Baltimore

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Heritage Sign & Blighted Building at Lafayette & Division

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Oh, it’s finally here, my itty bitty clown bike! I got a call yesterday evening from the bike shop, so I waited impatiently this morning before walking down to the shop for its 11am opening to fetch the newest member of the family. It was just as lovely as I remembered, and as I took it out for a test spin along the Jones Falls Trail, I started to get good and giddy. It’s just so much fun! I rode it back home to grab my helmet and to show it off to S. before heading back down the hill to meet V. for work that couldn’t get done because I was too bust thinking about riding my new bike. I then rode it over to Upton to meet J. so we could nerd out together along the Pennsylvania Avenue heritage walking tour. I snapped this picture of the new bike against a new public history sign and increasingly old blight. The tour tells the history of a culturally, politically, socially, and economically vibrant area, but it doesn’t explain at all why so much of that has been lost as parts of this neighborhood continue falling to pieces as others keep it alive. Upton and Pennsylvania don’t look like they do now by chance. Decisions were made that make that glittering past “history,” right? I pushed my bike from sign to sign, historic church to historic church, stopping along the way for a chat here or there, and a chance to demonstrate the Brompton’s quick fold to a woman sitting outside in the sunshine with her cigarette, watching people pass on by. And then it was time to ride the new bike up the hill to home for one last fold on its birthday before lugging it up the steps to its new home. I can’t wait to see what we learn next. *squeal*

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Nik Wallenda Wire Walking Over the Inner Harbor

I’ve got that end-of-the-year cold that I’d been putting off since January, so S. offered to drive me down to the Inner Harbor, but please–you don’t drive to see a guy walk on a tightrope 300 feet over the Inner Harbor. We hopped on our bikes and sped down the hill under gray skies until we found the crowd gathering to watch the wire walk (after finally finding a bike rack–c’mon, Inner Harbor, get with the program!). Continue reading →

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Looking Up the Railroad Tracks on Bush, Just After Severn

Today’s ride took me over to campus for the program’s end-of-the-year picnic, this time with dogs. I took my regular route down the hill, but I decided to stay on Dolphin, just to see where it would take me. The city isn’t in the kind of grid I’m used to, so I’m not always sure which streets are running which directions, but I had a hunch that if I stayed where I was, I might end up on Harlem Ave., which seemed increasingly likely as I crossed Eutaw and Druid Hill and Pennsylvania. Continue reading →

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View of the Inner Harbor From the World Trade Center

I woke up early, as per usual, and spent my morning reading for pleasure until I remembered that the farmer’s market was running, and although I know I’m supposed to be in it for the produce–which I am–but what got me out of bed were the mini donuts. I hopped on the bike and flew down the hill, got my mini bag of donuts, and did a tour of the place, picking up a little of this and a little of that. Continue reading →

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Tree Growing From a Building at Lafayette & Charles

Today’s ride took me up to Hampden for another bikram yoga class where I’m trying to stretch out my tight bicycling hips. Yeah, I’ve got a ways to go with that. After a quick stop at home for a shower and lunch, I took my writing project with me and flew down the hill to meet V. for a coffee and work date. These are just the kind of small errands that are done much more quickly on bike than in a car; the last thing I want to do is spend time and money parking my car in Hampden or Station North. Continue reading →

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Henry Highland Garnet Park at Druid Hill Ave. & West Lafayette

Oh, it was a beautiful day out today, and lucky me, I had time to go for a bicycle ride. It took me up to Hampden for brunch and the start of a new book and then down to Druid Hill Park, where I thought about T. and how much she loved this place, and how much the park will miss her. Today the reservoir was taken over by dogs and their humans for the Maryland SPCA March for the Animals. I tried to zip my way through and around the canines, but I quickly figured out this was a losing proposition and decided to head up through Reservoir Hill again, but this time follow the bike route signs. Continue reading →

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Unite Women-MD Rally at War Memorial Plaza at Fayette & Gay

Oh, thank goodness Saturday’s here! I woke up in that mood that is only made better by a bicycle ride, so I hopped on the Surly and flew down the hill to War Memorial Plaza for the Unite Women–Maryland rally. The crowd was small, but we made the best of it. I got to give a little talk about this and that at the microphone and talk about stuff with folks after, but I wish there’d been more people–we need warm-body activism alongside our internet posting about warm-body activism. Continue reading →

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Missing Half of a House at Linden & Whitelock

The clouds and rain finally lifted today, and I had time for a bike ride–huzzah! Strangely, though, I didn’t really feel like leaving the house at all, so it was mid-afternoon before I dragged myself down the stairs and on to the bike with the promise that I could just listen to music that used to be meaningful back when I was 20 and do laps around the reservoir in the sunshine wishing some of those red-winged blackbirds were orioles. Continue reading →

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Spanish American War Monument at Fayette & Lakewood

It was another rainy, windy day, but I wanted to ride my bike, so I bundled up and took the bike down the hill for some research with my lunch and then snaked my way through East Baltimore and past some of the city’s public housing developments. I just moved to Baltimore, like five seconds ago, so in my mind, the Inner Harbor has always been part of a fancy downtown, and in my experience, cities don’t put their public housing so close to the tourist areas. Continue reading →

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Baltimore Recycling Center at E. Biddle & Edison Hwy.

Sunday’s a work day for me, but once I got some stuff done I had time to go on a ride without a destination–my favorite. Today’s ride took me down the hill until I decided to take a left on Biddle to see where it would end. Whenever I ride off the very main-est of the main drags in this town (i.e. a street that doesn’t lead to the freeway) I’m struck again by just how many vacant properties are in this city. Just a couple miles on Biddle, if that, and I passed dozens, many on blocks with one or two really nice and well-kept houses, and I thought about what it could look like, if only, if only what. Continue reading →