Ok, so technically this is what I saw riding my bike around yesterday, but by the time I got home from my Saturday birthday festivities at the shocking hour of 11:00pm, I fell straight to sleep, no time to blog. It was a beautiful sunny day, and since it was my birthday, I got to do whatever I wanted to do. First up: a bike ride to brunch, where I ate just enough and then ran into a woman I lived with in Berkeley 10 years ago, because that’s just what things are like sometimes. Continue reading
personal
View of Union Memorial Sports Medicine at Stadium Place From 36th & Rexmore
After several long days of work and a long day of rain, I finally got to go for a ride today, albeit a short one. I hopped on the Surly and headed northeast through Waverly and up Old York Road to Ednor Gardens for some porch sitting with my old friend from high school, L., and her Baltimore friends. I’ve actually never been over to this neighborhood–usually I just keep riding up York–and though I didn’t do much tooling around, it’s nice to know it’s here for some exploring. Continue reading
ABF U-Pack Moving Pods at St. Paul & Chase
Summer school started today, so no time for a longer bike ride in the slightly cooler day, but I did take the Surly down the hill for drinks and dip with friends in Mt. Vernon, a ppace I would never go by car. As I was unlocking my bike I noticed three of those moving pods and a U-Haul truck~it’s that time of year again, but this year I am not one of those poor souls packing up and trying to figure out the best way to get things you feel like just burning from one end of the country to the other, and where to park whatever moving vessel happens to win out. Nope, this summer I’m staying put, just riding my bike up and down the hill, just like I like it. Godspeed to the rest of you!
Cloudy Skies at Druid Hill Park
I woke up early to a lovely morning and then an afternoon full of work. My whole self wants to be on summer vacation, but I’ve got a whole lot of everything still on my plate, which means I am just tired, weary, and not very excited to be stuck at my computer. Today, I didn’t even feel like riding my bike, so lazy was I. Continue reading
Tall Flowers in Charles Village
It was a beautiful day for bicycling today-warm, clear blue skies, the farmer’s market and the Love Parade and Bike Jam in Patterson Park and all kinds of summer events best bicycled between. But the cat was having issues, so instead she went in her box and and we drove to a drop-in clinic and waited and waited, leaving with a lighter wallet, some antibiotics, and yowling from all involved parties. When S. called to see if I wanted to join her and friends for brunch I squeaked out a yes and took the Surly-I wanted to feel at home-and sped down the hill for a lovely late meal in the sunshine before biking back up the hill to see if the cat could be coaxed to leave the safe confines of the inside of a boxspring. I snapped this picture of some tall yellow flowers blooming in Charles Village; summer, you are so pretty, and I trust you’ll provide many more days of bicycling to make up for my having to miss this particular one.
Heritage Sign & Blighted Building at Lafayette & Division
Oh, it’s finally here, my itty bitty clown bike! I got a call yesterday evening from the bike shop, so I waited impatiently this morning before walking down to the shop for its 11am opening to fetch the newest member of the family. It was just as lovely as I remembered, and as I took it out for a test spin along the Jones Falls Trail, I started to get good and giddy. It’s just so much fun! I rode it back home to grab my helmet and to show it off to S. before heading back down the hill to meet V. for work that couldn’t get done because I was too bust thinking about riding my new bike. I then rode it over to Upton to meet J. so we could nerd out together along the Pennsylvania Avenue heritage walking tour. I snapped this picture of the new bike against a new public history sign and increasingly old blight. The tour tells the history of a culturally, politically, socially, and economically vibrant area, but it doesn’t explain at all why so much of that has been lost as parts of this neighborhood continue falling to pieces as others keep it alive. Upton and Pennsylvania don’t look like they do now by chance. Decisions were made that make that glittering past “history,” right? I pushed my bike from sign to sign, historic church to historic church, stopping along the way for a chat here or there, and a chance to demonstrate the Brompton’s quick fold to a woman sitting outside in the sunshine with her cigarette, watching people pass on by. And then it was time to ride the new bike up the hill to home for one last fold on its birthday before lugging it up the steps to its new home. I can’t wait to see what we learn next. *squeal*
View From Patterson Park From S. Patterson Park & Bank Street
It has been bitterly cold the past few days, but I knew today was supposed to be sunny and warm, so I made plans for a bike date. I got up early, shivered a little on my morning ride to the coffee shop to get some work done, and read and wrote and graded things until S. popped in to meet me. And told me it was warming up. Yay! Continue reading
The Sun Setting in the West From Druid Hill Park
I spent my day reading and writing, proposing and meeting, and when I got home, there was only one thing in the whole world I wanted: a bicycle ride. I put on some different layers and my bike shoes, brought along some music, and clipped in to pedal over to the park to do some mindless laps. Continue reading
View From Terrace Center Left, Row B, 113 at Meyerhoff Hall
I spent the morning with reading and writing, lunchtime with work, the afternoon with S., and the evening with myself. That’s when I took the bike, and we rode down to Mt. Vernon for dinner before settling into my seat for some music I don’t understand. It’s a surprisingly lovely day, made so much the better by the bike ride to and fro.
Railroad Tracks From the Gwynns Falls Trail near Wilkens & Dukeland
I had one of those unexpectedly busy days, literally wall-to-wall meetings since allegedly none of us have anything to do on Fridays, and I woke up already frustrated that I wouldn’t get to ride my bicycle. If you know me, or even if you don’t, you can probably guess that not riding my bike makes me a grouchy, and no bike ride on a sunny Friday afternoon? That wouldn’t be pretty. Continue reading
What I Saw Riding My Bike Around Today 