Bike Party!

Let's say, hypothetically, that you like bikes.  Bikes are convenient forms of transportation, they're great for your health, and the people that ride them are generally pretty awesome.  I don't bike, but I have professed my love for them and the people that ride them.  In this hypothetical where you love bikes, you also want to meet the awesome people that ride them.  It would be ideal if you could perhaps even bike with these awesome people.

Enter Bike Party.  The Baltimore Bike Party meets on the last Friday of every month at the Washington Monument in Mount Vernon.  The group gathers at 7:00p and hits the streets of Baltimore on a pre-determined, 10 to 15 mile route by 7:30p.  Afterwards, the bikers gather for a post-ride party for good food, good beer, good camaraderie, and good times.  In October, the ride was attended by 1,300 bikers, the largest group ride on the east coast.

This month, Bike Party is pajama-themed.  Show up this Friday in your best pjs to the monument at 7:00p with your bike, bells and whistles, and get ready to meet some awesome fellow-bikers.  For more information, check out their Facebook page or email them at baltimorebikeparty@gmail.com.  I'm debating whether or not to force myself onto a bike this Friday, or just volunteer for the after-party.  This month, the ride will end at Pratt Street Ale House by Camden Yards.   I am down for anything that supports my wearing elastic-waist pants on a Friday night, because I'm a classy lady.

Duckpin Bowling: A Baltimore Pasttime

Anything related to sports or general athleticism never has been and never will be up my alley.  I've written about this in other places, but it bears repeating. It's not that I'm against fitness or some good 'ol fashioned athletic competition, it truly is that I'm just bad at it.  I'm bad at all of it.  I hike because it takes serious skill to mess up walking, even though I managed that back in September when I sprained my ankle on an eight-mile solo hike in the rain in the Blue Ridge.  Safety first, everyone.

Scrabble, proudly singing all the lyrics to R. Kelly's "Remix to Ignition," and eating are all forms of competition I can get behind.  A trifecta of the aforementioned would equate to something that resembles my nirvana.  When I'm feeling particularly limber and in-shape, I'll try putt putt or bowling.  

Baltimore is home to Duckpin bowling.  Wikipedia informed me that other locations claim to be the founders of duckpin, but I'm standing with Baltimore on this one.  The best place, hands down, for duckpin bowling in the city is the Patterson Bowling Center. It's a wonderful dive of a place where you BYOB and occasionally have to precariously walk down the gutters to retrieve your balls that haven't quite made it back to you.  The bathroom stall doesn't lock and sometimes you get to bowl an extra frame because the computer just didn't pick up your last one.  It is one of the best places in the city.

If you like fancy bowling with bells and whistles, definitely keep going.  If you're all about old-fashioned, shoe-spraying, grease on your hands from the never-cleaned balls while you enjoy the well-priced beverage of your choosing that you brought (gluten-free beer from the Wine Source, since you asked), Patterson Bowling Center is the place for you.  It is, in fact, the oldest operating duckpin alley in the country!

Important pointers provided for free.

I went this past Friday night, stopping at Johnny Rad's for dinner.  One of the folks in our party was a duckpin novice, and while we were giving him the rundown of all the glories that awaited him across the street, our server goes, "Are you going to Patterson Lanes?  I LOVE THAT PLACE."

Everyone loves duckpin.  Don't you love duckpin?  You should love duckpin, and if you don't, it must be because you have yet to go.  So call ahead and reserve your lanes at Patterson Bowling Center.  I promise you the battle for parking by the park is absolutely worth it.

Friends taking their duckpin seriously.  Duckpin is no joking matter.

Patterson Park

The weather in Baltimore is finally returning to normal.  I no longer have to run my AC 24/7 to prevent my apartment from turning into a crock-pot and coming home to a slow-roasted dog.  This also allows me to walk the dog for more than one block before he goes on strike and retires to his vestibule of refreshment, as if my even considering to take him out was the world's rudest, most thoughtless inconvenience.

No, now that the weather has come down into the comfortable, low-humidity 80's, I can once again join the ranks of dog owners who walk their dogs further than a block.  In an effort to see more of the city, I often chauffer the dog around to various parks that are beyond reasonable/safe walking distances.  My preferred park is Patterson Park, for so many reasons.

Photo from: http://baltimore.shownbyphotos.com/

A) Bubba's best friend Pete lives one block from the park.  (Best Friend: noun.  Dog who is owned by my close friend.  Dog friendship determined by convenience and proximity to park.  Impromptu, potentially racy, displays of affection not taken into consideration when determining best friendship.)
B) The Pagoda.
C) The pond.
D) That creepy ice cream truck that plays what sounds like the song from Katamari, but more sinister. Please don't ask me how I am even aware of Katamari's existence.
E) The sheer expanse of space.
F) The proximity to Creative Alliance (another post for another day).

When you spend your days in a cubicle, vying for the slivers of sunlight that make their way through venetian blinds and open office doors, sometimes a fire escape just doesn't cut it for outdoor space come 5pm.  Walking through Patterson Park with Bubba and sitting under a tree for a bit with a good book does wonders for mental refreshment.  For amusement, I could maybe try to make it to one of their free events, or just allow myself the simple pleasure of watching Bubba get truly confused by the ducks.  The pagoda is lovely, the pond is always surrounded by small children adorably throwing bread at overweight ducks, and the greenness of it all is just so welcome to me.

If you're new to Bmore and looking for a great place to bike around, go for a run, walk your dog, or just simply have a picnic or get a sketchy ice cream cone, head over to Patterson Park.