Filed under: Community Organizations, Cycle Chic | Tags: Biking Lifestyle, Charleston, Cycle Chic, Healthy Community, News, Trends
This great google map was put together by our Cycle Chic cohorts at Bike by the Sea in Santa Barbara. Isn’t it neat to think that 10s of 1000s of us are Cycling Chic all over the world, and that our marvelous little town on the Atlantic is part of it?? Pretty amazing…
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Filed under: Infrastructure | Tags: Bike-friendly, Biking Lifestyle, Cycle Chic, Inspiration, Video
I am a huge fan of Streetfilms so forgive me if I link to their videos all the time – but check out this recent one starring our very own Cycle Chic guru, Mikael Colville-Andersen. He talks about the Copenhagen bicycling infrastructure, which frankly, is mind-blowing to a budding bike town inhabitant like me.
Filed under: Cycle Chic, Events | Tags: Cycle Chic, Inspiration, News, Photos
A friend sent me a link to an article on CNN today…..The headline caught my eye immediately . Of course I thought how very Cycle Chic! Here it is….
Biking 150 Miles for a cause — in a dress and heels.
And then I read further. This person who is biking in a dress and heels for a cause? She’s no 20-something who’s been training for a year. She’s no IronMan. She’s a beautiful 84-yr old woman on a single-speed purple vintage cruiser. It makes me think that when we THINK we can’t do something – when we THINK that something is hard or it will take too long or it’s just inconvenient – that really it’s all a bunch of poppycock. The ability to do and to dream is nestled right inside our head and our hearts. It’s up to us to see it differently.
So check her out – this woman, my new hero and click here (or on the headline above) to read the full article.
Photo from The SkepticalOptimist on Flickr
http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/10/28/eiko.irpt/index.html
Filed under: Cycle Chic | Tags: Bikes, Cycle Chic, Fashion, Photos, Seen around town
A reader of Charleston Cycle Chic sent this beautiful photo in of her beach bike! I love the story behind this – her husband pulled it from the neighbors trash and fixed it up for her! It goes to show you with just a little ‘umph’ you can turn someone else’s throw away into your very own little gem. Check out all the daisies…Did you know they are a symbol of childhood innocence? Perfect.
Filed under: Cycle Chic, Events | Tags: Biking Lifestyle, Cycle Chic, Events, News
Yes that’s right all you lovely people with bikes – our next Cycle Chic Ride is going to Pecha Kucha Night Charleston on October 21st! Why? Because we love what they do and what they represent and man, this next line-up is a doozy not to be missed. It’s all about creativity, inspiration, entrepreneurship and having a bit of fun fun fun. So let’s go ride our bikes! It’s easier than looking for parking….
So what is Pecha Kucha Night Charleston you ask? Pecha Kucha, Japanese for the sound of conversation, is a mix of show-and-tell, open-mike night and happy hour that has become a forum for ideas on design, architecture and other forms of creativity. This is the 4th one we’ve had in Charleston and they keep getting better and better.
For more about Pecha Kucha you can visit the global website or hop on over to the Pecha Kucha Night Charleston site.
Here are the ride details….
When: 5:45PM
Where: Meet at Marion Square, the corner of King and Calhoun.
How: With flair
With What: BIKES!
Ride Map: Ya’ll won’t know our route until just a few days before because Pecha Kucha Charleston keeps their location in secrecy. (I know of course, but no amount of arm-twisting will get it out of me!)
Meetup: We’ll be having a little post-ride, pre-Pecha Kucha Night meetup to line our bellies at around 6:30PM. Location is forthcoming!
The Cycle Chic ladies are out in force. It seems like every day I see more and more loveliness on the streets of Charleston. Check out the latest additions to ‘Seen around Town’ – they are the object of my envy and admiration!
I do admit – I covet this woman’s sparkling handlebar streamers. Once, many moons ago, I owned a blue and white banana seat bike, with matching streamers that rustled in the wind. The love of them has stayed with me since, and I am thinking that perhaps they should become the new hot accessory – like earrings or a belt? There is something so joyful about them! I caught her pulling up to a party, dressed-to-the-nines (no spandex in sight!). Perfect example of Charleston Cycle Chic don’t you think?
Bobbi Jean Dulcie Fitzharris with her 1960 Flightliner - Wow!
As I was riding down King St one day, from a distance this delighful turquoise and white creation caught my eye and I screeched to a halt with my handy iPhone camera in hand. This is what I like to see – shopping on King St with your best friend by your side, especially when she is sporting impeccable whitewall tires. I heart whitewalls!
Kathleen Stewart with the vivacious Pearlanne
Filed under: Cycle Chic, News | Tags: Bike-friendly, Biking Lifestyle, Cycle Chic, Trends
I found this great article in the New York Times, that talks about biking as the new art of living. Aren’t we so hip and fabulous Charleston Cycle Chic-ers? New York City itself has come a long way in making the city more bike-friendly and since most trends and fashions start in the US in NYC, I’m hoping some of their influence will rub off here. 
Here are some excerpts from the article! Click here for the full text.
“Until recently, bikes were merely fashionable. Lately, it seems, they are fashion — and they don’t have to be ultraexpensive novelty items to qualify. As fashion companies start marketing bicycles and bike gear, Mr. Dutreil, a supporter of bicycle-advocacy programs in New York, said he wants to see more cyclists pedaling around in high style, just like that woman in the Randall photograph.
“An elegant lady or man,” he said, “on a bike that is elegant, that’s really the new art of living.”
In fact, bikes have become de rigueur in many boutique windows. It is no coincidence that fashion is having a bike moment at the same time that New York City, the capital of American fashion, has gone bicycle crazy. The number of daily cyclists in the city has jumped to an estimated 185,000, from 107,000 in 2005, according to Transportation Alternatives, a bicycle-advocacy organization. In addition, the city has installed more than 120 miles of bike lanes in the last two years, making it easier for new cyclists to take to the streets dressed to impress, not to duel with cars.
While some cyclists outside the fashion world expressed mixed feelings about seeing their trusty mode of transportation turned into the next gladiator sandal, others looked on the bright side. Even if new riders buy a bike only because they’re the cool new thing, they’re still buying a bike, wrote Matt Simonds, a cyclist who works at a nonprofit agency, in an e-mail message. In such cases, he wrote, “it’s kind of strange what happens when they got on a bike after a long period away from one — they remember how awesome it is to ride one.”
