I’m working on finding a true cyclist to blog for Be Fit NOLA but I haven’t had much luck thus far.  However, in the meanwhile, I want to share the resources and information I have come across in relation to Cycling in New Orleans.  I have divided the information by Advocates – organization working to improve the cycling experience in New Orleans, Clubs – A place to find other cyclists and people to ride with and Providers – where to buy, rent or take a bicycle tour.

Advocates

The Metro Bicycle Coalition is a grassroots organization dedicated to improving commuting and recreational cycling conditions in and around New Orleans, Louisiana. MBC works to increase transportation choice, mobility, and infrastructure by establishing a safe network of bicycle lanes, paths and facilities, educating cyclists and drivers on safety and the rules of the road, and advocating at local, state and national levels for routine accommodation of bicyclists and pedestrians.

Another must check-out site is NOLACycle, Bike Map Project.  NolaCycle is a project aimed to create a high quality cycling map of New Orleans. Cycling maps include information beyond just streets and their names that benefits cyclists. In our map, we highlight the pavement quality, car travel speed, lane width, and special caution areas (busy intersections, man-eating potholes, or high accident areas). Volunteers help to collect this data by attending mapping events.  Please consider volunteering and be sure to have a look at the NOLACycle Map before heading out on your bike.

Where Ya’ Rack? is a Young Leadership Council initiative.  Our objective is to provide unique and secure bicycle parking throughout New Orleans to encourage cycling for commuting, short trips, and errands. We are also a community of citizens and cyclists and who feel safe and secure bicycle parking can enhance New Orleans.

Cycling Clubs

Crescent City Cyclists is the oldest and largest bicycle touring club in the New Orleans area. The CCC was founded in August 1977 to provide bicycling activities for its members, to educate its members in the rules of safe bicycling, and to promote bicycling as a recreational and sports activity as well as an alternative mode of transport

New Orleans Bicycle Club (NOBC) is dedicated to promoting bicycling, with the emphasis on bicycle racing, in the Greater New Orleans area.  The NOBC was founded in 1968, and remains at the forefront of competitive cycling activity.

New Orleans Metro Area Mountain Bike Organization (NOMAMBO) was formed in March 2003, under partnership with the Corps of Engineers and sanctioned by IMBA (International Mountain Bike Organization) to build a multi-use trail system (hiking/biking) at the Bonnet Carre’ Spillway in Norco, LA.

Providers

Bayou Bicycles
Bicycle World
Bicycle Michael’s
Joy Ride Bike Rentals
Big Easy Bike ToursConfederacy of CruisersNinth Ward Rebirth Bike Tours

When I think of racquetball, I tend to think of the sweaty guy with the headband, goggles and armpit stains on his shirt…oh-so-not ladylike. When I was in college, my boyfriend and I decided to try it out – and immediately fell in love with the sport, if not each other. Fifteen years later, the level of enjoyment is still as high – competition rears it’s little head, and GAME ON!

After one hour of play, you feel more invigorated – alive – and completely satisfied with a fabulous cardio workout. Racquetball is one of the ways I helped shed the pounds after having twins – and it is an outstanding stress reliever! Here are some interesting factoids regarding the health benefits of racquetball (Source: www.homefieldadvantage.com):

• Average number of calories burned during racquetball play: 640/hour [Prevention, 1995] to 794/hour [Men's Health, 1995] — can get to a very high level at 13.7 per minute (or 822/hour) [Sports Training Institute]
• An average game takes 20 minutes, during which a player will run a distance of approximately 3,650 feet — or over two miles in one hour of play. [U.S. Olympic Training Center]
• Racquetball players work at a constant rate of 75 to 85% of their maximum heart rate for the duration of a typical racquetball game. [USRA Elite Training Camp, 1992]
• Racquetball offers both aerobic and anaerobic benefits, with both sustained high level heart rate activity and quick bursts of energy required during play.
• Racquetball works nearly every muscle group, including sustained, repetitive use of large muscles that increase calorie burn and reduce fat percentage. (from USRA.org)

Want to try racquetball for yourself? Here are some of the racquetball courts in the New Orleans area:

Elmwood Fitness Center
Harahan; 733-1600

Recreation & Fitness Center at UNO
UNO campus; 280-6357

New Orleans Athletic Club
New Orleans; 525-2375

Hilton New Orleans Riverside
New Orleans; 556-3742

Manhatten Athletic Club
Marrero; 341-2582

Also, you might want to check-out the Louisiana Racquetball Association

Have fun – and always be sure to wear goggles…not the best fashion accessory, but certainly the best way to maintain good vision in the future.

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Alison is currently the owner of Self Confidence LLC, and is a District Manager/Independent Consultant with Arbonne International, a 30-year-old international health and wellness company. Experience includes 11 years with Ochsner Health System. Alison is the mother of 5-year-old twins, Cole & Cassidy…who led her to gain and then lose over 80 pounds…through diet, nutrition and exercise.

Whether you have decided to run the full marathon or the ½ marathon – it’s a big undertaking and we would love to hear and share your story.  What inspired you to sign-up to run? What has your training been like? What have you been learning about yourself in the process of preparing for the race?

There are many people in this city who would never think of training and running a marathon…so I know they would love to hear what is driving you to do it!!  This is your opportunity to share your story and perhaps inspire someone else to take-on the challenge of running a (½) marathon.

Email us at contact@befitnola.com with a paragraph or two telling us your story.  We’ll put the stories together and post them for others to get motivated and inspired!!

Interview with Team Captain Matt Upton

A few basics first. We practice twice a week in Lakeview and hold our home games in Gretna. The team also owns its own bar, the Rugby Pub in Gretna, right near the home pitch. We play a spring season building up to regional and national playoffs, and a fall season that is a little more casual.

The team stays active year-round with different types of competition and fitness opportunities.

Q: What is the history behind the New Orleans Rugby Football Club? (When did it get started…who started the Club? How was the original team brought together?)

Matt Upton (Captain New Orleans Rugby Football Club):

Our team’s roots go back to 1973. It was formed by a group of local guys who had experience playing rugby in college and wanted to create a next level opportunity to help build the sport here.

What we’re seeing now is a deepening pipeline of players coming out of rugby families, in much the same way as you saw soccer develop in America a generation ago. Some of our past and current players have been instrumental in starting local high school rugby programs. When kids start playing as teens, then continue through college, they can have tremendous skills and experience by the time they’re ready to join the NORFC.

Q: What League is the New Orleans Rugby Football Club member of? What teams do you play against?

Matt Upton:

NORFC is part of USA Rugby, the national league for this level of play. The league is divided into regional divisions and ours is called the Deep South Division. During our spring season, we compete against teams in Baton Rouge, Jackson, Miss., Mobile, Ala., Little Rock, Ark., and Memphis, Tenn. We travel to them, and they come here to play at our home pitch in Gretna. If we do well against our regular season divisional competition, we can advance to the regional playoffs and eventually to the nationals. In recent seasons, we’ve made it to the national “sweet 16″ round of playoffs, competing against America’s best teams in our division.

Apart from these league games (or what we call “matrix games”) we also play a lot of games against teams from across the country and around the world. Not surprisingly, it turns out a lot of teams want to schedule visits to New Orleans. These non-matrix games don’t count for our league record or playoff standings, and we mostly hold these in the fall season. They’re a great chance to get more game experience with different levels of competition.

Q: What is most unique about the sport of Rugby? And how grueling of a sport is Rugby?

Matt Upton:

It’s a rough sport, no doubt about it. Guys take some pretty hard hits, and it’s relentless. Frankly, that’s part of the appeal. It’s extreme. It pushes you to a level you normally don’t ever need to reach. It’s that combination of full contact, no pads, no blocking and 80 minutes games of continuous action. But probably the biggest thing that sets rugby apart is the global community. There’s a very strong, very important social aspect to the sport, within the team and between teams. After games, win or lose, the home team always throws a party for the visitor. It’s the world’s largest fraternity in a way, but the membership requirements are heart and dedication to the sport.

Q: Do players interested in playing need prior experience? Special equipment? Should a player expect to travel with the team often?

Matt Upton:

We’re always recruiting new players, and no prior experience is necessary. That’s part of the beauty of the sport, at least in America. While we are seeing things start to change a bit thanks to new high school programs, most people have not been playing rugby all their lives in this country. There’s not a huge disadvantage here to starting in your 20s or 30s.

Also, there’s no real heavy equipment requirement. Basically, all you need is a mouthpiece, cleats and your jersey.

As for traveling, we do have road games around the Deep South and beyond, so there’s a travel opportunity there for guys who want it.

Q: What brings players out to play? Why do you play?

Matt Upton:

We have guys come out who used to play football and miss that contact. Heard about it in college, thought they’d give it a shot and want to get in shape. Less expensive and more fun than joining a gym. See us out at bars together, see the camaraderie. So there’s the competitive thing, the fitness thing and also that social aspect.

Now why I play is basically because I love the sport and always want to get better at it. I’ve taken time off before, played other sports, did wrestling in college, but I always missed rugby and came back to it. There’s just nothing like it.

Q: If someone is looking for a team sport and has never played Rugby; what do you want to tell them as to why they should try Rugby?

Matt Upton:

It’s like no other sport they’ve played before, and while it’s not for everyone the people who connect with it usually stay involved in the rugby community for a long time. There are guys involved in our club who are still in college and guys who have been playing for more than 30 years. You plug into this diverse network of people who all share a love of this sport.

To find out more information about the New Orleans Rugby Football Club be sure to check-out their website and you can also find them on Facebook. We’ll see you at some of their games!!

Q: How did the Big Easy Rollergirls get their start?

A: Big Easy Rollergirl (Dawn Edwards, AKA MILF Duds): The Big Easy Rollergirls were founded in 2005 by Cherri Pi and Little Mascara.  The original members were scattered around the country after Katrina, but re-organized to have their first bout at Mardi Gras World in the fall of 2006.  Big Easy Rollergirls were one of the first 25 leagues in the nation to form the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association, a governing body which provides the rules and regional structure.  Kinda like the NBA to basketball.

Q: What does it take to become a Big Easy Rollergirl? What are you looking for in a Big Easy Rollergirl?

A: Big Easy Rollergirl (Dawn Edwards): It’s an action-packed, full-contact sport and you need to be willing to get in good physical condition to be able to take the hits. But, you don’t have already be an athlete to be a Big Easy Rollergirl. It takes time, commitment and lots of moxy. We’ll teach you the basic skills of derby, i.e. falling, stopping, crossovers, and skating, of course.  Other sports look for specific qualities in an athlete, but roller derby accepts all types of women.

Q: The sport is Roller Derby – Can you give us a basic description of how the sport is played and the objectives.

A: Big Easy Rollergirl (Dawn Edwards): This isn’t you mama’s roller derby of staged fights and wrestling-like entertainment.  Flat track roller derby is a legitimate full contact sport.  There are two teams of 5; 1 pivot, 3 blockers and one jammer on each team. A “bout” usually lasts 60 minutes.  Each half is 30 minutes.  A ‘’jam” is a 2 minute period of play in which the jammer can score a point by passing each opposing team’s blockers.  The jam starts when the whistle blows, which indicated that the blockers are the start skating together in a “pack”.  The next whistle blows, and the jammers try to catch up to the pack.  They have to get through the pack and go all the way around and catch up again before they can start scoring points.  Blockers try to assist they own jammer through the pack, while also blocking the opposing jammer. There’s so much more to the game regarding penalties and rules.  You just have to come see us!

Q: I see on your website and Blog that the Big Easy Rollergirls are involved in events throughout the city – can you tell us a little bit more about that? The team really seems to be about a lot more than just the bouts.

A: Big Easy Rollergirl (Dawn Edwards): One of our requirements of membership is to fulfill 4 hours of community service work, every quarter of the year.  When working with our community partners; we ask how we can meet their needs; either by lending a hand or accepting donations on their behalf.  We’ve stocked books at Audubon Charter School’s library, raised over $3,000 and rode 150 miles for Louisiana MS Society, cleaned up an overpass with Parkway Partners, washed dogs with the Humane Society of Louisiana, and so much more.  We’ve selected a charitable organization for every month that that we’ve been in existence.

Q: How big is the current team? Which bout is the most anticipated? Do the Big Easy Rollergirls have an archenemy?

A: Big Easy Rollergirl (Dawn Edwards): Currently, we have about 70 active members.  We have 3 teams; our All-Stars, who compete with WFTDA sanctioned teams around the country.  The Storyvillians, who will play non-sanctioned regional leagues and our recreational league.  We have a grudge match with the North West Arkansas (NWQ) on March 6^th, at UNO’s Humane Performance Center.  The last two times we played the NWA on the road, we lost by a narrow margin.  Now, they’re coming to our house! I’d like to think playing in our arena is akin to the Cardinals playing in the Superdome.  Win or lose, one of the best qualities about women’s flat track roller derby is the true sisterhood among the leagues.  The DIY spirit that drives the sport encouraged sister league to train each other, share resources and have some good old fashioned fun after a bout, ala derby style.

Q: What do you love most about roller derby and being a Big Easy Rollergirl?

A: Big Easy Rollergirl (Dawn Edwards): Roller derby is unlike any other sport, all female, self-organized, all volunteer and includes a cross section of women of all age groups, professions and lifestyles.  It’s edgy, it’s punk, it’s sexy yet tough.  It’s a great way to meet people and get a good workout and let of a few frustrations on the track.  It can provide an alter-ego for an otherwise normal life. It’s an alternative to traditional sports with entertainment value that you can’t find anywhere else.  Roller derby can make an athlete of a woman who never thought she could be one.  It can turn a house wife into a team captain.  It’s all around empowering for women who don’t quite fit in Junior League, but, hey, we’ll take them too!!

To find out more about the Big Easy Rollergirls check out their website, blog and Facebook Fan Page.  As you read; they are an exciting and amazing group of women doing great things for our community so please show your support  by going to watch their bouts.  Be sure to contact them if you’re interested in trying out.

The Big Easy Rollergirls will be holding open tryouts, January 14th, 6pm at Skate Country in Terrytown. No skills necessary to join, they’ll help you get started on the basics skills of derby, i.e. falling, stopping, crossovers and of course SKATING! No skating equipment is required, just commitment and dedication to the fastest growing women’s sport in the nation. Must be at least 19 years old.

WHO: The Big Easy Rollergirls
WHAT: Roller Derby Tryouts
WHERE: Skate Country 1100 Terry Parkway, Terrytown, LA 70056 (West Bank)
WHEN: Clinics: January 14th, 6pm—8:30pm.

To reserve your spot e-mail membership@bigeasyrollergirls.com.

The Big Easy Rollergirls are New Orleans’ only all-female flat track roller derby league.
For more information, please visit www.bigeasyrollergirls.com