We’ve been enjoying an absolutely beautiful fall here in New Orleans, and this past week has been simply off the charts. The sky has been nothing but blue and sun has been doing nothing but shining and it has been like summertime. Today was no different, as least as far as I could tell from inside classrooms and offices and cafeterias. At the end of the day I headed to the grocery to meet S. for some co-shopping. We were sitting outside, S. scarfing down a snack, me ranting about this and that, when I glanced up and needed to take a picture of the sky. Yep, clouds are rolling in, and the sky looked just beautiful, all pink around the edges. We finished up our snacks and rants and I pedaled home. The air had that chill of a new season–it felt good, but I hope it’s teasing. I like that sweaty stuff too much.
Uptown
Vines and Trees at Freret & Upperline
I don’t usually ride as far as I did yesterday, and today I am feeling it, for sure. Hopping on the bike wasn’t the first thing I wanted to do today, but by 11:00, I had to head up to campus, so off we went. Turns out it helps to just spin around on the bike a bit. After a delightful lunch with a delightful student and some work in this office and that, I headed to the bar to meet folks for drinks. One drink, though, and I knew it was time for a few last pedals home to rest. I snapped this picture at Freret and Upperline of a vine wrapped around a tree and then wrapped around the telephone line. I love how the plants have just decided to act like sure, we can both be in the very same space at the very same time, so what? Nobody’s giving in here. A few bumpy blocks of Freret on my way to the smooth new asphalt on Peniston, and I was on my way home.
Spanish Moss in Audubon Park
I had a long day at work today, but it was a good one–one of those days where your students are smart and charming and inquisitive and you find real pleasure in your work. I was tired by the end of the day, but the weather and the light was simply too much to just head straight home. I went to Audubon Park to see what everybody else was doing. I did two laps and passed–and got passed–by a whole bunch of folks on bikes. There were runners, walkers, and a couple of speedwalkers, lots of dogs, a rollerblader or two, and some golfers. There were ducks and geese and squirrels and several white ibis, pecking away at the grass. I took this picture on my second go-around. The spanish moss just drips off this oak tree. It’s like being right on the underside of a cloud. Another lovely October day in New Orleans.
Blighted House at Bienville & N. Tonti
I spent the day working from home and didn’t feel much like going anywhere, but by 5:00, I was feeling jumpy and decided to just get on the bike a ride to the grocery store. Once I was on the bike and pedaling, what usually happens happened, and I ended up taking a longer ride around town. I take the same main routes all the time, so today I decided to head out on my route to Bayou St. John but to just keep going instead of taking that right. Pedal, pedal, pedal, and I was at the end point of a different route–guess there’s more than one way to get there. Continue reading
Perfect Weather Uptown
I got on my bike to head out for an appointment this morning and faced the same perfect conditions we’ve had all week: sunny skies, temps still in the 70s, that perfect light. Oh, it is perfect weather for bike riding. But as I pedaled I realized that it’s true: I have a cold. Nothing serious, but that kind of cold where the back of your throat feels gummy and your ears are itching and your head is heavy and you are just plain tired. Nope, no long ride in this perfect weather for me–I rode home, made a few detours for errands, and then stayed in to rest. Because I checked the weather report–nothing but suns for the next ten days. I need my energy, because I’m going to need to ride that weather, like I wanted to today. Get out there, people. This won’t last.
Blue Sky and Shrine at First & Dryades
It was an absolutely perfect day to ride a bicycle in New Orleans. The cold front they’d been promising all weekend blew through last night, leaving us with crispy autumn air and shiny blue skies. I headed to campus on my bike in the morning–and it was actually kind of chilly! A few quick blocks and the chill was gone, though; in spite of what many folks said to me today, it isn’t quite fall. After work I pedaled through Central City on my way to the post office, only to find that it closes at 4:30, so my 4:40 arrival sent me down Dryades to the main branch at Loyola and Girod. Continue reading
Satellite Dishes and Overgrowth at Piety and Chartres
I didn’t ride my bike yesterday. I didn’t do much, actually, other than walk to the grocery store for cat food, sour cream, and lettuce and then watch TV. It was the perfect lazy reset kind of day. I got up this morning and did some reading and writing and looking at work I didn’t want to look at and figuring out what to do about it. After the game I took my frustrations out on my bicycle, pedaling as fast as I could to K.’s house for a meeting. That meeting had its own frustrations, so I headed down to the Bywater afterward to meet R. at W.’s house. Continue reading
Gravel on an Uptown Street
I only had energy for commuting today, so my bike ride just took me up to work and back, workaday pedaling, just trying to get there and back. As I rode up to my house I noticed this new addition of gravel to the front of the place, in that netherworld between street and sidewalk. Not to get too deep or anything, but whoa, that’s a seriously liminal space. Continue reading
Cool Breeze Uptown on St. Charles Ave.
Sometimes I work a really, really long day, like non-stop-for-fourteen-hours long day, and the last thing I want to do is think about what I’m seeing riding my bike around today. I just want to be home watching the Saints with a beer and leftovers. But then I get on my bike and get in a rhythm and the streets are dark and empty and the air is actually cool. And then I’m glad I’m not at home on the couch, happy to be alone on my bike for 20 minutes so the long day can just drift away. Yeah, that’s what I saw riding my bike around today.
Serious Warning on a House at Willow & Gen Taylor
I woke up early and worked all day long, putting on a show for classroom after classroom. After lunch was when I really started to plan my afterschool. Buzzing in the background of the rest of the day was, “bike, gym, steam room, bike, leftover chili, T-flippin’-V.” And when the day was done, well, that’s what I did. I rode down Willow to avoid traffic and stopped to take a picture of this house on Willow and Gen. Taylor with a stern warning out front: “IF YOU GO IN AND I SEE YOU I WILL KILL.” Continue reading
What I Saw Riding My Bike Around Today 