The day was so beautiful it deserved a much better bike ride than it got today, but what are you going to do–sometimes you have to work. But then I was done, and I hopped on the Surly for a ride through the construction on Charles to meet S. for a late lunch/early dinner before taking a quick zoom around the neighborhood and back the Charles Village for the dress rehearsal of the Baltimore Neighborhood Circus show at the 2640 space on St. Paul. I’m happy I get to negotiate the new Charles Avenue on bike and not in a car. But anyway. It is my firm belief that if your friends are putting on a show, you should attend said show, but I’ll be out of town for the main event, so this was my chance to get a sneak peek at what I’ll be missing. Unsurprisingly, the independent community circus was running on a bit of a delay, but oh my, it was worth the wait. The plot was abstract–just the way a circus plot should be, if you ask me–and the acts were remarkable. The guy bouncing and juggling a dozen balls at the same time, the woman dressed as a bunny being balanced, turned, and thrown by the woman dressed as grass, the folks climbing the long flowing fabric stretching down from the high bar and then tying themselves in it and floating or falling through the air–all of it was just delightful and absolutely worth the wait. I love what humans do with themselves, and these humans were a pleasure to watch. And then it was time to go home and wish the place had some bike racks. Because you know who’s going to be at that circus on Friday? People with bikes. No riding for me until next week as I’m off to work in Denver for the rest of the week, but I’m taking my running shoes, because why not?