published"  in a different form-on line.  Dead trees to pixels.  I'll bet the trees are happy.

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St. Tammany (LA) blueway proposed

     A plan to promote three St. Tammany parish (LA) rivers as blueways--water recreation trails--was presented to the Bayou Haystackers Paddling Club, a group of canoe and kayak enthusiasts from across south Louisiana meeting in Hammond (LA) Wednesday night.
     Part of the plan encourages landowners along portions of three streams--the Bogue Falaya, the Tchefuncte and Abita rivers--to preserve the riparian environment with conservation easements or outright land donations, said Kathleen W. Stites, a landscape architect and acting executive director of the Land Trust for Southeast Louisiana.
     Conservation easements can result in significant tax benefits through reduced income or estate taxes, Stites said.
     BHPC members, many of them in the past having paddled the rivers to be designated water trails, questioned Stites closely about increasing access to the streams and the availability of parking at established launches.  Conflicts between paddlers and speeding motorboats on the wide rivers were discussed.
     Stites said she is seeking grant money for maps and mileposts along the blueway and is hoping for a big turnout by paddlers in support of the blueway when she will make a presentation at a meeting of the Covington City Council.

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Using the bicycle racks on a bus in New Orleans

This post is about using the bicycle racks on the buses in New Orleans and Jefferson Parish.  It is an expansion of what appeared with the bicycle parking at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival PRESENTED by Shell.

    
     There is no additional fare to use the bicycle racks on the front of New Orleans Regional Transit Authority buses ($1.25) or the JeT buses ($1.50) in Jefferson Parish.  And permits are no longer required on either system to use the racks.  Streetcars in Orleans Parish do not carry bicycles.
     At the RTA site, www.NORTA.com, info can be found on schedules and fares.  Also there is a verbal description on how to use the bicycle racks on their buses but no pictures or illustrations.  (This may change soon.)   I have not redone the RTA text but have included my own take on how to look like a transit pro the very first time you put your bicycle on a bus bike rack.  To make it easier for a bike rack newbie, here are a couple of "high quality" illustrations on how the bike is mounted on the rack.
      Let's go over what happens.  Here comes the bus.  You are standing at the stop on the curb.  The bus stops.  Roll the bike to the front of the bus.  If the rack is not down, that is, it is not open and a bike is not in it already, grasp the latch at the top of the rack, unlatch it and open the rack.  Stand back a little bit and lean toward the bus to reach the latch on the rack.  If you don't you may find the rack will hit you and not fully open until you and your bike move back.
     The rack is now down in the open position.  Try to make eye contact with the driver to get some feedback as to which tray the operator wants the bike placed in.  Some bus operators like the bike in the tray farthest from the bus front, some like it in the tray closest to the bus. Lift the bike up and place it in the tray. Using the tray farthest from the bus means the front wheel must be facing to the right-facing the bus your right.  Using the tray closest to the bus means the front wheel must face to the left-facing the bus your left. If you are using the tray farthest from the bus you will be holding the oily part of the bike, the chain and chain ring, near you so be careful you do not "tattoo" yourself with black grease putting your bicycle on the rack.  Got HandiWipes? 
     Take the metal arm with the hook at the end from near the bottom of the tray pull the spring-loaded hook out and hook it over the front tire at about 2 o'clock.  Make sure it makes good contact with the tire.  Do not place the hook close to the fork or over fenders.  Bring your helmet with you onto the bus and anything else you think might blow or jiggle off the front of a bus cruising at up to 35-miles per hour on a bumpy street.
     This ritual is a little easier if there are two people: one holds the bikes as the other loads them.  Solo cyclists will have to hold the bike up while lowering the rack and after the trip is over, hold the bike up while restoring it to its upright position.  As you approach your stop ask the driver for a little time to get your bike off the rack.

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Camping at Grand Isle SP in Louisiana

 
REVISED FEBRUARY 8, 2013
     Since hurricane Isaac last year, camping on the beach at Grand Isle State Park, in Grand Isle, LA has been prohibited because of a persistant sand errosion problem at the beach.  The sand is now being replaced and beach camping is set to reopen April 1, 2013, said Jacques Berry, communication director for Louisiana Lieutenant Governor Jay Dardenne.
     The full service (water, electricity) campsites behind the dunes, reopened shortly after the storm and are open now.
      All camping at Grand Isle SP is reservation only.  You can get a site if you drive up and one is open but you must pay the $6 reservation fee required of all walk-ups camping in Louisiana State Parks.  Developed sites are $28 per night, in season, which is now through October.  Add the pay-once-per-visit $6 reservation fee to this.  The telephone number of the fee station at the entrance to Grand Isle is: 985.787.2559.  The camping reservation number is 1-877-226-7652.
     Driving directions: Once on the island, stay on LA 1 and continue to drive east,past most of everything, almost but not quite to the eastern end of the island.  There LA 1 veers to the left.  You continue straight on Admiral Craik Dr.  The entrance to the park in on your right, the side the beach is on.  Entrance fee for day use is $1.
     A note to primitive campers, when the camping on the beach is permitted again: there is no driving on the beach so all your camping gear must be hauled from the parking lot, over the levee to the beach camping site-the closest site being about 800 feet from the parking lot.  Use whatever you want to haul your gear, carts, wagons, whatever, just no driving on the beach.
     Here is the contact information.  The telephone number for camping reservations is 1.877.226.7652.  The website for the park is grandisle@crt.la.gov.  The Facebook address is www.facebook.com/grandislestatepark.
     The park offers lots to do for day trippers.  There is sun bathing on the khaki colored sand on the beach and swimming is permitted in the Gulf of Mexico though some of the beach is closed to swimming.  Watch the signs. There are no lifeguards.   There are bathhouses and outdoor showers to wash off the sand.  No glass containers in the park at all, not just no glass on the beaches.  No pets allowed on the beach and in the buildings.
     The 150 acre park is largely salt water marsh; a tidal wetland growing in salty water.  A trail, nearly three miles long, winds through the marsh for a close up view of some of the 300 bird species that live or pass through the park.  The viewing tower offering sweeping views of the beach, the marsh at the park and Barataria Pass has been rebuilt since hurricane Katrina and is open.
     The beaches on the seven mile long island are checked every day for remaining traces of oil from the BP spill two years ago and none have been found recently, say the folks living on the island.

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New paint on an old sign on Bayou St. John

     Seeing that the paint on two historic markers along Bayou St. John (New Orleans) had faded, new Faubourg St. John resident Lynell French Marianetti volunteered herself to refresh the venerable markers.  She said painting the raised white letters carefully was, at times, tedious but the recently retired CPA added that was the kind of task she is good at doing.  The markers, this one at Wisner Ave. and City Park Ave. and another commemorating the portage near De Soto St. connecting the bayou to the the French Quarter, were installed more than 40 years ago and may never have been repainted, she said.

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Bicycle to Breakfast in Algiers (New Orleans, LA)

   

 

WOULD YOU LIKE A LITTLE LIVE MUSIC WITH YOUR SUNDAY COFFEE?

 

      A long bicycle ride, connecting all of the great bicycle paths in New Orleans was to be the last installment of the three things to do in the outdoors when not at Jazz Fest. (Hiking in City Park was Monday and paddling Bayou St. John was yesterday.)  But my first stop this morning,  tout de suite, a coffee shop and cafe in Algiers, put an end to any idea of a long day in the saddle.

    Like the surrounding Old Algiers Historic District the place was just so relaxing.  A  mile (as the crow flies) and a wide river away from the busy French Quarter, tout de suite is as local as they come-the kind of place where they really do know your name.

      It's homey inside and out.  Plenty of potted plants, some blooming, alternating with wrought iron tables on the outside and lots of wood, bare and otherwise and ceiling fans on the inside. On the walls local artists hang their works for sale.   Need something to read?  Take your pick from books in the large bookcase.  Free wifi too.  The ten or so tables are topped with preserved 80's editions of the Times-Picayune newspaper.

     Sundays has live music, beginning at 9 a.m.  The players draw big crowds so finish your ride before nine if you want breakfast right away and a place to sit down.  One bicycle rack on Alix has room for two bikes.  There is no room for bicycles on porches cramped with tables and plants. 

     The coffee was good-certified fair trade and organic-but it is the food that is worth the trip.  Especially breakfast.  Which is just the meal a hungry cyclist, who skipped breakfast to train, will be craving.  Choose among tout de suite's "Signature" breakfasts, using native foods such as crawfish ettouffe, boudin, sauce piquant, cheddar grits cakes, almond crusted brioche and Steen's Cane Syrup.  Try the light breakfasts, with fat-free Greek yogurt, avocado spread, crumbled feta, steel cut organic Irish oatmeal, bagels and lox and cream cheese.  Or, last but not least, the traditional breakfast, omelets, smoked bacon or center cut bone-in ham, pancakes (buttermilk and sweet potato), and biscuits, and fruit and a wide assortment of pastry may hit your spot. Breakfast entrees are $9-$13, and for lunch, salads are $8-$9 and panini sandwiches served with a side dish are $8 and $9.

     Here is the plan.  Wake up and get on your bike.  No breakfast, no reading the paper first, no big cups of coffee.  (Small cup OK)  Get started early, soon as it is light enough to ride to beat morning church traffic and take advantage of cooler temps.  Those on the east bank plan your route so you end up at the Canal St. ferry.  The river and the city are so beautiful in the very early morning.  After the ferry crossing, ride the half mile or so to tout de suite and celebrate.

STUFF TO KNOW

     tout de suite, 347 Verret St., Algiers at the corner of Verret St. and Alix.  Phone 504.362.2264.  Open 7 a.m- 7 p.m. seven days a week.  Live music Sunday mornings beginning at 9 a.m.  About .4 of a mile from the ferry landing.

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