It’s Halloween in New Orleans, and the city is all dressed up to go out. I, on the other hand, am just not in the mood. Sometimes I just get all scrooged out and become a total buzzkill, and the best answer for everyone involved is for me to just get on my bike and go for a ride by myself. And that’s what I did today, making a stop at S.’s to try and fix her pinch flat on her new bike. Yeah, that’s the downside to the internal gear business… After many unsuccessful attempts, I threw in the towel and headed out to see what the more spirited types are doing for the holiday. Continue reading
Month: October 2010
Tents at the Voodoo Experience Music Festival in City Park
We are in the last days of October and here in New Orleans that means it’s time to put a sweatshirt in the saddlebags when heading out in a skirt and tank top to ride under a perfectly blue sky, sun overhead. What a delight! I had a lovely Saturday, reading for pleasure before hitting to road for a very leisurely pedal out to Lake Pontchartrain. And then I remembered it’s music festival weekend in City Park. I don’t quite have the cash to lay out for the show, so I decided to see what I could hear for free just by biking around. Continue reading
Critical Mass Riders at Jackson Square
Here’s the thing. I love riding my bicycle. And I love other people riding their bicycles. And I wish everyone was on a bicycle and cars were the exception. But I’m not that good at riding with others. I want to be, I really do. I mean, those are my people out there, pedaling around! So when S. emailed to see if i wanted to go on a ride, I thought yes, let’s go to Critical Mass. I got this. Continue reading
Sunset Over Hollygrove From Leonidas & Eagle
I spent most of the day working–first from home and then from the office–so I was definitely in the mood for a bit of a ride around town at the end of it, in spite of the heady winds. We don’t have hills here, so windy days feel like my only chance to “hill” train, so I decided to pedal against it for awhile. I headed up Oak Street past Carrollton to check out how the fancy new street is looking. (Good, but it’s way too narrow for parking on both sides, cars each way, and a stray bike or two.) I turned at Eagle and headed toward Hollygrove, stopping to check out the new water treatment plant being storm-proofed at Spruce Street. Continue reading
Crowds at the Take Back the Night Rally at Loyola
Another work day, another morning ride to campus. And it’s the end of October, so of course I arrived three miles later in my tank top and light skirt, drenched in sweat. Fall in New Orleans… I taught a ridiculous number of classes today, so by the end of it all I was happily relieved and decided to work it out with a couple of laps around the park. The lake was positively alive with bird activity–this time, ducks. I think. Why are there all these teenage ducks in the park right now? Aren’t ducklings born in spring? R.? Do you know? I watched them snack and squawk for awhile and then headed to Loyola’s campus to meet up with folks gathered for this year’s Take Back the Night march and rally. Continue reading
The Sweet Spot Van For Sale at S. Liberty & Foucher
The weather today was just crazy–humid, sunny, raining, really windy. I hopped on the bike and rode up to campus for lunch and some writing in the office. It was spitting rain when I headed downtown to the gym, but it was this really weird rain–I could see it but it never seemed to quite hit me. I don’t think I travel with an invisible umbrella, so I’m going with it just being weird weather. Continue reading
Fall Colors at Amelia & Camp Streets
Is this a birch tree? I most assuredly do not know my trees, but today as I was riding downtown after a long work day, I was scoping out the trees. We don’t get fall colors here in New Orleans, because we don’t really have fall like that, and we certainly don’t have a lot of deciduous trees. I saw one tree that looked golden from afar, but when I got closer it turned out the golden was from the sun hitting it just right. Continue reading
Clouds Over Lake Pontchartrain
We’ve had nothing but blue skies for what seems like weeks, so today’s spluttering rain and clouds were a bit of a rude awakening. I guess at some point we will have days that feel like they belong at the end of October. I hopped on the Surly with hopes for good weather luck and headed down to the Treme for the second half of the football game. Nothing good on this given Sunday, so I hoped the ride afterward would be better. It was. Continue reading
Dr. King Charter School Marching Band on N. Villere & St. Anthony
It was a positively beautiful Saturday in New Orleans and I spent much of it on my bicycle, riding around–surprise, surprise. I headed to campus to get a little work done in my office, and as I was leaving to enjoy the ride, I discovered a flat tire. When will I learn to carry an extra tube? The puncture was incredibly small, and I couldn’t find it, and the sinks in the public restroom didn’t have stoppers, which meant I was doomed to lose my dignity and stick my hands and the tube in the toilet. Sigh. Continue reading
Scooter Rentals and Tours on Decatur & Canal
Today I got to go the bike store with S. and pick out a brand new shiny bicycle. I rode down to meet her at the cafe and then we hopped in her car and went and test rode and purchased a most beautiful red bicycle. I drove and she rode and we made it back to her place at almost the exact some time. It doesn’t make that much longer to ride a bike, she said. No, no it doesn’t, my friend. I hope she loves that bike and rides the heck out of it in whatever ways will make her happy. Continue reading
What I Saw Riding My Bike Around Today 