Jan. 24, 2006
"You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.You cannot
strengthen the weak by weakening the strong. You cannot help the
wage earner by pulling down the wage payer.You cannot further the
brotherhood of man by encouraging class hatred.You cannot keep out
of trouble by spending more than you earn.You cannot build character
and courage by taking away man's initiative and independence.You
cannot help men permanently by doing what they could and should do
for themselves." Abraham Lincoln

This Saturday is Kenny Bellau's tour of New Orleans area's most
seriously impacted by Hurricane Katrina. Take a drive down to New
Orleans and spend a day pedaling to see what has not happened in New
Orleans as the area reels in recovery complicated by political
bureaucracy. Contact him via kenbellau@.... Come to Audubon
Park at the Magazine Street. entrance at 8 a.m. sharp for a tour of
New Orleans like you've never experienced, according to Bellau.

On Saturday, Jan. 28 he is hosting a tour of New Orleans' most
impacted areas, including Chalmette. This will be an easy ride of
about 60 miles with several stops along the way, expect 4 hours or
less. The pace will be typical (or what is supposed to be typical)
for a winter ride ... strictly small ring. Several stops at
significant places, levee breaks and a couple of flooded homes with
personal commentary will be made. People from outside the area are
especially welcome and encouraged to come. This ride is guaranteed
to give you a greater understanding of the scope of Hurricane
Katrina and you will see and touch things that some bus tour can't
offer.

What you will need for this ride:
1. Good tires! I've been riding in these areas a bunch lately and
have yet to get a flat, but my tires are brand new. There is a lot of
glass on the roads. Tube, pump, etc. highly recommended.
2. A camera.
3. Scruffy shoes: We will get off the bikes and walk up to at least
one levee break. It is rocky and rough and your best shoes and cleats
might make you think otherwise. This is really something you should
see up close.
4. Entry fee: Write public officials from other states. Forward your
pictures to out of state friends. Get the word out how bad our
politicians screwed up and how they continue to screw up. Just go
home and talk about it.

Time and Place:
We will meet at the Magazine entrance to Audubon Park across Magazine
from the zoo. There is plenty of parking and bathrooms there. We will
leave at 8 a.m. sharp! We should be back to the park before noon.

*This ride will be in the city on city streets. We will be expected
to obey all traffic laws. Basic bike handling skills will be useful.
No one will be left behind, but you should be able to ride
comfortably in a pack. We will also be going over a very big bridge
with expansion joints and we will need to be careful. At least one of
our stops will have drinks, Clifbars and bananas and we hope to have
at least one follow vehicle (that position is still open).

Also, anyone is welcome to follow in their car and join in with the
discussion. This is a "ride at your own risk" event and is not
sanctioned or sponsored by anyone or any organization. Please set
this date aside on your calendar and come to New Orleans for a
truly memorable experience.

Hope to see you at the park...

Entries from around the country are coming in for the April 22, 2006
Louisiana Triathlon at New Roads. In fact there are more out of
state, out of region entries registered so far than there are in-
state entries. It looks like the Louisiana Triathlon is shaping up
to be a unique national triathlon event. Active.com is handling on-
line registration, but participants can print out hard copies via
lawired.com and U.S. mail fees in for the USAT-sanctioned event set
in Pointe Coupée Parish.

Jan. 31 is the final day for entries in Texas-based
Runner/Triathlete News survey for best triathlons, duathlon, t-
shirts, and event logos in the region. Cast your vote. Email Lance
Phegley at lance@....

<<Mardi Gras Marathon to be Broadcast Nationally>>
From Bill Burke
CBS and CNN are covering this years Mardi Gras Marathon. This will
be a big event for New Orleans and a chance to send some
positive vibes for a change. We need help on Friday the 3rd 8a.m. -
6 p.m. and Saturday the 4th 8 a.m. - 6
p.m. with set up in the dome and then we need 40 volunteers at the
Super Dome on race day, Feb. 5th, at 5:30 a.m.

We really need some help, if you think you can give us a hand please
contact Bill Burk, race director, at billpemusa@... or call
504.628.3155 or 504.454.6561.

<<Proposals Offered to Change USA Tri Region for La.>>
From Robert Sigerson <sigerson@...>
I have made two different proposals to national USA Triathlon about
our state and area. One was to realign all the regions making Texas
its own region and putting Louisiana in a new region with
Mississippi, Alabama, Florida panhandle, Arkansas and Tennessee.
This would make traveling to championship qualifying races more
tolerable to all of us.

The other suggestion is to move the area east of the Mississippi
River into the Southeastern region, MS, AL, FL panhandle, GA & SC.

We are having a meeting along with the awards banquet and Frost Yer
Fanny Duathlon( put on by Matt Brown of Sports Sprectrum, good goody
bag) on Feb. 4 & 5 and you all are invited and urged to come. If
you are unable to come, please give me some comment, up or down,
that I can communicate to the national USAT board members who will
be there. You can e-mail me your comments at sigerson@....
By the way, if you don't really care about USAT, its races and what
it does, let me know that, also.

<<Timmy Cappo's Rouge-Roubaix VIII Set March 5>>
From Aaron Messer
It's time! Another year has flown by! Despite various set-backs,
Timmy Cappo's Rouge-Roubaix VIII is now open for online
registration. The event is scheduled for March 5, 2006, so mark your
calendar and register today at:
http://www.active.com/event_detail.cfm?event_id=1287502

Lodging will be limited at the Inn on the Lakes so book early. We
appreciate your support in years past and look forward to seeing you
at this years event.

There was what I'd call a major article and picture spread on the
event in a recent issue of Bicycling magazine. There should be even
more new folks participating this year, so sign up early to mark
your spot in the event.

<<Tour de Cure Info Offered>>
From Marc Breecher
This week I received information on the 2006 Tour de Cure that is
normally held on the Mississippi Gulf Coast as a two day event. Due
to the storms of '05 they have decided to break it up in to two
different one-day events.

June 3, 2006 in Shreveport with ride lengths of 25, 50, and 75 miles.
June 17, 2006 in St. Francisville with the same ride lengths.

Registration for both of these rides is now available at
www.diabetes.org/tour or call your local ADA office for more
information call 888-342-2383.

*Early-bird registration Fee $15 until March 31st with a $100 minimum
fundraising.

<<Cyclists Using Roads Along Miss. River Levee Take Note>>
From Randy Collier
An article appeared in the BR Business Report. As you can read, it
does have some potential affect on cyclists interested in riding on
the levees.

"Oops! Baton Rouge forgets to put member on important levee district
Although East Baton Rouge Parish has a seat on the Pontchartrain
Levee District, president Steve Wilson says there has been no Baton
Rouge representative on the board for more than two years. "We keep
hearing there's going to be a nominee, but it has never come
through," he says. Levee board members are usually recommended by
local lawmakers, appointed by the governor and ratified by the state
Senate. Under-representation could be a major issue here, as the
board has recently discussed Baton Rouge-related issues, such as a
bike path that would run atop the Mississippi River levee.
To get the Baton Rouge take on such topics, Wilson says the board
usually defers to the member from Iberville Parish." (Jeremy Alford)

<<Post Mardi Gras Marathon Party Set>>
From Pamela Danner pamelaida@...:
As always, the Team Spot-tees invite everyone to our annual post-
Mardi Gras Marathon Party. We promise to serve the best MREs in town.
There will be TVs for Superbowl viewing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2006 Mardi Gras Marathon
Katrina Clean-up Post-Race Party
Sponsored by Team Spot-Tees
2 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Phillips Bar & Restaurant
733 Cherokee Street, New Orleans
504.865.1155
Uptown Riverbend area. Corner of Cherokee & Maple. 2 blocks off St.
Charles Take St. Charles to Broadway. Turn left on Maple.
pamelaida@... or 504.669.6025

<<Bicycle Safety Stats Released>>
From Ron Land
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has just released
its bicycle safety statistics for 2004. It reports 725 cycling-
related deaths in traffic accidents and 41,000 injuries. Among the
fatalities, 87 percent were male.

Cyclist fatalities occurred more frequently in urban areas (66
percent), at non-intersection locations (67 percent), between the
hours of 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. (30 percent), and during June, July and
August (36 percent).

The average age of bike riders killed was 38.7 (10 years older then
the average in 1994, the height of the mountain bike boom). About 20
percent of those killed were between 5 and 15.

Florida is the most dangerous place to ride, followed by Nevada,
Hawaii, Washington, DC, and South Carolina. No cyclists died in
traffic accidents in Rhode Island and Wyoming in 2004. Alcohol --
either inside the driver or rider -- was involved in more than one
third of the accidents that killed cyclists.

The full government report is at
http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/pdf/nrd-30/ncsa/TSF2004/809912.pdf

<<B&B Available for New Roads>>
From MarSue and Greg May
I don't know if you have found housing for all of the Louisiana
Triathlon participants yet, but I wanted to let you know that our
vacation home is currently still available. It is a two bed room,
1.5 bath-home. I notice that we're not listed on your website under
places to stay, so I thought maybe you could add us for
next time. Our cottage rental is called "Fishful Thinking Vacation
Cottage" and is located directly on False River. We can be reached
at 888.248.5888.

Details are on our website at www.FalseRiverRental.com. Thank you!
www.FalseRiverRental.com
FalseRiver@...

<<Feb. 19-26: North American Alternative to Tour de France?>>
From Stan Prutz
This is one cycling event with which you'll want to get familiar.

Some powerful financial folks in California have pulled off getting
alll the major teams that were in last year's Tour de France to show
for the first annual Tour de California - an 8-day 700-mile stage
race. They have $35 million in sponsorship money committed to make
it the premier U.S. cycling event and are listed as the number two
event worldwide (with some talk about it eventually becoming number
one worldwide).

It will be televised on ESPN2 Feb 19-26th. Details are on the website
www.amgentourofcalifornia.com. Quite a boost for American cycling
as it will reach more television viewers than TDF did here in the
U.S. 225.755.2255 x120 or 888.273.7483
sprutz@...

For Sale
From Erin Harris
I am selling my 2002 Cervelo p3.it is silver, 51cm with dura ace
components and ritchey wheels. I have just replaced the cables and
grip tape. The bike is in excellent condition, and has been
meticulously kept and maintained. I am 5' 5.5" if that helps anyone
with the size. I will be placing it on ebay later this week but I
wanted to offer it locally first to see if anyone wants it. Please
email me at erin@... with any questions.
225.667.6789
erin@...

Used Bike Wanted
From Chad Hidalgo <chad9350@...>
I'm now living in Lake Charles from Chalmette and to emerge from
retirement I am looking for a used bike, nothing special about 55cm,
bars and pedals would be nice in the $500-$700 range.

++++++++++

That's it from here. Bless God America.

Kenny Dunaway
2325 Weymouth Drive #D
Baton Rouge, LA 70809-1481
USA
225/296-7490
Isaiah 40:31; John 3:16