The Portage Bike Roll 2018 can be taken with or without a guide and is presented in conjunction with “Art of the City: Postmodern to Post-Katrina,” presented by The Helis Foundation.
Before New Orleans’ founding in 1718, Native Americans traversed an overland route, or portage, connecting the arteries of Bayou St. John and the Mississippi River.
Today, The Historic New Orleans Collection’s Portage Bike Roll 2018 – a free bike tour that can be taken with or without a guide – roughly traces this ancient path, exploring three centuries of art, history and architecture along this corridor.
Presented in conjunction with THNOC’s upcoming contemporary art exhibition, the Portage Roll intertwines the distinct cultural landmarks of different communities – Faubourg St. John, Esplanade Ridge, Tremé, the French Quarter and more – into one idiosyncratic urban landscape.
Free guided bike tours are available through June 3 and can be booked through A Bicycle Named Desire. Maps for self-guided tours are available at The Historic New Orleans Collection, 533 Royal St.
– Eli Haddow, The Historic New Orleans Collection