Before she began cycling with a basket full of flowers, Angela Gabaldon was trying to ride her first bike without training wheels.
“My big brother just pushed me down a hill and said, ‘Go at it!’” Angela recalls. “And I did.”
That fearlessness was tested a few years later, when Angela’s grandpa bought her and her brother their first 10 speeds.
“Halfway home, he stopped his truck. He took the bikes off the back. He said, ‘Here you go,’” Angela says. “Then he pulled away and drove home.”
Although they were left in middle of nowhere, by the time they found their way back – Angela felt like she could go anywhere.
“It was the best thing that anybody has done for me in my entire life,” Angela says.
If that was empowering, the first time Angela rode her current bike to a park overlooking the ocean, was inspiring.
“I leaned my bike, and I thought, ‘That’s really pretty’” Angela smiles.
There was something special about the way her yellow bike horn complimented the rising sun.
“And I took a picture,” Angela recalls with a smile. “That’s so perfect.”
And the experience felt so positive, Angela wondered if there might be more places to pose her bike.
“[Now] I’m always searching for something,” Angela says. “Something that will inspire me to get off my bike.”
And since she started actively looking, despite only being an amateur photographer, Angela says she’s been consistently finding beauty.
“It’s magic,” Angela says of her discoveries. “It’s totally magic.”
It’s like discovering a hidden gem. So, she named her bike Jewels, fuelled their rides with a basket full of flowers, and discovered positive moments daily.
“I see the rhododendron bush in the corner, and I see the guy over there who was just being really nice and smiling,” Angela smiles. “I see beautiful sunrises and sunsets and I love sharing those things.”
Although she simply started sharing the photos of Jewels with her friends, they began sharing them with their friends, and now — four years later — thousands of people appreciate her countless ‘Artful Peddler’ pictures on social media
“If I can make someone else’s day better than that makes me really happy,” Angela says. “That makes me feel really fulfilled.”
So, skip the training-wheels, push yourself forward, and start looking out in the middle of anywhere.
“Open your eyes,” Angela says. “See the beauty everywhere.”
