John and I just got back from six days in New Orleans, attending the American Library Association 2001 Annual Conference. Thursday, day before the conference began, we rented bikes from Michael's Bicycles for $35 (plus $5 for helmet rental). We had the bikes for a 24 hours and took full advantage.We basically followed a bike map we found on Bikely. We began in Marigny at the bike store, through the French Quarter, Uptown, Garden District, Audubon Park, Midtown, City Park, up to Lake Pontchartrain, Lakeview, Bayou St. John, Treme, and back to our hotel, the Place D'Armes, in the French Quarter.
Highlights of the ride included a picnic lunch at Audubon Park (complete with 15 attending squirrels and three geese), wonderfully overcast skies but no rain, the Saint Louis No. 3 cemetery, and the many neighborhoods filled with New Orleans architecture.
That evening we decided to give the bikes a rest and walked to Bywater to eat at Elizabeth's Restaurant, a moderately-priced creole restaurant. We had some amazing fish, shrimp, sweet potato casserole, collards, sweet potato fries and the best corn muffins. So much food, we ate leftovers the next night.
Next morning, after checking in at the ALA Conference and opening up the International Visitor's Center, we headed down Magazine Street to a French Bakery, La Boulangerie at the corner of Magazine and Cadiz Street. Chocolate-almond croissant and another delicious goodie (name escapes me).
Many of the streets of New Orleans were perfect for the cruisers/city hybrids with front suspension-- meaning they had so many potholes, bumps, and dips as to make sure you were paying attention. No problems with traffic, motorists gave us room and respect. A fabulous way to see much of the New Orleans area, avoiding the headaches of driving a car and covering more ground than possible on foot.
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