By age eight, Artie Royal knows that for a few minutes he can escape his parents' conflicts through exhilarating rides on his hand-me-down bike. At age seventeen, the bike now an outgrown shambles, he takes comfort in girlfriend Sandy. With the loss of great-grandfather, Merle Jongleur, Artie's ties to his family and the blue bike seem to be severed, and he seeks refuge in a naval career. But this choice proves problematic. Back home in North Carolina, he finally seems settled in a mundane career and a comfortable life with wife Katie - until Sandy calls. Once again seeking emotional relief, he jumps at an offer of a trip to Nova Scotia to meet Merle's Acadian relatives and settle a family estate. There, events bring unexpected results and new family ties.
The old bike traces a continuous thread though Artie's life as it passes to him, then to others, but in the end this is a tale of the individual spirit's ability to renew itself through solitary hope and ever-changing human relationships.
The Blue Bicycle
