Laid Back in New Orleans

By DAVE WARD, Cycling Utah

A couple of weeks before my wife, Karma, and I left for a weekend in New Orleans, I came across an article in the Deseret News about bicycle touring in the Big Easy. That led me to contact "Laid Back Tours" about arranging a bike tour during our visit. On our arrival on Friday, we made our way to their place of business to finalize our plans.

Musa explaining to Karma about New Orleans' famous cemeteries Photo: Dave Ward

Laid Back Tours is owned and run by Musa Eubanks and his wife, Veda Manuel, out of their bike shop, Laid Back Bikes. That is somewhat of a misnomer, as what they specialize in are recumbents. When you walk in their shop, even though there are some uprights, there is no mistaking that recumbents are the rule here.

Musa and Veda are two of the friendliest people you could hope to meet. We chatted easily for awhile, and then asked them for recommendations as to how to spend our short weekend. We quickly realized that, in addition to being friendly, Veda and Musa are a virtual fount of information. By the time we left, more than an hour later, we had our agenda planned and had more information than we could possibly hope to remember or use.

We had scheduled our tour with Musa for Sunday morning. On Saturday, in addition to the other touristy things we did, we spent part of our time visiting Laura Plantation and eating dinner at Jacque-imo’s, both recommended by Musa and Veda. These turned out to be the best part of our Saturday, and highlights of our trip.

On Sunday, we arrived at the bike shop for our four-hour tour shortly after 10 a.m., expecting to be finished by 2 p.m. But, while "laid back" certainly has reference to their recumbent preference, it also describes Musa and Veda’s relaxed approach. I talked Karma into doing the recumbent thing, and by the time we were set up, had finished jabbering, and had found Musa and Veda’s dog, it was after 11:30.

Musa was a great guide. We had been on a couple of guided tours by this time, and had also read up on the history of New Orleans. Still, during our tour, Musa entertained us with detailed and unique aspects of New Orleans history, life and culture. Our other tours, while good, were prepared and rehearsed presentations. Our time with Musa was like sitting on a friend’s back porch while he spent hours waxing on in a comfortable, intimate manner about the history, culture and good times of his home. The only difference was that we were sitting on recumbents with New Orleans as Musa’s back porch.

First Musa showed us around the neighborhood, pointing out the different styles of home and sharing some of their history with us. He showed us the "shotgun" and "double shotgun" style homes, and explained why they were thus described. He took us past the disputedly longest standing home in New Orleans, and explained why that claim was disputed. He also told us why we would not stop in front of the home.

Next, Musa took us to the St. Louis No. 3 Cemetery. Like a man weaving a good yarn, Musa told how most tombs have in excess of 20 to 30 persons buried in them, climaxing his story with how that is accomplished. He also knew, and shared with us, the origin of the expression, "He got shafted" which, as you might guess, has something to do with how the high tomb occupancy is accomplished. Musa explained how the tombs are owned, and how it is decided who will be buried where. He knows all that detail. I could, of course, pass all that information on in this article, but my editor told me to keep it short. You will just have to take a tour with Musa... The point is, he knows all this, and it is a delight to be his audience.

From the cemetery, we went out to Lake Pontchartrain. On the way, he pointed out the levees that keep New Orleans from being flooded, and explained why some experts predict that New Orleans will be flooded by Lake Pontchartrain sometime within the next 100 years, leaving over 100,000 people dead. That is a rather dour topic for a tour, but Musa told it in a matter-of-fact manner and with understanding as to how that might happen and why people nevertheless choose to stay.

At Lake Pontchartrain, Musa shared how Mardi Gras actually lasts for several weeks, with numerous organizations sponsoring different parades over that period. Contrary to what the limited media exposure portrays, Mardi Gras is very much a family and community affair, and Musa shared with us how the locals prepare for and celebrate this holiday period.

Through all this, it was evident that Musa, a Boston native, is very much enamored with, indeed is in love with, his adopted home and community. I was amazed by his breadth of knowledge and detail, and his understanding of the emotional and spiritual connection that locals have with New Orleans.

We finally arrived back at the bike shop about 3:30, over five hours after we had first arrived. It would have been later, except that we reminded Musa that we had a plane to catch. Musa was having such a good time leading us around and sharing his city with us, that he had lost track of time. That was amusing, in light of his earlier explanation of how Veda likes to visit, and that he has explained to her that when people finally leave the store, and open their car doors, that means they want to leave.

But that is how Musa and Veda are, friendly and outgoing, good storytellers with a natural desire to visit and share. By the time we said our final farewells, and indeed we had gone to our car and opened the door, we felt like we were leaving old friends behind. A handshake with Veda would have felt awkward, so I instead gave her a hug as we said good-bye.

Laid Back Tours is located at 625 Hagen Street, next to Bayou St. John. Musa and Veda can be reached at (504) 488-8991 or through www.laidbacktours.com.