bikes

by

Broken Chain in the Board of Ed Parking Lot at Guilford & North Ave.

image

And then some days you set out for a short recovery ride up to Federal Hill for a sandwich and a massage, but you make it less than a mile before the chain just flies right off the bicycle. Shifting has been a bit wonky for the last few rides, and I swear I was going to clean her innards soon, but alas, too late for that. I ran us home, took the car for errands, and then all of us went to the bike shop. The Surly’s going to spend the night and get a tune-up, drivetrain clean, new bar wraps, two new water bottle holders, and a new rear rack to finally replace the sad panda rack that has been broken and rattling since we got hit by that car two years ago. Sometimes your girl let’s you know she needs a little tlc, and this one surely deserves a spa day.

by

Afro Newsie on a Bike on the Doors at the Lewis Museum at Pratt & President

Today’s ride took me down the hill to the Star-Spangled Flag House and Museum of Star-Spangledness for a little research for this thing I’m writing. It was an easy coast down the hill, but I have a request to make of cars: please don’t pull out into the crosswalk at such speeds? You’re close to pulling out into my lane, but you’re most definitely in the pedestrian’s lane, and that’s dangerous. You’re also blocking the curb cut I need to go up if I”m to stay on the officially marked trail; this is why my utopia is all vehicular cycling. But I digress. Continue reading →

by

Looking Up at Trees From a Bench on a Trail in Damascus Regional Park

image

Many moons ago S. asked me to accompany her to her mom’s fundraising party for the MS 100 ride in Damascus, MD, and then it was finally today and time to head that way. Because she is awesome, S. kindly requested I fold up my new Brompton and bring it along for a ride on a park trail. She borrowed a mountain bike, and we were off. The bike is just so much fun to ride, and the gearing lets me keep pedaling while going down some fairly steep hills. I was flying, and damn, it was so much fun. But, as my father always says, what goes up must come down, and that’s true the other way, too. Yeah, I think I need a grannier gear on this thing for sustained climbs, or maybe I just need to get stronger. Overall, though, it was most perfect to be pedaling in the shade offered by trees like these, which we stared up at from a bench near the end of our ride. What a treat.

by

Boarded-Up Buildings at Gay & High

Another spring break day meant another day of riding my bike around town, and oh, but it feels good to pedal around aimlessly! I rode down to the bike shoppe to take the clown bike out for another spin and then headed down to Fells Point for some frozen yogurt and a think. I mean, I don’t need another bicycle, not at all, and for that price I could get a real bike. Continue reading →

by

Occupy Baltimore’s Agenda at McKeldin Square in the Inner Harbor

I had one of those incredibly busy days where I’m just paying attention to people and things for 12 hours straight. I drove home with the kind of eyes that make me think one should not be allowed to drive under these conditions, but I made it, climbed the stairs, inhaled the rest of that pumpkin cake V. gave me, and it was time to get on my bike and head down to the Inner Harbor to drop off some copies of things for the legal team. Continue reading →

by

Block of Empty Rowhouses at Oliver & Brentwood

I woke up this morning to gray skies and the promise of rain for the rest of the weekend, so I hopped up, sucked down a breakfast smoothie (thanks, E., for the gifts!), and took the bike over to Collington Square Park to meet Odette Ramos, candidate for City Council from the 12th district for a bike tour of the district. Continue reading →

by

The Surly in a Baltimore Row House Stairwell

image

I haven’t ridden my bike in an entire week. A week. That’s what moving will do to you–sitting in the car for days and then all the busy that comes with moving all your stuff to your third floor walkup,  unpacking, painting, shopping, painting, giving up, starting over, etc. But the bike has a spot, in the hallway, between the stairwell and the wall, with the ladder. We will ride again tomorrow. Patience, patience, moving is an exercise in it.

by

Blue Skies Over Lake Pontchartrain

I woke up kind of anxious, so after much hemming and hawing and reading the paper and about Malcolm X and eating a bagel, I remembered that what I really needed was a bicycle ride. I rode up Baronne, wondered if next time I ride it that pool will be in at the Y on Dryades, took St. Charles the rest of the way to Tulane, wondered if next time I ride it that gravel pit will be asphalt, and back and around to Carrollton, wondered if they will ever actually finish whatever they’re doing on Earhart. Continue reading →

by

Parked Cars on a Lawn on S. Lopez Near Esplanade

image

I got to get up at 6:30 this morning and ride my bike to work–yes, all of this is happening on a Saturday–to give a final exam. We all sat there dutifully, them scribbling along, me looking busy, for four hours. Sigh. I was tired, but the day was lovely, so I rode over to Mid-City to see R.’s new apartment and then just pedaled around until I found D. on a porch. It’s Jazz Fest time, so everybody is on the porch and watching the crowds roll by. I snapped this picture from a most beautiful porch while D. and M. moved cars around like Tetris pieces. Yeah, I’m glad I took my bike, as were those folks walking the wrong way down Esplanade who could ask me, because I wasn’t locked up in a car, “Where is Jazz Fest?” A couple beers and several conversations later and I was pedaling along empty streets on my way home, smooth and mindless circles. I picked up Bicycling Magazine from home and grabbed a salad on the corner. Colin McEnroe writes, “Look what I’ve accomplished, and I have 14 whole gears I haven’t even touched yet.” Oh my, exactly.

by

Wheel on the Neutral Ground at St. Claude & Marigny

I didn’t figure on much of a bike ride today. I was tired and in the mood to hermit away after a long week, which is exactly what I did, reading, cooking, watching Ken Burns tell me stories on the television. Then it was time to head just a mile Uptown for dinner with S., N., and N. The food was great, the wine drinkable, and it was just good to see friends. S. asked for route advice for her ride back downtown to the Marigny, and rather than tell her, I figured it was a good sign that it was time for me to take a ride. Continue reading →