Saturday was the perfect day for a long bike ride around Baltimore. The heat dome lifted just enough to make it feel like it might be ok out there, so I slathered on the sunscreen, filled up the big water bottle, and headed south, no real plan in mind. I decided to head east, and made my turn on the Biddle Street bike lane. This one’s not protected, and parts of it put you in a ditch, but hey, it’s something.
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Tuesday was my birthday, and I spent it as I’ve spent most of the last 8 birthdays or so–riding my bike around. In New Orleans, I would try to follow the same route from year to year, a chance to check on what, if anything, had changed in the year since I’d last notched one. One thing they all had in common was the sweat, so much sweat. Summer in New Orleans is oppressive, like trying to breathe in swamp water. Continue reading
Today’s ride took me down the hill to the Inner Harbor and around to Federal Hill to join A. for a work date at a Federal Hill coffee shop. We gossiped–her about writing, me about not writing–and then worked in 20 minute intervals, because sometimes that’s how you have to do it, especially when outside is all sun and blue skies and bicycles. After finishing up I had a few hours before I had to be anywhere or doing anything, so I rode around Federal Hill and then headed east to see where it would take me. Continue reading
It’s hot outside. I know, I know, it’s only June and I’m already whining like a little baby, but it is so hot outside. It’s the kind of hot where you step outside and your glasses fog up and you choke a little on the thickness of it all. That’s what happened when I stepped out of the house this afternoon to head up to work. My legs were heavy, so instead of fight it, I just slowed my roll–a good general rule this time of year. I stopped at Soniat and Baronne to take a picture of the tall yellow sunflowers already in bloom. That’s the flip side of the heat, and once I get used to the heat, it’s worth it: flowers like this, for months and months and months. And they’re best seen by bike.
As I was cycling Uptown in my black dress under the beating sun, struggling a little to breathe in the heat and humidity, I wondered if every blog for the next six months will start with a remark about the weather. Maybe, maybe not, but today it was hot in a whole new way. It was that choking heat, the kind that makes you slow way down, reminds you why everything’s a little slower in the South. Continue reading
Today was a task-ride kind of day. I rode my bike over to K.’s in the morning so we could go shop for party supplies for my late-late-late birthday party. Afterwards, I rode down to the Quarter to pick up some things I’d forgotten at the place I was apartment sitting. Continue reading
Today was a good day on my bike. Yesterday felt a bit sluggish, and I felt a bit lazy. But today’s ride was one of those rides that make me feel like a little kid, racing along on my bicycle, skirt flying. Continue reading
I was out of town for a few days, in the beautiful Mississippi delta, where I didn’t bike. Or walk. Or do much of anything other than float aimlessly in a pool in the middle of nowhere. It was lovely, but I was happy to get back home and back to work. And back to my bike. Continue reading
I wanted a good ride today, especially after finally getting some writing done on a project that already feels a year overdue. Continue reading
What I Saw Riding My Bike Around Today 