Oh, it wasn’t easy to leave the perfect mid-70s sunshine of New Orleans for the sleeting skies of Baltimore, but I live here now, so there you go. Yesterday was a bit chilly, but we got a surprise (to me) warm up under heavy clouds today. Things started to look more and more like rain, so I put on my bike shoes and headed to the park for a few turns around the reservoir. It was so, so warm, so I took off my coat, shoved it in my pannier, and pedaled my way to the park. Continue reading
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A Limousine Under Wraps in a Silo Point Parking Garage
I had a dinner date with R. in Locust Point tonight after a long day of work and other work and swimming and work. It was still warm out, but all the weather reports said temps were about to drop and rain mixed with ice was moving in. But oh, I wanted to ride a bicycle, so that’s what I did. I pedaled with rush hour traffic on the way there, up and around and down Fort Ave., a right on Steuert, and then to find a bike rack. Continue reading
Warrior Emporium at 1228 Light Street in Federal Hill
Oh, Friday, I looked forward to you all week. My winter class and my own research and writing have been getting in the way of doing nothing, but I reserved Friday for just that. They promised a warm one, and I missed the “90% chance of rain” memo, so I set out without gloves, hat or raincoat. Oh well. I zipped down the hill in fog for a quick stop in Harbor East and some laps in the pool. Swimming is turning out to be just awesome. Right now it’s all about concentrating on my breathing, and since I’m a beginner, I’m getting better really, really fast. And then it was back on the bike~a quick nod to the bike that has been locked to that one rack since September~and I was on my way around the harbor and up to Locust Point for the ol’ sandwich-massage-and-a-haircut hat trick. By the time I headed back home it was raining, so I just tested my brakes and then rode as fast as I could, taking shortest route instead of the one signed for bikes. I stopped on Light Street to snap a picture of the Warrior Emporium, a place that specializes in cutlery and martial art supplies, of course. It’s a perfect combination, but it just kind of feels weird. There’s a hardware store next door, another place that secretly kind of has everything~drawer pulls, nails, cat carriers, soda, and everything. What a block, eh? Every shopper’s dream. By the time I made it over to Fallsway it was really coming down, so I put my head down and sped home, still quite certain Friday was worth all the hype.
A Sign Blown Down at Guilford & Mount Royal
I’ve been off the bike and in the car for the past few days, on a little research foray in Virginia, E. in tow. It was all fun and games and history–Mt. Vernon, Jamestown, Colonial Williamsburg, the Museum of the Confederacy, the White House of the Confederacy, Tredeger Iron Works, and the American Civil War Center (phew!)–until yesterday, when the car wouldn’t start. Ugh. Long story short, I ended up having to leave the thing at the mechanic’s in Mechanicsville, VA and rent a car to drive us home. Next weekend, I will hopefully get to go back there and pick up the car and bring it back here, leaving a good chunk of my wallet there. Ugh. Continue reading
Boats, Flags, and Fog From the Pier at Harbor East
I woke up to gray skies and fog that hung around all day long; Baltimore’s trapped in a cloud. One thing that means, though, is that the temperature’s mild, and in that respect it’s good for biking. I hopped on the bike after a leisurely morning and headed down the hill to run afew errands and then hit the gym for a do-over on yesterday’s swimming snafu. E. advised me to take the long way, so that’s what I did, a left on Biddle for a ride past block after block of vacants until my right on Central. Man, that avenue is nuts~it was like off-roading with all the bumps and gravel pits and narrow lanes. The minivan behind me was honking as I did my best to stay on my wet pedals and I was like, what do you want me to do? But then there was a bike lane and people and I was at the end of the street. I took a right and walked the bike behind yet another construction project and I was on the pier. I snapped this picture of boats and flags against the white background of a fog that still hasn’t lifted. I walked the bike to the bike rack at the gym, past the Johns Hopkins business school that of course occupies some of the most expensive real estate in town and Legg Mason’s “global assets.” Some people live their lives in those buildings while others are waiting at the rescue mission on Central just a mile a way, but surely it’s all about who’s working hardest, right? I swam without sputtering and celebrated with a soggy ride home. The cloud gets closer to the ground after the sun sets, it seems. Back up the hill to home, very lucky indeed.
A Condo on a Pier at the Harbor at Leakin St.
I faced a bit of a quandary this morning. I had three places to be today, and in time constraints that meant biking was out of the question, but just barely. And it was a sunny day–first one in awhile–and that meant biking had to happen. Solution? Pop the Brompton in the back seat, drive to the first destination, bike to the second and back, and then return Brompty to the car before driving to campus. This is why they pay me the big bucks. I checked the map to figure out how to get to Canton by car and headed out for another swim lesson. 45 minutes later I was unfolding the bike and mazing my way around Canton and Highlandtown, bright sun and blue skies. Continue reading
Sunset Behind Bare Trees in Druid Hill Park on the Jones Falls Trail
I had one of those perfectly lovely days, the kind where you wake up where you’re supposed to be and spend your morning doing things you’re supposed to be doing, and then there’s a meeting, but then you’re on your bike riding through the park on an unseasonably warm day. That part’s wrong, but like so very many wrong things, it feels so good. It was like springtime on my bare legs as I pedaled along, I swear. Continue reading
So Many Cars Everywhere Downtown
Monday was unseasonably warm, but I had to spend most of it inside offices and classrooms. And then I didn’t, so I rushed home, changed into short pants, a tank top, and a sweatshirt, and hopped on the bike down the hill to enjoy the waning moments of light on a premature spring day. (Something’s not right here, but I will let the climate bloggers worry about that.) What did I see? I saw a burning red disk of a sun sinking into the western skyline, kids in short sleeves throwing balls around an alleyway, a just-dead squirrel I had to go around, folks waiting too long at bus stops, three buses in a row going the other way, and cars. So many cars pulling out of parking lots and turning corners and waiting in lines to get on the JFX. They were all trying to get out while I was trying to get in, but even if that hadn’t been the case I could have zipped ahed of them at all the lights. Total gridlock downtown and it wasn’t even 5 o’clock yet! There has to be another way. I did my turn at the gym and the grocery and headed back up the hill and to Hampden where folks are in their cars again, touring 34th Street’s holiday lights. Me, I will take the bike every time, especially in such nutty weather.
View Over the Jones Falls From the Wyman Park Drive Overpass Over the JFX
Finally, I got to take a bike ride again. This out-of-town-and-working business is really putting a dent in my bicycling time, amongst other things. I only had about 45 minutes to spare on this busy work day, but I took what I could get and hopped on the bike toward Druid Hill Park for a few quick laps around the reservoir. Continue reading
BMX Rider at Carroll Park Skatepark at Bayard & Herkimer
It’s cold and windy in Baltimore, but I needed to go on a bike ride today, badly. I remembered my father’s insistence that “there’s no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing,” piled on my wool and layers, and hopped on the bike to see what was happening out there today. I flew down the hill to downtown and then took an unexpected left to follow the anti-marriage equality truck to a rally at War Memorial Plaza that was ostensibly “Not a protest. Not a festival. Not a rally. Not a time for speeches, sermons, stumping or pontification.” Continue reading
What I Saw Riding My Bike Around Today 