Today’s ride took me and the Surly over to Hampden and up Chestnut to 36th Avenue before I figured out that Falls Road is the other way, and then flew down the hill to lock up my bike and head into the studios for my breakout performance on Baltimore public radio’s Marc Steiner Show. WEAA 88.9 is in desperate need of bike racks, so I had to lock up to a gate before heading in and putting on the headphones for an hour-long conversation about gender. We finished our conversation–it turns out gender’s complicated–and then it was time to head back up the hill to do some writing and talking with V. and J. It was a lovely afternoon of socializing and thinking on a surprisingly cool summer afternoon. I stopped on my ride home to take a picture of these hydrangeas fancying up the street because wow, sometimes nature is all candy. The homeowner got home at just this moment and we had a lovely conversation about how these flowers look in the morning (better), where they came from (they came with the house), and that a helmet saved his life once (for the first time in years I wasn’t wearing one). That’s right, I left my lid in S.’s car, and yes, my head felt totally naked. We had a brief chat about bicycle safety, I complimented his porch, and he invited me to stop by any time. It was a lovely interaction, one that would never happen if I’d been in a car, or if I never stopped to check out the flowers. It was an excellent reminder to slow down a little.