Cycling in and around the City (New Orleans, Shreveport: upper-class, apartments, mortgage)

[JWG223]

Originally Posted by Mwahfromtheheart

You know better than me. Like I said, I'm not a water person. I just go off of what I've heard years ago

However there have been alligators in the river.

Alligator Spotted in Red River Near Horseshoe Casino
Alligator Spotted on Red River!
574-pound Gator caught in Red River Parish | shreveporttimes.com | Shreveport Sports | Shreveporttimes

Yeah. I saw them skiing in caddo. Never a problem. Really they arent. Way more scared of you than you of them.

[Mwahfromtheheart]

Originally Posted by JWG223

Yeah. I saw them skiing in caddo. Never a problem. Really they arent. Way more scared of you than you of them.

Just be careful of any nests they have. They're very territorial over their nests.

[Lanyu]

Thanks for the responses

I guess in your case JWG223 the city is lacking something that you desire?

We can't cycle year round here as it gets cold but its something that we enjoy doing. I wouldn't necessarily move to somewhere specifically just to be able to cycle its more of a pastime as I would prefer to cycle than be sat infront of the TV. It's a shame though that if there are more nice days than bad that cycling to work isn't an option for fear of being hit. I take it you can't cycle on the sidewalk? I find that strange as apparently no-one walks in America anyway

If there isn't a lot else going on then water sports maybe the way forward a small boat to go up and down the river. We will have to asses the situation when we are there as it does look a bit wide in places. Are there day trips up and down the river?

[Mwahfromtheheart]

The weather isn't going to cooperate with you to use a bike to go to work. There may be 2 or 3 good months for weather out of the year in that area. The average high in January is in the 50s (but highs can get as low as in the 20s), and during the summer pretty much every day is going to be above 90 with humidity. It rains about 50" a year there as well. There aren't any trees to shade or protect you from rain along the roadways and everything is too spread out for a bike anyways. Plus there are pretty hilly areas in town.

It's illegal to ride a bike on the sidewalk in Shreveport, you have to ride them as close to the side of the road (if there's no bike lane ... which there more than likely wont be) as possible by law. Apparently riding a bike is more dangerous to pedestrians than cars are to cyclists. I'm not even gonna try to explain that one ...

You'll probably remember this post when you see how many overweight people there are in the area ....

The south in particular is horrible with transportation (because it costs money to run and the south is very conservative ... would be my guess). There are a few American cities that are very bike-friendly, and tend to be the older, more liberal East Coast cities (the coast tends to be flat).

Natchitoches is along the river. It's just an hour south and it sits on the river. I highly recommend it ... again Also, Louisiana has a HUGE amount of waterways in it, one of the most in the nation. There are lakes all over the place where you can rent a boat as well. The ocean is a day trip away (by car). The ecosystem in extreme South Louisiana is very interesting to say the least, and you can get to it by boat. Dunno if you could make it back in a day though if you're going by boat (it takes 3 hours by car to get to Lafayette). Plus Galveston (Houston area) has great beaches if that's your thing.

If you like water, I recommend driving to South Louisiana with your boat, or rent one. There are a few marina towns down there with a lot of charm. Look up Cypremount Point or Grand Isle or example. There are plenty more, but exploring can be fun and I don't wanna take that away from you

[hdwell]

The incidents with gators are practically nil. You really have to look hard to see one. They tend to stay away from people and urban life in this area.

Now Florida is a different story

There are some cycling clubs in the area. And there are quite a few cycle shops.

[JWG223]

Originally Posted by Lanyu

Thanks for the responses

I guess in your case JWG223 the city is lacking something that you desire?

We can't cycle year round here as it gets cold but its something that we enjoy doing. I wouldn't necessarily move to somewhere specifically just to be able to cycle its more of a pastime as I would prefer to cycle than be sat infront of the TV. It's a shame though that if there are more nice days than bad that cycling to work isn't an option for fear of being hit. I take it you can't cycle on the sidewalk? I find that strange as apparently no-one walks in America anyway

If there isn't a lot else going on then water sports maybe the way forward a small boat to go up and down the river. We will have to asses the situation when we are there as it does look a bit wide in places. Are there day trips up and down the river?

This city lacks good roads.
The crime is very high.
Racism is a way of life and people sadly tend to behave exactly as the negative stereotyping portrays them.
Education is poor.
It's extremely physically unhealthy.

It's not that shreveport lacks. It's that it's what it does have so much of that disgusts me.

[Mwahfromtheheart]

Originally Posted by JWG223

This city lacks good roads.
The crime is very high.
Racism is a way of life and people sadly tend to behave exactly as the negative stereotyping portrays them.
Education is poor.
It's extremely physically unhealthy.

It's not that shreveport lacks. It's that it's what it does have so much of that disgusts me.

To Lanyu, the racism is very bad there... please do not let that warp your view of the USA. We are not all like that.

[Lanyu]

Can you clarify what you mean when you say racism. Is it KKK or ignorance ?

[Mwahfromtheheart]

Originally Posted by Lanyu

Can you clarify what you mean when you say racism. Is it KKK or ignorance ?

Ignorance. Blacks will let a door shut in your face if you're walking into a store right behind them. Whites will come to you and openly tell you racist "jokes" without even knowing you. After so many years, I used to kind of dread going into gas stations or fast food restaurants and buying something because more than likely the counter or drive-thru would be ran by somebody black, and I could expect a go to hell look or terrible service. The whole area just reciprocates that horrible attitude... it's disgusting.

It's not like that everywhere though. Shreveport is hands down the worst about it. I moved to New Orleans and now I have plenty of black friends and I can crack jokes with them and not worry about if their friends are racist and not gonna accept me. And I don't hear nearly as much racist "jokes", or "I'm not racist but...." from caucasans either

[Lanyu]

Oh ok I class that as being rude lack of manners and common courtesy and a maturity issue.

If I get services like that from any business owner they probably won't see my face again.

Its going to be an interesting experience