Last weekend I went to Jazzfest in New Orleans and I’m still recovering. I had one hell of a weekend, and got a chance to see what biking is like in another city. Saturday and Sunday night I stayed with my friend Louis, who currently works for a county planning agency just outside New Orleans. Louis was a cyclist back in New York and both he and his sister often bike to work in New Orleans, despite the fact that there is only one on-street cycling lane in the entire city. There is also a lack of official bike parking, but as you see in this picture, people make good use of the poles that support the balconies in the French quarter. Even though the locking is not up to New York standards (usually only the frame was secured), I only saw one vandalized and abandoned bike while I was there.
New Orleans has great potential for bike commuting. It is even flatter than NY, the weather is better, and many people live close to where they work. The traffic is not oppressive and many streets are quiet, however the drivers seem to be completely oblivious to cyclists and pedestrians. When we passed a cyclist in a cab, the taxi driver remarked that many of his customers tell him to hit cyclists and curse as they pass. He was probably exaggerating, but there are no signs or road markings that tell drivers (or passengers) that cyclists have a right to the space. Seeing such a lack of bike and pedestrian planning made me appreciate the transformation that is going on here in New York, where new lanes and markings are being aggressively installed, and major crossroads are being turned over to bikes and pedestrians.
However, I was pleasantly surprised to see an abundance of gated and guarded bike parking at Jazzfest. Hundreds and hundreds of bikes were locked on racks at the entrance, giving cyclists a highly visible priority location. Unfortunately, we didn’t know about the bike parking on Saturday, and instead drove my friend’s 1976 BMW.
Jazzfest was amazing with dozens of regional and national acts performing on 12 stages spread across 145 acres. Perhaps my favorite part of the festival was the food. I ate nonstop from the diverse food carts that sell affordable small plates of Louisiana cuisine. As far as the music, my personal highlights were seeing Wilco for the first time on Saturday and discovering The Avett Brothers on Sunday.
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| The Avett Brothers |
Saturday night I was reminded of another reason why I love to bike. Bikes don’t stall.
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Unfortunately, my friend’s old beemer would not start after the show and had to be left behind. I was hoping we might bike on Sunday, but we opted for a cab, which was probably the right call given the ridiculous amount of food and beverage that we consumed. Fat, drunken biking just wasn’t in the cards this year.
I spent Monday in the French Quarter with my travel writer buddy Bruce, who hooked me up with an amazing breakfast at the original Brennan’s. Though I had promised myself a day of light eating after the indulgence of Jazzfest, I started Monday off with turtle soup, Oysters Benedict, Eggs New Orleans, and bananas foster (Brennan’s famous creation). Who can say ‘No’ when the food is just so damn good? After one more day/night of eating, drinking, and listening to great music, I returned somewhat exhausted to New York on Tuesday. I was optimistic that returning to New York and my biking lifestyle would help me drop those Jazzfest pounds, but after researching my next post, I’m no longer so sure….
Filed under: Biking around the world
