New bike parking downtown Charleston

Bike corral, King St., Charleston, S.C.

Charleston finally has a bike corral.  This first one is on upper King St. in front of Blue Bicycle used book store. So why is the only bike parked there theirs? Hmmm. It was a beautiful day. Seems like it should have been full of bikes. Here are the details on the new project from the City Paper.

Thomas St. corner

Thomas St., Charleston, S.C.

This sweet scene it just around the block from my house.

Seems like I've been scrambling home from work and dashing out to dinner this week but it has all been wonderful. I love restaurant week in Charleston!  Luckily we do it twice a year now and it makes the pricier restaurants more manageable. I met my friend Jo at Macintosh this evening and I'll be thinking about their melt-in-the-mouth ricotta gnudi until the next time I get to go back. We were very well taken care of thanks to chef de cuisine Chris Delaney. Thanks folks! Back to salad eating next week.

My phone is still ringing off the hook with campaign call. Yawn. It looks like Stephen Colbert is going to be at the College of Charleston Cistern tomorrow afternoon at 1 p.m. Too bad I'll be at work, eh.

What to buy your best pal Charleston for a holiday gift?

King St., Charleston, S.C.

Got any holiday loot left over? Buy your best pal Charleston a present! Charleston Moves passes on instructions on how to make a donation that will be pooled to buy much needed bike racks for the city. Check here: Charleston Moves: Help Jumpstart the City of Charleston's Bike Rack Fund.

The Charleston Green Committee wants to quickly raise $2,600 to kick start the City of Charleston's Bike Rack Fund. This fund will pay for 14 bike racks which the City has committed to install at no cost.

Each rack costs $180 and will be put in locations which will encourage more biking & less driving. Your donation will be combined with others to leverage this purchase.

DONATE NOW in any denomination by going to: http://www.charlestongreencommittee.com/donate.html

Please be sure to designate that your donation go to THE CHARLESTON GREEN COMMITTEE. The deadline is 12/31/11.

It's a great idea and long over due. The only catch is that the bike racks they picture are pretty boring. How about one like this? I took this giant bike, bike rack picture in Portland, Oregon.  Fun!

That's what I call a Bicyskull

JLINSNIDER, 539 King St., Charleston, S.C.

I've been having fun including random bicycles in photos lately but this takes the cake. How amazing is this? The owner told me it was a zebra's skull. Naturally.

JLINSNIDER caters ready to wear for the avant garde, custom design, hand selected vintage, an organic bath line & top wardrobe styling for men, women & children. JLINSNIDER also offers an event courtyard featuring local artisans and musicians on the First Friday of every month. If you are an artist interested in selling your gems in the courtyard or a musician who would like to play, please email us at jlinsnider@gmail.com

Owner: Jamie Lin Snider

Bicycle Races are Coming to Town

Queen St., Charleston, S.C.



Bicycle races are coming to town...lalalalah lah....



I don't why I started including bikes in pictures but now I consider them a happy addition, especially when they are so brightly colored.



There really is a bicycle race and spinning event coming to town:

The Bridge Ride



Start: Saturday, September 17, 2011 @ 6:30 AM

Mount Pleasant Memorial Waterfront Park, Harry Hallman Blvd Mount Pleasant, SC



$25 registration fees to secure a spot. Receive your active giving page and start fundraising to compete for great PRIZES!



Registration Closing Date: Thursday, September 15, 2011 @ 5:00 PM PST



Party, Vendors, LIVE music at the Park during the spin session, while the cyclists arrive and after. Celebrate the success of the Bridge Ride and cheer on the participants! FUNDRAISER for ECCO



PRIZE UPDATE: Gift certificates to ESAC and a guitar signed by Hootie and the Blowfish. Must fundraise to win!



After registering, you'll get your Active Giving page, to raise money from your family, friends, and colleagues. This ALL goes to ECCO and our Free Dental Clinic to help our neighbors in need. Raise money to compete for GREAT prizes and be part of an important cause.



Riders under 16 must be accompanied by an adult aged 21 or older.

Start Times-ALL Take Place at Mt P Waterfront Park



An outdoor cycling ride (approximately 70 miles) starting and finishing at the Mount Pleasant Waterfront Park. Starting at 6:30 a.m.

Check the East Cooper Community Outreach web site for more details. Good luck folks!

Dock St. Theater color matching

Dock St. Theater, Charleston, S.C.



One of these days I'm going to get down on my belly to take a picture and I won't be able to get up. Groan. It's going to be a sad, sad thing. Check out the matching paint trim on the doors at the Dock St. Theater and the bike. Coolness!



Have a good Sunday kids.

Pull up a bike and sit a spell

King St., Charleston, S.C.

Pull up your bike and sit a spell.

I never thought of bikes as seats. I don't think this is the first time these gentlemen have used them this way. They look quite comfortable.

Friday Hodge Podge

Doors, Charleston, S.C.

I'd make for an odd profile if my car was searched this week: two Japanese swords, two knives with belts, helmet camera, box of pirate wear and a change of clothes that just happen to be all black. I have a good reason for each item but all together they look a little odd.

I will have fifteen minutes on Tuesday morning to dress three hospital CEO's as pirates and I couldn't bear to make them hold cheap plastic swords so I called in favors from my friends (hi Bill!) who had real antique weapons.

Blogspot has been messed up for me and a lot of other people but I think I have it fixed on my end finally. Blah. Things go along merrily and then you wake up and everything is screwed up.

Today's photos: Those worn doors are on my regular walking route and every time I see them without a car parked in front I have to grab a shot. The vines below are confederate jasmine at the community garden on Bogard St. and the chalk heart caught my eye.

I stopped to get my oil changed by the gentlemen at Sears at Citadel Mall on my way home and it gave me the exact amount of time to go to Sesame for grilled corn on the cob and ultimate grilled cheese. It's one of my favorite meals. The phone rang as I licked my fingers and paid my bill and I recommended that they advertise an "Oil Change Special" meal. Normally the Sears auto guys give me a certificate for $5 off a purchase at Sears and I buy myself a pair of panties while I wait. It's not a bad system. Fresh oil, grilled corn and new panties all in one trip.

Spoleto festival begins today. Any good ticket recommendations?

Fun with silver foil

Vanderhorst St., Charleston, S.C.

Everything is more fun wrapped in silver foil!

Bicycle Jokes

Basil, King St., Charleston, S.C.

I love Basil Thai restaurant on King St. and like the fact that they kept the old bicycle on it's sign from it's previous life as a bike shop.

Link: Funny bike related photos.

The Big, Black, Bewildering Bike Rack

Calhoun St., Charleston, S.C.

I'm just not getting it, kids. This is described as a modern bike rack built by Clemson students and a city design team. For a cost of $10,000 it houses 9 city employee's bikes and has a few open spaces for the public. It is supposed to be a museum quality piece.

I was standing there scratching my head when a gentleman came up and reminded me that the City Paper had written an article on it so here is the link. I've seen some pretty creative bike racks in my travels and we certainly need them in Charleston, but I'm not feeling the love for this one.

Saturday Funny

Charleston, S.C.

Pictures taken a couple of years apart. Love it! I think it was Sires St. Sires or Ashe. I need to start walking with a pencil and paper.

Your Saturday funny from the Bike Joke file:

Two nuns were riding their bicycles through the bumpy streets and alleys of Charleston.

One turns to the other and says, "I've never come this way before".

The other nun says, "Neither have I. It's the cobblestones".

Curbside Rebicycling

Bogard St., Charleston, S.C.

I love the casual recycling that goes on in Charleston. I often leave items on the curb hoping that someone will make good use of them. I peak out of the window pleased to see my belongings go off to their new home.

I smiled this morning when I saw this gentleman on Bogard St. He was trying to take home a floor lamp on his bicycle. At first I was taking pictures discreetly but he caught me laughing at his balancing problem. He asked what I was going to do with the pictures and I said, if it was alright with him, I'd post them this evening. Thanks for being such a good sport Terry, you are the Charleston Daily Photo!

Yarn on Wheels

KNIT, Coming St., Charleston, S.C.

I spotted this colorful bike behind the Knit Yarn Shop on Wentworth St.

Now check out this luverly knitted bike on the Book of Joe - the world's most popular blogging anesthesiologist. I do so love creatively wacky people!



I am off! Have yourself a merry little day.

Sunday Funny

Cafe Lana, Rutledge & Cannon St., Charleston, S.C.

According to tradition, here is the evening's bicycle joke in honor of a bike in the photo:

Did you hear about the vampire bicycle that went round biting people's arms off?

It was a vicious cycle.

Harhar.

Sunday Funny

King St., Charleston, S.C.

From the Ten Best Bicycle Jokes: Pig! Pig!

The other day on a ride, I was speeding down a narrow, twisting, mountain road. Then along comes a woman who was driving very slowly uphill toward me, honking her horn and shouting at me.

"PIG! PIG!!" she yelled. "PIG! PIG!!"

So I flipped her the finger and shouted back some things I dare not repeat as I buzzed by her.

Still thinking about this awful woman and her shouting, I turned the corner and promptly collided with a pig.

Bike Parking Reserved

Calhoun St., Charleston, S.C.

Some people complain about the shortage of bike parking, others create their own!

I am dipping into the photo files while I try to decide if is it too cold to go for a walk.

I came home to a late arrival Christmas package from my sister Shirley in Edmonton. It's full of Tim Horton's coffee and smarties. I am rushing headlong into a sugar coma. There goes that half hearted "cut down on sugar" resolution. Mmmmmmm...smarties.

Awesome Things

King St., Charleston, S.C.

Here is a little present for you:

The 1000 Awesome Things blog is a time-ticking countdown of 1000 awesome things. Reading back I kept finding things that I didn't realize everyone else liked as well. They are adding one a day and are on #606 today. Here are a few fun ones.

#629: When it feels like the lyrics to the song you're listening to were written just for you.

#631: Coming back to your own bed after a long trip.

#729: Passing under a bridge on the highway when it's pouring rain .

#886: High-fiving babies.

#666: Giving people what they want.

Creative Bike Rack

Vanderhorst St., Charleston, S.C.

I suspect this Crepe Myrtle tree isn't listed in The Digitel's handy bike rack directory.

It's a bright sunny day, kids! Get out and play.

Ouchie

Kudo Coffee, Vanderhorst St., Charleston, S.C.

I bit my tongue so badly yesterday that I've been walking around with my tongue hanging out saying, "Do you see dat? Dan you see my blubby tongue?" Ouch. It really hurts. How can that happen? I have eaten food before, you'd think I'd know how to do it without biting my tongue off.