2 nighttime rides great time .

Twas Friday evening , my mistress called , I'm unable, unwilling ,unwavering and decidedly disciplined not to deny or decline her... We shoved off at 7:00 pm, arrived at the river levee about 7:30 pm, started the journey south to New Orleans,sunset painted my back , all clear and smooth, rolled down the levee effortless, smooth as the music entering each ear, colliding in mid brain, becoming part of all thoughts, visions, aromas, ideas and fantasies.  If I had hair I could have let my Freak Flag Fly.(CSNY)..Checking on my bature blackberry crop I noted that a BIG FOOT ate my berries, if I catch him a pissed off cajun has his face..The river rises, more to come, I dread the Midwest flow swallowing tons of rain to ladle upon us without conscience.  I snapped a few shots of Oak St. but all in vain, its not the sight of Oak st, its the smells, the aromas, the flavors, unrecordable , you have to be there, setting sun, warm sidewalks, small wooden tables, pretty lady perfume, searing beef, grilling shrimp, sauces on pasta I can't pronounce, you just have to be there..its an experience not just a street you drive down.  Turning dark, St Charles is bustling, folks going out to eat, ride the street car, visit friends and relatives, all in a casual proper manner..uptown...Things change as I approach downtown, it's dark now , dangerous, scary, the street urchins have emerged from under the cement, me included , I'm a legendary ,notorious street urchin from way way back..I have the physical and emotional scars to prove it..The Vieu Carre' (Old Corner) or French Quarter, my urchin grounds..Bourbon was slow and quiet, tourist are fascinated by the strangest things, a man spray paints himself silver and poses for pictures, they love this.It must be a talent I don't understand, they give him a dollar, move to the next one and give him a dollar, as a urchin I know panhandling when I see it.  A young man standing in the street blowing a trumpet so bad I thought the Sirens of Ulysses would turn him into a pig, yet tourist put dollars in his cardboard box.. I stop in front of my favorite music spot "Swamp", they usually have a kicking band, I take my break in the street and listen a while. Barkers used to stand in door and entice you into a club, now they stand in the street , attempting to guide you in , causes some bad rubbings, . Bourbon is more interesting as you approach Esplanade, its darker too. I left something on Governor Nichols in 1968, its not there anymore.  Around the corner was the Roach and Cosmo's, not there anymore either. One is now the Good Friends Bar, was wilder then, now they just drink . Shooting down Esplanade Ave. ,recently blacktopped, I'm flying, its dark, my lights are flashing, can't catch me , barely see me, stop at a few cemetery's for some pics,, love photographing cemeteries, their old , classic, architectural, and someone lives in every spot. I cross the center of City Park, beautiful ,dark yet lit by moonlight and distant light, the path along the Bayou is winding, fast , clear, smooth , and every 30 yards or so a white transparent figure crosses the path  right before you then its gone.  I've seen stranger things,behind the Altar at St Joseph Church..An apparition is an apparition is an apparition. Lake shore drive is closed and dark , closed doesn't mean night bikers, It's all mine, all 3 miles , Bayou St John to Bucktown.. The sailboats cruising in the light breeze, barely visible in full sail and running lights. Makes my hair flow back in Fabio fashion. On to the new bike path along the lake, oh oh , closed signs, oh well , don't apply to night bikers, new asphalt, smooth , turned off my lights , rode off the reflections from the water, it was spiritual, by now I'm high as I want to be, I'm one with bike, nature, road, Valium, and the 1200 songs in my mp3 player..50 miles does that to you. Cruse the launch at Williams Blvd, then head home for some sobering up ...what a shame. 100 mile weekend,,  Why can't life be a long bike ride.?... 

 

click "read more " for pictures.....

St Louis #3

Someone ate my blueberries, and that looks like a Bigfoot path into the woods.. I better not catch him 

A cemetery somewhere...

protected by St Michael and his giant Sword.

A Picture of Oak St is of no use, you have to be there in the evening and smell the smells,  its enticing.

These people saw my St Michael Jersey and opened a path through Bourbon st for me..

Can't tell you...

O Henry's on St Charles just before dark ..

Oak St in the Evening 

Mona's Cafe on St Charles . 

Ambassadors from Mongolia following the Dali Lama...  asked me for 50 cent.....

Absent on career day at High School. 

If you believe in apparitions , here's one....my camera has a powerful flash

Students from Nuclear Physics class checking out the curb...

that's my cycle flashing on the sidewalk. 

I think this was a Hindu wedding .  The Groom (Maharishi Mahatma Rice Gandy Merryweather) with his lovely bride "Fatima", paraded down Canal St. with a Indian,(dot not a feather) 2nd line of tambourines. 

Colorful  parade with very conservative dancing, they have restrictions on fun....