Out and About

By Andra Moss

For most bicyclists in Norfolk, starting a ride from home involves hitting a sizeable hill sooner or later—or sooner and later, given the daunting topography of the Northwest Corner. How is it then, that so many riders of the non-millennial vintage have recently been spotted happily climbing Lovers Lane or enjoying the upper reaches of Mountain Road without wobble or grimace?

A new shop at 1 Railroad Street in North Canaan may have the answer: electric bikes, or e-bikes, as they are commonly known. Bob Ensign and his wife, Meg, have just opened their third Covered Bridge E-Bikes store there, offering a wide selection of e-bikes and accessories. An e-bike is a bicycle with a rechargeable electric motor that gives the rider a “pedal assist” to help make it up a steep grade or to push a bit farther on down the road.   

A long-time biking enthusiast, Ensign opened his first e-bike store in West Cornwall in 2019, followed this past spring by a second store in Kent. When the North Canaan property became available earlier this year, he said it “felt like a good move for me. It seemed like a great community, and I really like being involved in this part of Connecticut.”

Now also an avid e-biker, Ensign noted that “many local cyclists and mountain bikers have turned to e-bikes due to aging, injuries or just wanting to be able to easily join others for a ride in the hills.”

The Railroad Street store currently does not offer rental bikes, Ensign said, but confirmed that “we have 10 or 11 different brands of bikes for sale” that can accommodate “people who are 4 feet 10 or 6 feet 7; serious riders or people who haven’t ridden for 40 years; people who want to bike on rail trails only and those who like to go up one steep hill after another.”  They also sell items like panniers, bags, baskets, lights, helmets and dog carts. And for those who still enjoy the challenge of hitting the road under their own steam, conventional bike repair and maintenance is also available out of the Canaan shop.

Ensign noted that this year’s peak-season foliage display brought many e-bike riders to the area. “You meet all these people from all over the country, all over the world, really, when they come to this area for leaf season,” he said. “It’s really special. If you go to Millerton, for instance, it’s incredible how many people are there, enjoying and getting exercise on the [Harlem Valley] Rail Trail. It does seem to be an example of ‘you build it, and they will come’.” 

While they are still settling in at the Canaan location, Ensign said, “we’ve already had a bunch of people stop in. Quite a few have said welcome to the neighborhood.” This means a lot, he said, as “being part of the community is very important to me. We want to be good neighbors to the other businesses here and also want our riders to respect our neighbors. We try to make that a big part of every day.” 

For the remainder of the fall season, the North Canaan shop will be open five days a week, including weekends, said Ensign. Hours and days will be posted on their website, coveredbridgeebike.com.