Category
This is a guest blog post from Willis Rey, a Bike Easy April Challenge planning committee member, former Bike Easy board member, and lifelong biker. You can watch his video on his vision for better biking in New Orleans by clicking here.

The pandemic almost took away one of my greatest joys: biking.

Last year, at what became the last planning meeting for the Bike Easy April Challenge, I was determined to ride even more than I’d already been riding. However, after that meeting everything in the area was shut down. We all adjusted our lives.

Through all the changes of this past year, here’s one thing that hasn’t changed: riding a bike is my favorite activity. While I’ve adjusted how I ride, and with whom I ride, I still ride as much as I can.

April is less than a week away, and I’m going to ride even more for this year’s Bike Easy April Challenge. This pandemic has made it harder than ever to connect with the biking community, and celebrate all that biking does for the people of Greater New Orleans, especially this past year. So let’s take this opportunity to hop on a bike and get riding while staying connected virtually.

Will you join me in celebrating how much riding a bike has done for all of us this year by pre-registering for the Bike Easy April Challenge today?

I requested to have a stationary bike ride (mine’s in the photo to the right) included in the Bike Easy April Challenge. So for the entire month of April I rode the stationary bike and recorded each ride for the Bike Easy April Challenge. My first ride outside was May 1st of 2020, with my wife on the Marconi bike path.

I recently received my second COVID vaccine and I am feeling confident, but cautious, about riding more outside at the Wisner and Marconi bike paths for the 2021 Bike Easy April Challenge. My wife and I also like to ride in City Park at Big Lake and the Festival Grounds. 

We’ll keep an eye out for you, Elon, on those paths during the Bike Easy April Challenge, so we can wave at a safe distance. Until then, make sure to pre-register for this year’s Bike Easy April Challenge, let us know why you ride, and start planning your routes.

I’m so happy to be a part of this biking community with you, and can’t wait to virtually connect.