New Orleans may be finally coming of age, transportation-wise. The new Rampart Street streetcar should be open soon, and everyone has noticed the inclusion of bike lanes on many of the city’s streets. New Orleans is a fantastic place to ride a bike—it’s certainly a nice, flat roadway (albeit with just a few potholes). I’d compare the city proper with a city like Amsterdam–where virtually everyone rides a bike to do their business, have fun and commute to work. There are even bike garages (no motor vehicles allowed). In fact, biking is so ubiquitous in Amsterdam that they’re running out of space to park bicycles.

But local drivers need to be paying more attention to the growing numbers of bikers all over the city. There have been several tragic accidents with bicyclists that could have been avoided.

Then again, there are the idiot bicyclists who ride with no helmets, earbuds in, texting as they ride, who are, shall we say, “asking for it.” They make the roads unsafe for them, for pedestrians and drivers too.

OffBeat supports BikeEasy.org,  a non-profit whose “mission is simple. We make bicycle riding in New Orleans easy,  safe, and fun.” Finally!

Visit their website to discover the programs they are working on. In coming weeks, we’ll be working more with BikeEasy to help them spread the word about safe, fun biking in New Orleans for everyone.

How do you use your bike? Do you use it to patronize evening events? Or do you use your car or public transportation?

Take our poll and get a chance to win tickets to an upcoming show at the Howlin’ Wolf: If These Trees Could Talk plus Driftoff and Spotlights, September 15. Plus the winner, chosen at random, will also get two gift certificates to Dat Dog!