bikes

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Cloudy Sky Over Druid Hill Park Reservoir

Dense clouds above a gated body of water with an open fence.

So many bike rides until lately, when I have found myself catching rides and borrowing the car. I have long understood that my ability to commute by bike and bus is possible because my work schedule is flexible and I don’t currently care for anyone who needs me to pick them up somewhere. I spend two and half to three hours a day commuting when I go to campus. And now it’s Fall 2023, and my work life is much busier than it has been, and it’s either grab a ride with Susan or get home after dinner. I’ll take the ride. (Thanks, Susan!)

I type this not to apologize for not writing on my blog, or for not riding my bike. All of this stuff is entirely up to me. But in my therapy appointment today I talked about the frustration I feel about not getting to explore on my bike as much as I usually get to explore, so after our appointment I headed out to enjoy the cool air and the cloudy sky.

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Clouds in a Blue Sky Above Lake Montebello

Bright blue sky peppered with fluffy white clouds above a reservoir along a bike path.

And then it cooled down, and that has made all the difference! I took myself out for my regular Herring Run Trail ride on Monday, and it felt so good. I kept staring up at the sky. It was perfect from every angle–bright blue, fluffy clouds, offering just enough shade to keep me cool-ish. I snapped this one near the end of my ride, doing my second C around Lake Montebello.

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Looking up at the Harford Road Bridge from the East Side of Herring Run Park

News flash! It’s hot out! I headed out the door to ride my bike to a dentist appointment up in Hamilton last month, and my partner implored me to use the car. “It’s not safe,” she said. I was like, I have been riding my bike in hot and humid summer heat for fifteen years, I’m fine. And I was, and she was right–it was really hot out. And I was right–I could indeed ride my bike in it.

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New Condos near McElderry & Aisquith

I haven’t been on my bike much this week, heeding my body’s request for rest. My longest ride was Sunday, first to meet friends for brunch, and then to check out the new bike lane on Central. The ladyfriend drove alongside it and promised I’d love it. She was absolutely right. I took the Monument Street bike lane, a right on Central, and for awhile was sharing the lane with drivers. And then, like a mirage, the widest bike lane I have ever seen emerged. The asphalt is still riding like it’s brand new, and I stretched out, big smile, thank you for these blocks of safe riding, Baltimore!

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A Farm Near Easton, MD

Ten years ago I trained for and rode in Ride for the Feast. It’s a big fundraiser for Moveable Feast, an organization that provides nutritionally balanced meals to people with health conditions who are also facing food insecurity. It’s a great organization that does amazing things, and ten years ago it was also the place I rode my first century. I signed up for it not because it was such a good cause, but because I love riding a bike, and I wanted to meet some bike-loving queers–which I did.

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Bike Locked at UMMC at Lombard & Penn Street

Close up of a black U lock through a red bike rack, a black lock, and a blue bike helmet.

It has been a long work week, and today, when I finally have a couple of hours that I could spend on my bicycle, it is pouring rain, big winds headed our way, and nope, not going to get to do that today. I mean, I could, but I’m way past starting a ride in weather like this just because I feel like I “should” get the miles in. I’m still working on the listening to my body thing, and I will all too often start a ride when my body would prefer I rest, but hey, baby steps.

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Looking Out Over the Pier Near the Broening Park Boat Ramp

Monday was cool and gray, but the wind machines were turned down for the first, and I fear last, time for awhile–perfect day for a bike ride. I spent my morning in virtual meetings, my lunchtime with M., our usual walk to coffee and back, and planned to head out on the bike. M. and I have been doing the same walk to the same cup of coffee and outside chit chat, and walk back for years, and we always check on the cat litter that was dumped on the sidewalk just past the alley at the side of that burger place. Somebody dumped their litter box on the sidewalk, and still, at least two years later, there’s cat litter in the corner where those two pieces of sidewalk don’t quite meet. I’m sure who(m)ever dumped it has long forgotten about it, but M. and I can’t forget about it, especially because every single time I point it out: “Still there!” I like taking the same paths over and over not just to see how things change, but also what stays the same.

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Looking South from 35th & Old York Road

A residential street with row houses on the right side and trees on the left.

I needed to do a long ride, or a long ride for me. I increased my mileage too much too soon, and I gave myself some shoulder and neck pain that was my body’s way of telling me to slow down and take a break. I did that, it helped, but I missed the long ride. Monday I’d go for 20 miles, I told myself over the weekend, and when Monday came, I was a little scared to do it. I have ridden 20 miles many, many times in my life, and I rode 15 last week, but sometimes I still get a little bit anxious. So I did some work tasks, took an online German class, but then, instead of waiting all day to see if I would be able to ride 20 miles, I just headed out the door at 10am to see how it would go.

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Flowering Trees at Druid Hill Park

Pink flowering trees at Druid Hill Park on a gray day.

The ladyfriend was working from home on Monday, and as I got ready to head out on a bike ride, she was like, “You know it’s raining, right?” My rule, borrowed from my dad, is to never start a bike ride in the rain, because I’ll finish enough in the rain as it is. It was barely drizzling and my weather app said it wouldn’t be more than drizzle, so I shrugged and headed out.

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Swytch E-Bike Conversion Kit Review

Me in a red t-shirt and capri jeans balanced on my green Surly Long Haul Trucker while talking animatedly on the phone.

This week marks my 14th anniversary with my Surly Long Haul Trucker. This is a picture of us on our first ride together (yes, New Orleans in February is sometimes warm enough to dress like that!). A friend met me for a photo shoot, and this is me, on my bike, talking on the phone to someone about how amazing my new bike is. I imagine I was talking to my dad, who was even more excited about the bike than I was. His motto was always “shop often, buy once,” and he had done a lot of shopping on my behalf. It was between this bike and the Trek 520–I don’t even remember why a touring bike was deemed necessary–and the LHT was a few hundred bucks cheaper, and dad’s good friend Tom rode it, so voila, my new bike! I ordered it from Bicycle Michael’s on Frenchman Street, paid half in cash from the six hundred dollar bills my dad sent me in the mail–always cash in the mail because as a former postal officer, he trusted the U.S. Mail like no one I have ever known.

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