I rode home from work along Claiborne Avenue after grabbing a quick lunch and a few minutes of the Copa Mundial at the local burrito place. It’s a wide street–three lanes in each direction–and there’s even a shoulder. The asphalt is smooth. But it so flipping scary to ride there. The cars zip by so fast. Take the foot off the pedal, folks! Give a girl some space! Continue reading
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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
Cat’s Claw On a Blighted House at St. Andrew and Simon Bolivar
Oh, spring has more than sprung in New Orleans, and the days are just plain beautiful. Today was a bit windy when I hopped on the Surly and headed down to the gym–I had a little scare when I thought a gust might push me into traffic–but other than that, the day was sweet. As S. said to me a couple days ago, it’s like one day the city just exploded. Continue reading
Remnants Of An Old Drugstore at St. Bernard and Broad
I had one of those days where I woke up a little grumpy and it just got worse as lots of little irritations and annoyances added up. The only answer was, of course, a long bike ride in the sun under a frighteningly blue sky. I zeroed out my inbox (nothing prettier than an empty inbox!) and hopped on the Surly for a ride. Continue reading
Dilapidated Mobile Home in Lacombe, LA
Today was the last day of my mini vacation, but there was still plenty of time to get another bike ride in. D. threw her fancy bike in her fancy car and drove up to meet me in Lacombe for a ride out to Slidell, lunch and basketball (Go State!), and then back to the cars. Before she got there, though, I did some tooling around the bayou and off the bike path to get a bit more of a sense of this little town. Continue reading
Blighted Tin House on the St. Tammany Trace
Oh, I had a most lovely day on my bicycle. I got up early and drove myself and the Surly to Lacombe and rode up the St. Tammany Trace to Abita Springs. On my way I saw lots of other folks on bikes, a few runners, some walkers, and a kid on a scooter. The sky was perfectly blue and the sun was bright, and I just pedaled and pedaled and pedaled, listening alternately to birds and music. Such a nice way to spend the day! Continue reading
Rebuilding at Clara and General Taylor
Today started out cold but ended up sunny and even a tiny bit warm, which meant a much better mood for my commute home than to campus. I pedaled slowly, still working on catching my breath from this stupid cold. As I rode, I thought about the past week and a half or so of the Patois Film Fest. Continue reading
Food Truck for Sale at Simon Bolivar and Felicity
Nope, not quite summertime, but I’m still happy to be on my bike. I managed to miss the thunderstorms on my ride up to campus today, and we all managed to talk loudly enough to hear each other over the thunderstorms and the car alarms set off by said thunderstorms. Continue reading
Demolition at Chippewa and Race
As anyone who lives here or has spent any time at all reading my blog knows, New Orleans is a place where neighborhoods change drastically from just block to block. I headed downtown to meet J. and her old friend J. for his work party, and instead of taking St. Charles or Magazine or Laurel, I headed down to Chippewa, which honestly feels like a different city from just a few blocks further away from the river. Continue reading
What I Saw Riding My Bike Around Today 