Geaux Ride

Geaux Ride

A healthy & social outing lighting up Baton Rouge on two wheels

By Ed Cullen

The quiet of a Thursday night in north Baton Rouge’s Glen Oaks neighborhood was suddenly ablaze with flashing blue lights and the “ba-rupt-ba-rupt” siren bursts of sheriff’s SUVs. Faces appeared at kitchen windows. A few residents stepped tentatively onto their front porches, then moved into their yards to greet a line of fifty lighted bicycles coursing down Glen Oaks Drive.

“Hey, neighbor,” shouted cyclist E.J. Putman, seventy-seven, who’s lived in Glen Oaks since the 1970s. “Get on your bike and join us.”

Bicycle clubs with names like City to City Riderz, United Riderz and Tuesdays on Wheels were joining Geaux Ride’s inaugural Glow in the Dark Neighborhood Wellness Ride.

The brainchild of Charles “Chuck” Daniel, Geaux Ride operates as a retail and events space at the corner of Main and Third streets downtown. Once a month, these free neighborhood rides are open to anyone as part of Daniel’s mission to promote mental and physical health in Baton Rouge.

Geaux Ride also offers a free weekly social ride—for which guests may rent bicycles or ride their own—as well as a slate of special Glow in the Dark Bicycle Tours, with focuses ranging from downtown bars to Baton Rouge historical sites.

The business grew out of Daniel’s own cycling which served as a stress reliever when he worked as a tech consultant in New Orleans. “I needed some balance in my tech work,” he said. “Eventually, I bought some bikes, a truck, and trailers” — and Geaux Ride was born.

The night of the first neighborhood ride, Daniel, forty-two, tall and fit, moved easily through the swarm of cyclists in the parking lot of Bordelon’s Super Save Pharmacy on Plank Road. A bemused Paul Bordelon, sixty-four, one of the owners of the family pharmacy, looked out over the crowd, greeting some old customers who grew up in the neighborhood.

The cyclist who was supposed to have asked Bordelon about starting the ride in the parking lot had forgotten. “I got a call,” he laughed. “‘The parking lot’s full of cars, and the cops are there!’”

Deputies, actually, in eight SUVs with blue lights blazing. “It’s good for the community,” Bordelon said, as riders approached to thank him.

For these neighborhood rides, Daniel invites elected officials, church leaders, and civic association representatives to address the cyclists—granting access to the community’s decision-makers in a casual and fun atmosphere. “It breaks down the barrier of who to tell about potholes or some issue on your street,” Daniel said. For the Glen Oaks ride, the cyclists heard a few words from District 5 Metro Councilman Darryl Hurst, said a prayer, and put shoes to the pedals. Sheriff’s SUVs roared off to block car traffic at Glen Oaks Drive and a Plank Road service street north of Airline Highway.

Lesetta Crawford, fifty-four, who lives near LSU, started riding with Geaux Ride during the 2020 shutdown. “There wasn’t much I could do so getting outside felt safe. Now, I leave a bike at Geaux Ride for downtown rides and haul another one to rides like tonight’s.”

For this ride, cyclists came from other parts of Baton Rouge and neighboring parishes. There are at least ten bicycle social clubs in the Baton Rouge area, Daniel said.

Donald Green, fifty-eight, was riding with his Baker group, City to City Riderz. “We brought a lot of people out during COVID. Socializing, moving around, you know, fighting depression.”

Though Daniel promotes Geaux Ride’s events as wellness outings, most riders are here for the social venue, and the experience of riding through the night on bicycles lit up like Mardi Gras floats. h

Geaux Ride’s next Wellness Tour Ride is April 6. Learn more at geauxridebikes.com.