A Wider Berth?

Photo courtesy of Unity Finsmith

So I do not ride my bike everywhere... I'd love to say I do, but I don't.
I have a bike that a girl half my size gave to me, and it is not the most comfortable thing in the world to get around on. I am 6'8 and it is made for 4'6!

I am saving up some money though... I want to get a nice commuter bike that looks like an old school beach cruiser (anyone got any ideas?).

Now, I did not start this blog to share discursive dreams of mine with a small audience. I started this blog to address various issues in Shreveport, LA that need be dealt with...

If I was to get a new bike, you know the awesome one I mentioned a minute ago, I would more than likely be ran down from behind by '92 Lincoln Town Car. Or perhaps, I would bust one of the tires on an rooted-up section of sidewalk, or maybe the bike would be just fine... Maybe I would bust my head open on a low lying tree limb, as I try to navigate the sidewalks because, I am terrified of getting on Shreveport's streets with a bicycle!

Shreveport/ Bossier makes no concessions for bicyclist. Well, that is not entirely true... There is one section of South Highlands, on Creswell I think, where they painted a bicycle on the street! There is not a road in town, to my knowledge, that has been adjusted in anyway to make it safer for those of us who choose to pedal to work. Not only are the streets not safe, in many cases, the sidewalks are just as bad, or all together non-existent. All over town there are sections of sidewalk that have, what amount to ledges or cliffs, depending on whether you are coming or going. I have popped more than one tire on what appear to be symptoms of continental drift!

On the stretch of Fern that connects Pierremont Ave, to 70th St. there isn't a sidewalk at all, and the lane is barely big enough to accommodate an SUV. This is the path I have to take to work, and by path I actually mean a path. The path I have to carve out pedaling through the grassy median!

There is no reason why Shreveport shouldn't be more bike friendly. I know that Shreveporters are not as inclined to pedal to work, as say Boulderites are, but there are enough of us to warrant some accommodations... It doesn't have to be perfect, but surely we are worth at least some basic safety precautions! At a bare minimum there should be a damn sidewalk.

I mean, between all the people biking for sport in spandex uniforms, and those of us who bike as a means of travel, either by choice or circumstance, there should be enough people in Shreveport to put some pressure on local politicians. Surely we could get a bike lane, a wider lane, or at least a damn sidewalk...

So, let's start up a conversation about just how to do this... What are your thoughts? Simply submit them in the comment section below.