Hello from a bike in chilly New England! There’s this weird, cold white-ish stuff everywhere and all these naked trees. Nope, I’m definitely not in New Orleans anymore. Being in a new place means new places to ride, so when I passed a bike shop on my way to brunch this afternoon, I stopped in, batted my eyelashes, and procured a bike for the weekend. I was instantly at home, until I started pedaling up the hill that is the 116. Yeah, hills make things a little different, but it gave me a chance to really use the gears and be patient. I stopped to snap this photo on a pedestrian bridge where E. Hadley meets S. Pleasant. It was so beautiful here today, with the frozen water, the snow, and the trees. This is a natural beauty entirely unlike my daily treats in New Orleans. I’ve been to the Pioneer Valley many, many times, but it looked different today, on a bike. The view is so different when you’re pedaling, and I’m looking forward to another couple days of it, working around the Saints game, a trip to the Bookmill for cupcakes and browsing, and time with the cutest nephew in history. And I’m looking forward to what my legs feel like after hills.