I had a long day of reading, writing, and teaching, but I had to have the energy to ride my bike just down the hill to Mt. Vernon–I mean what am I going to do, drive and park there? Please. It was a pleasure, though, because it mean meeting V. for dinner at that Indian place that smells like butter. We ate too much, swapped teaching strategies (what do you do when they start crying?), and then it was time to lug my exhausted self back up the hill to home. Continue reading
Mt. Vernon
Abandoned Fleece Scarf at 27th & St. Paul
Ok, something’s really wrong here. It’s February 1, and I went out in a flimsy dress and a light sweater and was plenty warm. I had a good day of self-care, car-care, and lounging before it was time to take the bike to the coffee shoppe to get back to work. I wrote some words, read some stuff for class, and organized students into small groups, not of their choosing, and then it was time to get back on the bike and head back up the hill to home. Continue reading
Snow and Ice on the Sidewalk on Chase & St. Paul
Well, it was bound to happen eventually, this thing where water would fall out of the sky on a day so cold it would freeze, so here you go: ice. It looked pretty this morning, but it made for a slooow walk home from brunch as I measured each step to avoid slipping and bouncing off the sidewalk like the newbie I am. I spent the day at home writing up a syllabus and watching terrible movies, but I’ve got a dinner date in Mt. Vernon, so it’s time to get on the bike. Because it’s new to me it felt treacherous as I white-knuckled my way down the hill, taking the whole lane to avoid even the faint touch of visible ice. But what about the ice you can’t see, Kate? I got off and walked the last block to the restaurant. I figure, though, that it’ll be like anything else new–I’ll do it for awhile, get more comfortable, fall, realize falling won’t kill me, and then I will just be somebody who rides in wintertime. Or not. Maybe I’ll take the bus.
Cyclists Learning About Banks at the Wells Fargo at St. Paul & Fayette
Today’s ride took me up to campus in the afternoon for another faculty senate meeting, and I could feel the difference regular riding is making in my stamina, and it is really exciting. I’m not scared by hills anymore, even that one that gets you up to Haverhill Road. The ride makes sense in its chunks–down the hill to Mt. Vernon and up through Bolton Hill, Lafayette through West Baltimore, South on Monroe–serious traffic today–Frederick and up the hill to Caton Avenue, Caton and Wilkens, and then finally the weird cul-de-sacs of Arbutus–et voila! I only took one wrong turn and knocked 3 minutes off my time, but what really surprised me was that I wasn’t exhausted when I got to campus, and that felt amazing. Continue reading
Nothing Says I Love My City Like A Full Trash Can at Calvert & Preston
I had a long day at work, but I got to cap it off with a trip to the theater with some students–win! I ate a quick dinner, mussed around on The Facebook, and then hopped on the bike to Centerstage at 700 Calvert for Stoop Stories. The show was good, if a bit narrow (attention, middle aged white dudes: your “I was drunk/high at a college party/study abroad/sporting event” story isn’t actually all that interesting), but I was tired and most ready to head home at the end. Continue reading
The BSO on Stage at Meyerhoff Hall at Cathedral & Preston
So back when I got this new job in Baltimore in January but wasn’t moving until August, I got itchy about my new town, and that lead to some joining of historical societies and purchasing of season subscriptions to the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. And now I live in Baltimore, and tonight it turned out I had a ticket to the orchestra. I put on a dress and some heels, strapped on a purse with my slow moving vehicle belt, and zipped down the hill to Meyerhoff Hall. Continue reading
Presentation at Red Emma’s Bookstore and Cafe in Mt. Vernon
I spent the day at work and stopped into the gym to get some exercise in out of the rain. Surprise, surprise, though, the sun came out this afternoon! Well, maybe not the sun, but the rain was gone, so I took the bike and flew down the hill to see Dulcey Lewis’s presentation of her senior thesis research on the Lesbian Avengers at the anarchist collective coffee shop and bookstore.
The place was packed and I enjoyed listening to the Avengers being talked about like an ancient cult–I guess the early 90s are a historical netherworld in some circles. We have got to remember our histories, and I’m glad folks are on the case. I stayed after to mix and mingle, went for a beer and a snack with V., and then rode back up the hill in the cool breeze of September in Baltimore, a lovely Friday night in the bag.
Cinderblocked Vacants on Calvert & 21st
I really, really wanted to go on a long bike ride this afternoon, but just as I finished up my work for the morning the skies opened up it started raining sideways. Sigh. I spent the afternoon running errands by car until riding to Mt. Vernon to meet V. for dinner. Man, riding in the post-rain cool evening air, flying downhill, feels so, so good. It’s uphill on the way home, but I ak already used to that part. I took Calvert tonight, and stopped at 21st to snap a picture of these vacant row houses. The blight here is intense, and it changes block by block–just a couple blocks either way from this one are fully populated, but here, lots of empties. Usually they are closed up with plywood, but this cinderblocking seals them off so completely, they are like ghosts. I wonder when the blight will seem like a normal part of the background, or if it will always feel a little bit like a ghost town here.
Episcopal Church at Cathedral & Read
Finally the rain stopped falling this afternoon and I got to take the Surly out for an inaugural ride in Baltimore. I headed up a few blocks to grab lunch, then over to the coffee shoppe for some work–yes, I do have things to do besides unpack–and then to Mt. Vernon to meet V., my new colleague and future drinking buddy, for a large iced tea and some conversation. Man, the bike going downhill is a trip! I was seriously flying, and it felt fantastic, if a bit scary. I’m just not used to hills, but I won’t be saying that for long. Just being on the bike made me feel more at home, and I am seriously pumped to spend the next however many years doing laps, using gears, yelling on the inside for the Bolt bus to get out of my bike lane, it’s all I have. I was early to our date–the downhill ride took about three minutes, and I sat outside, looking up at the cloudy sky, thinking this church is awfully old and pretty, knowing that in the not-too-distant future I will take myself on a tour of the thing. So much new! I rode back on the uphill, grateful for my many gears and the part where I am not at all in a hurry.
What I Saw Riding My Bike Around Today 