I had an hour this morning between work and more work, so I took the opportunity to hop on the new bike and tool around Broadmoor. Broadmoor took on a lot of water when the levees broke, and the neighborhoods in the area are only slowly coming back. Some streets have maybe one house that’s been redone on the block while other blocks look like nothing ever happened. The rebuilding here is incredibly uneven, as it is in most parts of town. Continue reading
levees
Decaying Boat and Shipping Container at Oak and Adams
I know I keep harping on the weather, but today was simply ridiculously beautiful. I donned my ipod a fluffy skirt, and not enough sunscreen and tooled along side streets over to a coffee shop to meet a friend to sit outside and get some writing done. I was trying to explain why riding around in weather like this with my skirt blowing back feels so good. Continue reading
Sunset on the Mississippi
Oh yeah, it’s springtime in New Orleans. Today was ridiculously beautiful. I took advantage with a nice ride on the levee late this afternoon. So many people were out riding around, running, walking dogs. The folks with horses had them out, trotting around. Other folks were engaging in archery practice, shooting on the banks of the Mississippi at hay bales draped with vinyl targets. There were even golfers practicing chip shots. This is what I love about public space–it’s for the public. Continue reading
Sunset On Bayou St. John
It’s about to get warm again in New Orleans, so I decided to take advantage of the cool afternoon and got on the new bike for a trip to Mid-City and Bayou St. John. I love the new bike. I love just letting loose and speeding along, legs spinning, elbows bending. It feels so, so free. Jack and I are in for a long life of rides together, methinks. Continue reading
Decaying Car at S. Liberty and Valmont
It was a lovely, crisp day in New Orleans today–blue sky, sunny, slight breeze. I decided to take Freret home from work, but was stymied by a rare event: a bicycle traffic jam. There were enough bikes on Freret slowing my easy traffic that I went ahead and took South Liberty. It felt good to be on a different street, sailing along, noticing new houses and new stray cats and new downed trees. Continue reading
Overturned Trash Can On Levee Path In Jefferson Parish
It has been cold and windy the past few days, but that hasn’t kept me off my bike. I finally recovered from Mardi Gras madness and got some long rides in this weekend. I didn’t plan to go out today, but I was in a bit of a foul mood after work this afternoon and knew a ride on the new bike would make everything shinier. And it did. Continue reading
The Mississippi River at the Fly on My New Bike
I didn’t have to be at work until noon today, so I took the opportunity to go for a ride on the new bike, tentatively named Jack. She’s a Surly Long Haul Trucker, a green steel beauty, a touring bike. I’ve been riding a big pink cruiser for the past year, so this is a huge upgrade in speed. I’ve already realized that there’s a lot more to riding this bike than Rhoda. There are gears to shift, hand grips to rotate, brakes to feather. It is so, so fun. Continue reading
New Orleans Critical Mass on the Algiers Ferry
Tonight I went to my first Critical Mass. I was strangely nervous, I think because I still feel so new to riding and I almost always ride alone. But I had a beer to steel my nerves and then met up with the crowd at Jackson Square. Continue reading
On Piety
Today reminded me of summer. I rode my bike just to ride and taste the wind. The day started with rain, but then it let up and the sun was shining and I felt free, zipping through Uptown for a lunch date with A. I wasn’t sure where my bike would take me after that, but I overheard some folks talking about some installation art on Piety. Continue reading
Shipping Container at Delachaise and LaSalle
Riding home from work today I passed this shipping container sitting outside a house. This is a fairly common scene around New Orleans as people still have trailers in front of their homes and portable storage units are parked all over. Continue reading
What I Saw Riding My Bike Around Today 