So I bought a road bike...any suggested paths?

Levee from far park to uss kidd is paved. And eventually, the levee top will be paved from the
Kidd to bayou paul ln. If you are feeling adventurous unpaved levee top is gravel. So if you have wide enough tires you could ride it. I would reccomend having at least 30 mm tires if they can fit inside of your frame

When is the asphalt extension to the casino scheduled for completion?

There is a bike path in the Mandeville area that is quite long. It’s call the St. Tammany Trace.

I live in Riverbend and ride River Road every time I ride, but I did get hit by a truck on River Road 2 weeks ago. If you park at La’Burge and ride it south, take the loop it’s pretty safe. And you can ride all the way to Bayou Paul Rd and all up in Alligator Bayou. And if you wanna stay off RIver Road all together you can park on River Road about a block from Bayou Paul and ride it acros the tracks at Nicholson into the Bayou Paul/Alligator Bayou area. It’s really safe in there(roads are curvy, speed limit is like 20mph, and only people in there are residents). A lot of cyclists ride in there and it’s great when it gets hot bc you’re in the shade about 80% of the time.

You're only supposed to do like 15 mph max on the trace though. Can easily get to a faster pace than that on a road bike and now you're dangerous to others.

Gravel bikes are becoming very popular like someone else said. Levee is a great place for that I'd think. No people, no cars, plenty of miles. I ride my tri bike inside on a trainer and bought a MTB to get any outdoor fix. If I find enough shell roads on the MTB, I may invest in a pure gravel bike. Just started shying away from the road about a year ago. Too many close calls (either with me or watched someone else).