Day 2 of summer break caught me doing a couple of quick chores around the house before hopping on the bike down to Penn Station to catch the 9:05 to DC for a day at the museums. The part where you don’t have to live in DC or own a car but can, for $14 round trip, ride in and take advantage of all the cool stuff they’ve got there is one of my favorite things about living in Baltimore. I don’t take advantage of it much, but sure glad it’s there–it’s like Baltimore Bike Party in that way. Please don’t make me put on a costume and ride with a thousand other people, but please make room for everyone else to do it, I’ll just buy the t-shirt (which I wore on yesterday’s ride, ftr). Continue reading
Penn Station
Cops Blocking Entrance to Penn Station in Station North
I didn’t get to do a whole lot of biking today, unfortunately, a bit of a bummer on this wildly beautiful spring afternoon in Baltimore. I had a longstanding appointment to bring my bike into the shop for some fancification, which meant enforced time sitting still. I didn’t like it, but I have needed it, and afternoon spent trying to concentrate again. And then I got the call from the bike shop–the Surly was ready for pick up–and off I headed to get the bike for a quick pedal. Continue reading
Cars and Taxis Lined Up Outside Baltimore’s Penn Station
Monday was another snow day, this one covering up a layer of ice, so that meant no biking for me and a whole lot of hoping that all road surfaces would miraculously melt and dry for Tuesday’s commute to campus. Sure, I could grab a ride with a friend, ask a student for a ride home, but I want to ride my bike and use my train pass and be in some control of my own movement–plus I’m really stubborn–so I layered up and left early so it I had to walk or wait for a bus, I’d have to time to do so. The ride down the hill was fine, though I could feel (and hear–quit honking your horns people, there’s nowhere for me to go!) the irritation of drivers as I took a whole lane in morning traffic because the bike lane was filled with plowed remains. Continue reading
Milling About Gate D at Baltimore’s Penn Station
You know what’s worse than forgetting your hat on a chilly bike-riding morning? Forgetting your gloves. It’s less than a mile downhill to Penn Station, but oh boy, my fingers were icicles when I got there.Sometimes I can’t believe what a rookie I am at dressing myself. Anyway, I got there nice and early, spent some bucks to get some tickets for the rest of the month’s rides–wow, this is cheaper than car ownership–and settled in to watch the crowds gather. Continue reading
DC’s Fancy Bikestation at Union Station
My dear New Orleans friends D. and M. are in DC for a few days this week on a work trip, so I took my non-teaching day to head down to corridor for a little taste of home. We weren’t going to be riding bikes, so I left Brompty at home and just took the Surly to Penn Station where I searched for a spot on the couple of bike racks before awkwardly locking up to the side of one. Continue reading
Stopped at an Intersection at 17th Street & 8th Avenue
It’s time to head home to Baltimore after this quick trip to NYC with the Brompton, so after a lazy morning, I packed up and rode the bike over to Bergen and Flatbush for brunch with E. She took the subway and just missed her train. I took bike lanes and stopped twice to double check directions, and I beat her by about four minutes. I wonder how long I’d have to live in NYC for that game to get old. Anyway, the Brompton neatly folded and sat next to us, and after I watched a couple of strollers barrel through there I wondered why I would ever be nervous about this bike taking up too much space. After breakfast I popped the bike open and headed toward the Brooklyn Bridge en route to Penn Station. I basically followed the signs to the bridge where I was greeted by a zillion walkers pouring into Brooklyn as part of some kind of walkathon. Sigh. I used my bell and my voice to navigate the throngs successfully and then I was in the city again, zigging and zagging to Hudson and then the slight right to 8th Avenue and the fancy protected bike lane, complete with its ver own stoplight, studiously observed by no one but me. I wonder how long I’d have to in NYC before I would be flying through those along with the other bikers who passed me (but who never ended up more than a block or two ahead of me, but whatever). I snapped this picture stopped at one of those intersections~dang, that is good design, and frankly, I’d marry that bike infrastructure if it were legal in New York State. The light turned, I pedaled through, pulling up again at 31st Street where I folded up and hopped into the train station, got my ticket, went down the escalator, shoved the bike above my seat, and now I’ll read my way home, having seen more of New York on my bike this weekend than I have in years. Brompton for the win!
Bike Parking at Penn Station in Baltimore
I woke up early early, threw on some grown up clothes, and wrapped my reflective safety triangle belt around myself and my bag before hopping on the bike and flying down the hill to the train station for a trip to DC and an all-day meeting. It was dark and cold and my eyes watered as I groggily pedaled along, and I was happy it was a short ride. I snapped this picture of the nearly full bike rack. Yep, ride to the station-parking’s expensive, and so are cabs. I went a lot of places today and never had to get in a car, and that’s just how I like it. Now we’ll just see if the bike’s still there when my evening train arrives.
What I Saw Riding My Bike Around Today 