I unexpectedly had the afternoon free, so I decided to spend it out on my bicycle, an excellent idea until after a delicious brunch that made me want to get straight back into bed with my cats and a book. S. said I could do that, after my bike ride, and she was right, so I pedaled east of Greenmount to see if I could get lost. It didn’t take long, because I don’t spend that much time in Northeast Baltimore. I was quickly in Clifton Park, cycling through a gold course I never new was there. I shot out onto Harford Road, waited to cross, got bored so took a right–which I do all the time, bike or car–and passed a pedestrian down in the middle of the street, a cop watching over, a woman weeping into her phone. So many lives changed, just like that. Cars slowed down to rubber neck, so I was extra careful, knowing no one was looking for me. I saw a castle off in the distance, so I kept pedaling, and then I was on Gay Street, row after row of empty houses to the right and left, past the castle against the backdrop of more empty houses, and then I stopped to take this picture of a mural, a train going right by the kinds of houses that maybe once used to be around here. And then the neighborhood was suddenly different and I knew where I was–Highlandtown and then back toward Canton for a treat. On my way I saw a billboard that read, “Married people earn more money. Marriage works.” Yeah, riding around the neighborhood one can only conclude that what would really help would be if everybody got married. And then I rode through Fells Point, a quick stop for a swim, and then back up the hill to home, including a trip on our bike lane that apparently got hit by a drunk driver last night. Bike lane or not, stay aware!