blight

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Steps at Baronne and MLK

I am back in New Orleans, thank goodness. I was only out of town for a couple of days, but I’m kinda sorta addicted to riding my bicycle around so I was happy to back on the Surly, planning to zip around all day long. Unfortunately the weather had other ideas. It rained all day. All day. Continue reading →

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Blighted Building at 130th and Union

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I have been in lovely Cleveland, Ohio for the weekend at my dear friend L.’s wedding, so no bike riding for me. But L. is, like I said, a dear friend, so after the morning’s final festivities, she lent me her bike so I might tool around town a bit. There is little I like more than taking a spin around a new town. I didn’t bother to look at a map, so I am not all sure where I went. The first thing I noticed was something I notice in every place I go: New Orleans does not hold a monopoly on blight. It was kind of amazing how quickly I went from the mansions of Shaker Heights to the abandoned storefronts of Buckeye. I took a picture of this blighted propery at 130th and Union. I don’t know what used to be here or what will be there next, but I liked its whole haunted castle aesthetic. I continued my ride round that neighborhood and Mt. Pleasant at then back to L.’s house, thinking she’s pretty lucky to get to ride her bike around this town and with that dashing new husband of hers. And yes, I will be back to ride around here soon, I hope.

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Empty Lot at Claiborne and Cadiz

I rode home from work along Claiborne Avenue after grabbing a quick lunch and a few minutes of the Copa Mundial at the local burrito place. It’s a wide street–three lanes in each direction–and there’s even a shoulder. The asphalt is smooth. But it so flipping scary to ride there. The cars zip by so fast. Take the foot off the pedal, folks! Give a girl some space! Continue reading →

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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 →

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Fences and Facades at Baronne and Jackson

It has been so stormy lately, and my legs have been feeling it. It’s completely flat here, so that means I’m used to spinning easily in a high gear (or a low gear–I wonder how long I’ll be riding a bike before I figure out which is which…and whether I’m nearsighted or farsighted). It also means I’m sore after a few days of pedaling into strong headwinds. But tonight it was just perfect out there. Perfect. Continue reading →

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Overgrown Lot and Blighted House at Amelia and Clara

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 →

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Fleur d’Eden Rose Garden at 2111 Baronne

I woke up early to make the final day on the training with the Alliance for Biking and Walking with my fellow dedicated bike activists. It wasn’t easy on this Sunday to drag myself onto my bike and pedal over to OC Haley for more small group work;  my fatigue was showing, but it was a really useful wrap up session. We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us, but I think we’ve also got some good plans coming out of the weekend too, and that’s fantastic. I sleepily pedaled home in the afternoon, looking forward to a nice nap. And then I smelled roses. Continue reading →

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Cat’s Claw On a Blighted House at St. Andrew and Simon Bolivar

Oh, spring has more than sprung in New Orleans, and the days are just plain beautiful. Today was a bit windy when I hopped on the Surly and headed down to the gym–I had a little scare when I thought a gust might push me into traffic–but other than that, the day was sweet. As S. said to me a couple days ago, it’s like one day the city just exploded. Continue reading →

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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 →

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Dilapidated Mobile Home in Lacombe, LA

Today was the last day of my mini vacation, but there was still plenty of time to get another bike ride in. D. threw her fancy bike in her fancy car and drove up to meet me in Lacombe for a ride out to Slidell, lunch and basketball (Go State!), and then back to the cars. Before she got there, though, I did some tooling around the bayou and off the bike path to get a bit more of a sense of this little town. Continue reading →