I have been reading this since the beginning, as I am 5'3" 115#s and have been riding my bike in this exact area for the last 14 years!! I've lived in Lafayette all of my life and know it like the back of my hand. I have left the area of Ryan street MANY times (especially when I was Mickey's age) after having either been at a "show" or work. If I needed to leave downtown and get to the Saint Streets or Congress near Cajun Field, I would go down St. John and cross University AT THE LIGHT!! Not only is Parkside dark and creepy at night, it's a blind and ruthless curve on University and not where you'd want to be on a bike at night. Also, if you crossed there, you end up with a BIG empty (at night) school and a coulee. So, after crossing University, I would ride just past the city hall/Consolidated gov. building, and as crazy as it seems, I'd cross through that back parking lot (which is employee parking) and hop on to Azalea right there. I'd cross St. Mary and continue on and generally I'd take Saint Patrick over to the top of Parkside, which is almost to the Cajun Dome, where I could then get on Congress. I know it seems like a detour, but it's really not, and it's a great way to avoid the drunks on the road AND the dark deserted Coliseum Rd. If I were going to take Johnston, I would have continued up St. Landry to St. Julien, and hit Johnston there. I didn't really ride on Johnston then, because there were no "bike lanes" at the time. I'm not sure if LE has Mickey on the other camera on St. Landry, or not, but I've been thinking the whole time that she's not on those cameras, because she skips over to Azalea. Does the Consolidated gov/ City Hall only have cameras in the front of their building? It seems like they'd have one on the backside too, where employee parking is. Also, this is a little strange, but my husband and I stopped at Whiskey Bay on Friday afternoon with our boys on the way back from Baton Rouge to hike. Seriously. It's beautiful. It's a wildlife management area. There are tons of migratory birds. There are alligators. All kinds of awesome things that little boys love. I mentioned to my husband while we were there, that I wished I had flyers with me and how shocked I was that there was not ONE!!! ANYWHERE!! Trust me, I was looking. I was also looking for any sign of Mickey. None. There were boats that I was sure were looking, but most were just guys fishing. If we're ever on our way back from Baton Rouge around sunset, we always stop there to watch it. That area is not a "dumping ground". There is a fair amount of trash etc. right off of the interstate, but all in all it's pretty. It's not where I'd go alone, as my iphone won't work on the trails, and I'd never go at night. (mainly bc of wildlife AND BUGS!!!) so...
....no text fingers here.