The weather is beautiful , my Kevlar vest is out the dry cleaners , and I'm set for an adventurous ride today. I started normally up to Williams to the River and up onto the levee , started heading to the city. Not much wind, great music in my hears, sunshine, great. Through Harahan pass the Huey P Long Construction and just past that I decided to check on my blackberry patch in the bature, I thought is was a secret place because the river rose into it in the spring. I did my off rode riding and found a young couple there picking blackberries, halt I said who picks my blackberries, they replied , the world knows about this place and they've already picked most of this years crop, your late, I bowed my head in shame and rode back to the levee never to return. Listening to some blues this morning, old blues, good stuff, "Living in the House of the Blues""Trouble don't' always last" "Little Wing". I make it to Audubon Park , take a leak, hydrate and people watch a while, great fun, turned onto St Charles Ave, and scooted toward downtown, on the way I diverted into some neighborhoods, Uptown has some nice areas and some not so nice areas, I visited both, mansions and shacks. Saw my sisters old VW on a side street. As I approached I-10 I wanted to get some pictures of St John the Baptist Church from the ground , we all see it from the I-10 ,the church with the gold steeple just before the St Charles Street Exit, it's on Oretha Castle Haley Blvd, which is also O"keefe Ave, no one wants to go to the ground and see it because. . Beautiful front with a big statue of St John the Baptist on the front, I also found Mc Donough 38, hidden back there in the ghetto, it's done for, the homeless people moved from Canal and Claiborne to I-10 and O"keefe across form the New Orleans mission , convenient, rode around the area a while till I felt I pushed my luck far enough and headed for Canal St. Passed by 1010 Common where I used to pick up Marie after work , she was a data card puncher for an insurance co. she worked there with Theresa and Joyce and Tommy Lynn. Stopped and starred at the Orpheum Theater, saw many a movie there, some of my favorite James Bond Flicks were there, the facade is beautiful but you have to stop and look at it. Every time I see it I see something new. Did my usual Bourbon, Royal, Decatur st tour, the self proclaimed street musicians are getting out of hand , a man with a bucket and a drum stick is not a musician, he's a panhandler. It was early so no strippers were hanging in the door but the food was smelling great. When I was very young one of my pastimes was to go to Bourbon and have the barkers let me sneak a peek in the door . "Make it easy on yourself" Jerry Butler the Ice man, great song. I rode up to the River Levee to check for oil and take my next break, no oil yet but I'm waiting, as I eat my Nutrigrain Bar I see a 30's couple on the walk stepping in front of tourist and wanting to bet them $20 they can tell them were they got those shoes, the answer is " on your feet", none fell for it but it pissed me off , so I stood there a watched a while till they noticed me, when they did I took out my camera and started taking pictures, they decided to leave. Good deed done. I passed by the Cathedral and once again saw all the Fortune tellers and phycos , here again panhandlers with a small table and a rock on it dressed like scanks, and all wearing something on their heads for some reason.. I hope I'm alive when Jesus walks out of St Louis Cathedral with a whip and cleans the scum from in front of his church. they piss me off. Refreshed I took Esplanade toward City park, took a shot of "Checkpoint Charlies" everyone heard about it but has never seen it. Shoot out to City Park, nice ride , spend time checking the construction sites looking for a clean Port a Let to pee in , found one , what a relief, more gatorade, headed to the bayou and took the new bike path along Bayou St. John, it's nice , 2 lanes , smooth, marked, nice, I recommend it, got to the lake and climbed the Bayou St John Bridge checking for Oil , none,. took a break and a picture, their raising the levee there so there's a lot of construction.. Lakeshore drive is back together and rides nice, no bathrooms though. Went into Bucktown and the Bonabel boat launch, admired the dog park, watched some boats go in and out. Took to the neighborhoods between West Esplanade and the Lake , some wealthy people live back there, took vintage to Williams, visited the Williams boat launch, not much happening there, came back to David Drive , rode around Lafaniere a few times and went home with 50 miles. Good ride , it's about 2:30 , I came inside, did my situps, rested , ate some ice cream, about 5 :00 we took my mother to dinner, got home about 6:30, sat there and said to myself, self , if I can't ride tomorrow cause I'm going to Dance recital on the naught Shore why can't I ride tomorrows ride tonight. Saddled up my horse , re provisioned, put on the headlight, and headed back to Williams and the River. The sun is starting to go down , a beautiful sight, riding in the evening is soothing and relaxing., when I reached the Huey P , is was dark, I look to my right and see the first UFO, I see them all the time, a few miles down I saw another, one was red and one was white. NO big deal just another UFO. Audubon Park gets dark at night and there's nobody there, it's spooky, I stopped for my usual leak break at the shelter on St Charles , no one was around anywhere, took a few night pictures. One was an apparition, pretty scary huh.. Don't go there at night, its dangerous, I can because I'm part of the furniture. Back to the levee and homeward bound , some guy was walking on the levee in the dark , no reflection on, no lights, I didn't see him till I was about 6 feet behind him, he jumped so high I thought he'd land in the river. I told him nice reflectors asshole. Got to Williams took my final break, headed home, was going to do a few laps in Lafeniere then I realized it was after 10:30 and it was closed. 35 miles tonight , making it a 85 mile day, and I still fell great, I could've did more but it was past my bed time.
Great Day. Great Time, Great High, Love that blues...... bye.
I'm not watering dead flowers.
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