I spent yesterday on foot and was hoping to have a day of riding around town, from the Uptown parades over to Endymion in Mid-City and a night or riding around the Marigny and the Bywater and the Treme looking for pockets of friends doing this or that. If the rains slow, that might still be my night, but I woke up to sprinkles that portended the rain they predicted yesterday. I thought it best to get in an early (for carnival season) bike ride, so I headed out to ride the parade route in front of Tucks. Continue reading
parades
Trees at City Park
It’s Mardi Gras Thursday–or Muses Thursday, if you, like most folks I know, have been waiting for this parade in particular. The parade isn’t until tonight and I had the day mostly free, so I took the bike out for a ride to this appointment and that appointment, and then rode out toward City Park to check out the folks already gathering for this Saturday’s big parade. Continue reading
(Seemingly) Drunk King Arthur at 6th & St. Charles
*REVISED*
I woke up early this morning and remembered that there were more parades. More parades! If you can’t tell, I love this time of year. I made myself sit down and do some work before it was parading time, so I walked over to the coffee shop, graded some papers, and bounced up and down in my seat until it was time to head home, grab the bike, and get to C. and P.’s for the first parade of the day–Krewe of Carrollton. Continue reading
Krewe of Pontchartrain Riders at 6th & St. Charles
Oh, my legs are heavy today! Two days of long rides and a sunburn (antibiotics+sun=no good) have left me exhausted, but that certainly doesn’t mean I’m going to miss a daytime parade on the first weekend of Mardi Gras. Please. I considered walking, but a bike is faster, so I put the bike in a low gear and headed over to find C. and P.’s corner where I always know I’ll find healthy bead competition. Continue reading
St. Mary’s Academy Maryites Marching Band at 6th & St. Charles
I woke up this morning with parading on my mind. Which meant I couldn’t really concentrate on anything, so after trying and failing to get some work done, I took the bike out to work out some nervous pre-Mardi Gras jitters. The sun was shining bright, the skies were clear, and I was flying through neighborhoods, feeling incredibly happy. Continue reading
Police Barricades at Canal & University Place
For some weird reason I was sore all over today, which meant my bike ride was a little tough–none of that “gliding over glass” business today. After work I decided to go for an easy pedal with lots of stretching. I headed up to the levee so I could ride unencumbered, but no matter how I spun, my legs just felt like lead. I made it out to the Huey P. Long Bridge, rested at the picnic table for a few minutes, and then headed back. You know what I saw? Continue reading
Police Car Graveyard at Alvar & Chickasaw
It is springtime in New Orleans again. Every time I think it’s time to swap out summer clothes for winter, we get another temperate day like today, perfect for a bike ride with no destination. I hopped on the Surly and headed downtown, only to run into a holiday parade. A parade! I love a parade. This was a short one, but it featured stilt walkers, the McDonough 35 band, dancers, and, of course, Santa Claus. Continue reading
Dr. King Charter School Marching Band on N. Villere & St. Anthony
It was a positively beautiful Saturday in New Orleans and I spent much of it on my bicycle, riding around–surprise, surprise. I headed to campus to get a little work done in my office, and as I was leaving to enjoy the ride, I discovered a flat tire. When will I learn to carry an extra tube? The puncture was incredibly small, and I couldn’t find it, and the sinks in the public restroom didn’t have stoppers, which meant I was doomed to lose my dignity and stick my hands and the tube in the toilet. Sigh. Continue reading
St. Patrick’s Day Walking Club at St. Charles and 7th
I love a parade. No, really. I love a parade. This means, of course, that I’m meant to live in New Orleans, a town that will throw a parade for just about anything. Today was the annual St. Patrick’s Day parade, the Uptown version. Because of course there are parades all over the metro area for a good week before the actual day. Continue reading
Extras Restaging a Parade at Chartres and Kerlerec
Yes, Mardi Gras is over, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t a parade today. Can I just say I’m totally over parades right now? But this was a recreation of the Krewe du Vieux parade in 2006, right after Katrina and the broken levees, and they were paying me $100 to pretend to not be over parades, so I hopped on the bike and headed down to Washington Square Park to hurry up and wait. Continue reading
What I Saw Riding My Bike Around Today 