First ride of the New Year

Got out for a ride today for the first time this year, kinda tragic actually.   The weather has been pretty cold and crappy so far this year, so I feel moderately justified, but still.  Kathleen took off earlier to co-lead the Twenty20 Women's ride that she does every month, and I slept in a little later then went for a fairly easy ride around the Inner Harbor.  Somewhere around the horn of the harbor the wind picked up, so getting out to Fort McHenry was a breeze (so to speak).  Coming back was miserable, the whole way around the Federal Hill side of the harbor was straight up headwind.  Totally miserable.   But then once I hit Pratt it was a tailwind the whole way home :).

On my way home I swung by the cool park at Pier 5.   This are used to be just a big paved plaza, then last year they tore it all up and built a grassy area, initially with this as it main feature.

It's open at both ends so the kids go back and forth through it.  There are also multiple sets tubular bells at the side of the park, there are mallets in the little buckets underneath so that you can play a song.

At the other end of the park there is a cool hedge/tunnel deal, as evidenced by the lack of grass there, very well traveled.

There is also a sit and spin thing over by the bells, have not seen any huge wrecks there :).

It's pretty awesome, the old plaza never had anybody there, just passing through to other Inner Harbor attractions.   The park is always busy if it's at all nice, kids playing, parents hanging out.  It's kind of interesting how big a transformation it has been.

So as I rolled home, our decorating the window neighbor did it up for Christmas this year :)