9/29/08 Blatent Neighborhood Coveting By Bicycle

Oh hey. Everybody have a good weekend? We had a great one. In my continuing effort to spend less time staring aimlessly at the TV and more time outside and doing things around good ol’ K-town, I scheduled another action-packed Saturday for us. And unlike the “forced fun” Saturdays (which are fun, but still forced), Tony seemed to be eager to do this fun. So I can actually say that a good time was had by all.

In fact, it was so much fun that I’m splitting it into two posts…not so much because of the length of detail by detail fun-ness, but because I took pictures to document all of our fun, and nobody wants to see one post consisting of 50 billion pictures. (Instead, I have very thoughtfully split it into two posts of 50 billion pictures. You’re welcome.)

Anyway, part one of Saturday started at 10am, which is a respectable time to start any fun, so the day began on a good note. Tony and I loaded up the bikes and headed downtown to join the Knoxville Bicycle club’s monthly ride. This is the same bike club that sponsored the Downtown Scavenger Hunt, and I must say that I LOVE. THESE. RIDES. This is a fabulously well-planned and fun group, and I’m totally addicted to their trips. So as soon as I heard about the September ride, I marked it on my calendar and off we went. If you’re anywhere near Knoxville and can ride a bike, look these people up!


The ride wound through several of the old historic neighborhoods, including 4th and Gill, where I have decided I want to live one day, even if it means in a box on the sidewalk. All of the houses were built in the 1890’s and are absolutely beautiful. I went weaving up and down the streets shouting “Look at that one! I love that one! Oh Wait! LOOK AT THAT ONE! I LOVE THAT ONE!” I also tried to take pictures of all of my favorite houses (read: All of them) while I rode, which mostly resulted in pictures of my bike pedals and the ground. Since the edge of my shoe fails to really convey the beauty of this old neighborhood, I recommend you take the photo tour on the neighborhood website. I sooooo want one of these houses. They’re crazy out of our price range even if we were looking to move now, but I’m putting them on my “someday” list. I told Tony that if we could buy a house there, I could ride my bike to work. The gas savings alone could probably pay the mortgage, right?

Photo: A bajillion bikers gathered in the park at one of the home tour rest stops.

In addition to riding around in real life Architectural Digest, the weather was beautiful, and we had a really good turnout. There were hundreds (250 actually) of bikes in all sizes and shapes from really fancy professional bikes to bikes towing kiddie carts. There were two person bikes and recumbent bikes, and one bike towed a rolling stereo, which provided bike-themed music as we rolled down the street. I’m sure we looked like a giant bike parade. People came out of their houses and waved. It was like the bike version of a big dog party (minus the tree, of course...although there were two dogs that ran down the street with us), and after the ride we all ate pizza back in Krutch Park. (Because everybody knows that pizza is calorie-free after a bike ride).

I hear the next ride is to look at Neighborhood Christmas decorations. I may actually brave winter weather for that one. Especially if it involves "my" new favorite neighborhood, and assuming the residents haven't already called the cops on me for loitering in the street and waxing poetically about the souls of old homes.

Tomorrow: The second half of our fun filled Saturday, in picture format. Stay tuned!