75 degrees and sunny in December? Don’t mind if I do! This weather may portend the end of days, but I’m going to ride my bike around in it like a little girl until we all go under. I was a little tired from yesterday, but I took the Surly out, first to do some bicycle-related work, then to the museum for some southern folk art before hitting the gym. I rode back Uptown in time to choke down some cold pizza before tonight’s Metro Bicycle Coalition holiday party out at Jefferson Bicycle World. Continue reading
weather
Christmas Lights at Delachaise & Magazine
It actually feels like Christmas to this Idaho girl right now–it’s actually cold. Lots of folks don’t ride in this weather, and some friends have even hinted that it’s a bit incredible that I do, but seriously, if you put on some layers and ride a few blocks, you’ll be fine and toasty. I rode around town today running errands and getting some work done at the office. By the time I was heading home with my groceries, it was dark and even colder, and I spent my ride admiring the holiday lights folks have put up on their palm trees and shrubs and porches. Continue reading
Westbound I10 Traffic After the Saints Game
Oh, it is windy in New Orleans today. We don’t have hills here, as you may have heard–the lip of the bowl doesn’t count–so windy days are the closest I get to hill training. I considered perhaps maybe not riding my bike over to the offices of Women With A Vision for today’s B.B.Q. so as to avoid that uncomfortable feeling of getting batted about by the wind, but come on. It’s my first day without a massive workload in the last two weeks. I need to ride my bike. Continue reading
Commuting in the Cold
Ok, people. It’s officially cold out. Like, below 40 degrees cold. I’m not sure how to ride a bike in this. Gloves made a huge difference on my ride home, but the scarf made me too hot. And the fleece was good, but then it was too hot. And my toes got cold in my bike shoes. Please, fellow riders, do advise.
Justin Bond & Nath-Ann Carrera at the Allways Lounge
Alright, alright, fine. It’s not summer anymore–all of the sudden New Orleans is back in the deep freeze. After a long morning waiting for the rain to stop, I left the house on the Surly to head down to the Treme to help J. pack for her move to NYC–a bittersweet task indeed. I was dressed all wrong. I mean, mesh tights let the air in, the thin layering t-shirt is alright, but only if you layer, and the rain jacket is good if it’s raining, but not so much when it’s going to drop below 45 degrees when it’s time to ride home. Biggest lesson learned, though? Wear gloves. Continue reading
Great (or Grey) Heron at Lake Pontchartrain
I finally felt better today, which meant it was time for a bike ride. New Orleans is treating us to 80 degree weather in late November, so lucky me hopped on the Surly and headed to the lake. After getting stuck in a series of cul-de-sacs over near Lakeshore–that’s what happens when they close my route for levee construction–I finally made it to Lake Pontchartrain, where I sat, listened to the wind, ate a banana, and felt thankful for my health and a most perfect afternoon. Continue reading
Rain on St. Charles
And then some days you are at work for 14 hours, the last two of which are spent discussing the dismal job prospects in your field, and then you get to ride home in a dark and heavy rain, slowly, slowly. Meh, can’t win ’em all.
Audience at the NOLA Book Fair Opening Event at Sound Cafe
Well, the weather has actually turned this time. It is downright cold all of a sudden. I had to wear leggings and a sweater today! Outrageous. As someone who is riding her bike, this means it’s time to get myself some layers–it only takes a few blocks of pedaling before it’s time to take off the sweater. Ugh. Am I the only one who wishes it could be hot and humid all the time? Anyway, I was still looking forward to a ride down the the Marigny for the opening night event of the New Orleans Book Fair. Continue reading
Fall Colors at Amelia & Camp Streets
Is this a birch tree? I most assuredly do not know my trees, but today as I was riding downtown after a long work day, I was scoping out the trees. We don’t get fall colors here in New Orleans, because we don’t really have fall like that, and we certainly don’t have a lot of deciduous trees. I saw one tree that looked golden from afar, but when I got closer it turned out the golden was from the sun hitting it just right. Continue reading
Clouds Over Lake Pontchartrain
We’ve had nothing but blue skies for what seems like weeks, so today’s spluttering rain and clouds were a bit of a rude awakening. I guess at some point we will have days that feel like they belong at the end of October. I hopped on the Surly with hopes for good weather luck and headed down to the Treme for the second half of the football game. Nothing good on this given Sunday, so I hoped the ride afterward would be better. It was. Continue reading
What I Saw Riding My Bike Around Today 