The last week of September was all commuter rides punctuated by a Monday relief–a building collapsed in downtown Baltimore, and traffic was at a standstill. N., one of my shuttle buddies, texted me about it from an early shuttle, and I was relieved to learn no one had been hurt, and I could just hop on my bike and ride home instead of waiting for my turn in the wall of cars trying to get to MLK to take a left. Thursday I had the day off from work, though, and I spent in on my bike–all day long, 30+ miles worth of riding for fun and travel. Continue reading
bikes
View from Admiral Fell Inn’s 5th Floor at Thames & Broadway
Sunday was another shockingly beautiful day in Baltimore, and we had an outdoor wedding to attend down in Fells Point, on Ravens game day. This is just the sort of thing that would throw my parking-averse self into a frenzy days in advance, worrying where we were going to put the car, how much parking would cost, when we’d have to leave to find a spot–not to brag, but I can really worry about this sort of thing. But the ladyfriend and I both have bikes, so we put on our formal wear–me, a dress and heels, her slacks and a vest and a tie and some snazzy wingtips–and jammed some lights and a safety vest in a bag for the ride home, and headed down the hill to watch L. and T. tie the knot. Actually, they did so awhile ago in Australia, but they wanted to throw a show for the rest of us, and they couldn’t have picked a more beautiful day to do so. Continue reading
Bruster’s Ice Cream at Aquahart and Greenway Road
It’s the end of September, but Baltimore feels like early summer. It hit 80 degrees this weekend, and it was nothing but blue skies, perfect for a bike ride. I hadn’t been on the B&A all season and the ladyfriend was up for anything, so we strapped our bikes to her car, stopped at the bike shoppe for a new tire for her (her tube was bubbling right through the old one! gasp!) before lunch, and then we were off. Continue reading
Plant Growing From a Building at Lombard & Penn
Monday’s ride was a similar zippy one down to the corner of Lombard and Greene to pick up the shuttle for my ride to work. I did some niggling and adjusting on my new pannier rack system, successfully solving the heel strike problem from last week. It was a long teaching day before a surprisingly short wait for the shuttle back into the city. I was happy to see a familiar face–V. from student affairs was giving the shuttle a try–and I sat next to her for a surprisingly short drive back to my bike. Sometimes the traffic let’s up. I got off early, took the slow stroll back to my bike. I stopped to snap a picture of this plant growing out of a brick wall. I’d checked out this wall from the shuttle earlier as we rode part, because I think there’s a cemetery up there. I hadn’t noticed it before–the bike’s to short to see over the wall, and why would I ride this way to cross MLK anyway? New routes, new views, and even the fancy med school can’t keep the plants out of the walls.
Baltimore Cemetery Against Blue Skies at Belair Road & North Ave.
Sunday was just perfect. The temperature dropped from 93 to 78 degrees, and the humidity fell with it. I got my work and chores done early and had nowhere to be, and finally got a bike ride in that wasn’t driven largely by the place I had to be. I had something to return to a store that has an outlet in Canton, so I pedaled off with a vague plan to head southwest, and that’s what I did, joining the traffic on Harford Road before taking right after right after right on my way downtown. I managed to turn on streets I’m not sure I’d been on before, and I watched as the blocks turned from rows of matching brick to vacant flat-faced row houses to that series of car washes on the blocks in Middle East. Continue reading
University of Maryland Medical Center Campus at Lombard and Greene
It was another week of mostly commuting as I get back in the swing of on campus work again. Friday was another trip on the new shuttle, and I took that easy morning route, snaking through Waverly and Abell on my way to Maryland Avenue for a speedy straight shot down to Lombard for a right into the bus/bike lane and the few blocks to Greene. I got there early because I don’t yet know how to get to a public transit stop any other way and waited. I took this picture of the layers of old buildings against each other and idly wondered if when they were new anyone thought they’d be this old someday. Will our new buildings last like these? Did anyone argue they were ugly or out of place with the existing architecture our displaced too many people? Will someone in 100 years stare at the new casino and wonder the same things? And then the shuttle came and there were meetings and meetings and a too-long wait for the ride back and a better ride home than last time. I finally see what all the fuss is about, Park Ave. I wonder how long until this all seems the normal way to get around.
Bike Corral at Lombard & Greene
Classes started last week, just as they have for the past ten years I’ve been teaching. There’s always something different–a new syllabus or classroom, a new office or a new class blog, and always there are new students, familiar but different, and each group has to find its own chemistry. Sometimes, though, a new semester means something earth-shatteringly new that makes everything different. Like this past week, when I got an email the day before the new semester began announcing a free shuttle service between downtown Baltimore and UMBC. Wow. This is a game-changer for so many of us–or at least enough of us to justify the expense and to make them keep the shuttle line. My excitement was not without some reservation. Continue reading
Orioles Game From the Bleachers at Camden Yards
Friday’s bike ride took me first to the train station and out to Catonsville on Brompty for a day at the office before swapping out for the Surly for a ride with N. down to Camden Yards to watch the O’s take on her beloved St. Louis Cardinals. It’s more than a little embarrassing to go to a game with your ladyfriend all decked out in enemy colors, but she donned an O’s wristband, so there was that. The ride down there was a bit slow–my left knee hurt on the inside and I was making the mistake of worrying how the ride back up the hill would feel instead of enjoying the ride down there. Staying present’s a tough job for this cat, but I’m working on it. Continue reading
Checking Out Velocipedes at the Maryland Historical Society on Monument & Par
Thursday’s ride took me down to the Maryland Historical Society (MdHS) for what is basically my wet dream: a party celebrating Baltimore’s bicycling history, brought to us by Baltimore Heritage, the MdHS, and the International Cycling History Conference. I zipped down the hill, and P. caught up to me at the light a block north of Preston. I asked her where she was going–she said she was going where I was going. I guess I’m fairly predictable when it comes to bikes and histories and things. We rolled up to the event, locked our bikes, and headed in to catch the last minutes of the vintage bicycle display. It was all high-wheeled death-defying velocipedes and old steel kids bikes and all manner of cycling enthusiasts, from the tweed-clad Victorian players to the single-speed hipsters to the family commuters, and we all milled about, chatting about whether we’d like to climb on the penny farthings or not (I was in the “no” camp, surprisingly) until it was time for the group ride with our fearless nerd leader, Eli Pousson of Baltimore Heritage. He led at least 50 of us up the hill and to the left to visit the original home of the very first bicycling club in Baltimore, over in Reservoir Hill. The velocipedes were a total hit with folks on the street, and the rest of us were mere background. Our next stop was Druid Hill Park, which apparently has been a great place to ride in circles for a very, very long time. I was riding with Bikemore President Chris Merriam who got his own looks for towing a trailer behind his bicycle. We were stopped at a light on a downhill, and one of those velocipedes was wobbling toward us. “I need a strong shoulder, Chris, a strong shoulder,” I heard, as he reached down from high above to grab Chris for a stop. A grab and then they both went down in what felt to me like slow motion, Chris falling into the web of the big wheel’s spokes. See? ALL bikes need brakes, and then I thought about the matching rhetoric against the death machine velocipedes and today’s single-speed demons–the more things change. Chris and I peeled off from the group after this, him heading home and me to a fountain soda and some minutes outside, by myself. Out was a perfect bike evening, even if I couldn’t hang with the group ride for long. I’m glad we were all there, and that the fight for bike rights to the road continues, 150+ years after the introduction of the first two-wheeler in Baltimore.
Youth Curfew Ordinance Protesters at UB School of Law at Charles & Mt. Royal
I’m moving this week, just up the street, but still my anxiety is through the roof–you’d think I hadn’t moved at least every three years of the last twenty. Oh well–I’m doing what I can, and on Tuesday that meant taking the bike out to meet a friend for a walk, riding over the the gym for step aerobics (never changes!), and then riding all over running self-care errands. Yeah, it was slightly better than sitting in the house, waiting for it to pack itself. Oh, I love this town–its trees, its cheap haircutteries, its community acupuncture and friendly eyeglass shop! The ride was an excellent reminder that I may be moving, but I’m not starting over–I get to stay in Baltimore this time! Continue reading
What I Saw Riding My Bike Around Today 