Riders honor cycling enthusiast

CHARLESTON - In a quiet but emotional call to arms, about 500 cyclists rode through downtown streets Saturday morning in a mobile memorial to Edwin Gardner, an ebullient planner and community activist who died recently in a bicycle accident.

It began in the still and humid morning air next to the bone-white columns in Cannon Park. Peter Wilborn, a friend and fellow bicycle enthusiast who helped organize the event, told the growing crowd it was the largest memorial ride the area had seen.

Photo Gallery

Edwin Gardner memorial ride

Hundreds of people turned out for a bike ride honoring Edwin Gardner on Saturday. Gardner died July 23, two days after he was in an accident with an SUV while riding his bike.

"The first order of importance was supporting Whitney and Olive and their family riding their bikes," Wilborn said, referring to Gardner's wife and 11-year-old daughter. "It turned out that there was a need for all of Charleston for this."

Gardner worked for years to make the area's streets safer for cyclists and pedestrians, Wilborn said, adding that had his ideas been in place, his life and those of other cyclists might have been spared.

From Cannon Park, the procession moved slowly down Rutledge Avenue to The Battery, where dragon boaters waited with oars raised in salute.

The bicyclists stopped and tossed flowers into the harbor. After a few words of remembrance from the boaters, dozens of bicyclists rang their bells in appreciation.

Police shut down city streets as the procession headed to Lockwood Boulevard where Gardner was struck by a sport utility vehicle the morning of July 21. He died two days later; no charges were filed in the accident. At a sign near the place where Gardner fell, mourners attached a bike that has been painted white. Flowers were set against it, along with an oar with the words "paddle on!" scribbled on the blade.

It was a fitting memorial for a man who helped Tennessee craft a statewide vision for its park system, started a dolphin education program in Florida, founded the New Charleston Mosquito Fleet to connect inner- city children with boat building, was president of the Harleston Village Neighborhood Association and served on a task force looking into downtown transportation issues.

"I think this crowd is evidence that he touched a lot of people," said Grace Campbell, Edwin's niece and an environmental studies professor at the University of North Carolina-Asheville. "Today we all saw how much his life meant here and we're all confident that his legacy will be continued."

Amid the crowd, Gardner's wife and daughter rode side by side. Before July 21, the Gardners were a common site downtown, either in their Volvo with kayaks piled on the roof or on bikes escorting their daughter to Buist Academy, a threesome now made two.