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?
Filed under: Cycle Chic | Tags: Healthy Community, Inspiration, Seen around town
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.
Filed under: Events | Tags: Biking Lifestyle, Events, Inspiration, Slow Bicycle Movement
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…. “
Well what do you know, our secret admirer is coming to town!! So come on and meet him. Ride your lovely lady bikes to Southend Brewery and show him support, learn something, and get inspired.
EVENT DETAILS
CAC.C/CCDC LECTURE SERIES
sponsored by MyBikeLaw.com + CharlestonMoves
REVOLUTION ON2WHEELS
Across America, a cycling revolution is underway. Bicycles are changing the way people get around, and therefore how they see and understand the city—not to mention how we plan it. Bikes aren’t just for fun; more and more, they’re a primary means of transportation! This Spring will examine this amazing phenomenon and consider its consequences for the metro-Charleston area.
JEFF MAPES
Pedaling Revolution:
How Cyclists are Changing American Cities
Thursday FEBRUARY 4
7:00-9:00 PM
South End Brewery, 161 East Bay Street
lecture sponsor: Blue Bicycle Books
Jeff Mapes is a senior political reporter for The Oregonian and the author of Pedaling Revolution: How Cyclists are Changing American Cities.
He is riding a wave of excellent reviews about his book to which the influential Library Journal (which many schools and libraries base their purchasing decisions on) gave their coveted rating of “highly recommended.” Mapes has put together a broad survey of the burgeoning urban bike movement. He covers everything, from the role of the bicycle in American society in the nineteenth century to the current revolution in cycling.
In preparing for his book, Mapes traveled the country (and the globe) to ride the streets he writes about and to talk directly with the people who are playing pivotal roles in America’s bike movement. Mapes moves from the warfare between the NYPD and the bike-activist group Critical Mass, to the utopian bikeways of Davis, California and the biking capital of the world, Amsterdam.
His extensive research, solid reporting, and anecdotally-infused style offer a story that, so far, has been largely unknown to all but bicycle advocates.
You can’t have a revolution (pedaling or not) without information, and this lecture just might become one of the sparks that fuels biking’s upcoming boom in Charleston, just like his book is doing across America.
Come meet the man behind the book and get a glimpse of the bike revolution that is sweeping the country.
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
