Indicator of healthy cities=

bicyclists.

Today, I got on my 7 speed Schwinn cruiser around 4:30 and headed to the lakefront. From my house, I can just go 3 blocks down Esplanade into City Park. Following the route to the Pan American stadium (not Tad Gormley), you can pick up the newish Wisner bike path. A note on City Park-it is finally revived, well probably only about 700 acres of its 1300, but those are really looking amazing. The big lake has been an exceptional public space that is used religiously by walkers, dogs and girl watchers. The Sculpture Garden is excellent and I am impressed with the redesign of the tennis courts. And the international feeling of the Pan Am area is heartening. and the natural areas that used to be its 3RD golf course are beautiful. I saw a girl reading on what used to be the middle of the course. But on to the bike path...



This is pleasant ride on most days, following Bayou St. John. about 6 miles...




Once you get to Robert E. Lee, you can just ride on the bike lane on the river side of REL, passing the still rebuilding LSU Ag Regional office.


When you get to Marconi, take a right to the lakefront, passing the Lake Vista bird sanctuary and paths in the front yards of the houses. The building arrangement of cul de sac streets back in the 1940s resulted in diagonal parks accessible to all homes. Homes face either lanes or parks and have kitchens facing the streets and living rooms fronting on the parks.


So you get to the lakefront and are supposed to find one-way traffic flowing east on the weekends, leaving the westbound lanes free for bicyclists. Of course, as always, drivers somehow miss the wrong way signs every block and one way traffic signs and have to be waved down to explain their error. And you see a police car sitting on the other side of the barricades watching cars blow by her with no movement at all. Explain please.

In any case, went to Landry's for a beer- food looked pitiful and very expensive. But the beer was very cold and the orange slice was nice in my Blue Moon draft.

On the way back, took Marconi to Harrison, as Marconi is supposed to be a shared lane on the curb lane but don't count on it, and don't try it if you don't have a rearview mirror on your bike to see behind you and wave cars over as they come up behind you. Everyone had a Hynes sticker on the back of their SUV as they sped around me.assholes.

So took Harrison into City Park,
passed the dog park where one dog raced me to the corner. He beat me to his triumph...

and home again. 20-24 miles or so, mostly off the road.