What I Saw Riding My Bike Around Today

Closed Pharmacy at 36th & Chestnut

Kate — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 01:20:55 +0000

Oh, I wanted to ride my bike so badly today. I haven’t ridden since *Tuesday*, and when I don’t ride, the hamster wheel starts going in my head instead, and then I can’t sleep. It was nice and warm out today, but the wind was howling, and that’s just not weather I like to ride in. In which I like to ride. (See what I mean? Hamster. Wheel.) Sigh. So I decided to walk instead, and that was an excellent choice. I walked up to Hampden for a haircut and some reading at the coffee shoppe, and I found myself, surprise, surprise, taking the exact same route I do on my bike. The thing with walking, though, is that it’s much slower than riding, which is much of why I ride, but the bonus is that slowing down means seeing things on that same old route that you miss on a bike, like the waterfalls down under that bridge on Remington and the piles of sawdust on the sidewalk and the sign on the closed pharmacy on Chestnut and 36th. If you liked what they were doing at this location, you’re going to love what’s happening at the CVS. Somehow I don’t think the patrons of Chestnut Pharmacy, here since at least 1918, spent any time at all wishing it was a CVS, but what do I know. This neighborhood is pocked with closed stores, and it’s one of the most happening parts of town. It’s a sad business. I got myself shorn and read and then wandered back home, holding my skirt down in the wind and enjoying the 60+ degrees. Something’s not right here, is it?

Matthew 27:28;35 at Gilmor & Saratoga

Kate — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 01:47:19 +0000

Oh, Baltimore, thank you for the balmy Tuesday in late January! I had already been despairing that I might be freezing from now until May, but today’s sunshine and 50+ degrees was a welcome respite. I layered up, just in case, and took the bike down the hill and west toward UMBC. I wanted to see something new, so I took a left on Gilmor instead of taking Lafayette all the way to Monroe. Well, I saw a lot of the same thing I’ve seen on many West Baltimore streets–row upon row of vacant houses, empty lots, corner stores, and churches–but then there was this, at Saratoga, three crosses bearing Bible verses I didn’t have the patience to read, a sign warning folks not to walk their dogs here, and what seemed to be an empty RV. I wonder who set up this particular church–perhaps the folks at the adjacent Greater Harvest Baptist Church? Well, I guess that’s *one* thing to do with blighted space. I didn’t stay long, not in the mood to be saved, and continued on my way, flying down one hill and climbing up another before making it to campus in time to choke down a quick lunch before class and a long ride home. Traffic’s a lot worse going home, but today I just steeled myself to take the lane. When you ride right over to the edge cars think they can just sneak past you, and that is terrifying. Take the lane, and they go around, irritated or not. I made it back to my neighborhood in good time, before the sun went down. The days really are getting longer; before I rode a bike every day, I don’t think I noticed what a difference a few minutes of daylight make.

Icy Bike Rack at 32nd & Greenmount

Kate — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 01:29:43 +0000

Yep, still cold and icy, so when it was time to meet L. for brunch, I decided to go ahead and walk. I put on my snow boots, lovingly sent by by E. upon my arrival in the Great White Mid-Atlantic, and marched slowly up the hill. The ice is just worse, so where it was still coating the sidewalk, I took each step like a New Orleanian until I made it to my destination. I stared longingly at this icy bike rack and snapped this picture, already thinking about springtime. After breakfast I waddled home and thought about all the wonderful things I might see by walking in wintertime. Yeah, it’ll be ok. But when I heard S. was at the bar watching the game? Well, then I was in a hurry. I hopped on the bike, rode over to Remington, drank some light beer, ate some potato skins, cheered, felt sick to my stomach, and sat in the utter silence of a bar full of stunned fans. Season: over. I got back on the bike and rolled home, extra careful–drunk drivers on the roads! No matter how you’re getting around, look alive!

Snow and Ice on the Sidewalk on Chase & St. Paul

Kate — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 00:52:53 +0000

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.

Steiff Silver Factory Building at Pacific & Keswick

Kate — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 00:22:28 +0000

Today’s bike ride found me in a whole bunch of layers–thanks again, wool!–and rolling up the hill to Druid Hill Park for some laps around the reservoir. A lot of the time I want traffic and all the thinking that goes along with it, but I’ve had a long week, and I have a long weekend ahead of me, so I just wanted some mindless circles. I stopped to take a picture at the top of the hill of the old Steiff Silver plant that’s now apartments, I think, and this AVAILABLE sign, though I’m not exactly sure what’s available, though maybe it’s the building itself. As I passed it I thought about a talk by Ruthie Gilmore that I showed my students in class this past week, about how the world we want is the world we need, and how people are making that world. There’s this bit where she talks about how that’s a bridge, and sometimes it’s a roof, or a barrier to keep some people out, a crossing, a gathering spot, a place to say no or a place to say yes–capacities are never fixed. This used to be a factory, but now it’s high end condos, I’m guessing (and I guess this only because I’d love to live right next to the park), but maybe it’s available for something else now. How will we repurpose our infrastructure in times of crisis? Or as Gilmore taught me to ask, what will be our geographical solutions to socioeconomic problems? Will we tear down these places brick by brick til we’ve got gardens again, make them rec centers, police stations, schools, nursing homes, greenhouses, more jails and prisons, or what? I got back on my bike and pedaled along, feeling grateful for the ways Ruthie taught me to pay attention to geographies, and that my bicycle keeps teaching me to pay attention to mine, this one right here in front of me, wherever I happen to ride.

State Troopers Parked Inside the Fence at the Proposed Youth Jail Site on Madison

Kate — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 17:53:18 +0000

Today’s ride took me down the hill for a quick stop at the proposed site of the new youth jail to see if there was any Schools Not Jails action afoot. I had planned to ride around for awhile longer, but the wind! Once I took my left on Center and felt the bike getting pushed out from under me, I decided to punk out and make it a short ride. I climbed up to the site and saw the place empty except for an overwhelming presence of state troopers. The cops have been clear that there will be no public demonstrations here, that passing through the gates will result in arrest, and that they will follow through on those threats. Organizers are still doing tons of actions, but the troopers are sitting on this spot, hard. I snapped this picture as the troopers in their vehicles read the paper and generally looked bored. I walked my bike while talking to my brother on the phone and thought about how due to the timing of the phone call it could look like I was reporting and planning something. And that seems to be all it takes–you look like you might be up to no good, and the eyes are on you. But that’s the thing, the eyes are pointed the wrong way. There’s something wrong with a system that thinks the best way to solve social problems is to build more cages. I rounded the way and got back on the bike, a quick stop at the coffee shop/bookstore to pick up some books for students, and then battled the wind back up the hill to home, one revolution at a time.

Schools Not Jails Rally at Monument & Constitution

Kate — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 00:37:38 +0000

It’s Martin Luther King, Jr. day today, so I woke up early, got my reading and writing in, and then hopped on the bike to meet S. for a ride down the hill and then back up for the MLK Day parade. I seriously love parades, but boy, I’m going to have to learn that Baltimore is not New Orleans. Which doesn’t mean the parade wasn’t great–the Westsiders were awesome, New Edition totally brought it, and the various peace groups are always good to see. There were beauty queens and veteran’s groups and local corporations (“Today Our Company celebrates Martin Luther King, but every other day, we celebrate YOU, with amazing low prices!”) and politicians local sports celebs and all that jazz, but no throws, and the crowd just doesn’t get into it the way I’m used to. But anyway. After a quick and dirty lunch (turkey reuben, where have you been all my life?), I rode over to Central Booking at Madison and Fallsway for the Schools Not Jails rally. The crowd was small at first, but it grew. The speeches were excellent, the energy was good, and it seemed like the perfect kind of activity to properly celebrate the live of Dr. King. I know many people see this as a day of service, but it should also be a day of activism, or resistance, and of anger, right? And who can help being angry once they learn of the $104 million the state of Maryland wants to spend to build 120 new cages to house young people to be charged as adults? The argument is that those children shouldn’t be housed with adults. That the solution is specialty cages seems to be the worst form of imagination. The crowd marched to the proposed site where some members unloaded materials to build an impromptu red schoolhouse inside. State troopers were already there, and I heard them talking: “Ask how aggressive they want us to be.” There was much chanting and milling and police helicoptering in advance of arrests, more meat for the jail system. “Tell them if they cross this fence, they will spend the night in jail.” Six folks are doing just that, but they’re joining an ever-increasing number of others. This cannot possibly be the solution to the systemic problems that lead to this shifting definition of what we call “crime.” I pedaled home, grabbed my stuff, and headed to the coffee shoppe to do a little reading for class tomorrow. Yes, it was a good day to remember not only Dr. King, but the myriad people who struggle, past, present, and future.

Crumbling Bricks at Cox & Falls

Kate — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 23:23:45 +0000

Today’s ride took me up past Hampden to meet folks at a bar to enjoy some playoff football. I don’t know if you’ve heard, but the Ravens are in, and they’re my team, now that the Saints are out after last night’s heartbreaker. It was chilly chilly, so I rode as fast as I could and took advantage of the sun and the hills to warm myself up. I passed a lot of people in purple, already tipsy with the day. There as a drink, some. Fried food, and a whole lot of yelling, and then it was time to roll back down the hill. I snapped this picture of the remnants of the brick wall of some ghost of a building. If it were a different wall, this might be an Historical Landmark, but here it’s just another remnant of a past Baltimore–so, so many of these. In the light and with that sky, though, today it looked beautiful. I pedaled home and was reminded that the downhill is much, much colder. I best get used to it.

View of the Jones Falls Expressway From Druid Hill Park

Kate — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 21:29:10 +0000

Today was one of those rare empty days where I didn’t have a thing to do and nothing planned, so of course I couldn’t figure out what to do with myself. I stayed in bed reading with cats for as long as I could, but then I was restless. It’s cold and windy, so a bike ride didn’t exactly sound appealing. What’s a girl to do? Oh, I know–layer up and go for a bike ride! I wasn’t in the mood to think very hard, so I headed west to Druid Hill Park to do a few laps. I snapped this picture on my first go-around the reservoir. I hardly ever drive, so I don’t know my freeways, but I’m assuming that’s the Jones Falls Expressway, seeing as I took the Jones Falls Trail to get to the park in the first place. From what I can gather, that’s the first interstate to be built in Baltimore City, aiming to shuttle people in and out of the central business district. That’s a lot of public money spent to ensure folks can live on the outskirts of town and still conveniently get to work inside the city by car. I wonder what it would look like to invest in actually livable cities that made living near work and walking, biking, or taking public transportation the most logical choices. As it is, this expressway makes my bike commute downtown and also from Charles Village to points west far more difficult than it needs to be. And there is plenty of room in the city for everyone. I continued my ride around, enjoying a nice chat with a guy on a folding bike–he loves that he can hook his grocery bags over the handlebars and not have them catch the spokes–who commutes with his bike to DC. Yep, you can do that. I did another trip around and then headed to Hampden for a late brunch and a mimosa. It was a long week, and today was a lovely beginning to a long weekend.

Row House Held Up By Wood Contraption at Hollins & Fulton

Kate — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 23:36:00 +0000

Today’s ride took me from Charles Village out to UMBC for another day of my winter session class. I was in a good mood after a productive morning, so I pedaled happily along, using that easy peasy gear for hills into the headwind and reminding myself that I wasn’t in a race, not at all. I decided to vary my route a bit to avoid Monroe’s speedy traffic, so I took a left on So. Carey and a right on Hollins. I stopped to catch my breath and take a picture of this row house just before Fulton that is all strutted up so it doesn’t fall in the street. Construction is a seriously creative endeavor! This street mostly looks like Brooklyn to me, and few of the houses look like vacants to me, though the surrounding streets certainly have their fair share. A woman stepped out of her house and asked me if I was just in the neighborhood to take pictures of vacant houses. We struck up a conversation–rehabbing this house has been on hold for months due to danger of collapse, her wife just quit smoking, I quit smoking years ago, isn’t it great, do I want a ride, etc. Turns out she runs a life coaching business and is putting together a mentorship program for girls at local schools, and I have a bunch of students who might make great mentors and who also might be in need of some life coaching. I sense a win. I got back on my bike and thought about how these sorts of encounters and contact are impossible in cars. Walkable and bikeable neighborhoods are just better for life itself. I got to campus, choked down lunch, taught about globalization, economic restructuring, and the production of poverty in the Third World before getting back on my bike and rolling past the detritus of Baltimore’s own structural adjustment on my way back home.