THE STORY OF A GIRL & HER TWO-WHEELER
PART I
A QUARANTINE CREATION
Mollie may be red but she isn't that big of a bike. She may be a little on the heavier side when it comes to your typical road bike, but she sure has some speed - & more importantly she's got sass. Her frame was found in the trash, covered in shit...literal shit. Thank god for motivated boyfriends who have an interest in fixing up old bicycles & an even bigger interest in finding a wicked deal. It was because of Sean & his need to do something over the countless hours isolated in his small 3 1/2 apartment, that Mollie came to be in this world. Well as she is now I guess...she is second hand so she's definitely been around the block a few times! After a month or so of dirty work, a couple trips to the bike shop & a test run or two down the street, boom we've got a MOLLIE!
PART II
HER FIRST RIDE...& CRASH
I was very hesitant to get on the road with Mollie. I hadn't been on a bike in well over a year, let alone on one riding through Montreal's busy streets filled with potholes & bad drivers. Needless to say, there was definitely some fear running through me as I brought her down two flights of stairs & set her onto the curb. Sun shinning, helmet on, bag packed, Sean a couple pedal strokes ahead of me, feet on the pedals, hands on the gears, head looking down, head looking down?! Wait. What?
...& just like that, I found myself standing in front of a parked car exchanging personal information with the man who had been sitting in it, only 5 meters away from the apartment. You better believe that bike ride ended right then & there. It's also pretty obvious that I cried about the crash as soon as I had the chance. Thankfully, I have yet to hear from this man or his insurance, so there's that going for me.
Is it bad luck to have your first bike ride & crash all within 5 minutes? Asking for a friend.
PART III
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
By the time a week had passed since the incident, I was ready to give this whole "biking" thing another shot. Sean had made plans to see a friend in the South Shore, the suburbs located on the southern shore of the Saint Lawrence River opposite the Island of Montreal, & arranged for us to spend an afternoon biking there. A leisurely, although lengthy, ride along the river seemed absolutely lovely & I was up for the challenge. Or so I thought.
Who knew riding across the Jacques Cartier bridge would be so terrifying? Or that our initial route would be covered in so much construction? Or that I would turn into the most annoying twelve year old kid that repeatedly asks "are we there yet" every fucking three minutes? Who knew? I sure didn't. But then again, I can be quite dramatic.
That day ended up being exhausting. Emotionally, physically, mentally...sorry Sean. Despite the day's difficulties, I still managed to successfully bike a whole 20km. As far as highlights go, the scenery was absolutely stunning, the company quite exceptional & I got to sneak in this last shot before crying all the way home. No joke.
This ride was definitely a memorable one. Let's just say that.
Will I do it again?
...not anytime soon.
PART IV
HOME SWEET HOME
After weeks of isolating with Sean in St-Henri, it was time for me to head back to my roomie-abundant apartment on the other side of the city...this time with Mollie. The route was still unfamiliar, I definitely had to run the street names across my mind a few times before popping my helmet on & jumping on the seat. I was happy to find that most of the way home follows the bike path & there weren't any parked cars within potential "damaging" distance. The ever-so-slight uphill the entire remaining twenty minutes of the ride, however, was not a winning feature throughout this excursion.
As luck would have it, the ride was actually quite enjoyable, as I rode all on my lonesome through the downtown core & up the quaint streets of the Plateau. The forty minutes it took me to make it home didn't feel as long as I'd initially thought either. We did it, Mollie & I, with no scratches, crashes, tumbles or tears! It felt good to have her home.
PART V
SUMMER LOVIN'
The summer came in flashes. Flashes of blue skies above my grown out hair, of warm winds dancing along the canal, of tiny bugs finding their way into my eyes when I ride ahead of Sean & no longer have the shelter of his back. Filled to the brim with afternoons in the park, trips back & forth from mine to his, group rides with a gang of girls all decked out in their finest gear, & sights of beautiful sunsets on the final stretch back home. Mollie explored most of Montreal within these three short months. Getting a little faster, a little more confident with each ride. My abilities grew too. I'm so close to riding with my hands off the handlebars. This is big considering that's what made me crash my first time out! There may have been a few unstable times since then, a few long trips with a seat that swivels, or a few questionable calls to run a red light. Nonetheless, Mollie took me where I needed to go & was always where I needed her to be. You'd be surprised how many times I thought it'd be the last I'd see of her...well until you saw the lock I've been using all summer.
We've had some good moments together, Mo & I. Moments of a larger story. A story that we're still building. But like Montreal construction, that shit stops when the snow hits.
So this isn't goodbye. Far from it. It's an "all the best with hibernation," a big ol' hug & a thank you. We'll be back at it when the warmth returns & my freckles do too.
XX C
PHOTOGRAPHY & EDITING: Céline Blais @babycealion
OUTFIT ANTHEM: Bad Girls - Verdine Version by Solange
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