It was a truly beautiful day in New Orleans, yet again. Unfortunately, I spent most of it inside instead of out. I wasn’t riding my bike, but I was talking about bikes at the Winning Campaigns training put on by the Alliance for Biking and Walking. I got up at 7:00 in the morning–on a Saturday–and rode down OC Haley to the LANO building for a full day of learning. Now, I’m a skeptical kid. If you are a regular reader of my blog, you might think I’m fairly sunny and optimistic, but I have this knee-jerk reaction to the whole idea of a meeting. And one that lasts all day long? Please. But this was a great one. I really enjoyed spending the day (and last night, and tomorrow all day) with people who are passionate about livable cities, about people taking control of their built environment and demanding that it be safe and usable for everybody, not just people in cars. I left feeling excited about the possibilities for our organizations (and if you aren’t a member yet, please consider joining us at Metro Bike Coalition as we undertake a whole slew of new projects) and for what our neighborhoods could look like, if we all got involved in demanding more from our streets and sidewalks and bike lanes. Infrastructure and zoning, it’s where it’s at, people. Even if it doesn’t sound sexy. I hopped on my Surly to ride home through Central City and stopped to take a picture of this power pole between the new and old MUSES development on Felicity and Baronne. There’s a lot of possibility in just this one snapped frame, and I hope the people who live in this neighborhood are the ones who get to articulate what’s needed to make it not just livable, but thrive-able. And I know cat’s claw is a sign of destruction, but doesn’t it look oh-so-pretty on top of that pole, against that wispy blue sky? We live in a beautiful and complicated place, and I am perpetually happy that I get to ride a bike here.