I was happy to see sunshine this morning after last night’s rather harrowing slog home. I got on the Surly and headed to campus, feeling the aches from the whole-body vise grip I used to get home. After meeting with a student and then celebrating this year’s graduates, I biked down Willow, enjoying the heat of the sun and the (relatively) dry day. Continue reading
bikes
Waiting Out a Rainstorm on Royal and Governor Nicholls
It was another stormy day in New Orleans, but I really, really, really needed to ride my bike. That meant breaking one of my unofficial biking rules that I learned from my dad: never start a ride in the rain. No such choice today, so I put on my quick-dry skirt and raincoat, tied a plastic bag on the fancy leather saddle, rolled up my waterproof pannier (thank you, Ortlieb!,) and headed down to the Quarter to meet S. for dinner before joining other friends for Treme in the Treme. Continue reading
Jasmine On a Brick Wall at Governor Nicholls and Chartres
Oh, it’s muggy out there–the kind of muggy that means my glasses fog up when I step out of air conditioned buildings, or even when I’m just breathing a little hard from pedaling fast. I headed out on the Surly to check out Jazz Fest crowds and also to get away from news coverage of the river of oil gushing in the Gulf. Continue reading
Installation Art On Esplanade and N. Tonti
I spent a good deal of my afternoon and evening reading as much as I could about the oil spill. Well, it’s not actually an oil spill. It’s a river of oil, gushing with no end in sight. A few days ago, we were told this river wouldn’t touch Louisiana, it wouldn’t be a Louisiana event. Today, though, foils reported smelling oil. That’s what happens when they burn the ocean and the wind blows. Continue reading
Sinkhole at Baronne and Terpsichore
It was a beautifully cool night for my ride home up Baronne from the Treme after a lovely evening dog walk (read: chase) at City Park with S. and her handsome but mannerless pitbull. I love these nights when it’s cool enough for a light sweater, even on the bike. S. asked me what route I was going to take, and I told her I didn’t know, but probably Baronne. Continue reading
Request to Pick Up After Your Dog in the Carrollton Neighborhood
Today was the last day of classes, and though it started off rainy and windy, by the time the afternoon rolled around the weather was absolutely picture perfect. After toasting the seniors with an afternoon beer and toasting the rest of the School of Liberal Arts faculty at our end-of-the-year BBQ, I took the bike around Uptown coffee shoppes and bookstores as I distributed posters for some events coming up this weekend. Continue reading
French Quarter Skyline from Barracks and Burgundy
Oh, it was another beautiful day in New Orleans! So why was I so grumpy? It was the last day of my introductory course up at school, and even though I love school’s-out-for-summer as much as the next one, I get a little sad to see each group go. After a nice lunch and a ride home for some pleasure reading, I headed back out on the bike to meet J. at the gym. Continue reading
Spoke Cards in a Wheel on St. Peter Street
I haven’t blogged in three days, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been riding around! Thursday caught me driving around to recover from Wednesday’s long ride. Friday’s evening post-downpour ride to Mid-City left me remembering why I bike (Jazz Fest parking) and why I should finally get a flipping rear fender (fifteen minutes in the restaurant bathroom wiping the mud off my legs). I decided to forego biking in the tornado conditions on Saturday, but I was rewarded for a weekend of buzzkill weather with a positively perfect day today. Continue reading
Cat’s Claw on a Power Pole in Central City
It was a truly beautiful day in New Orleans, yet again. Unfortunately, I spent most of it inside instead of out. I wasn’t riding my bike, but I was talking about bikes at the Winning Campaigns training put on by the Alliance for Biking and Walking. I got up at 7:00 in the morning–on a Saturday–and rode down OC Haley to the LANO building for a full day of learning. Now, I’m a skeptical kid. If you are a regular reader of my blog, you might think I’m fairly sunny and optimistic, but I have this knee-jerk reaction to the whole idea of a meeting. And one that lasts all day long? Please. Continue reading
Blue Stripe on New Orleans Public Service, Inc. Building on Baronne
I spent Saturday tooling around town on Rhoda. She hasn’t been getting her miles in lately because I’ve been all enamored with her fellow bikes. Plus, her chain’s been popping off, and I haven’t been in the mood to fix that up. But Saturday was a nice lazy day, spent catching up on outstanding grading and reading, cleaning the house, chilling with the cats. I adjusted her back wheel, lubed her chain (that’s what she said), and bent her chain guard so the pedal would stop clicking against it on each right-footed downstroke. She was like new(ish)! Continue reading
What I Saw Riding My Bike Around Today 