After I finished my writing for the day I hopped on the Surly, still shiny and new from the shoppe, and headed out to do a final ride of the route for this Saturday’s Bicycle Second Line with the Metro Bicycle Coalition. Streets change fast around here, so I wanted to do a last run, taking note of any road construction or serious potholes. Other than the usual off-roading on Freret and that sinkhole developing at Melpomene and St. Charles, the streets are decent and the parade is ready to roll. Continue reading
nature
Blue Skies Over Bayou St. John
I have been riding the Surly almost exclusively lately, but this afternoon I hopped on the road bike I got from S. and headed out to meet D. for lunch. Man, road bikes are entirely different creatures, aren’t they? Seriously speedy, crazy-quick handling–it was fun. But this evening found me riding over to the Jeff Davis overpass for a photo shoot with D. from the New Orleans Bike Book, and I needed to take the Surly for this one. Continue reading
Tiny Cornfield at Upperline and North Prieur
Oh, it’s getting hot out there, people! Unlike lots of folks, I’m excited to get some real heat on. I love summertime, when everyone’s salty, clothes clinging like wet rags, sulking through the thick air. I took the Surly to work and had to be inside for much of the day, but I took the long way home. I rode around Broadmoor, humming this ridiculously catchy tune and enjoying the sunlight. 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
Wildflowers at Perrier and Valence
After yesterday’s disappointing duckling search, I decided to take T.’s advice and ride my bike around Audubon Park in search of Uptown baby birds. No such luck–I must be catching them all at their naptime–but I did see a whole bunch of herons, egrets, grown ducks, and turtles. It was a lovely day, and lots of folks were running and walking and rollerblading and biking and staring at birds. Continue reading
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
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
Standing Ashtray on Tulane’s Academic Quad
You know what a long day of bike riding often gets me the next day? A tired day of lazy bike commuting and not much other riding, which is fine, but kind of hard to balance when the weather is just so perfect and the bike beckons, as always. But alas. I hopped on Rhoda this morning for a leisurely pedal to campus where I met up with campus guest Susan Stryker, who kindly agreed to visit my classes and dazzle us all with her proven wit and intelligence. Continue reading
Tomato Plant at the 7th Ward Neighborhood Center
Like most folks who ride bikes all the time, sometimes I’m riding for transportation–I’m just trying to get somewhere. Like last night, when I was just trying to get home and it was late and I was tired and I needed a snack. I still stopped and snapped a picture of a weird stripe of blue paint on a building, but mostly I was just riding home. Today, though, I spent in my very favorite way, just riding slowly around the city, getting myself lost and found again. Continue reading
What I Saw Riding My Bike Around Today 