I love to cycle. Before I arrive in a new country, I almost always find a way to buy or rent a bicycle there. With a bicycle, I find that it is easy to access nature even if it miles away, to feel fit, healthy, and positive, to travel without the delays and inconveniences of public transport, to save hundreds of dollars on transportation (the price of a month-long bus pass is more than I paid for a bike I used for almost four months), and finally to experience areas of any given country that many travelers might not have access to by bus, foot, or train. On a bus, you may take the same route hundreds of other people do every day. On a bike, you can take any turn you might like and find your way back quickly if you get lost. This means that you can really personalize your experience of any given place without experiencing inconveniences that getting lost on foot might cause.

Riding a trail near Kent University

My plan in Canterbury long before I arrived was to find a hybrid bike suitable for trail-riding and for the city. I began asking around about a place or website I could look to find a reasonably priced bike, and the on my first day in Canterbury a very helpful employee at the library cafe recommended Gumtree, a website that is popular all over the U.K. and is similar to Craigslist. I took a bus to a town near the coast to meet with someone selling a Carrera in brand new condition. Once I decided to buy the bike (which cost under $100 - much less expensive than the same bike would have been at a shop or online), I asked about trails nearby and cycled about 7 miles back to Canterbury on a trail called the Crab and Winkle Way. This was the end of what seemed to be a very productive second day in Canterbury.

River front trail from downtown to Parham Road

From the second day on, I rode this bike everywhere in town (to campus, downtown, and to friends’ houses) and to a few places out of town (woodlands such as Blean Woods, the coast, and other small cities that surround Canterbury).

The river front trail near the city center

The bicycle was a big part of my time in Canterbury, and I couldn’t be happier that I used it as my main means of transportation. When I left Canterbury, I left the bicycle with a friend I had made in town. He rides the bike now as much I did while I was there.

You can always find your way back using the Canterbury Cathedral as a point of reference