Charleston Cycle Chic


Let Your Inner Bike Goddess Shine
May 19, 2010, 1:12 pm
Filed under: Cycle Chic | Tags: ,

We found this post somewhere online and just loved it.  It’s about casting away fear and doubt and letting your inner bike goddess shine.  Thanks to Cecily Cycle Chic for this!

Take me there!

Excerpt:

“The wind caught the hem of my dress as I sped downhill, but I didn’t care. The breeze felt like a chilly kiss on my bare knees, and the sensation made me sit a little straighter on my bike seat. My head was high, my chin pointed defiantly forward as I pushed up and coasted down hills on my way into the office.”



Why do you ride?
March 10, 2010, 10:47 pm
Filed under: Cycle Chic | Tags: , ,

Thanks to @heidiswift on Twitter for calling my attention to this great video by People for Bikes.  It reminds the writer of this post, how the other night around 6:30PM I rode my bicycle (basket and fenders and light – check!) through the streets of Downtown Charleston in the diminishing light.  I caught the scent of a sizzling steak as I rode by South End Brewery, then the heady perfume of some incredible dish that the Barbados Room was cooking up, and then as I passed by 82 Queen, the aromas of shrimp and grits fled to my nose.  Now some of you might not like those smells of the city humming, but I do.  I love having every one of my senses alive and fulfilled when I am on a bike.  That’s why I ride.

Why do you ride?




Yes, Utility and Creativity are in fact, Cycle Chic
February 3, 2010, 9:44 pm
Filed under: Cycle Chic | Tags: , ,

I know that most of you out there thinking about Cycle Chic might assume that expensive bikes with expensive clothes makes Cycle Chic go round.  But if you’ve been reading up, you know that this Cycle Chic-er loves all things that show a zest for life, so I had to include what you see below….

This picture was sent in to me by a reader, and let me tell you, I love it.  It’s old school, new school and being-one-with-nature-school all in one.   This is his ‘fishing bike’ and he and his 7-yr old daughter like to ride to the shore of the Wando river and try to catch anything they can.

Lowcountry Livin'

Ladies and Gents, you don’t have to buy a fancy basket to get things done.  Get creative in the spur of the moment.  Try a tomato box strapped to the back if you can’t hold on to all your organic farmer’s market supplies.   Or rummage up an old Coke Bottle container like this gentleman did to hold your fresh caught dinner as you ride back home smiling with your kids and feel good about being alive.



Cycle Chic ladies, come meet your admirer, Jeff Mapes – Author of Pedaling Revolution on 2/4
February 1, 2010, 10:04 pm
Filed under: Events | Tags: , , ,

If you recall, way back in May, I wrote a post about Jeff Mapes book “Pedaling Revolution”, because he believes women will lead the way in changing the country’s attitude toward bicycling.  Here’s an excerpt…

“As Mapes points out, when more women begin riding, that will signal a big change in attitude, which will prompt further changes in the direction of safety and elegance. I can ride till my legs are sore and it won’t make riding any cooler, but when attractive women are seen sitting upright going about their city business on bikes day and night, the crowds will surely follow…. ” (more…)



From Streetfilms – Copenhagen’s Bike-Friendly Streets
December 18, 2009, 9:27 pm
Filed under: Infrastructure | Tags: , , , ,

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.



I want to be like her. Ladies – there are no excuses!
October 30, 2009, 9:39 pm
Filed under: Cycle Chic, Events | Tags: , , ,

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