NEW ORLEANS — Entergy Corporation and Bike Easy will host the 7th Annual NOLA Bike to Work Day on Wednesday, April 11 from 7:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. Bike Trains will depart from multiple locations around the city and convene at Duncan Plaza. Participants will also enjoy complimentary breakfast and snacks, giveaways, community yoga and bike repairs.
NOLA Bike to Work Day celebrates the biking infrastructure and community here in New Orleans in the midst of the Bike Easy Challenge — a free, month-long community-wide challenge throughout April for individuals and colleagues to experience the joys and benefits of biking. The challenge features prizes generously donated by supporters and bike friendly businesses across the Greater New Orleans region.
“It’s wonderful to see how the city has embraced bicycling through community events like Bike to Work Day, which is now in its 7th year and has expanded to a month-long challenge,” said Patty Riddlebarger, director of corporate social responsibility with Entergy. “Entergy is committed to giving back to the communities we serve. One way we have done that in New Orleans is by investing in the city’s biking infrastructure and ongoing transformation to become more bike-friendly. Within the last 13 years, New Orleans has made leaps and bounds towards bike friendliness, going from a mere 11 miles of bike paths in 2005 to boasting a growing network of 130 miles in 2018.”
Scheduled NOLA Bike to Work Day events include the following:
7 – 7:30 a.m.: Bike Trains
Those who work in the CBD can join experienced riders at strategically placed Neighborhood Bike Trains throughout Orleans Parish to ride together downtown. The Bike Trains will gather at 7:00 AM for free coffee, neighborhood camaraderie and check-in. The trains will leave the meetups at 7:30 AM to be at Duncan Plaza around 8:00 AM.
Bike Train locations include: Old Metairie (Royal Blend Coffee & Tea); Algiers (Ferry Terminal); Gentilly (Daddy’s Donuts); Mid-City (Lafitte Greenway circle at Jefferson Davis); Uptown (HEY! Café); Bywater (Bywater Bakery); 7th Ward (Dashing Bicycles).
Schedule of events:
8 – 9 a.m.: Morning Meet Up For All Riders
Duncan Plaza (Near City Hall, on the corner of Perdido and Loyola)
Riders will stop by Duncan Plaza on their way to work for complimentary snacks, giveaways and bike tune-ups.
8:15 – 8:30 a.m.: Press Announcement
Duncan Plaza (Near City Hall, on the corner of Perdido and Loyola)
Dignitaries and community members will gather to celebrate the city’s thriving bike culture and address how New Orleans is continuing to reimagine biking infrastructure.
NOLA Bike to Work Day is FREE and anyone with a bike can participate. Register online here. The event is part of the Bike Easy Challenge (throughout April). For more information about the challenge or to register, visit lovetoride.net/bikeeasy or download the Love to Ride App.
– by Alexa Harrison, associate news editor