The air is filling with carnival, people. And so are the streets. The signs are everywhere, as I noticed when riding home from a great talk at Tulane. The mansions above Napoleon are dripping in decorations. The intersection at Napoleon and St. Charles is stacked with metal barriers. Fat Harry’s is draped in parade schedule. The synagogue is surrounded by a fence that’s keeping its viewing platform private. The “No Parking: Parade Route” signs that are up all year round suddenly make senseMardi Gras is here. I stopped to take this picture of these NOPD reflective barriers at Peniston. I saw the cops toss these out a couple days ago as they slowly drove down St. Charles in a van, and now I’m watching them wait for Friday. Yep, looks like I’ll be tracking its movements for the next couple of weeks, by bike, of course. I love this time of year, and really, it can only be done properly by bike. I’m getting excited.