Month: October 2012

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Lit Up Rat at the Lantern Parade in Patterson Park

S. got her bike new wheels and cables and brakes after it got stripped earlier this year, which means S. has a bike now. That means we can ride bikes together places–this is most excellent news! Tonight she came over in her cow suit with a skeleton suit for me, and we got to zip down the hill and to the left for the Lantern Parade in Patterson Park. Continue reading →

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Bike Party Gathering at Mt. Vernon Square at Monument & Charles

It was a long, long week at work, so by the time Friday rolled around, I was a sleepy bee. S. was right, though–we had to get on our bikes and head down to the Bike Party, at least for a little bit, to check out the hundreds of people in costumes ready to take over the streets. I couldn’t get it up to put on more than socks and a sweatshirt, but S. donned her cow costume and we zipped down the new door-zone friendly bike lane on St. Paul, collecting other riders as we went before we all made the smart choice to take Maryland Avenue instead. Continue reading →

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Fall Colors on the Jones Falls Trail Behind the Zoo in Druid Hill Park

I didn’t feel like going for a bike ride or going to the gym or doing much of anything but crawling in my bed with a book after a long day of staring at my computalator waiting for words. But come on, I could at least go for a short ride, just up to the park and back, you know you want to. I Continue reading →

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Boarded-Up Building at Argyle & Lanvale

I didn’t have to go in to campus today, so I made the most of it, doing some reading and writing at home before setting out on my bike on this shockingly warm spring–I mean fall–afternoon. I pedaled the short way down the hill for a lunch date with myself and my book, and afterward went for a ride around West Baltimore with the vague plan to go to the B&O Railroad Museum to do a little research. Continue reading →

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Prettyboy Dam in the Hereford Zone of Baltimore County

I left my bike at home today and joined S. and J. for a hike in Gunpowder Falls State Park out in Baltimore County. Those two are fearless, but I’m a baby so we took a slow slide on mud and wet leaves above the river until we had our feet on more expansive flats. The air smelled like decaying leaves and fall and, according to S., just a little bit like licorice in a spots. We walked along, stopped to admire S.’s rock-skipping skills and J.’s apparent natural talent for the same, admired impressive mushrooms and wished for a Field Guild to Mushrooms, and enjoyed apples while sitting on a fallen tree. Continue reading →

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Tree Growing From a Balcony on Hamburg Between W. Ostend & Bayard

After a long morning in bed nursing an insomnia hangover, it was time to get on the bike and head out into the sunshine of another perfect fall day. I headed over to Hampden for lunch and then back downtown along the Jones Falls Trail. I stopped to check out the scene at Falls Road and ran into my downstairs neighbor, a fellow bike enthusiast. He was heading out on his bike with no destination in particular just like I was, and it was the perfect day for that. Continue reading →

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Empty Mail Trucks at Front & E. Lexington

It was sunny and a little breezy and I had finished up grading that stack of papers called “midterms,”and I got to get on my bike and head up to Hampden to meet V. for lunch and some window shopping. Then it was back on the bike and down the hill for a whirl around the weight machines at the gym, and then back up the hill. I didn’t have time to take much of a long way back home, so I just took an early right for a few blocks. Continue reading →

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Ivy Growing on Buildings at Aliceanna & S. Bethel

It was chilly in my house this afternoon so I expected to be cold when I headed down the hill on my bike, but now–it was all blue skies and sunshine and the heat on my back. It was also one of those days where cars seemed out to get me, so I hunkered down into my defensive driving mode, which includes a lot of following the rules of the road–yeah, it was a slow trip. I locked up, did a whirl around the gym, and then took my grading to a restaurant for a snack and a much slower whirl through the pile of papers. Continue reading →

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Cage Over the Pedestrian Bridge to Westport Over 295 on Maisel & Annapolis

Today’s ride took me down the hill and around the harbor and up again to Federal Hill, with a final left to Locust Point for a much-needed haircut and an afternoon of grading/watching football. I meant to go straight home afterward, but then I just kept riding west back through Federal Hill and over to M&T Stadium to watch the hordes of Ravens fans walk to their cars. Continue reading →

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Tree Growing Out of a Propped Up Wall on Chester & Chase

Last week was so busy busy with so many late nights due to campus events and baseball that I just didn’t have time to ride my bike for anything but transportation. I can’t remember the last time I just rode around aimlessly, and after waking up tired and sickly and leaving the house without enough clothing for the cooler weather, I didn’t think I’d be taking that sort of ride today either. I headed down to the coffee shop to meet V. for a quick grading session before heading the rest of the way downtown to stop at the gym. Continue reading →