A brief snippet from the incredible spot which is Savage’s Bicycle Centre, they’ve got a great instagram account, Facebook, and Twitter.
A stitch in time saves nine, the old adage goes. After hearing from the cycle shop in Antigonish about the importance of retensioning our spokes more regularly with all the weight we’re carrying, we’re taking a more proactive approach to the entire situation.
When we rolled into town in Fredericton, our incredible host knew exactly which shop should be our spokes-person. Little did I know what I was walking into. The photos which follow aren’t the greatest but in part because I have a strong sense that I will be back here not too far into the future. But I feel that a lot on this tour.
Savage’s Bicycle Center is an incredible institution and as it turns out, the oldest of its kind in Canada. Established in 1897 by a family with the last name Savage, there has been a Savage at the helm ever since. Housed in an old firestation, they’ve got a beautiful space and incredible staff.
These are two of the oldest bicycles they have in the building dating back to 1905 and 1907. 2017 is also supposed to be the bicentennial, the 200th, anniversary of the bicycle.
I spotted Lamont in the backroom which is where the workstations since the caretaker, Matt Savage, was talking to a customer. He said they’d do what they could, as fast as they could, and the price would have to include a story. I returned the next morning after breakfast though they were done very soon after we’d dropped ‘em off!
It is, to be blunt and direct, wonderful to talk to a person of colour in this industry. We talked shop, got a tour of the space, heard about the history of the place, saw how packed it all gets in the lead-up to their annual bike swap. We also talked about his life, from being born in Wisconsin, to calling New Orleans home, to how he ended up in Fredericton and working here. I won’t say much more because he is an uncommon (and admirable) man who respects his privacy.
To paraphrase Lamont on a few things:
Canadians should recognize the value they have and bring to the world stage. What a nation is, in many ways, represented by what they aspire towards. Rather than trying to be more like other nations, particularly the States, I'd love to see Canada really growing up to be itself.
He told a story of himself growing up in high school, in a very sincere way, of not realizing that he was more popular than he actually believed he was. Mostly, he realized, in hindsight because he was just being himself.
The more recent history of the US with slavery taints our history, Canada while it may have no shortage of it's own darker chapters holds a different place.
At the end of the day, having had a late start and biked almost 100 km still, we ran into someone else reminding us of the wondrousness of it all. Good sign, all of this.
