bikes

by

Sunset Over S. Joseph and Toledano

There’s no way for me to get a picture that could possibly show what the sky looked like when I left for a ride to Mid-City. As I rolled out my door, the sky was a dozen shades of pink and orange and blue. Some parts of the sky looked like pulled taffy, thick ribbons of color across the horizon. The view was eerily beautiful as it gave way to night. The ride home was a little different. Yep, it was dark out, and the street lights seem to work only intermittently. All the more reason to make sure we use headlights, especially since it’s going to be the law on Monday. Front and back lights, folks, for safety and because it’s the law. Safe riding!

by

Bike Parking in Front of Dinwiddie Hall at Tulane

I’ve been watching this documentary about New York City, and it is blowing my mind. I am a lot of talk about the importance of bicycle infrastructure, but part of me thinks we’ve already got the roads we’ve got and it might just be too much trouble/money/work to really fundamentally change them. And then I learn about Robert Moses and the development of car culture. Continue reading →

by

Professional Pharmacy Prescriptions at Touro on Foucher and Prytania

We are having a wee bit of a heat wave here in New Orleans. Or at least that’s what the weather folks are telling us every day, with their heat advisories and everything. Heat advisory, or dude, it’s summertime in New Orleans, which means it’s just going to be hot–these are the questions that try my soul. But after Saturday’s long ride in the heat, I needed a day of rest yesterday, and today just got away from me, so all I got was a short nighttime ride to meet some former students for a drink (look at those shiny young graduates with their bright futures!). Continue reading →

by

Green Along the Tammany Trace Between Abita Springs and Covington

Back in March I was a little tipsy and there was a silent auction and I was in the mood to bid. I ended up with two weekend stays at hotels in Covington, and I’ve got to say, best bidding ever. I tossed the Surly in the back of my car and drove over the bridge to redeem my coupon here at the Residence Inn. I stopped at the Insta-Gator Ranch for a tour–not recommended–and then to the Abita Brew Pub for a beer and some sweet potato fries–highly recommended–to fuel a quick fifteen miles on the lovely Tammany Trace. Continue reading →

by

Chainring on a Bike at Exchange Place and Conti

I’ve been struggling with some writing I’ve been doing lately–the professional kind–and it’s been frustrating. Sometimes I feel like I’m just spinning my wheels, and not in that happy-bicycling kind of way. When I get stuck in a rut like this it’s usually a good idea to get on my bike and pay attention to stuff that has nothing to do with me, so when S. invited me out to dinner at a fancy restaurant, I thought sure, I’ll ride down to the Quarter, savor some savories, empty the brain. Continue reading →

by

Terrible Asphalt at Magazine and Julia

You know I love riding my bike around New Orleans. It’s flat as a pancake here and the weather is always perfect for a ride, assuming you don’t mind thunderstorms and 100+ heat indices, which I don’t. But our streets are, in many places, spectacularly awful. We have some repaving projects, some even including facilities for bikes–Chartres, St. Claude, Gentilly, upper St. Charles, La Salle/Simon Bolivar, Loyola–but most streets are a mess of exposed streetcar tracks, potholes, loose gravel, ridges, and all various and sundry temporary patches. Continue reading →

by

New Playground Equipment at Wisner Center Park at Annuciation and Upperline

As I was getting on my bike to head home after enjoying the Laker blowout with N., I thought about what I was going to say about this picture I took tonight of new playground equipment at the park on Annunciation and Upperline. When I first moved to New Orleans this park was still filled with FEMA trailers, but that space is now a baseball diamond. The basketball courts have been redone. And now, finally, the rusted out swingset and aluminum overhang has been replaced with this colorful new equipment. Continue reading →

by

Graffiti on a Fence at Milan and Camp

I had a most lovely day today, picking blueberries and swimming in the Bouie river under a crazy bright sun. No, I didn’t ride my bike there. But next time I visit, I am most definitely bringing the Surly for a ride on the Longleaf Trace, blueberry smoothie to follow. When I got back to town I immediately jumped on the bike and headed to a presentation at the local bookstore of a great new book about a 19th century bike randonneur. Continue reading →

by

Containers at the Carrollton Water Treatment Plant on Monticello and Claiborne

Today is my blog’s second birthday. I started the blog to gently mock my sister’s daily blog of her lunch (check it out–it’s actually sublime). I certainly didn’t expect to still be writing it, almost every day, two years later. But here we are, I’m still riding and writing, and both still bring me immense amounts of pleasure. One of the things the blog has done is forced me to pay attention as I move through the world. Continue reading →

by

Train and Graffiti at Chartres and Lesseps

I woke up this morning hoping the rain would stay at bay for just one afternoon so I could get a real ride in. I wrote my daily words by 10am, stopped by the bike shoppe for cleats for my new bike sandals, and headed to class. The thunder started, but no rain. Until, of course, I was heading home. I managed to avoid a downpour until I headed back out to meet friends for lunch. Continue reading →