A Few Observations Resulting From Hosting Through Warmshowers, Part the Second (and Last . . . under this rubric)

As I mentioned in my previous entry, there's nothing like having guests from out of town to let one see one's own town with fresh eyes. Having nothing to lose, guests are free to say what they think and they do so willingly.

The thing I really like about this is that I get to 1) be surprised, 2) see things from a different angle, and 3) if I'm really lucky, gain a new appreciation for things I may have taken for granted. After a recent Warmshowers guest's stay I hit the trifecta!

Sirapon arrives in Baton Rouge.

I was fortunate enough to have Sirapon as a guest not too long ago (2013 October). She is a 54 year old Thai woman who had been on the road for three years when she arrived in Baton Rouge. Part of her travels had taken her to Germany where, among other things, she had taken the Danube Bicycle Path.

"So, what does that have to do with Baton Rouge, taking things for granted, and having my eyes opened by the perspective of a visitor?" you ask. Hang on . . . 

The Levee Path at South Boulevard, currently the 

ONLY authorized access point for bicyclists.

One of my four or five main routes to and from work is the Levee Path. It doesn't go far, currently about five miles total, and there is only one authorized access point downtown at South Boulevard. Whoever designed that access clearly never once had his or her ass on a saddle (but that's a topic for another day). Nonetheless, if one is willing to do a little UNauthorized riding it's easy enough to gain access to the Path elsewhere without dismounting.

Getting to the Levee Path from River Road where 

it becomes South Boulevard is a tricky maneuver 

at the best of times.

Once on the Path one finds oneself on a lovely fifteen-feet wide, three-lane asphalt track completely separated from motor vehicle traffic. That separation is not only horizontal but vertical as the Path in on top of the levee. Being up on top allows a rider to see the traffic below on River Road AND in the batture, though that traffic is largely avian and occasionally reptilian.

You can see the traffic from up here!

.

The batture is on the left in this image,

the River Road on the right

So I take this Levee Path some of the time to and from work, day in and day out, in the morning and the evening, rain or shine, hot or cold, whenever and whatever. After a while, being human, it becomes a routine - I know where the broken glass is most likely to be, where to watch for the pipe stubs on the bridge over the sewerage outflow pipes, where the down slope / up slope combinations are, and where I can change my route by getting off the Path at McKinley rather than continuing down to the Vet Med Trailhead. I can ride this route without paying attention and without appreciating how nice it is to be able to ride without paying attention.

Worse, it gives me a chance to see all the problems while becoming blind to the advantages. In other words, I begin to take this facility for granted.

Then . . . I have a guest who goes for a ride with me and I get knocked sideways by a casual comment they make.

Sirapon on the Levee Path.

In this case, Sirapon and I went for a bit of a ride-about so I could show her a few of what I think of as highlights of the city. Part of that is riding down to LSU to see if Mike the Tiger is out and awake and, if we're really, really lucky, walking around instead of just lying there beautiful but immobile.

We leave the house, turn on to Lafayette Street, take a look at the Old State Capitol, then get on the sidewalk at the pedestrian overpass by the LASM and work our way up the Labyrinth to the Levee Path. Yes, it's illegal to use that pedestrian / handicapped access but, hey, it beats getting off your bike on River Road to walk up the rotten railroad ties that serve as "stairs" at Florida Street or risk that intersection at South Boulevard / River Road shown above.

It was here that I learned Sirapon is blind in one eye. As you can imagine, that makes riding a loaded bicycle through a labyrinth somewhat more difficult. Hell, that makes riding a bicycle ANYWHERE more difficult.

Once we're up on the Levee Path and past the casino, Sirapon keeps saying, "This is so posh! Look at the lights and the benches. This is really posh!"

Then she hits me with the thing that got me to do a double-take of sorts. "I wish the path along the Danube had been this nice." Huh-WHAT? We have better infra than the Germans!?! Wha'?

 A small group riding the Levee Path following 

the last presentation at the 2013 

Smart Growth Summit.

Why, no, Officer, I came up the AUTHORIZED 

access. Why do you ask?

On an unpaved section of the Levee Path

looking at a bald eagle nest with adult

and juvenile eagles present.

Suddenly I'm seeing the Levee Path in a whole new light. Sure, it has its problems but, overall, we have a bicycle facility that rivals that of other, much more bicycle-friendly, cultures. And it's just getting better. With any luck, in the early months of 2014, the city-parish will begin actually moving dirt on the next seven-mile section of pavement that will take the path from Farr Park down to Ben Hur. And I understand there have been informal talks with the Casino to carry the pavement through their property - ON the levee - all the way to the Parish boundary with Iberville Parish.

The USS Kidd, in the fog as seen from the 

Levee Path. Where'd the Bridge go?

For that matter, where'd the River go? It's 

usually right there by the Paperclip!

At least there's half a bridge!

The City Pier in all its abandoned glory might 

as well be on the edge of a cliff instead of 

the bank of the Mississippi River.

Disappearing into the fog, it's still a great

bicycling facility!

A good thing getting better, that's what we have along the Mississippi River in Baton Rouge. Go for a ride and see what you can see!