2017 NOLA to Angola Bike Ride

What is NOLA to Angola?

NOLA to Angola (NTA) is an annual three-day, 170-mile bicycle ride fundraiser. We ride from Orleans Parish Prison in New Orleans to Angola, the Louisiana State Penitentiary. Each rider raises money by soliciting sponsorships from family and friends. 100% of the funds raised support the Cornerstone Builders' Bus Project, which sends free buses every month for family members to visit their incarcerated loved ones.

Why Louisiana & why Angola?  

In 2014, the U.S. Department of Justice confirmed Louisiana remained number 1, among the 50 states, with 38,030 in prison, a rate of 816 per 100,000 over 100 points ahead of next highest state Oklahoma. Because the US leads the world in incarcerating its people, this means Louisiana is number one in the world.  Compare Louisiana’s rate of 816 people per 100,000 with Russia’s 492, China with 119, France with 100, and Germany with 78.

Angola remains the largest maximum security prison in the United States. There are over 5000 prisoners incarcerated at Angola alone. The average sentence for prisoners there is 93 years. About 95 percent of people serving time at Angola will die there under current laws.

For both prisoners and their families, the value of visitation cannot be overstated. The visits, for many of the families who ride the bus, would be otherwise impossible due to the cost-prohibitive nature of securing travel to a rural prison two or three hours outside of city limits. The ability for individuals to remain connected to family despite imprisonment has been shown to ease the process of reentry. A 2008 report examining the effects of visitation in The Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency found that “visitation reduces and delays recidivism.” A 2012 study by the Vera Institute supports a similar finding, stating that “Incarcerated men and women who maintain contact with supportive family members are more likely to succeed after their release.”

What is NTA's impact?

The ride has grown from about a dozen riders to 50-60 and continues to expand each year, raising $25,000 – $30,000 for Cornerstone annually. This has enabled Cornerstone to send a full schedule of buses, to develop long-term sustainability, and to expand their services to Shreveport.

• $1,200 funds 1 bus, round-trip, from New Orleans
• $2,000 funds 1 bus, round-trip, from Shreveport
• $25 funds one round-trip ride from New Orleans
• $50 funds both a parent and child from New Orleans
• $75 allows one individual to visit 3x per year
• $100 funds a four-person family from New Orleans

Thanks so much for supporting the NTA ride and my fundraising!