Today’s ride took me down and around the Inner Harbor with a quick stop at the Maryland Science Center to read about solar energy (the cells on its roof produce enough per hour to power three houses!) and then over to Canton Waterfront Park and the Korean War Memorial for a little learning. When they call the Korean War “the forgetten war,” they are not kidding. (I wonder if we’ll ever have a memorial to those lost to the War on Drugs–that would be one huge wall.) Continue reading
weather
Cloudy Skies at Preston & Howard
I checked the weather report before I got on my bike to ride to work this morning: high winds and a 90% chance of rain. I looked at the sky: blue with clouds out my bedroom window, ominous gray outside my west-facing living room (and I was heading west). Yeah, everything said don’t take the bike, but I wanted to ride, so I tossed my new rain cape in my bike bag and headed out, hoping to maybe beat the weather. Continue reading
Fall Colors at St. Paul & 26th
Oh, that was a long time away from my bike! I was in Atlanta for a conference, and no, thereisnt a bike rental place right downtown, and there should be. Harumph. I spent my days walking, which was fine, if a bit slow. I didn’t see a whole lot of bikes circling the conference hotels, but surely they are somewhere. All I know is I was happy to be back home in Baltimore, and I was itching to pedal. After working at the coffee shop for a bit, I headed downtown via Guilford to meet V. for a grading marathon. I stopped early to snap this picture of the brilliant colors of the trees at the playground behind Margaret Brent elementary school because that red just seemed to take up the whole sky. It is just so pretty here, and I can’t believe I was afraid I wouldn’t find it so. I flew down the hill, around the harbor, drank some coffee and sucked on some caramels, and rode back up the hill. That protected bike lane on Fallsway is already coming along famously. Nope, I don’t mind a little routine, not one bit.
Pigeons at 36th & Roland
For some reason I had convinced myself yesterday that the weather today was going to be delightfully sunny, maybe a tiny bit cool, so when it was time to head over to Hampden for a much-needed haircut. I pulled the bike out and felt the rain, but what are you going to do, get in a car to go less/fewer than two miles? Continue reading
People Filling Sandbags at Fells Point
After a long day waiting for this, listening to that, and setting up my wireless network, I hopped on the bike and rode down to the harbor to see what folks were doing to prepare for the hurricane that’s coming. I took a left on Pratt only to be stopped by a car in my bike lane. Grrrr. Turns out it was a car waiting to load up on sandbags–my bad. The city trucked sand down to the harbor and folks were lining up in their cars to take turns shoveling. I rode over to Fells Point and ran into some serious gridlock–same thing. I snapped this picture, and I wasn’t the only one taking it. People were milling about, watching, some having better ideas about how to organize the sand distribution, others remembering the last time a storm came through here. But mostly folks were pretty sure they could organize the sand distribution better. Not me–please never put me in charge of any kind of disaster management. I can barely organize my cats. I hope these sandbags keep these people’s homes and businesses dry this weekend. I rode back up the hill as the sun was going down, hoping that wasn’t my last ride for awhile.
504 Fashion on St. Bernard & N. Johnson
So I’m stuck in a rainstorm after a most lovely sunny ride to brunch with E. and then along the new Broad Street bike lane to the Gentilly bike lane and then back. Oh, do I love a new bike lane! Broad’s is super-wide and the asphalt isn’t piled with loose gravel and sticks yet, and in the whole ride, only one car was parked in it. For the commuter cyclist, that’s just heaven. And connection between Orleans, Broad, and Gentilly? Be still my heart! I thought I would make it back to the Quarter for women’s World Cup soccer before the rains, but alas, it wasn’t to be. But I needed a ride, and I got one, and there’s a dry spot under this church overhang and 504 Fashion just across the street and eventually I will just wade out into it, but for now I will stand here and mop off, composing another love letter to another bike lane.
Cloudy Skies and Power Lines From a Charles Village Patio
I woke up this morning in Baltimore, in a giant bed in a slightly run down but bargain basement hotel, and my first thought was about riding a bike. I’ve been staring at googleymaps of bike routes for months now, and I’m finally here–time to ride some roads. Continue reading
NOPD Shirts For Sale at the Station on Royal Street
Today’s ride took me Uptown from my current digs in the Marigny for lunch with N. and then to the office where I took care of last minute things for my trip to Baltimore tomorrow. I had meant to also stop by the courthouse as the Danziger trial started again, but the skies opened up and kept me and my bicycle in the office for most of the afternoon. I rode home under crazy thundering skies, stopping for a treat and then coffee with S. I had a bee in my bonnet about how little I have been taught about Frederick Douglass–he was one of our premier statesman! Why don’t they teach us that in schools!–and she filled in some blanks for me–friends, man, they’re the best. After a quick stop at home to get the cat out of the rain, I was back on the bike to meet R. and her kid for dinner. I pedaled up Royal as fast as I could to beat the rain, just stopping to take a picture of this sign outside the 8th District police station. T-shirts for sale? Really? I wonder who buys such things, and if the market’s been hit by the fallout from Danziger or Henry Glover or the cops arrested during their own prostitution stings (I thought we had decided to decriminalize!) or the other cops giving instructions to keep a special eye on all the Black men in town for Essence Fest or any of the other scandals showing this to be one of the most corrupt forces in the nation. Nah, I’ll pass on the shirt. After dinner I did my loop around the Bywater, deftly avoiding collision with that driver taking a left turn in front of me at the intersection of Poland and St. Claude. Look alive, people. It’s dangerous out there, but that’s no reason to stay off your bicycle.
Blue Sky and Clouds From the Intercontinental Hotel Pool at St. Charles & Poydras
I had the day completely free and I’m on vacation, so I figured I’d fill it with reading and bicycling, my two favorite things. I spent the morning reading–check–and then hopped on the bike for the super-quick ride downtown to meet L. at her hotel. Rumor was, she had a belated birthday prezzie for me. I locked up to a stop sign and headed inside. I live in New Orleans, so I never stay in hotels. Turns out, there are giant hotels with pools on their roofs! I snapped this picture between swims and before the rain started pouring. Yep, rain again, and it totally thwarted my afternoon riding plans. I ate my Pinkberry under the Doubletree Inn and rode home under light sprinkles, figuring I’d made the best of unpleasant weather. Tomorrow, tomorrow.
Birds Snacking at Tulane Next to the Newcomb College Institute
Oh, it felt so good to ride my bike yesterday that I was most especially looking forward to today’s ride. I did a quick jaunt to lunch with K. before heading down to the river. I waited with all the tourists heading to the aquarium for the train to pass, and then bike to a bench, sat back, and enjoyed the view. It has finally been good and summer rainy the past few days, and the wind is stil blowing waves, clouds rolling in. I had to get back to the office, though, so back on the bike I went, pedaling fast. My fall commute’s going to be much, much longer; might be time to practice. I grabbed a ridiculously large iced tea from the cafeteria, and on my way over to Newcomb Hall, I noticed these birds poking around in the mud we’ve finally got with their needly beaks. Yeah, y’all are going to need a bath after that meal. A woman passed me, remarking the the birds are a long way from home. Yes, yes they are.
What I Saw Riding My Bike Around Today 