Hail & Hardy Hello, Bike-Us Krewesters !

The countdown clock tells me it's only 3 days & 14 hours until Bike-Us 2012 rolls.

Are you ready !?!

The final details have fallen into place and here's the skinny: (re-recycled from Royal Epistles of '10 & '11)

6:30am Meet at Pal's Lounge 949 N. Rendon St. (in costume, of course) We will have the Coronation Ceremony, the Reading of the "Poym," a Krewe photo #1 (to try to catch any non-riders) and the official start of the 2012 Bike-Us Carnival Extravaganza! Please bring your Krewe dues ($20). This will cover Bike-Us "goodies," food, and balcony for our parade stop... Please bring your cameras & snap shots copiously all day.

7:00 am roll down St. Phillip St. to Bourbon St. to Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop, 941 Bourbon St.

7:20-7:40ish Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop Quick stop for a bathroom Break and, of course, drink refills. ("Aren't you the folks on bikes who show up at dawn and order a thousand Bloody Marys?" the bartender said when I called to confirm. Hell yeah we are!) We Roll in twenty. (approx.) Note!! This will be your main bathroom break until we reach our next stop.

745ish-Roll Down Royal St to St Charles Ave until we get booted off the avenue. The further we can go before running into Pete Fountain, the more awesome. At that point, we will take a LEFT off of St. Charles to Magazine St, and on to McGuire's of New Orleans, 869 Magazine St. ( They are going to have someone there early to allow us to lockup in their courtyard. ) Roll your bike through the parking lot to the courtyard for safe off street parking! From there we will walk up to our Zulu watching spot, the newly reopened Circle Bar (1032 Saint Charles Ave) right on Lee Circle! If all goes well with their current upstairs renovations, we will also have exclusive access to their balcony. It's a small balcony, so only 25 or so of us can be up there at a time, but it should be an awesome venue above or below.

8:00ish-11am at Circle Bar

11am wander back toward McGuire's (they will open their awesome kitchen @ 10)

11:15ish-1pm McGuire's Pub - drinks & Krewe photo #2 (one of last years best photo spots)

1pm Roll down Magazine to Poydras to river for Krewe photo op # 3 (the traditional "official" spot)

1:10-1:25 Photo by Woldenberg Park, Imax Theatre and the mighty Mississippi! A toast to the day and the Krewe!

From there folks can wander at will back toward Frenchman, the R-bar, or other Mardi Gras shenanigans.

The folks who run Pal's, the Blacksmith's Shop, McGuire's and the Circle Bar have all expressed how happy they are we have chosen their establishments for our merry-making ! Let's eat and drink 'em dry!

We'll have some food at Pal's (likely danishes) to fuel our first leg, a bite at the Circle Bar, and McGuire's kitchen is open and serving from 10am on.

Queen-elect Jan has arrived in town and we're super psyched for our reign and ride !

See you at 6:30 at Pals !
Hail Bike-Us !!
Shoeless, King-elect Bike-Us 2012

Good afternoon, Bike-Us Krewsters!

It was great to see some of you at the Holy Ground last Saturday for our 1st ever pre-party. We were awash in quality, if not quantity. (& though few, we put a solid dent in the Guinness sausages & taties the Holy Ground provided. Thanks Stevie!)

It was especially nice to get to meet some of the members of the BNBC who are joining us this year & came out to introduce themselves. They are ready and willing to assist with any mechanical needs & emergencies when we roll on MG. (Though we hope those skills will be little used.)

To that end, as put so eloquently in last year's pre-ride epistle:

You may want to pull out the bike this week and make sure that things seem to be generally looking OK, especially if you haven't touched your bike since last Mardi Gras. If your tires have been flat for a year you may want to get 3 tubes just in case your current tubes won't hold air, and that still leaves you with a spare. Also, I might recommend that you check your currently flat tire for signs of dry rot, as this is never a good sign, and we can't do anything about it on Mardi Gras day. Your tube size can be found on the sidewall of your tires and will look something like 26 x 1.95, 700 x 28, etc.

Bike shops in the greater New Orleans area include:

Bicycle Michael's on Frenchman in the Marigny
GNO Cyclery on Carrollton
Bayou Bicycles on the Bayou...duh!
Bicycle Connection in Metry next door to Drago's
Bicycle World on Jefferson Highway

According to the clock countdown on http://www.kreweofbikeus.com, we are 11 days & 15 & 1/2 ish hours away from Bike-Us 2012 ! Sounds spot on :-] After careful consideration & Krewe input, we have decided to keep to the traditional schedule. That being, we will meet at Pal's Lounge (949 N. Rendon St. at the corner of St. Phillip) at 6:30 am for libations, the coronation, reading of the Poym & roll toward Laffite's Blacksmith ( 941 Bourbon St.) shop at 7am.

Those of you in attendance at the already know that our Zulu watching spot will be the newly reopened Circle Bar (1032 Saint Charles Ave) right on Lee Circle! If all goes well with their current upstairs renovations, we will also have exclusive access to their balcony. It's a small balcony, so only 25 or so of us at a time can be up there at a time, but it should be an awesome venue above or below.

That's all the news I have for today. Once the final details of the timing, lockup spot, & any other stops are confirmed, an epistle is sure to soon follow!

Looking forward to seeing you all & enjoying the day rolling together. Keep the good weather vibes rolling.

Hail Bike-Us !
Shoeless, King-elect Bike-Us 2012

Good morning & all Hail, fellow Bike-Us Krewsters!

We're about three weeks away from this year's ride and things are falling into place. It seems we have found our parade watching perch (hint imbedded within), royal Poym & are finalizing the route, lockup spot, vittles & other details. Keep your good vibes flowing to the weather spirits, in hopes this awesome warmth will follow us to the 21st & the sun will shine on our ride.

This Saturday, February 4th @ noon, we are having our first ever Bike-Us pre-party @ The Holy Ground Irish Pub (3340 Canal St. in Mid-City, located at the corner of Canal and Jeff Davis). There will be food provided.

I hope alot of you can attend! Let's begin the Bike-Us revelry & welcome in the year of the Dragon ! (& I'm hoping the Queen may be able to join us from her Winter Palace through the magic of technology).

Thus far, I have not heard from any of our more bike tune-up savvy folks who might be in attendance & be able to assist the less savvy (savvy-less?). If you have such savvy, tools, etc., feel free to bring them, along with yourself, Saturday.

This year may see a tweaking of the timing for our start & stops. As in past years, there has been some talk of meeting up later than the asscrack of dawn. Last year we began at 6:30am. The effect of rolling a bit later (as we saw last year when we waited a bit for some delayed key Krewe members to arrive) merely means we will not get as far down the parade route before we come nose to nose with Pete Fountain's Half-fast walking club, or whomever is in front this year.

I'd like your thoughts on that on Saturday (or by e-mail if you can't join us at the Holy Ground) so that I can set our start & stops accordingly.

OK ! That's all for now. I'm looking forward to seeing you Saturday & will be announcing the Parade watching perch then. The rest of the route, timing & such will follow in Epistles to come.

Stay Silly !!
Hail Bike-Us !!!
Shoeless, King-Elect

Happy Sunday & Hail Bike-Us!

In years past, there has been a tune-up day on Lundi Gras. I am hoping the folks who were generous enough to offer their place, talents & tools will be willing to do so again this year.

Please let me know if you are available for such things.

Also, I was hoping some Krewe members with tune up talent & tools might be willing to assist at the pre-party this coming Saturday at the Holy Ground. (details below)

If either or both of those would work for you, please let me know & let me know what I can do to assist you.

Thanx !! I hope to see you all Saturday :-] Hail Bike-Us!

Shoeless, King-elect

The Holy Ground Irish Pub (3340 Canal St. in Mid-City, located at the corner of Canal and Jeff Davis)has offered to host us on Saturday February 4th @ noon. There will be food provided. This will give us a chance to meet, socialize and perhaps do a pre-Lundi Gras tune-up day.

The 2012 Bike-Us Epistle #1 has gone out. If you are not on the mailing list & wish to be, please send an e-mail to kreweofbikeus@gmail.com & feel free to pass that along to any/all potential new Krewe members.

Don't forget the pre-party at the The Holy Ground Irish Pub, Saturday February 4th @ noon. Food will be provided & Sillyness will abound.

Hail Bike-Us
Shoeless, King-elect

All Hail & Happy New Year, my fellow Bike-Us Krewe members!

I am honored & humbled to be chosen your King for 2012. I hope to preserve the tradition of Sillyness that has been the foundation of Fun in past years.

For those that don't know me, I am Shoeless and this will be my fourth year riding with the Krewe of Bike-Us. I was introduced to your ranks by Paul Sanchez (King Fugetaboutit 04'). My chosen Queen for this year is Jan, who hails from the Adirondack Mountains & had her Bike-Us virgin ride last year.

We have been working on the route, the venues, and the other details for the February 21st ride. I wish to especially thank Jeff and Rose (Pun-King and Recyqueen) for all the assistance in getting this years ride in order. Heavy & happy are the heads that wear the crowns. ;-]

As with last year, we will be using this e-mail address to send out updates and information on this years ride. I know in years past there have been some who love the banter of reply-to-all, and others, not so much.

I would like to propose banter-positive Krewe members head to our Facebook page ( https://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=60153981417&v=wall ) and banter away!

I will watch this e-mail and the Facebook page for thoughts, requests, suggestions ... The Pun-King has also offered to assist me in cross-posting updates on our official website, http://www.kreweofbikeus.com

Please feel free to write to me here &/or post on the KoB Facebook page with ideas, comments, offers, suggestions... This is your Krewe and your day & I want it to be perfect for you. Any ideas on stops, logistics, comments pro and con on what was done in previous years I might avoid or embrace ~ please, send them my way!

As the first order of business I would like to propose a Krewe of Bikeus 2012 pre-party. The Holy Ground Irish Pub (3340 Canal St. in Mid-City, located at the corner of Canal and Jeff Davis) has offered to host us on Saturday February 4th @ noon. There will be food provided. This will give us a chance to meet, socialize and perhaps do a pre-Lundi Gras tune-up day. (I am woefully ignorant of the working of bicycles, beyond peddling. So, if any of my fellow Krewe members can assist in that regard, I would be very grateful.)

I appreciate the help my fellow Krewe members, especially the past Royalty, have already offered. I have had a wonderful time in years past and will likely use the template of last & past years ride to pattern this year's after. Again, if you have any comments, suggestions, wish to assist in any way... please write me here or post on the Mystik Krewe of Bike-us Facebook page.

If you are coming to the Krewe of Bikeus 2012 pre-party at The Holy Ground, let me know so I make sure we have enough vittles. (Please come! I'd realy love to see you all & am champing at my royal bit to get this year's Sillyness started.)

Likewise, if you know you can (or can't) ride with us on Mardi Gras morning, let me know so that we can plan accordingly.

Thank You ! I look forward to seeing you o the first day of the Dragon Year, Saturday February 4th, at high noon @ the Holy Ground for the start of the Sillyness!

Hail Bike-Us !!
Shoeless

p.s. If you are still looking for a costume idea, a few people are doing this awesome thing that combines New Orleans street names with famous people. We'd like to thank Mary Lasang for the idea for the first ever "THEME" of the Krewe of Bike-us! Some of these have already been chosen. PLEASE let us know if you choose to do one so we can cross it off the list! (See website for list.)