Lowcountry Riffs: Observations from the saddle | Columnists | Our Gazette

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Lowcountry Riffs: Observations from the saddle

Published Wednesday, June 09, 2010 4:13 PM

By Jim Tatum
The Gazette

I never thought I would ever see a man and woman arriving at and departing from the opera on bicycles. Yet there they were, he in a seersucker suit and tie, she in a long evening dress. They chained their bikes to a lamppost in front of the theater and sashayed inside. When it was over, they got on a pair of what looked like matching Red Rockets – the bike Pee Wee rode in the classic yet somehow Oscar snubbed, “Pee Wee’s Big Adventure” – and pedaled off into the night, presumably to the next show.

I never thought I would ever see such a sight, largely because I never dreamed I would have found myself at the opera, either, at least not willingly.

Yet there I was, sound of mind and body, dressed to the nines, totally on my own volition – and I enjoyed it. There; I admit it. Not only was I there, I enjoyed it.

Every so often, my Beloved and I try something a little different, and Spoleto is an opportunity to try many different things. In this case, we went to “Flora,” which is playing at the newly re-opened Dock Street Theater.

Since I know very little about theater and even less about opera, suffice it to say that we enjoyed it immensely, if for no other reason than it was sung in English. I do know that “Flora” first premiered in America in 1735 – at the Dock Street Theater. The musical score has been lost since then, but the creative team sort of reconstructed it. The result was an enjoyable, funny, well-performed show that clearly has not lost any of its wit and bite in the 300 something years since it was written.

But back to the bikes – they lead me to a simple observation: Why not?

Why not take a bicycle to the opera -- or anywhere else, for that matter?

One of the great things about Charleston is that it is pedestrian and bike friendly. For example, there are actually public air pumps in several strategic locations around downtown. If you happen to get caught in traffic in your car, look around and see how quickly and efficiently folks on bikes are getting around. Look at how much fun they seem to be having, too.

Having noticed this nearly every time we’ve gone downtown, my Beloved and I decided to take our bikes with us this trip, just to see how it would work out. While we didn’t ride them to the Dock Street, we did spend the better part of the next morning tooling around Charleston. Aside from getting caught in a powerful cloudburst, it was a great experience – easy to get around, plenty of quiet side streets with less traffic, and an ability to travel yet cover a lot of ground.

Of course, nothing justifies a decadent lunch at a downtown restaurant like a long bike ride through the city.

I would love to be able to do more of that here. After all, Summerville is a quaint little town with its share of cool events, great restaurants, and beautiful old neighborhoods. Alas, there are times when I wouldn’t want to drive a Sherman tank down, say, Central Avenue, much less ride a bicycle. On the other hand, such a statement can be made about nearly every area of the Lowcountry these days. The trick, I suppose, is to work on making this place a little more pedestrian and bike friendly. That starts with being a little more courteous to walkers and bikers when we’re behind the wheel.

Clearly, we have some work ahead of us. But maybe we could all start by leaving the car keys on the counter and hopping on a bike once in awhile.

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