I checked the weather reports before I left for work on Wednesday, even broke it out into 15 minute intervals, and the rain wasn’t necessarily going to fall, and if it did, maybe not until 10 at the earliest, and I was catching the 9:25 train. I did a little online shopping for the rain pants I wished I had and then rode under threatening skies to the train station. And then those skies opened up and I rethought that “I’ll get them later” moment at the bike shoppe when they asked me if I wanted to add fenders to the Brompty. Continue reading
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Snowed-In Sidewalks in Charles Village
I don’t know if you’ve heard, but we’ve had some snow storms here on the east coast. I love a snow day as much as the next school kid/employee, but oh, it’s ruining biking for me. I don’t bike on ice or snow, because staying upright demands not changing speed, changing direction, or braking, and those are three things I’m really in to doing when I’m on a ride. I’m happy to snuggle up with candy and television for the day, but the aftermath is terrible for anybody not in a car. T Continue reading
Shadow and Snow in Waverly at 30th & Greenmount
I woke up to icy streets and sidewalks on Monday morning, bah humbug. My Facebook bicycle club was filled with slip-sliding stories from normally “I-bike-everywhere-why-don’t-you” badasses, so I decided to leave the wheels at home and walk to S.’s place in Waverly. Continue reading
Geese Walking on Water on the South Side of Lake Montebello
It was a balmy winter day in Baltimore on Monday–almost 40 degrees–and Tuesday promised another cool down, so I had to get in a rare ride. I know, I know, I could ride on the freezing icy snow days–let a little air out of bigger tires, wrap my feet in plastic bags, take all the lanes. I see my downstairs neighbor Z. riding up to our door from his daily commute downtown, so I know it can be done, but I’ve decided to walk/catch a ride/take the train until the icy patches are gone and I can ride without my fingertips going numb. It’s a frustrating situation, though, so we’ll see how much longer it can last. Continue reading
Yellow Flowers on Guilford in Charles Village
Saturday was crispy cold and Sunday promised snow, so I dragged myself out of a cozy bed for a walk over to Waverly to check out the farmer’s market. I thought about taking the bike, but sometimes you’re in the mood for a slow amble, time to stop and smell the flowers, like these yellow ones resisting winter to their very last petal. The market was almost empty by the time I got there, so I did a quick tour and then hit the local book/music store to shop for records, a new favorite pastime now that N. moved her record player into my place (along with herself). I picked up an array of holiday records for the house–if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em, and I was never going to beat the mad love of Holiday out of this girl–and then slowly ambled back home. And then it was time for a bike ride. I suited up with all my winter gear and headed over to Hampden and through the main drag to the bottom of that hill on the other side and just to the left for the first holiday craft party of the season, at the Baltimore Free Farm and Bearings Bike Project over on Ash Street. The place was warm and filled with papercuts and homemade cards and jewelry and holiday ornaments made out of twisted bike spokes and I helped myself to a glass of mulled wine mixed with apple cider, caught up with friends I haven’t seen in awhile, felt awfully lucky that even though it’s no Mardi Gras, there’s still the feel of festival in the air, and then got back on the bike for a quick ride home. Sunday is all snow and sleet, but Saturday–Saturday was the perfect day to be outside and catch one last glimpse of the neighborhood flowers. Now let’s hope this snow melts by Tuesday so we can get another ride in.
Giant Red Tree at the Convent at Ellerslie & Parkwyth
Friday started with a relatively early ride over to Waverly to meet R. for another brainstorming session and some quality time with her handsome gray cat. We had so many good ideas, and I felt so excited about what we’re going to do next, that I just had to ride my bike around after instead of heading home. Continue reading
Emptying Parking Lot at the Giant at 33rd & Old York Road
It was a fall-chilled sunny and breezy day in Baltimore, a perfect day for a bike ride, but I had so much work to catch up on I had to stay inside and work. Bah. Fortunately my latest project required an evening trip over to Waverly to help R. assemble our carnival-style popcorn machine (don’t ask– come out to the corner of 31st and Greenmount tomorrow to find out), and the last thing I’m going to do for a quick trip under 2 miles is drive a car. I flipped on my front life, strapped on my reflective triangle, and pedaled my way over there. The chill was mild, but I had visceral memories of last winter’s bicycling, and the winter before’s, too, and oh, I love the open streets of winter riding when everybody else seems to be hibernating. We put our machine together, I pet all the cats, and then it was time to head home. I stopped at the grocery store for a thing or two, and snapped this picture of the almost-empty lot, the moon in the far background, the street light lighting up the tree they’ve put here to make it look like something other than a parking lot; it kind of is more than a parking lot–most of us are using it as a through-way from that side of Waverly to this one. I left behind these last couple of cars and zipped home, looking forward to more empty streets and chilly breezes in my immediate future.
Scrapyard at O’Donnell & S. Kresson
First, I know it’s unseemly to complain about such beautiful weather, but I am so over this heat. It was almost 90 today! And lest you think that’s a normal temperature and I just forgot last year, it’s almost 20 degrees above the average for this time of year, so shut it. I want it to cool down so I can wear leggings and snuggle under blankets with hot tea and complain about how it’s cold when I start my ride but hot about two minutes later and don’t tell me to layer i just want to complain. Enough. Continue reading
View of the Harbor From Fort McHenry Park
I woke up to a cloudy, cool, and windy fall Saturday, and oh, it felt good. N. asked if I might want to spend the afternoon with our books out at Fort McHenry–I could ride my bike and meet her, and she’d drive with a blanket, pillows, and some bottles of water. I looked up at the gray skies and felt the breeze and thought, YES, GREAT IDEA. Because in spite of the look of the weather, I really, really wanted to ride my bicycle. Continue reading
Cloudy Skies at the Corner of 36th & Falls Road in Hampden
It wasn’t much of a week for bicycling, I’m sad to say. Workdays stretched into the night, and then there was the part where it was just flipping hot out. Why, September, why must you be all mid-90s and humid? I want my cooler air cycling, please! I did a quick pedal down the hill to meet S. for a beer on Tuesday night, but other than that, nothing. Continue reading
What I Saw Riding My Bike Around Today 