I spent the day in my neighborhood doing some writing and thinking about after I finished my writing and could get on my bike. My legs were so tired after the weekend that I was a little nervous the ride today would be work instead of play, but I was lucky and found the pedals spinning just fine as I headed Uptown to the office. Continue reading
Bike Parking at the Tour de Lis
I got up early this morning to bike over to City Park for the Tour de Lis. I was a bit sluggish after a lot of riding over the past few days, I’ll admit. My legs are t-i-r-e-d. But it was good to see lots of other folks with fresh-looking legs up early for some loops around the park to raise money for Lance Armstrong’s foundation. The bike parking was tremendous, as you can see in this photo. I also enjoyed the 9:00am chicken pasta washed down with a cold beer. Continue reading
Blue Sky Over the Fountain at City Park’s Big Lake
I had one of those days today, the kind where you set out on your bicycle with no real plan and find yourself stumbling across the most lovely things in fantastic weather with a spectacular blue sky overhead. Oh, it was divine! After a quick stop to make some copies at work, I rode over to City Park to register for tomorrow’s Tour de Lis and find out about getting a spot to hand out membership applications for the Metro Bicycle Coalition (regular readers: please consider joining to support safe cycling in the Crescent City!). By the time I got over there I was seriously soggy from the heat, so I ducked into the New Orleans Museum of Art for air conditioning and Continue reading
Crawfish Boil at Fulton Square
I had a busy day of grading and errand-ing, so when 6:00 rolled around, I was happy to toss off the day and get on the Surly to head down to the Quarter for preview night of Grey Gardens at Le Petit Theatre. (I usher as a volunteer in exchange for a free seat–best game in town, folks.) It’s that time of year, though, when there’s always something going on. Continue reading
Tiny Cornfield at Upperline and North Prieur
Oh, it’s getting hot out there, people! Unlike lots of folks, I’m excited to get some real heat on. I love summertime, when everyone’s salty, clothes clinging like wet rags, sulking through the thick air. I took the Surly to work and had to be inside for much of the day, but I took the long way home. I rode around Broadmoor, humming this ridiculously catchy tune and enjoying the sunlight. Continue reading
Fences and Facades at Baronne and Jackson
It has been so stormy lately, and my legs have been feeling it. It’s completely flat here, so that means I’m used to spinning easily in a high gear (or a low gear–I wonder how long I’ll be riding a bike before I figure out which is which…and whether I’m nearsighted or farsighted). It also means I’m sore after a few days of pedaling into strong headwinds. But tonight it was just perfect out there. Perfect. Continue reading
Overgrown Lot and Blighted House at Amelia and Clara
I was happy to see sunshine this morning after last night’s rather harrowing slog home. I got on the Surly and headed to campus, feeling the aches from the whole-body vise grip I used to get home. After meeting with a student and then celebrating this year’s graduates, I biked down Willow, enjoying the heat of the sun and the (relatively) dry day. Continue reading
Waiting Out a Rainstorm on Royal and Governor Nicholls
It was another stormy day in New Orleans, but I really, really, really needed to ride my bike. That meant breaking one of my unofficial biking rules that I learned from my dad: never start a ride in the rain. No such choice today, so I put on my quick-dry skirt and raincoat, tied a plastic bag on the fancy leather saddle, rolled up my waterproof pannier (thank you, Ortlieb!,) and headed down to the Quarter to meet S. for dinner before joining other friends for Treme in the Treme. Continue reading
Jasmine On a Brick Wall at Governor Nicholls and Chartres
Oh, it’s muggy out there–the kind of muggy that means my glasses fog up when I step out of air conditioned buildings, or even when I’m just breathing a little hard from pedaling fast. I headed out on the Surly to check out Jazz Fest crowds and also to get away from news coverage of the river of oil gushing in the Gulf. Continue reading
Installation Art On Esplanade and N. Tonti
I spent a good deal of my afternoon and evening reading as much as I could about the oil spill. Well, it’s not actually an oil spill. It’s a river of oil, gushing with no end in sight. A few days ago, we were told this river wouldn’t touch Louisiana, it wouldn’t be a Louisiana event. Today, though, foils reported smelling oil. That’s what happens when they burn the ocean and the wind blows. Continue reading
What I Saw Riding My Bike Around Today 