There’s nothing like a few days of sub-freezing temperatures to remind a girl how warm 40 degrees really is, and I was happy for the warmth on my free Friday afternoon. I took the Surly up the hill for a sandwich and with no other plans for the evening, I just kept going straight up the hill with the vague goal of going north and west enough to avoid getting caught in the Loyola parking lot. I know, I know, I could check a map and follow some directions, but where’s the fun in that? Continue reading
Guilford
Giant Red Tree at the Convent at Ellerslie & Parkwyth
Friday started with a relatively early ride over to Waverly to meet R. for another brainstorming session and some quality time with her handsome gray cat. We had so many good ideas, and I felt so excited about what we’re going to do next, that I just had to ride my bike around after instead of heading home. Continue reading
Mother’s Garden in Clifton Park at 32nd & Harford Road
Monday was my last free day before the start of a new semester, so after finishing up some syllabi (syllabuses?) it was most assuredly time to take a bike ride. I headed north and east toward Lake Montebello to do some easy laps with the rest of the Mondays-off crowd. I rode through sprinklers and past geese having their afternoon snacks, followed the sign to Morgan State only to hit a dead end 45 seconds later (construction, always with the construction), and after a third lap got off the trail and onto the street to explore the neighborhood. Continue reading
Mansion on Stratford & Greenway
After work and a brief stop at home, I dragged myself back down the stairs and onto the bike because I knew I’d be glad I did that rather than stare at the computalator in bed. I was right. I headed up the hill and took a right and left and just bicycled straight up to see where it would take me. And then I was in Guilford. Continue reading
Bike Infrastructure at Guilford & 20th
I like to ride my bike like I’m driving a car–“vehicular cycling,” I think they call it. That means I stay off the sidewalk unless I fear imminent death (see yesterday’s post) and I take the lane when I need to. Oh, and I often use my outside voice to let folks know what the rules are, according to me. When I first started riding my bike around this town, I would take Guilford home from points south, and when I got to North Avenue, I’d get my best vehicular cycling on, taking a wide right into the turn lane and taking a left on the arrow, another left on 20th, and then a right to get back on Guilford. A driver once yelled about this to me, told me to take the sidewalk and parking lot like the other girl on the bike. Not me, no way, no how. I drive my bike. And then I started doing what that driver told me to do, and today there are signs instructing me to bike through the lot and take the sidewalk. Well alrighty then. Today’s ride was like pedaling through spring already, and I look forward to many rides following these new official directions in my near future. Yes.
Jay Brodie of the Baltimore Development Corporation Speaking at a Meeting at 36 S. Charles
I spent my day doing one of my favorite things: talking to students about capitalism. It’s a profit motive, and there’s only so much you can squeeze in terms of raw materials and the means of production, so how do you get the most out of labor for the least amount of money? It’s just the logic of the system, and it’s stark and important to see. (When I point out that they pay the college for credit hours so they can work for free at an internship, well, um, yeah.) The afternoon class didn’t do the reading, so that was a wash, and at that point I was ready to head home, slap some bike shoes on with this dress and these tights, and get on the bike to pedal out some frustration and anxiety. Continue reading
A.J. Michaels at York Road & Ready Lane
So the thing with living in a new town is that you pretty much do whatever the googleymap tells you to do, or at least that’s what I do. After a long day at work–first week, in the bag!–I drove home grabbed the bike, and followed the googleymap over to B. & G.’s for a lovely evening of wine, snacks, and meeting new people. Continue reading
What I Saw Riding My Bike Around Today 