Some days the bike ride really does feel like a hamster wheel, and today was one of those, which is exactly what I wanted. I woke up with the sense that something wasn’t right, couldn’t shake it through reading, meetings, emailing, or writing, so at the end of the day, I put on my bike shoes and took my bike to the reservoir to do laps, one after another, listening to a song or two on repeat. Continue reading
Month: January 2012
Blighted Building in Carroll Park in Pigtown
Oh, it was a beautiful day for a bike ride, so after a morning reading in bed with cats, I hopped on the bike and whizzed down the hill to meet J. and J. for lunch. We wandered from their hotel to the Inner Harbor, passing all the other conventioneers, before settling in for turkey burgers and side salads and fries. It was so good to catch up with an old friend–just what I needed. It was still warm out at the end of the afternoon, so I took my bike on a ride past Camden Yards, into Pigtown and Washington Heights, and then along the Gwynns Falls Trail. Continue reading
Closed Pharmacy at 36th & Chestnut
Oh, I wanted to ride my bike so badly today. I haven’t ridden since *Tuesday*, and when I don’t ride, the hamster wheel starts going in my head instead, and then I can’t sleep. It was nice and warm out today, but the wind was howling, and that’s just not weather I like to ride in. In which I like to ride. (See what I mean? Hamster. Wheel.) Sigh. So I decided to walk instead, and that was an excellent choice. Continue reading
Matthew 27:28;35 at Gilmor & Saratoga
Oh, Baltimore, thank you for the balmy Tuesday in late January! I had already been despairing that I might be freezing from now until May, but today’s sunshine and 50+ degrees was a welcome respite. I layered up, just in case, and took the bike down the hill and west toward UMBC. Continue reading
Icy Bike Rack at 32nd & Greenmount
Yep, still cold and icy, so when it was time to meet L. for brunch, I decided to go ahead and walk. I put on my snow boots, lovingly sent by by E. upon my arrival in the Great White Mid-Atlantic, and marched slowly up the hill. The ice is just worse, so where it was still coating the sidewalk, I took each step like a New Orleanian until I made it to my destination. Continue reading
Snow and Ice on the Sidewalk on Chase & St. Paul
Well, it was bound to happen eventually, this thing where water would fall out of the sky on a day so cold it would freeze, so here you go: ice. It looked pretty this morning, but it made for a slooow walk home from brunch as I measured each step to avoid slipping and bouncing off the sidewalk like the newbie I am. I spent the day at home writing up a syllabus and watching terrible movies, but I’ve got a dinner date in Mt. Vernon, so it’s time to get on the bike. Because it’s new to me it felt treacherous as I white-knuckled my way down the hill, taking the whole lane to avoid even the faint touch of visible ice. But what about the ice you can’t see, Kate? I got off and walked the last block to the restaurant. I figure, though, that it’ll be like anything else new–I’ll do it for awhile, get more comfortable, fall, realize falling won’t kill me, and then I will just be somebody who rides in wintertime. Or not. Maybe I’ll take the bus.
Steiff Silver Factory Building at Pacific & Keswick
Today’s bike ride found me in a whole bunch of layers–thanks again, wool!–and rolling up the hill to Druid Hill Park for some laps around the reservoir. A lot of the time I want traffic and all the thinking that goes along with it, but I’ve had a long week, and I have a long weekend ahead of me, so I just wanted some mindless circles. Continue reading
State Troopers Parked Inside the Fence at the Proposed Youth Jail Site on Madison
Today’s ride took me down the hill for a quick stop at the proposed site of the new youth jail to see if there was any Schools Not Jails action afoot. I had planned to ride around for awhile longer, but the wind! Once I took my left on Center and felt the bike getting pushed out from under me, I decided to punk out and make it a short ride. Continue reading
Schools Not Jails Rally at Monument & Constitution
It’s Martin Luther King, Jr. day today, so I woke up early, got my reading and writing in, and then hopped on the bike to meet S. for a ride down the hill and then back up for the MLK Day parade. I seriously love parades, but boy, I’m going to have to learn that Baltimore is not New Orleans. Continue reading
Crumbling Bricks at Cox & Falls
Today’s ride took me up past Hampden to meet folks at a bar to enjoy some playoff football. I don’t know if you’ve heard, but the Ravens are in, and they’re my team, now that the Saints are out after last night’s heartbreaker. It was chilly chilly, so I rode as fast as I could and took advantage of the sun and the hills to warm myself up. I passed a lot of people in purple, already tipsy with the day. There as a drink, some. Fried food, and a whole lot of yelling, and then it was time to roll back down the hill. I snapped this picture of the remnants of the brick wall of some ghost of a building. If it were a different wall, this might be an Historical Landmark, but here it’s just another remnant of a past Baltimore–so, so many of these. In the light and with that sky, though, today it looked beautiful. I pedaled home and was reminded that the downhill is much, much colder. I best get used to it.
What I Saw Riding My Bike Around Today 