Pelee Island, Canada - South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com

Pelee Island, Canada - South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com: "A big-city person is bred to have, shall we say, certain concerns. So when I asked a resident whether I needed to lock my bicycle -- because touring 10,000 rural acres in the middle of Lake Erie by car sort of misses the point -- her giggle gave me a start.

'Oh, dear, no,' she said. 'I've lived here my whole life, and I've never taken my keys out of my car.'

'So no one will steal it?'

'If they do, this is an island -- there's nowhere to go,' she said. 'You could just go to the ferry and wait for it.'

Good point.

When it turned out my bike had brake issues, I asked another local about renting a replacement. He said the only rental shop was way at the other end of the island -- a whole three miles -- and told me to just take his. So not only will they not steal your bike on Pelee Island, they'll give you theirs!"