For some weird reason I was sore all over today, which meant my bike ride was a little tough–none of that “gliding over glass” business today. After work I decided to go for an easy pedal with lots of stretching. I headed up to the levee so I could ride unencumbered, but no matter how I spun, my legs just felt like lead. I made it out to the Huey P. Long Bridge, rested at the picnic table for a few minutes, and then headed back. You know what I saw? The city is starting to look like Mardi Gras is here, and I am starting to get excited about parades. That one house has its fence wrapped in purple, green and gold, the Sacred Heart “father’s auxiliary” has their food truck, and the barricades are out. Oh, the barricades! That’s the real sign that the season is upon us. They start at Napoleon and St. Charles and are on every street corner and neutral ground along the entire route–and it’s a long route. For two weeks, almost every night and every weekend day, people will pull the barricades out, we will line up against them, and parades will roll! Oh, I just love a parade. I snapped this picture of a stack of them at Canal & University Place. These are the ones that will keep me on the wrong side of the Quarter if I don’t sneak downtown between parades at just the right time. Oh, parades. I cannot wait.