Shopping For Bikes at Plan B at Decatur & Marigny

Today’s bike ride took me down to the Marigny to meet S. for coffee and some work and a slow page-turning trip through the Gambit’s 12,000th restaurant guide. As I made my way through cold drink #2 and the last 20 pages of a section of the never-ending book, V. walked in to grab a cup of coffee before opening up Plan B, our community-run bike shop. Continue reading

Open Car Window in Central City

I was a little anxious about riding my bike this afternoon after yesterday’s literal run-in with that car, but what else can you do but get back on the bike? After a morning spent watching a movie and taking a nap, I aired up my tires and headed uptown to J.’s for a long afternoon brunch with a whole passel of friends and acquaintances. Continue reading

Hellenic Dancers at Wisner & Robert E. Lee

Another day feeling out of sorts, another day riding the bike to try to reset. I headed out in the heat of the day toward Mid-City to check out Greek Fest on the Bayou–Opa! It is really, really hot out there, so I was a soggy mess by the time I made it through City Park and up the Wisner bike path to Robert E. Lee. I paid my five bucks, filled out my raffle ticket, and wandered in. Continue reading

New Orleans Antebellum, Civil War, & Reconstruction History at the Cabildo in Jackson Square

I’m feeling quite out of sorts with all the moving and things this week, but today, after a brief stop at the old place to clean out a cabinet and collect my security deposit, I am done. For now. What I need is a little normalcy, so I took myself out on the bike to meet friends for some work at the coffee shoppe and then to the Cabildo for a little Louisiana history. Continue reading

Open Fire Hydrant at Loyola & State

I have been moving for the last couple of days, from the Garden District to Central City for about one month before moving to the Marigny and then on to Baltimore (don’t ask). There’s no way around it: moving sucks. There’s always one more box that needs to be packed, a loose postcard here, old corn cob holders there, and the job is just endless, not to mention the part where it totally gets in the way of my bicycling time. Continue reading

The Side Entrance to Newcomb Hall at Tulane

Teaching is the best job ever, and I love it, but after a long semester and in the midst of a multi-move summer, I really am not in the mood to teach summer school night school. But I gotta eat/buy a mattress in Baltimore, so after a long, long day finishing up packing the apartment, I hopped on the bike and pedaled to work. If I have to teach right now, I want to teach this class to these students. Continue reading

Bicyclists Riding Over the Broad Street Overpass at I10

I’m not good at riding a bike with other people. I am bad at setting a pace and I’m bad at following a pace, so group rides aren’t my favorite. Also, for me, time on the bike is time to myself to just silently look around and think about stuff or think about nothing, so it took a little something to get me out of bed this morning and onto the bike to meet several hundred other people on bikes for the third annual Bicycle Second Line. Continue reading

Blue Sky, Clouds, and Power Lines at N. Peters & Bienville

I spent my morning finishing up my book and dismantling furniture for my upcoming move before heading out on the bike for various and sundry social activities in Mid-City. I stopped for a burrito and an afternoon sangria with myself–a favorite Saturday afternoon activity of mine. Continue reading

The Stooges On Stage at the Hi-Ho Lounge at St. Claude & Marigny

And sometimes you have nights like these: I got on my bike after the basketball game (I you, Kevin Durant) and headed down to the Marigny to meet S. and friends the check out The Stooges, a fantastic brass band with a standing Thursday night gig at the Hi-Ho Lounge. Continue reading

Invisible Cyclist at St. Charles & Jefferson

It was already dark when my night school class ended, so I strapped on my safety triangle, turned on my flashing front light, and donned my helmet before pushing off toward home. I was stopped at the light at Jefferson when a cyclist breezed by–no lights, no reflectors, no nothing. I think what cyclists don’t get is that at night, without lights and reflectors, we are invisible. Seriously–absolutely invisible. That’s scary for drivers, and more importantly, for us, because we’re going to lose this battle. A car pulled up next to me at that light, and the driver told me that he could see me clearly with my little slow moving vehicle sign, and that’s good to know. I never see me from the vantage point of a driver coming up from behind, and maybe that’s why so many cyclists don’t bother with any kind of night riding gear–because we don’t imagine that we aren’t being seen. After all, we can see you, so why can’t you see us? Well, they can’t see us. Clip a light on the back somewhere, please.