Bicycle culture

Chainbreaker Bike Book By Shelly Jackson
The New Orleans Bicycle Book (circa 1983 by Louis Alvarez)
New Orleans Bicycles by Mary Richardson, Nicholas Costarides
Truckbike.com
Metrobicyclecoalition.org
www.nolacycle.org

so these are books I have seen and some sites I use regularly that focus on the 2 wheeled culture of the city. It seems we are gathering steam with streets being striped for bikes (thanks Jen, among others) and with the excellent bike map project headed by Lauren Sullivan bike map about to be printed it's a good time.
I would say that we need to find more ways to communicate to drivers that we share the road. I am always on the defensive as a rider, having been hit on St. Charles back in the early 1980s. The guy asked why I wasn't riding on the sidewalk. I threw my helmet at his windshield and cursed him but good. Felt better later as I was taking a cab home. And as a bicycle messenger in the 1990s, I kept myself alive by anticipating dumb moves from others. Sort of an everyday habit now. Maybe we need to have a project where we raise money to give out fluorescent stripes that say "another cyclist on the road" for helmets, or ask people to record a month's worth of rides so the city can see how many people ride regularly. Or maybe we all need to show up at MBC events.

But at the same time, let's not forget that we want to ride just because its fun. So, sometimes just get on your bike and cruise. A good place to do that is next week in Abita Springs. Come celebrate with your regional cyclists at a really fun 10-year old event.