Is there any season better than springtime? Seriously, no matter what your climate, spring rocks. We don’t have crocuses here, but we’ve got marching bands and sunshine and the way it smelled today. I rode up to campus and did a quick loop around the park before a couple of quick meetings with students. Continue reading
birds
A Goose at Audubon Park
My legs are tired in that you-need-a-day-off-the-bike way, so today’s ride was an easy breezy commute followed by some low-gear riding around Audubon Park after work. I have been feeling out of sorts for the past few days–it happens–and I wasn’t feeling particularly chipper as I weaved through the rush hour crowds doing laps, and even the casual ride felt forced. Continue reading
Swan at Audubon Park
Today I put on short sleeves and a skirt and rode the bike up to campus in 70 degree weather. Oh, New Orleans in December, how I love your occasional spring day! After coffee with a student and a quick stop at the office, I pedaled over to Audubon Park for a quick spin around before heading to the grocery. The path was crowded with people enjoying this unseasonably warm day: kids on bikes, a woman trying to go for a run with a puppy, mature dogs talking their humans on walks, a rollerblader, and a guy in a weighted vest jogging. The bike racks were full and golf carts zipped back and forth across the path. It was a regular postcard out there. Continue reading
Flocks of Birds Over Inverness, MS
Ok, I’ll admit it. When I woke up to gray skies and blustery winds, I considered *not* taking a bike ride today. I mean, I enjoy spending time in the smallest chain ring, but I just wasn’t sure I felt like working that hard this morning. S. pointed out that I could always go out for a short ride and come right back. Excellent plan. I donned my layers, took a right out of the driveway this time, and headed toward town. About half a mile in I was reminded that it is always a good idea to go for a ride. The wind wasn’t bad and the views went on forever. I stopped right before Inverness to watch a couple of horses snack on hay, and I heard the gurgles of so many birds. I snapped this picture of part of the crazy stretch of birds flying together against the clouds. Everyone was headed the same direction, but at intervals three or four would turn around and, in my anthropomorphizing mind, work as crossing guards, herding everyone into lines, keeping things orderly. They were noisy and beautiful and I was completely irrelevant–perfect. I rode through and around the silent town, outrunning dogs, studying cypress in the bayou, wondering if that was a cotton gin, and then headed home to a hot shower, an extra soft, extra large sweater, and some footbal. Like I said, perfect.
Tree on Sunflower River Road in Sunflower County
I am spending the holiday in the Mississippi Delta with my pal S., her parents, two dogs, and my bicycle. I’ve been here before, but today after a delicious breakfast and present opening (how did you know I would love that old postcard of Le Petit Theatre in the Quarter!), I took the bike out for my first ride. I took a left out of the driveway and just rode and rode, crossing the Sunflower River, passing empty field after empty field, staring up at endless cloudy skies. I saw cardinals and blue jays and other little birds I couldn’t name. (Somebody should give me a field guide to nature for Christmas next year.) The view was so empty, except for the occasional stand of trees or ones like this–solo by the side of the road. I saw five cars, two dogs, and a whole lot of beer cans, but mostly I felt like I might be the only person in the world. And I liked it. I turned back around to make it home for dinner, and those headwinds, with no breaks, gave me the opportunity to discover gears I never knew I had. A Delta Christmas just keeps on giving.
Fishing Pier at Lake Mars in Ocean Springs, Mississippi
I am not one for making a plan or carrying a map, prefering to find my way by feel or hoping there will be a sign, a foolish strategy likely picked up from my father. If I don’t have anywhere in particular to be, though, the Never Fail Guide Service is perfectly sufficient. It does mean, however, that sometimes I end up on my first solo camping trip, at Davis Bayou in Gulf Islands National Seashore, riding around rich people’s cul de sacs or on roads with no shoulders. Oh well. I rode around so many weird neighborhoods today, showing so many levels of wear, passing folks smoking on their porches in their Slankets, kids on bikes, old ladies with dogs, and a Justin Bieber lookalike on a skateboard–I hope he finds his way out. I took a right on Beachview Road, hoping it would lead me to a beach view. I usually have bad luck following roads in search of their namesakes (today’s trip down Old Oak Lane a case in point), but today I ended up here, at the boat launch at Lake Mars, where the marsh meets saltwater, just me, my bike, and this great blue heron. And now I’m back in the park, writing from a bench tucked away in the marshy grass, waiting for the longest night of the year to kick in. I wouldn’t be here if not for the bike.
Lighted Tunnel From the City Park Train at Celebration in the Oaks
I woke up at a reasonable hour this morning, tied up this loose end and that loose end while doing laundry, and by 3pm had put the Fall 2010 semester to bed for good. You know what that means? Time to go for a bike ride. I took the Surly out and headed to Lake Pontchartrain via Bayou St. John and City Park. It felt so, so good to ride with nowhere to be at any particular time. Continue reading
Great (or Grey) Heron at Lake Pontchartrain
I finally felt better today, which meant it was time for a bike ride. New Orleans is treating us to 80 degree weather in late November, so lucky me hopped on the Surly and headed to the lake. After getting stuck in a series of cul-de-sacs over near Lakeshore–that’s what happens when they close my route for levee construction–I finally made it to Lake Pontchartrain, where I sat, listened to the wind, ate a banana, and felt thankful for my health and a most perfect afternoon. Continue reading
Pigeons Snacking at the Whole Foods on Magazine
I was prepared for a significant storm today, but that’s not quite what happened. Let me amend–I thought about being prepared for a significant storm, but what that ended up meaning was that I wore flip flops on my ride to work just in case I got caught in a downpour on my ride home. I’ve ruined enough leather shoes in this town already. Continue reading
Parrot on a Wire at Erato and Oretha Castle Haley
The post office closed at 4:30. I got there at 4:39. That meant a ride down to the main post office on Loyola. I wasn’t quite in the mood for that little trip this afternoon, but the bike ride through Central City was surprisingly pleasant and the line at the post office–at 5:00pm, mind you–took less than fifteen minutes. Continue reading
What I Saw Riding My Bike Around Today 