GIVE 50 DOLLARS AND A KID GETS A BICYCLE FOR CHRISTMAS

by

The New Orleans Police Department’s First District is asking for donations of $50 to purchase bicycles for the Pre-K, Kindergarten and 1st grade students at Phyllis Wheatley Community School.

This is the 5th year N.O.P.D.’s First District is giving bikes to school kids. A different school is chosen each year. This year, the bikes will go to students at Phyllis Wheatley Community School at 2300 Dumaine Street.

Most of the students at Phyllis Wheatley are very needy (but not all). The School Resource Officer got a head count of the Pre-K, Kindergarten and First Graders; approximately 200 students need bicycles.

Blank check with false numbers in a blue tone.

If you have any questions or would like to donate a check for 50 dollars, please do not hesitate to call Detective Kenneth Gill at (504) 658-6398 or email Detective Gill at kgill@nola.gov

10 am MARDI GRAS DAY

by

 

palswalktoqtr

Meet at Pal’s Lounge at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, February 9, 2016

Pal’s Lounge is located at 949 North Rendon in Faubourg St. John.moonpie

There will be moon pies, shopping carts full of beer along with kings, queens and music.

pbrholdParade with the Pal’s Lounge revelers as they cross the Magnolia Bridge (by Cabrini High School) then head on over to Pearl Wine, Holy Ground, Bayou Beer Garden then back to Pal’s.

 

palsloungebikes

Pal’s Lounge will open at 8 a.m. for the Krewe of Bikeus Parade

From the Krewe of Bikeus press page…  It is early in the morning and the Krewe of Bike-us assembles in mid-city in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Their bicycles serve as their floats and their way to get around barricades set up to curtail traffic on the streets of New Orleans. Bloody Marys, vodka cranberries and screwdrivers are part of the breakfast buffet of fun at Pal’s Lounge, a neighborhood institution owned in part by the son of Oscar winner Helen Miren.

While most Mardi Gras krewes roll thru the streets of New Orleans, this is no ordinary parade. The pedal-powered members are one of numerous unsanctioned parade organizations that add to the beauty and local color of Mardi Gras. The group got its start in 2002 when a group of avid bicyclists discovered that two wheels are better than one when it comes to the jam-packed streets of Fat Tuesday.

The group formed as an efficient way to get around during the day. They thank the scarcity of parking spots along routes for its conception.

“People see the dozens of members in costumes rolling down the street and they assume it’s a real parade and start cheering and yelling for beads,” says Krewe of Bikeus founder [sic – not really] Rob Savoy.

Each year the group of friends and friends of friends gather in Faubourg St. John.  The revelers cycle along a ceremonial path Uptown to catch the Zulu parade before making their way to the French Quarter for the rest of the day. The group has grown into one of the most recognized unrecognized groups of Mardi Gras.

 

 

 

 

beerfloat

 

NOLA BIKE TO WORK DAY

by

nola-bike2work-day4web

NOLA Bike to Work Day is Tuesday, April 8th. 

Participate in the day’s free events by registering here, ( register and you might win a free bike!) .   Show your support for safe, fun, easy bicycling in New Orleans!   As part of the day’s events, there will be neighborhood group rides meeting at different locations around town.
The MidCity Neighborhood Ride will meet at Bayou St. John and Orleans Ave at 7 am for free PJs coffee before riding down to Lafayette Square as a group.
For more information, contact Mary Matthews |  mary@bikeeasy.org

nolabikeday1nolabikeday2nolabikeday3

Bikes, Bayou and Big Fun

by

courtesy http://504ward.com/

Bicycle Second Line LogoMe oh my oh, but we love Bayou Boogaloo. Y’all ever been? Basically shrink Jazzfest, remove the out-of-towners, add the outdoor atmosphere of the Fly, but maintain the made-in-the Mid-City mentality, and then toss your wallet in the air cuz it’s free, letting anyone and everyone toss back beer and New Orleans’ best food as Bayou breezes keep the party cool while local musicians drop it like it’s hot.

This is a true story.

What more do you need to know? Well for starters, how to get there. Our recommendation? The Bicycle Second Line. Not a practiced pedaler? No worries. Like your favorite costume closet tutu, this 11 mile route is one size fits all: You’ll cruise at an easy 7-10mph pace, with rest stops at Rouses and the Back Street Cultural Museum.

Oh, and did we mention the Bone Tone Brass Band will ride you there with blood-pumping, brass-beating bike-escorting tunes? Bicycle Second Line is organized by Bike Easy, whose mission is simple: make biking in New Orleans easy, safe, and fun.

Website:
Bicycle Second Line

Related Articles:
 Bayou Boogaloo Music Line Up
Bike Easy Membership

Stuff To Know

Date
Sun, May 19, 11am – 1pm
Address
Starts at Jefferson Davis & Lafitte; Route map here

504ward Tips
The ride is free for members. Not a member? Sign up today for just $20/year for students or $35 for individuals.

Best part of riding the Second Line? When you get where you’re going, you’ll have dozens of new friends with whom to fest the day away.

Why try bike? Just ask anyone who’s ever had the satisfaction of breezing by stalled cars in the Quarter or at Mardi Gras…

BIKE SHARE PROGRAM

by

BIKE-SHAREArticle courtesy NOLA DEFENDER. Click on the bikes for more.

NOLA has buses, and plans for streetcar expansion are underway. Nonetheless, with less than 1400 cabs in a city of more than 360,000, it’s hard to get around in the Crescent City. Thanks to Bike Easy, the EPA, and city officials, public transportation could soon become a little easier with a new bike share program. The initiative is still in its infancy, but the first step marks a major jump for New Orleans as she makes plans to join the ranks of 22 other major American cities.

Next time you see a drunken tourist with a hand grenade, put on a friendly face. He or she could be subsidizing cheap, eco-friendly public transportation for us locals. Over Super Bowl weekend, Bike Easy and the City teamed up to implement a weekend-long bike share program that served over 500 people in five days. Under the long term bike share plan, tourists will be able to buy a $5 pass that will allow them to use their bike for 30 minutes at a time for free.

NoDef spoke to Bike Easy Director Jamie Wine about the plans. “There are two different fees, one for residents and one for tourists,” explained Wine. “The tourists are subsidizing the residents’ use of the system.”

A local can buy an annual pass for $65-$85, the cost is still to be determined. “It’s less than the cost to ride the bus,” said Wine.

Wine said the program fulfills their nonprofit’s core goals.

“That’s the thing about biking, it touches many different pieces. There are four major pieces [in Bike Easy’s philosophy]. Transportation equity, environmental improvement, traffic congestion reduction, and physical activity,” said Wine.

The program is already in effect in a number of American and European cities. One of the federal funds New Orleans may be able to tap is the Congestion Mitigation Air Quality (CMAQ). For years, New Orleans’ air quality was actually too good to receive such a subsidy. However, the feds upped their standards for clean air, and New Orleans is now eligible.

“There are less dirty standards now, so New Orleans might be able to qualify for CMAQ money,” explained Wine.

The city has already received what is called a “Technical Assistance Grant,” from the EPA. Wine clarified that the grant is “not money. They bring experts in to walk the city through the process. At this point the number of kiosks is not determined yet.”

The overall cost of the “phase one” system will total an estimated $1.5 million, which is cheap for public transportation systems. Wine explained that said amount would cover “300 yards of highway,” and said, “for three city buses, you could have 200 bicycles.”

Bike advocacy carries a lot of environmentally friendly lagniappe, but the bike share program’s universal selling point is its economic sustainability. Although the initial cost sounds substantial, the program will pay for itself in the long run. “No other type of public transportation will actually make money,” said Wine.

The first set of bike kiosks will be placed somewhere downtown. Wine explained that the “core” is established by determining “the biggest daytime population.” Once that location begins to make money, other bike share sets will be built in various locations across New Orleans.

Wine thanked the City of New Orleans for pedaling up to the plate. “The thing about this that’s so great is that it indicates that the The City is on board. They’re doing a really great job with this,” said Wine. The Director doesn’t know when the Bike Share program will go into effect. However, he said 2014 is a realistic estimate.

http://www.noladefender.com/content/new-orl34eans-test-d78riving-bike-share-program

Build a Bike and Make a Difference

by

RESTORE | RENEW | RECYCLE


The New Orleans Community Bike Project exists to promote the use of bicycles and other human-powered transportation; to assist all bicyclists in learning to maintain their vehicles; to provide a space for sharing community resources and fostering community education; and to promote the reuse of materials that might otherwise be thrown away.

Plan B is a community-run bike project that functions as an open workspace for bicycle building and repair. The workspace makes an array of professional bike tools available for use to the public for free while volunteers offer free help and instruction in bike repair. The bike project makes donated parts available at low cost. Additionally, complete used bikes are also available at reasonable, fair-market prices. All of the proceeds from sales are used to keep the project running and allow us to offer free stand time, tool library use, and bike education programs to the general public.

Shop: 1024 Elysian Fields | New Orleans, LA 70116
Phone: 504-272-PBNO (7266)
Email: nolabikeproject@gmail.com

Click on the bike to learn more.

***


2239 Piety St in the Upper 9th Ward | New Orleans
(at the corner of Piety and N Tonti)

RUBARB is an all volunteer run space, which means no bosses, no workers and no pay. We all participate in making the space, tools and parts organized and accessible, and any money that is received goes toward tools and parts and all other basic needs of the shop. Our primary goal is to provide adequate tools and competent help to meet the needs of those who desire to build and repair bikes. RUBARB is an educational space where we all can share and learn from each other’s skills and experiences.

To meet these goals we currently offer:

Ways to build or get your own bike – start with a bike that needs a little repairing and a donation for all the needed parts and a person can finish the bike and make it their own. Work trades are also a welcomed way to get a bike and contribute to the shop. We also have a few bikes ready to ride, which we ask a $40 – $80 contribution for.

the EARN-A-BIKE program – after completing a series of 4 steps, which include learning basic maintenance and bike building skills, youth earn bikes that they take home with them.

step #1: fixing a flat. this is a basic skill that every bike owner should be able to do! kids learn to patch a punctured tube and should then be able to fix their own if experiencing a flat on their bikes.

step #2: overhauling a wheel. this step requires the earn-a-biker to take apart a wheel, regrease it, and put it back together. not only does overhauling a wheel make it ride smoother and last longer, but kids get a chance to see what’s inside a hub, how it works, and how it goes together.

step #3: overhauling a bike. this is the time when kids pick out a bike to earn and begin working on it. some of our bikes are in various states of disrepair, so s/he may not only be overhauling the bottom bracket and wheels, but adjusting the headsets and brakes and piecing together parts such as handlebars and seats.

step #4: help beautify RUBARB. in this final step, the earn-a-bike participant does something to help brighten, organize, or simply make the shop a more enjoyable space. so far kids have made t-shirts, painted a mural, created a sculpture out of bike parts, organized our tubes, and painted ornaments for our tree made out of rims.

download the earn-a-bike flyer here