My oldest friend L. has been in town this weekend, and it was so, so good to see her. She’s the kind of friend who is totally happy to just sit and watch a zillion episodes of some crappy television show she’s already seen, eat at the same restaurant two nights in a row because it was just so good the first time, and watch me clean and lube and shine my bicycle for the ride I was going to take after she was gone, and that’s what I did after dropping her at the train station. Continue reading
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View From the Pedestrian Bridge Over the Jones Falls in Remington
I didn’t ride my bike today, but I walked all over the neighborhood with my oldest friend, L., who came to visit, and this is the view of the Jones Falls, and you’ll miss it if you stay in your car, or even on the bike. Such a lovely day for a slow walk and a long look over the side of the bridge–fall just might be here.
View of Gwynns Falls From the Bridge at Frederick Avenue & Brunswick
I finally had some time to take the bike out for a ride after a long and lovely weekend with friends and colleagues and ideas and some folks who I think just might be my people at the American Studies Association conference. My good friend S. was with me, so I was en voiture, reminding myself again why I travel by bike. Parking a car? As D. said, it’s like lugging a giant purse around with you all day. Continue reading
Military Ships Docked Across From Fort McHenry
Oh, it was a beautiful day–warm enough for a tank top and skirt, not a single cloud in the sky, blue everywhere. I worked from home for too long, but it was finally time to take the bike out for a ride. I headed down to the library to return one video and pick up another (yay socialism!) and then just pedaled along until I found myself headed to Fort McHenry. Why not cram in a little history while I’m at it, right? Continue reading
Retro Water Fountain in Druid Hill Park
I did not want to ride my bicycle today, surprise surprise. I was tired after a long weekend and a long day, but I knew if I got myself on the bike I would be glad I did, and I was. I headed toward the park, up the hill, pant pant pant, and turned onto the Jones Falls Trail. I narrowly avoided a head-on collision with a bike, and another bike after that (we might need a light at that particular intersection) and ended up at the reservoir. I did a lap as fast as I could to get out some nervous energy and then slowed down a bit to do a second lap. I dodged a whole bunch of pedestrians, got lapped by other cyclists, and avoided the guy doing shoulder raises as he sped-walked around the oval. I stopped at this water fountain at the entrance/exit and groped around the thing trying to figure out how to get water to come out. Um, there’s a foot pedal. And when you press down on it–with your foot–the drain-thingy on the inside rattles and rises up, and then there’s the gurgling until the water sputtered out. It was like stepping back in time! Thank you, Murdock, and I hope this one lasts a hundred years, like they say it could. I rode home via Hampden, up and down the hills, happy to be back on the bike.
View From a Bench in O’Donnell Square in Canton
The sun was out today, and oh my, but that can lift a girl’s mood. I took the bike and headed down the hill to the Hippodrome for volunteer usher training (yes, I’m already acting like a retiree). I’ve been through downtown, but I’ve never been through that neighborhood, and today it was bustling with people shopping, street-preaching, waiting for the bus, and just generally enjoying the sunshine. Continue reading
Lush Trees in Druid Hill Park
Oh, rain, please give it a rest! And it did this afternoon. Sure, there were gray skies and clouds and some spitting, but I managed to sneak in a ride in the relatively dry afternoon after a good day of work. I decided to head over to Druid Hill Park to check out the green, and there was a lot of it. Continue reading
Memorial to Segregated Pool 2 in Druid Hill Park
Oh, the sun is out today, so I hopped on the bike with my computer and headed to Hampden to get some work done. I am still new in town, so I couldn’t manage to find a coffee shop with wifi and ended up back in my neighborhood after a loop around Roland Park’s mansions. Afterward I headed to the start of the Jones Falls Trail to practice going between my first and second chain rings on the switchbacks up to Druid Hill Park. I did a lap around the reservoir before following the signs to Baltimore’s Model Safety City. It’s a miniature downtown with lots of complicated intersections and blind driveways to help kids learn safe pedestrian and bicycling techniques. Be still my heart! I continued up the hill to some tennis courts and this pool filled with dirt and grass. The park has built a memorial to the history of segregation at Druid Hill. Back in 1918 the Young Progressive of Maryland and the Baltimore Tennis Club put on an integrated match. When city officials stopped it, the players sat down on the court in protest. They took the city to court, but the courts threw the case out. In 1918. How do I not know that history? it matters. I snapped this picture of Pool 2, which B. told me about. I am used to cities covering over their segregationist pasts, but here we remember. But let’s not pretend segregation’s over, because it’s not. Take a bike ride around your town. The ride home was downhill, and I flew–what goes up, must come down.
View of Hampden & Charles Village From the Reservoir at Druid Hill Park
Today’s ride took me over to Hampden–the long way, because I never know where I am in a new city–to meet B., a friend of a friend, for coffee and a chat. It was lovely. He is all full of civic pride and boosterism, and he sounds like a terribly engaged teacher. We have a date on the weekend to visit a museum. Perfect. He left me with a bag of tomatoes from his local community garden and vague directions to Druid Hill Park. I followed the signs, and then the other signs, and then I was pedaling around a reservoir and staring at a foxy blue sky and Baltimore’s impressive urban tree canopy. I snapped this picture looking out over my new neighborhoods, feeling like yes, ithis place works for me. I continued my ride through the park, arguing with gears, getting lost, only to discover it’s just a loop, passing mansions and burnt out shells of old lives, because this is Baltimore. I pedaled home with that good feeling that for me only comes from a bike ride. Yep, that was exactly what I needed.
Multi-Use Path at Audubon Park
Today was another long, 14 hour Monday, so my only ride was my commute to campus for three classes and the last meeting of my wonderful faculty seminar–I will miss my colleagues there, for sure. I will also miss my super-smart seminar students, so today’s last class meeting was bittersweet. I have had great students at Tulane–curious, smart, creative–just a pleasure to learn with, for sure. After that last class I needed to work out the feelings of saying goodbye to the majors (I’m moving on to a new job in Baltimore at the end of the summer), so I headed to Audubon Park for a few spins before my research seminar. Continue reading
What I Saw Riding My Bike Around Today 