A BOY, HIS BIKE AND HIS BIG ADVENTURE
The spring of 1979 I was finishing up grade 8, I spent a lot of my free time riding my bike both on my own and with my friends. I was teased quite a bit as a child because I have a hereditary problem called spina bifida and through this it caused my feet to turn out so walking and running were often difficult. But I could ride my bike for what seemed like hours and miles.
My favourite TV show at the time was ‘BJ And The Bear’ a comedic show about a truck driver and his chimpanzee named Bear. I still don’t know to this day if I liked the show because of the truck or the idea of having a pet monkey.
I would frequently go to the
Burlington Mall with my parents and occasionally go on my own either by
bus or bike. I inquired at the toy store about getting the Matchbox ‘BJ
And The Bear’ truck and they said they didn’t have it but a store at
Centre Mall in Hamilton did. I did what any other kid did when they
wanted a toy I begged and pleaded with my parents to go to Centre Mall
but something always came up.
The first week in May was sunny and warm and on Saturday morning I set out on my trusty 3 speed Supercycle. I was 13, had no clue about route planning and even though I had disappeared on my bike for hours at a time I had never ridden that far before. I headed out from my townhouse complex towards Northshore Blvd. past Joseph Brant Hospital (pondered if I wanted to continue). Then continued on Lakeshore Road. I stopped at the Canal Lift Bridge and thought to myself again to I really want to do this. I continued along Beach Bld. to Woodward Ave. I had made this trip with my Mom many times before in her car but this was a first for me on my bike. I got a little lost but I was determined. Most of the trip was on sidewalks because there weren’t any bike lanes then. Instead of heading to Barton I turned on Brampton and recognized the lumber store on Parkdale. I got my bearings and headed up to Barton then on to my destination.
I went into the mall and went to the toy store and purchased my ‘BJ And The Bear Truck’ and another one I can’t remember, then I stopped in at Big Boy’s and had some fries and gravy and a cold drink.
I took almost the exact same route home but this time I got stopped at the lift bridge for a ship heading into the Harbour. Which ended up making me late for supper. But I locked up my bike and went into the house to show off my purchases. And when it was discovered where I went on my adventure I was grounded for the next week only being allowed out for school, no bike riding after school. It did open a discussion to what my new boundaries were and unfortunately regular trips into Hamilton weren’t part of them. As a grad gift from grade 8 I got a new bike and I start regularly riding in the local Bike-a-thon after that.
The first week in May was sunny and warm and on Saturday morning I set out on my trusty 3 speed Supercycle. I was 13, had no clue about route planning and even though I had disappeared on my bike for hours at a time I had never ridden that far before. I headed out from my townhouse complex towards Northshore Blvd. past Joseph Brant Hospital (pondered if I wanted to continue). Then continued on Lakeshore Road. I stopped at the Canal Lift Bridge and thought to myself again to I really want to do this. I continued along Beach Bld. to Woodward Ave. I had made this trip with my Mom many times before in her car but this was a first for me on my bike. I got a little lost but I was determined. Most of the trip was on sidewalks because there weren’t any bike lanes then. Instead of heading to Barton I turned on Brampton and recognized the lumber store on Parkdale. I got my bearings and headed up to Barton then on to my destination.
I went into the mall and went to the toy store and purchased my ‘BJ And The Bear Truck’ and another one I can’t remember, then I stopped in at Big Boy’s and had some fries and gravy and a cold drink.
I took almost the exact same route home but this time I got stopped at the lift bridge for a ship heading into the Harbour. Which ended up making me late for supper. But I locked up my bike and went into the house to show off my purchases. And when it was discovered where I went on my adventure I was grounded for the next week only being allowed out for school, no bike riding after school. It did open a discussion to what my new boundaries were and unfortunately regular trips into Hamilton weren’t part of them. As a grad gift from grade 8 I got a new bike and I start regularly riding in the local Bike-a-thon after that.
