My Newest Love

MacQueen's Bike Shop, Charlottetown PEI

I lived on PEI for just shy of 5 years without owning a car but was fortunate enough to have amazing friends who would lend me their cars when I needed to make a large purchase or travel somewhere that look longer than a couple of hours on foot. My bike was my freedom and I loved it dearly (it's name was Roy). I walked into MacQueen’s bike shop one afternoon and browsed around the shiny new bikes and felt no love towards them. I asked the man working the desk if there were any trade-ins that needed a home. He pointed out one to me, a KHS Town & Country 150 which I could tell was well used in its former life. After a quick ride around the block, I bought the bike and a shiny new helmet without a regret in the world.

Bikes are like dogs. The used ones need homes too and should never be overlooked because of a little rust.

When I left the island I sold my beloved bike knowing that the cost to ship it across the country would be about 3x what the bike was worth, plus if someone was willing to buy it and enjoy it as much as I did, then I was fine with that.

After 9 months of being bikeless, I finally bought myself a new bike on the weekend! I went to a handful of bike shops around town and inquired about the second-hand ones that they had, but none of them jumped out at me saying “Take me home!”

If they had then I should probably lay off the caffeine a bit eh?

I ended up at P.M. Bikes in Langford and talked for a while with a lovely woman who is the owner of the store. After testing out a couple second hand bikes, a shiny new LHS Alite 150 caught my eye. The last time I owned a new bike was when I was 11 years old and they idea of owning something so pretty was getting more and more appealing by the minute. After riding it around a bit, playing with the shocks and getting trigger happy with the snappy gears, I knew it had to be mine.

It’s nothing really fancy and it basically the base model of these bikes, but I certainly do not need fancy so this is why I opted for something not hugely expensive. But it gets me from point A to point B with enthusiasm and I’ve been enjoying my bike’s company the past week. It doesn’t have a name yet though. Is it normal to name a bike?

I’ve been exploring The Galloping Goose mostly which is a 60 km trail running along the southern end of the island, and luckily I can meet up on it less than a kilometer from the house. Nothing more awesome than conveniently located trails! But the Goose is awesome, especially with you go up island rather than down since going down means you are mostly on paved trail which sucks.  I want dirt and mud and trees and lakes on my rides! Plus going up the trail means that you get to ride past gorgeous country side with sheep and free-range chicken farms to gaze upon and you get to snoop into some pretty awesome pieces of property.

Now I just need some nice weather to get out there again!