weather

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Halloween Decorations at State Street & St. Charles

Some day soon I will not be able to start a post talking about how perfect the weather is, but today? Today, the weather was perfect. I headed out in the morning for an appointment and then rode up to campus for lunch with a student and an afternoon of grading and reading and grading some more. The day ended with wine and cheese and L.’s paper and a good discussion. Such a nice day. I pedaled home in the dark along St. Charles and the wind had an extra chill. I stopped to take a picture of this house at State Street. These people are very, very excited about Halloween. Continue reading →

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Flowering Tree Near Newcomb Hall at Tulane

It was yet another beautiful early fall day in New Orleans. I hopped on the bike to head to school early, and the air was just a teensy bit cool–perfect. I taught and taught and lunched and taught and by the end of the day I had a really impressive headache lodged behind my left eye. Ugh. I did not feel like doing anything but lying around in the dark, but I got on my bike and headed down to the gym. Then I discovered I’d left work I needed at the office. Sigh. Monday on Wednesday. Continue reading →

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Clouds Rolling in Above Magazine & Arabella

We’ve been enjoying an absolutely beautiful fall here in New Orleans, and this past week has been simply off the charts. The sky has been nothing but blue and sun has been doing nothing but shining and it has been like summertime. Today was no different, as least as far as I could tell from inside classrooms and offices and cafeterias. At the end of the day I headed to the grocery to meet S. for some co-shopping. We were sitting outside, S. scarfing down a snack, me ranting about this and that, when I glanced up and needed to take a picture of the sky. Yep, clouds are rolling in, and the sky looked just beautiful, all pink around the edges. We finished up our snacks and rants and I pedaled home. The air had that chill of a new season–it felt good, but I hope it’s teasing. I like that sweaty stuff too much.

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Bridge, Trees, and Blue Sky in City Park Along Harrison

I got up early again this morning and headed out for Day Two of bicycle safety class. Nobody was on the roads this morning and it wasn’t hot yet and it felt simply divine to be out pedaling. We took our written test (29 out of 30–holla!) and then set up to go on a group ride. We pedaled along, each signaling in turn, politely waving at piles of gravel and potholes to let each other know about road hazards in advance. My favorite was when we would come to a stop. Continue reading →

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Beer On Tap Festival at City Park

I got up early this morning and biked over to the Regional Planning Commission’s offices over in Lakeview for bike safety class. I then got to spend the day with other regular bicyclists talking about how to teach other people to ride their bikes safely in traffic (hint: ride with traffic, not against it). I left the workshop wanting to practice my rather dismal bike handling skills so I can confidently execute my avoidance techniques. The bike nerd alert sounding loudly, I practiced taking the lane over to the lake and then along the Wisner bike path back to City Park to meet M. and friends for New Orleans On Tap, a beer festival to benefit the Louisiana SPCA. Continue reading →

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Pumps at Orpheum Avenue & Hammond Highway

I woke up early to see if I was feeling any better, and I was, which meant a long bike ride was in order. As I lay there wondering when I’d take it, R. called to see if I might want to ride my bike to brunch this morning. Perfect plan! I hopped on my bike and headed out into perfect early autumn weather; feeling more and more human by the pedal. After a positively lovely breakfast, R. and I parted ways, and I meant to go do some work. But then I was riding again, and I just didn’t want to stop. Continue reading →

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Perfect Weather Uptown

I got on my bike to head out for an appointment this morning and faced the same perfect conditions we’ve had all week: sunny skies, temps still in the 70s, that perfect light. Oh, it is perfect weather for bike riding. But as I pedaled I realized that it’s true: I have a cold. Nothing serious, but that kind of cold where the back of your throat feels gummy and your ears are itching and your head is heavy and you are just plain tired. Nope, no long ride in this perfect weather for me–I rode home, made a few detours for errands, and then stayed in to rest. Because I checked the weather report–nothing but suns for the next ten days. I need my energy, because I’m going to need to ride that weather, like I wanted to today. Get out there, people. This won’t last.

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Blue Sky and Shrine at First & Dryades

It was an absolutely perfect day to ride a bicycle in New Orleans. The cold front they’d been promising all weekend blew through last night, leaving us with crispy autumn air and shiny blue skies. I headed to campus on my bike in the morning–and it was actually kind of chilly! A few quick blocks and the chill was gone, though; in spite of what many folks said to me today, it isn’t quite fall. After work I pedaled through Central City on my way to the post office, only to find that it closes at 4:30, so my 4:40 arrival sent me down Dryades to the main branch at Loyola and Girod. Continue reading →

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Satellite Dishes and Overgrowth at Piety and Chartres

I didn’t ride my bike yesterday. I didn’t do much, actually, other than walk to the grocery store for cat food, sour cream, and lettuce and then watch TV. It was the perfect lazy reset kind of day. I got up this morning and did some reading and writing and looking at work I didn’t want to look at and figuring out what to do about it. After the game I took my frustrations out on my bicycle, pedaling as fast as I could to K.’s house for a meeting. That meeting had its own frustrations, so I headed down to the Bywater afterward to meet R. at W.’s house. Continue reading →

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Blue Sky and Clouds Over Majestic Mortuary at O.C. Haley & St. Andrew

I checked the weather before I left the house for a quick ride downtown, and it looked like some clouds, slight chance of rain, so no worries, right? I headed out to meet a sky that was half dark clouds and half that perfect blue. I stopped to take this photo when I turned onto O.C. Haley at St. Andrew. Yeah, rain was following me. It caught up with me at City Hall, where I stopped to do a little early voting (Saturday, people–get to the polls!). I went in under these same half-and-half skies but came out to torrents of rain. We needed it. I pedaled on under the spits that follow a storm, stopping at the gym and then heading to the Treme for a night an evening with friends. I rode back Uptown in cool(ish), humid air. Delightful.