New Orleans

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Pothole Filled With Gravel on St. Charles & Nashville

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I ride my bike up and down St. Charles at least four times a week on my commute. I know that ride like I know how to make spicy black beans or how to catch beads at a Mardi Gras parade. I’m always happy to pass that one school on the right because that’s when the asphalt turns smooth. Until you cross Nashville (or is it Jefferson? I know the road surfaces, not their names.), where that pothole turns up. You’ve got to decide: are you going to roll over it? Pedal through? Jog out into the traffic lane a bit to stay on asphalt? But that has gotten harder since the left edge has been falling away. Some weeks ago somebody dumped some loose rocks in the deeper part of the hole to bring it up more even to the rest of the surface, but that just makes it more hazardous to cyclists. I stopped today on my zillionth ride over it to take a picture, and I noticed they’ve painted a square around it. Could that mean it will be fixed soon? I won’t hold my breath. When you ride a bike every day, this is the sort of stuff that lodges in your brain. Good thing I’ve got a thing for details.

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Rain

The weather was nice this morning–no wind, cool–and the commute to work was easy breezy. The weather report said it would rain today, and it did. All I saw on my ride home were puddles and raindrops through my wet, steamy glasses. Don’t start a ride in the rain, my father says, but sometimes you’ve got to, and this ride wasn’t bad. I made it safely home, jumped in the shower, put on some cozy pjs, and hopped into bed with my book. That’s the sort of thing that feels better after a few quick miles in a storm.

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Town Hall Meeting About Crime at Our Lady Star of the Sea Church in St. Roch

The sun was back out today, so after working from home most of the morning, I hopped on my bike and headed to the Bywater for a late lunch and a grading jamboree. I was in a bouncy sort of mood, so I decided to take a new route, and went down Tchoupitoulas. The traffic was fast, but so was I, and it felt great. After finishing up my work I took the bike on the Chartres-St. Claude bike lane loop–I love some bike infrastructure, that’s for sure. I took a right on St. Roch to get a little more time on the bike. Continue reading →

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Construction in the 300 Hallway in Gibson Hall at Tulane

My legs were feeling yesterday’s ride, so I was less than thrilled to be back on the bike this morning, I admit it. I lowered the gear and spun my way to school for my first day in the new classroom. I lugged my lower body up a couple flights of stairs and took a right into the hallway to greet my newly-remodeled room. Continue reading →

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Feats of Engineering at the Huey P. Long Bridge From the Levee Path

The weather outside today was simply beautiful, enough so that I didn’t mind having to be in my office at noon to meet J., who calls that the crack of dawn (which it sort of is, for a Sunday). After a quick meeting I rode over to catch the Tulane women’s basketball team in their CUSA showdown against Houston. Continue reading →

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Solidarity With the People of Egypt and a Red Streetcar on Canal & Poydras

Today’s ride started off under a clear blue sky with a bright sun–no more frozen precipitation for us, thank you very much. I headed over to C. and P.’s house for a baby shower–congrats, C. and R.!–and then rode down to meet up with a rally some folks organized to stand in solidarity with the people of Egypt. I spotted a crowd on Poydras and headed over with my bicycle to join them. Continue reading →

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New Orleans Congress of Day Laborers and Allies at the City Council Meeting

Yep, it’s still cold, but I remembered my ear warmer thing-y as I headed out for a day of errand-running and meetings. I locked up my bicycle outside City Hall for the 3pm meeting that promised a vote on an ordinance to limit the size of Orleans Parish Prison. Right now New Orleans incarcerates more people than anywhere else in the state of Louisiana. Louisiana incarcerates more people than any other state in the US. And the United States incarcerates more people than anywhere else in the entire world. In other words, there are more people under the control of the carceral state here in New Orleans than anywhere else in the world. Continue reading →

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My Own Breath

You know what I saw while riding my bike around today? My own breath! Yesterday I was sweating through humid rain, but last night the cold came in, catching me walking around the Quarter in a skirt and flip flops. And today it’s just plain cold. I layered up, including gloves and my windproof fleece jacket, and headed out. I forgot my ear warmer thingy. Need the ear warmer thingy. The ride in the cold wind was less than pleasant. Fortunately I ran into my buddy N. at work, and she lent me her hat. That made the ride home infinitely more enjoyable, enough so that I did a lap around the park just to see if folks were braving it in the cold (they weren’t, except for the kids on their high school track teams–no rest for the children). Riding in the cold is easy peasy, if you dress for it.

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A Goose at Audubon Park

My legs are tired in that you-need-a-day-off-the-bike way, so today’s ride was an easy breezy commute followed by some low-gear riding around Audubon Park after work. I have been feeling out of sorts for the past few days–it happens–and I wasn’t feeling particularly chipper as I weaved through the rush hour crowds doing laps, and even the casual ride felt forced. Continue reading →

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Baby Broccoli Growing in a Container in Mid-City

When I last visited my dear sister in NYC, I realized that if you aren’t really into bicycles, you might not even notice them. I was only half listening as we wandered around Brooklyn chatting about the old days when I, too, lived in Brooklyn. The other half was busy checking out every single bike that rode by–the fixies and cruisers and hybrids and road and mountain bikes–and only occasionally checking out the rider. Continue reading →