New Beginnings on Two Wheels

At that time, my bike was just a means of getting around the Nova Scotia fishing village where I grew up. It was transportation to-and-from the local swimming hole. It took me to my grandparent’s house and around our small village to visit friends. In my teens, I rode it to the local store to pick up things for the workers at the fish plant near my home. “Mike, go to the store and get me a lunch-cake.” A worker yelled. Another worker chimed in. “Mike, while you’re there, can you get me a bottle of Coke?”

In return, they gave me a nickel, a dime, and on rare occasions, a quarter. I saved it all and bought one of the first ten-speeds in my village. It expanded my horizons. Four times  a week, I rode twenty miles along the winding and hilly coast of Nova Scotia to the city of Halifax and back. I’d left my wife and children behind in Nova Scotia to sell the house and moved to Saint John, New Brunswick, the oldest incorporated city in Canada.

I grabbed my bike and headed downtown. I turned a corner, shifted gears, and went back in time. Behind me were modern buildings. In front were buildings dating back hundreds of years—many renovated into modern offices. As I pedaled along the streets, some paved with cobblestones, I glanced to my left. Tied to the dock was a cruise ship. Horse-drawn wagons pulled passengers up the hill to the center of the city.

I biked in a new direction. I found myself on a bridge over a gorge. Below me, the tide rushed into the Saint John River, and rolled up and over the famous “Reversing Falls.”

During low tide, the river slips over a five foot drop, but at the rising of the tide, the ocean forces its way through the gorge, and pushes the river back over the falls, creating white water turbulence. I settled onto my seat and looked down. The water churned below me. Once again, my bike allowed me to explore new surroundings. A cool breeze blew through the window of our bedroom. I stirred and held my wife tight, but knew something else called me. My bicycle waited. It was time to ride and explore another new city.