We Have Ridden All the Way: Lighthouse Bikes!

Through all the chaos and the efforts of the last few years, something is emerging. Oakley and I have been elbow to elbow, plowing the earth like a team of oxen. We have hauled each other up mountains, skied across frozen lakes, and screamed at each over broken chains on our mountain bikes, deep in the woods. We have wrangled wild mink, and biked in the snow, the rain, and in 100-degree heat. We have hiked many 4,000-foot peaks in winter, summer, and dark of night. We have slept in city parks, rest stops along the highway, and on the open prairies of the West. We have slogged through the Covid pandemic with everyone else.

It hasn’t always been pretty; in fact, sometimes it has been awful, full of frustration, intense emotion and fatigue. Oakley is a teenager, after all, and I am a nagging mother, hell-bent on dragging him into adulthood, healthy and strong. Sometimes our expeditions evoke self-flagellation, for both of us, as we deliberately choose hardship over comfort. But, after every adventure, when we make it back to the safety of our home, we ask each other: “What is next? Where now? Wouldn’t it be fun to…”

I say we have been like a team of oxen because I do feel like we have been tilling the earth, trying to make space for something to grow, and now, I am happy to announce that it has.

On June 1st, we will be opening Lighthouse Bikes, LLC: Tours, Rentals, and Repairs. It will operate out of Knightville, South Portland, Maine, in the shadow of the old Million Dollar Bridge; we will be offering guided bike tours to the coastal bike paths and lighthouses and beyond, as well as rental bikes so that our customers can create their own adventures. Oakley will be in charge of the rental department and I, as always, will be trying to figure out everything else as I go along. We have ordered 24, bright “Racing Red,” Worksman-brand bikes (America’s oldest bike manufacturer, since 1898!). We are busily building the shop with the help of friends and family.

Lighthouse Bikes is the next chapter of our journey together and, hopefully, it will create an opportunity for people of all abilities to gain access to the outdoors and to that part of themselves that craves to see what is around the corner, and the next, and the one after that.

I am incredibly excited. Whether it is a three-mile cruise, a ten-mile ride, or a day-long expedition, we will get to hear the tales, and celebrate the adventure that can be found every day as the world continues to open, day by vaccinated day, around us.

Come visit! https://www.lighthousebikesportland.com

46 thoughts on “We Have Ridden All the Way: Lighthouse Bikes!”

  1. Congratulations on your perseverance, willingness to step off the beaten path, courage and your story telling. Wishing you all the best in this wonderful new offering/adventure!

  2. Congratulations to both of you. You are really a rock star making your avocation your vocation. I can’t wait to bike over and see the new place.

  3. What a fantastic journey you two are on, using your passion to guide you. Yay! Hope I can get to Maine sometime to explore with you….

  4. You two are awesome. I read every post you send, and each one is like a different size gift wrapped box, and I alway wonder WTH will be insde of this one!!!! Love hearing of your “madventures” and the following bliss!

  5. Golly gee! That is swell news! I’m sure some of your clients will be influenced to take up the mantle of adventure. To the Lighthouse!

  12. I think it is very interesting. Safety first. I took a bike tour once in
    Key West, Florida. The guide had us ride for a while and then stop.
    He made any adjustments we needed. It was hot and we also paused from time to time to rest in the shade.

  14. 🚴‍♂️🚴🏾‍♀️🚴🏾‍♂️🚴‍♀️Congratulations! 🚴🚵🏻‍♀️🚴🏼‍♀️🚴‍♂️

  15. WOW! Just Wow! Congratulations and wishing you both success and happiness in your new (ad)venture.

  16. Congratulations on your upcoming adventures with Lighthose Bikes. I have loved hearing of your cross country trip and enjoy your writing. An amazingly positive story for these times.

  19. Wohooo! I’m also starting a bike tour company just south of you this year! Congrats and you just might be seeing me for a tour at some point <3 from Commercial Street Pedicab & Tours!

  24. Perhaps on the same path…

    Reading your latest blog post was quite surprising.

    I would like to pick your brain about your start up process.

    Reach out if you have a few minutes to chat.

  25. Fantastic – starting a new venture together doing the things you love. Chapeau and good luck!

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