I was going to head straight home after work today, but I decided to take a little ride first. I headed toward the bike lane on Carrollton. I took a left or two and ended up on Hamilton, that street where you take a left at the yellow house to get on the Earhart Expressway. Well, I am not going to ride my bicycle on the expressway, so I continued through the light for a ride around Hollygrove. Continue reading
parks
A Building Reflecting Off the Bayou at Wisner & Harrison
I am just plain exhausted this weekend. I don’t know what it is–maybe five years of looking for a stable job teaching what I love to teach and now that I got one I’m allowing myself to feel how tiring it all is. Or maybe I just need to go to bed earlier. It was hard to peel myself off the couch, but after not riding yesterday, I knew I’d feel better if I just got on the bike. I was right. Continue reading
Empty Seats at the Audubon Aquarium IMAX Theater
I had the day free and I happily spent it playing hooky. I rode my bike downtown to a doctor’s appointment and then to the gym where I lazily lifted some weights and thought about what to eat for lunch. I went for a burrito and a beer, it being Thursday and all, before taking the bike to the aquarium. Continue reading
Dogs Wrestling at Wisner Park on Annunciation
When I left my house today it was sunny and warm, almost 70 degrees and humid. Tank top weather. In January! I headed to campus to write rec letters and meet an old, old friend for lunch. By the time we’d finished lunch and I’d walked her to the streetcar, dark clouds were rolling in. The sky was spitting just a little bit, but things were still dry when I got back to the office. I rode over to N.’s after work to accompany her and her dog to the park. Continue reading
Boat Docked on the Mississippi at the Fly
Today was the first day of classes for the spring semester. I love the first day of school. It’s like the first day of the baseball team: everyone’s in first place, no one’s fallen behind yet, and everything’s all new and crispy. Love. It. I got up early, hopped on the bike, and headed to campus. Continue reading
Swan at Audubon Park
Today I put on short sleeves and a skirt and rode the bike up to campus in 70 degree weather. Oh, New Orleans in December, how I love your occasional spring day! After coffee with a student and a quick stop at the office, I pedaled over to Audubon Park for a quick spin around before heading to the grocery. The path was crowded with people enjoying this unseasonably warm day: kids on bikes, a woman trying to go for a run with a puppy, mature dogs talking their humans on walks, a rollerblader, and a guy in a weighted vest jogging. The bike racks were full and golf carts zipped back and forth across the path. It was a regular postcard out there. Continue reading
Lighted Tunnel From the City Park Train at Celebration in the Oaks
I woke up at a reasonable hour this morning, tied up this loose end and that loose end while doing laundry, and by 3pm had put the Fall 2010 semester to bed for good. You know what that means? Time to go for a bike ride. I took the Surly out and headed to Lake Pontchartrain via Bayou St. John and City Park. It felt so, so good to ride with nowhere to be at any particular time. Continue reading
A Satsuma On a Tree at East Drive & Patton
After yesterday’s 80 degree day, the weather positively turned this morning. Big clouds, thunder, rain, and a good 25 degree drop. It’s a good thing I’ll ride in anything, because my car is in the shop and I have places to be. I did the usual rides–down Prytania for a doctor’s appointment, up St. Charles to the office, but by the time my day was over, I was itching for something else. I rode through the park in daylight to see what the fountains look like not all lit up. The path was surprisingly empty, so I just pedaled against the wind until I hit the zoo, where I did a loop to see if maybe I could see some zoo animal heads poking over the fences. Continue reading
Lighted Fountain at Audubon Park
We’ve got some wild weather in New Orleans right now, so I put on a tank top and tossed a rain jacket and a wool sweater in my panniers and headed to work. It was windy, that kind of wind that buffets you around as you maintain an unusually firm grasp on the handlebars. I pedaled as fast as I could, dancing to a song, working up a hot sweat when only a few days ago I declared a welcome to winter. Oh well. Continue reading
Tents at the Voodoo Experience Music Festival in City Park
We are in the last days of October and here in New Orleans that means it’s time to put a sweatshirt in the saddlebags when heading out in a skirt and tank top to ride under a perfectly blue sky, sun overhead. What a delight! I had a lovely Saturday, reading for pleasure before hitting to road for a very leisurely pedal out to Lake Pontchartrain. And then I remembered it’s music festival weekend in City Park. I don’t quite have the cash to lay out for the show, so I decided to see what I could hear for free just by biking around. Continue reading
What I Saw Riding My Bike Around Today 