My Wednesdays are crazy busy and this one had a couple of bumps that made it particularly long, so by the time I stumbled out of the office at 6:30 I wasn’t exactly looking forward to getting on the bike. But then I felt the air–cool–and clipped in and was off, tonight to Bayou St. John for dinner with T., T., and N. I stopped quickly, though, to take a picture of this sign at Broadway and Plum. I mean, the thing is seriously proud of itself. Continue reading
bikes
Satellite Dishes and Overgrowth at Piety and Chartres
I didn’t ride my bike yesterday. I didn’t do much, actually, other than walk to the grocery store for cat food, sour cream, and lettuce and then watch TV. It was the perfect lazy reset kind of day. I got up this morning and did some reading and writing and looking at work I didn’t want to look at and figuring out what to do about it. After the game I took my frustrations out on my bicycle, pedaling as fast as I could to K.’s house for a meeting. That meeting had its own frustrations, so I headed down to the Bywater afterward to meet R. at W.’s house. Continue reading
Moon Over the I10 From the Jeff Davis Overpass
See that glowing dot in the background there? Yeah, that’s the moon. I first saw it as I picked up the Jeff Davis bike path at Washington as I rode to Mid-City for a meeting. I pedaled faster, in time to the music, thinking the view would be pretty good from the top of the highest hill I’ve found in NOLA–the I10 overpass. I actually lost the moon when I got up there. I looked behind me–no dice. Continue reading
Gravel on an Uptown Street
I only had energy for commuting today, so my bike ride just took me up to work and back, workaday pedaling, just trying to get there and back. As I rode up to my house I noticed this new addition of gravel to the front of the place, in that netherworld between street and sidewalk. Not to get too deep or anything, but whoa, that’s a seriously liminal space. Continue reading
Blue Sky and Clouds Over Dauphine & Piety
I had a juice date with S. down in the Bywater this morning, so that meant I got to hop on the bike early. I don’t usually see downtown at that time of day, and I swear the light is different. I had trouble deciding on a route. I wanted the speed of St. Charles without the rocky riding I expected on Camp Street in the CBD–they’ve been resurfacing it for repaving–but I decided to risk it, and took Prytania down to Camp. Guess what? Continue reading
Cool Breeze Uptown on St. Charles Ave.
Sometimes I work a really, really long day, like non-stop-for-fourteen-hours long day, and the last thing I want to do is think about what I’m seeing riding my bike around today. I just want to be home watching the Saints with a beer and leftovers. But then I get on my bike and get in a rhythm and the streets are dark and empty and the air is actually cool. And then I’m glad I’m not at home on the couch, happy to be alone on my bike for 20 minutes so the long day can just drift away. Yeah, that’s what I saw riding my bike around today.
Trees on Zachary Taylor Near Pan-American Stadium in City Park
Today didn’t go as planned, and it took me a lot longer to get out on my bicycle for a ride than I’d wanted, but that’s how things go sometimes. I put on my new prescription sunglasses–I can already see why they designed those wrap-around shades–and headed out to see the lake. I headed out Jeff Davis on my way to City Park and picked up the Bike Route signs at Bayou St. John. There are a lot of new bike/walk paths in New Orleans, but I am terrible with maps, and as soon as it’s folded up, I’ve forgotten everything anyway. Continue reading
Cyclist Using the St. Claude Bike Lane at St. Claude and Press
The weather report promised a 100+ degree heat index, so I was a little anxious when heading downtown for a quick Saturday afternoon bike ride, but oh, the difference some clouds make! I headed down to the St. Claude bike lane to take some pictures for D., who will be talking about our fancy bike lane at a conference this weekend. Dodging Ole Miss fans wasn’t easy, but I made it to St. Claude and Press and set myself up to snap some photos. Continue reading
Grabbing for Beads at the NFL Kickoff Parade at Poydras & Tchoupitoulas
What a weird day! I rode my bike to campus for a little of this and a little of that and lunch with a friend. By the time we were done eating, the sky had opened up and was dumping 2.5 inches of rain on Uptown. It was crazy! I hitched a ride back to school and waited it out before fetching my bike and heading downtown. I don’t know if you heard, but there was a football game tonight. I was going to avoid the pregame parade, still haunted by the visceral memory of the outrageous crowds at the last Saints parade, but come on, it’s a parade! Can’t miss a parade. Continue reading
A Hole in a Tire on an Uptown Bicycle
Technicially, this is something I saw before I rode my bike around today. Last Sunday’s tire puncture has been growing all week long, and on last night’s ride, I could feel the thump-a thump-a thump-a of something going on back there, if you know what I mean. Oh, this situation is beyond repair, isn’t it? I did the math, and this tire went at least 4,000 miles, which seems pretty decent for the tire that came with the bike. I thought I might be able to get one last ride in before my new tire comes in tomorrow, so I hopped on the Surly and headed to the Treme to meet some friends for lunch. Yeah. The tire burst on O.C. Haley and Euterpe. N. picked me up–we’re good friends, so I avoided the well-earned “I told you so”–and after lunch, the bike and I were back home. New tires tomorrow, folks. I’m excited.
What I Saw Riding My Bike Around Today 