A long time ago when I was still in high school, I decided I was interested in bicycle touring. So I went to Edmonton to a long established cycle shop on 118th Avenue, Alberta Cycle & Motor Co., and purchased a brand spanking new 10 speed touring bicycle for $117.95. (Not the one shown above in the snap.) After the deducting the trade-in value for my old one-speed cruiser bike, it cost only $95. No GST in those days. It was of French make from a long renowned company, Peugeot. That model AE8 bicycle did me for many years, especially while going to school and working in the summers. It was finally sold by my brother in a rummage sale for $5 off the farm after I had moved away to another city and migrated to the new "mountain bike" variety of cycles.

What always stuck in my mind about it was the front cover of the owner's manual which is the image shown above. It depicted someone cycle touring in the mountains, likely in France or Italy, and taking in the vistas. Yes, I have always carried that scene in my mind when planning and riding on my trips ever since. Cycle touring seems to have been part of my destiny, as I have participated in it through all the years since and plan to do the same for long to come. I tend to file everything I have and I thought of that manual recently so I decided I should do something with it. So here is that photo from the cover of the owner's manual of my first touring bicycle, now placed on my internet web site's cycling home page. The bike is long gone but the original memory remains strong.