You know that feeling when you move away from home, and then you come back to visit and, ouch, home isn't home anymore? Or you don't see a good friend for a few years, you finally meet up, and you can't remember anything you ever had in common? And it's a real kick in the gut to think that something you thought was concrete all this time could slip away so swiftly. But that's life, baby! You live and love and lose.

Here's a better feeling. Sometimes, your path briefly intersects with someone who shifts your perspective, talks deeply about topics you care about, and sees you for who you are. And you realize home isn't a place. It's a feeling. It's an understanding and an equilibrium. And you can find it anywhere if you aren't scared to show up genuinely.

So here's the plan. Let's all show up for each other. Let's be authentic, share our ideas, listen without judgment, and be open to the home we could find within our community.

Each week this summer, Mel's is featuring 1-hour club rides to get community members outside to meet new people, enjoy a beautiful bike ride, and skip the small talk.

Wednesday evenings at 6 p.m. are Podcast Rides. Listen to the podcast listed under our Club Rides page that interests you, click the Book Now button above the podcast choices, and sign up for the corresponding date.

Thursday evenings at 6 p.m. are Bikes & Books rides. Dust off your library card, read the book listed under our Club Rides page that interests you, click the Book Now button above the book choices, and sign up for the corresponding date.

Regardless of which podcast or book you choose, your rental will be a 1-hour ride that's good for your body and mind and soul. Meet new people, discuss your ideas, connect with nature, and maybe feel at home again.

Easily Rent a Bike Along the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail

Mel's Bike Rentals rents quality single-speed cruiser bikes for use along the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail. The flat, paved, off-road trail creates a safe space for cyclists to adventure across towns. Stop along the way to explore the community, or set aside some time to connect with nature.

Every rental provides an upright ride, comfortable seats, and easy-to-control handlebars so that even new riders can feel like pros. Forget the hassle of storing, maintaining, and transporting your bike. With quick access to the trail, Mel's Bike Rentals makes it easy to enjoy the freedom that only comes from riding a bike. Pedal into your next adventure with Mel's Bike Rentals!

At Mel’s Bike Rentals, we know how important it is to exercise your body and mind. We thought the best way to do that was by creating a book club on the trail. Read this month’s book, Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel, then join a group on the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail to discuss your ideas!

Join in on a thoughtful discussion Saturday, July 23, from 5 pm - 6 pm!

Check out this month’s newsletter for upcoming events and fun activities to do on the trail!

Don't let gas prices prevent you from adventuring this summer!

With a 26-mile trail leading from Center Street in Southington to the Yale Campus in New Haven, we have a fantastic outdoor avenue to explore our state.

Getting outside has never been easier with Mel's Bike Rentals, located in Plantsville, Connecticut. Rent an easy-to-ride cruiser bike and access the trail in minutes. With 2-hour, 4-hour, and full-day rentals, you can choose an adventure that fits your schedule. Then, spend some time exploring! Make sure to check the hours of operation for any stops along the way.

Looking to grab a bite during your ride? Here are some delicious options:

-​ Zingarella Pizzeria & Ice Cream Cafe in Plantsville: Classic Italian food, pizza, and house-made desserts with great outdoor dining options

-​ Smokin' With Chris in Southington: BBQ spot with eclectic apps and ribs

-​ Sauced Specialty Pizzas @ Kinsmen Brewing in Plantsville: Pizzas, salads, small plates, and sandwiches

-​ Sergio's Pizza in Hamden: An easygoing spot for Italian classics

After riding, ​you can celebrate your adventurous spirit with a drink at these locations:

-​ Kinsmen Brewing in Plantsville: Craft brewery and taproom with open-air options

-​ Hop Haus in Southington: This casual craft eatery features locally sourced eats, top-rated craft beer, and hand-crafted cocktails

-​ GameCraft Arcade in Southington: Local craft beers, gamer-themed cocktails, classic arcade machines, pinball, skeeball, board games, and retro consoles

-​ Witchdoctor Brewing Company in Southington: Enjoy the company of friends and family in this inviting taproom

-​ The Groggy Frogg in Southington: The open-air patio offers a great choice to enjoy a meal with friends

-​ MiKro Depot in Hamden: Craft beers, international plates, and hearty bites in a warm space

P​edal into your next adventure with Mel's Bike Rentals!

My first foray into business occurred at 4. My best friend John and I started a lemonade stand. He said that if we hid the money we collected and looked sad, people would feel sorry for us and spend more money. We each made $7.50. The possibilities for future achievements were endless.

Our next business venture was a better idea, but it didn't involve money. My mom had raked up the entire front yard, so our leaf tag maze was gone. With that erasure, John and I vowed to fix what we saw as a detrimental issue in our lives. We knocked on neighbors' doors and offered to collect their leaves for free. We also offered to take their leaves off-premises, directly to my front yard. After three neighbors agreed, we saw the value in bartering. Both parties got what they wanted, but for some reason, my mom wasn't thrilled when she got home from work to find the pristine front yard covered in leaves.

After that, I quit the business of doing business for two decades. Then, in 2018, I saw a need for a bike rental business to help community members get outside. I wanted to create something that allowed easy, safe, and equitable access to the best trail in Connecticut. I wanted bike riding to focus on the freedom I felt as a kid - when I never worried about owning, storing, maintaining, or transporting a bike.

Perhaps you haven't ridden a bike in years and aren't sure of yourself. Maybe you have a bike at home and think this business won't benefit you. Although it worked when I was younger, I won't pretend to look sad. All I can do is urge you to try it.

You could dig your bike out of storage, replace old tubes, pump up the tires, hook your bike to the back of your car to find a quiet spot to ride, strap your helmet filled with spider webs, and head out with a rusty chain. Or you could stop into the shop, rent a beautifully maintained, easy-to-ride cruiser, and be on the paved off-road Farmington Canal Heritage Trail in minutes.

At the very least, it's as good of an idea as the leaf collection business.

My first bike was a tricycle with no tires, just rims. As the youngest of five children, there was very little in my world that wasn't a hand-me-down. I remember riding it in the yard and thinking it was the most exciting thing I had ever done! Fast forward through several iterations of broken-down bikes to my 10th birthday when I got my first brand new bike. Best gift ever!

Except for winter days, I was on that bike more than off it. There was a contingent of kids endlessly riding around the circle of our neighborhood. We would hop on and off at each other's houses for snacks and games of hopscotch and tag. I've never forgotten what riding a bike meant to me. It was fresh air, sunshine, laughter, friends, and the freedom to be in a group or be by myself. It was the 1960s and it was good!

I can't remember the moment I turned over my biking days for teenage pursuits, but I do remember how happy I was to begin riding again when I started a family. Being back on a bike was like meeting up with an old friend. I quickly taught my kids to ride, along with several of their friends, giving them a contingent all their own. It was the best gift I could think to give each of them - fresh air, sunshine, laughter, friends, and the freedom to be in a group or be by themselves. Priceless.

Give yourself a gift. Get outside, enjoy your day, enjoy your weekend. Take a bike ride and remember what it felt like to be ten when the world was yours. Come alone, bring a friend, or bring a contingent. You won't regret it.

By: Linda (Mel’s Mom)

When my brother's windshield wipers broke, he went through the house for the rattiest shoes he could find. He took out the lace from the shoe in the worst shape and used it to tie one wiper to the other. While we did homework together, he told me all about his MacGyver job, beaming with pride.

When my dad got to the gym in the morning, he couldn't figure out why the shoes he wore every single day were magically missing a lace. I'm sure he used words that I can't put in here. At dinner, Dad told us about the baffling case of the missing lace. Without skipping a beat, my brother dived right into his ingenious solution.

Here's what dinner looked like:

"But, AJ, I wear those shoes every day! They're my gym shoes! I had to walk around looking like an idiot!"

"Well, I looked for the worst shoes I could find!"

"Wouldn't it have made more sense to look for the shoes that looked like someone didn't wear them every day? Then no one would miss the lace!"

"In my defense, I didn't think of it that way..."

Early on, I learned that sometimes solving one problem causes another. And sometimes, the best solution requires us to see the problem from a new perspective.

Starting my own business has been full of challenges, but part of the reward of life is that there's always a new hurdle to jump. It's okay to see a set of obstacles and feel disappointed, but you can't let them get you down. AJ taught me that. He also taught me not to take laces out of shoes, especially the worn-down kind.

The year is 1999. My mom and I are walking the aisles of our local Blockbuster, searching for a cinematic masterpiece to fill our Friday night. The floors are uneven. The mirrors hanging high on the walls make the space seem endless. I try to touch every plastic case I can reach. We choose any Kevin Costner movie because who wouldn't? The man has style.

Now it's 2013. I'm searching through the stacks at CCSU for all the information I can find on chameleons for my vertebrate zoology class. Why did I choose chameleons!? They're horrible scaly monsters. I take four textbooks to a quiet table on the second floor and bang out an incredibly rough draft on chameleon predation. Adult chameleons will feed on juvenile chameleons if the opportunity arises. Monsters, I'm telling you!

It's still 2013 because that year went on forever. I'm in my cell of a room in my New Britain apartment, listening to CDs I rented from the library. CDs! 9 years ago! What a world! One of them is NOT Vetiver like the cover stated, but John K. Samson. I end up loving every single thing he writes.

It's 2018. I open the door to my much less cell-like Wethersfield apartment to tell my boyfriend my new idea. "I'm pretty sure you're going to love it!" I talk it up big time. I show him the scrap of paper I crammed with half-sentences and doodles. I ask him if he's ready to start working on this new venture with me. He says, and I quote, "Hmmm, no thanks." I work on it anyway, developing a business plan after work and on weekends.

It's April of 2022. My first customers come back inside after an hour-long rental, smiling and laughing, unable to stop talking about everything they saw on the trail. "Auntie Mel, next time we're stopping at Zingarella for milkshakes!" None of my other customers call me "Auntie," but they're all equally happy. My heart could not be more full.

And now, it's whatever day you're reading this. Maybe you're thinking, "Well, thank goodness she didn't start a writing business." But I took you on a bird walk for a reason. I wanted you to see that renting is more than just using and returning. It's a chance to experience something new. It's an opportunity to reach out into the world and grasp onto something that will never again belong to you. It's a moment unlike any other, unique and irreplaceable. It's a memory, every time.

I first learned to ride a bike out of spite. At 5, my best friend and I hadn't moved past training wheels, and my 7-year-old neighbor had some choice words for us. We had not been "babies" in a very long time, so we rushed inside to cry to my mom.

Instead of commiserating with us, my mom took us outside to learn in the front yard. She took off the training wheels, set the bikes in the grass, and told us to hop on. We rushed over, jumped on our bikes, pedaled, and immediately crashed into the grass. My neighbor's words rang out in our ears. We picked ourselves up, dusted ourselves off, and tried again.

After an hour of consistent practice, we paraded ourselves past our neighbor's house with no training wheels in sight. She never congratulated us or apologized or took back what she said, but proving her wrong was enough to spark a lifelong love of the freedom that comes with riding a bicycle.