When we moved to Belize we shipped our bicycles down to Placencia and my little guy, Mitch, was loving his forward facing baby seat. Remember this post: They see us rollin’ when we upgraded to a tandem bike for Mitch? We just couldn’t trust our unruly preschooler on the open road with these crazy careless drivers so we imported a WeeRide. Though the drivers on the peninsula are still shockingly hazardous, Mitch has matured in to a more competent and conscientious child so we thought the time was right to get him his own wheels and trust him with a bit more freedom.
All week we’ve been practicing and learning about defensive riding (arguably a much harder skill to master but so very important here). Phil purchased Mitch’s new (to him) ride from Alex at Dream Bikes Placencia. Alex fixes and refurbishes bicycles so if you’re looking for a second-hand bike you have to stalk his Facebook page, or send him a message with what you’re looking for.
One of the things I LOVE about life in Placencia is that you don’t need a car; it is often easier to walk or pop on your bike to run an errand than it would be to drive (and park) a vehicle. It is a cornerstone to our active and outdoorsy lifestyle! Another thing I LOVE about life here is that no one judges you on what you have or how you dress or the size of your house, paycheck, engagement ring… so on and so forth. There’s nary a whisper of the keeping-up-with-the-Jones mentality that is so prevalent in Northern America (and a lot of places across the globe).
When Phil came home with Mitch’s new (used) bike I thought, oh dear. He’d told me it was purple and I was envisioning a dark, gender-neutral purple. I wasn’t thinking lavender… or that it would say Preety on the side. But that was my North American mentality! No one here would tease Mitch for riding a girl’s bike… they’d say, “Oh cool, you have a bike!” Is that not the way it should be?! I was so pleased that Mitch was pleased with his gift too.
So, drive with care please! My baby just might be sharing the road.
Alex has great bikes and provides excellent service!