Baltimore (for no reason)
But it's gotten better. This morning, in my hangover, I found a kind of absurd joy in rolling around this city, this strange city of tourism and turbulent decay; of depressed brick and old Latin churches, outside of which camp dirty black men and women, in tents. Just a few blocks away is an array of old industrial buildings newly branded with international icons of commerce, through with tourists from god knows where thread on foot, pushing strollers, wearing hats I have to call grotesque, and their depressed, resigned grins are common to shopping mall visitors. To ride a bike through this, past the aquarium with the fancy outdoor PA system that amps noises of birds throughout the pier, is an absurd joy to one who is mildly hung over.
12 Monkeys (by Leif)
Philly
March 11, 2006
In a nutshell: total awesomeness. 4 Missions, 3 check points each. All themed after the amazing movie 12 Monkeys. Covering about every piece of Philly you could possibly ride in (I think).
Here's the breakdown.
Monster Track
New York
March 4, 2006
If Critical Mass is about halting traffic, Monster Track and alley cats are about transcending it. Riding down 5th avenue all the way from Harlem to Madison Square park with a hundred people, no stopping; that's taking over the streets. Cars and pedestrians are paused, but just for a moment, and only because someone behind me screams "Heads! Heads!" Caught in their tracks, they marvel as we blow past...
Schlitz & Giggles
Boston
February 25, 2006
Registration at 1pm; I got off the bus with my friend Jesika at 1:25. I wanted to ride down the ramp to the street, but she made us walk through the station. Said she didn't know where it led. Fair enough; neither did I. We hit the street and rode through fresh snow upon fresh snow to Roxbury, finding one-ways giving way to wrong ways and all kinds of vice-versa. Ten minutes after we got off the bus we're at the start...
Revolution Race (aka Straight Shot)
Boston
February 11, 2006
This was pretty fun. Just 16 miles total. I got there with my friend Leif when it was supposed to start and it was about -21 with the windchill. There were about five kids in the basketball court on Kneeland by South Station, nestled in between on-ramps for the expressway to nowhere...
