Fredericton Gets First Ice Cream Bike
FREDERICTON-Jaclyn Corby and Natasha Ashfield never expected to develop a business idea when they were out for lunch, but the two Frederictonians’ recent lunch outing is what started the city’s new ice cream bike.
Corby and Ashfield were out for lunch one afternoon in March when they saw a picture of an old Dickie Dee ice cream bike on Twitter. This sent them down a path of memories, reminiscing about the bell chase to get a frozen treat.
“It brought back so many of those great, nostalgic, feel-good memories that we just kept talking about it and going down Google rabbit holes–and eventually, it was like, ‘let’s do this,’” Ashfield recalled during an interview with Huddle.
After the two reminisced about the Dickie Dee photo on Twitter, Ashfield messaged Corby asking if she was serious about bringing something similar to Fredericton, because she found a website selling ice cream tricycles.
Corby said she is surprised no one brought back a similar ice cream bike sooner. She recalled her last time seeing one was around eight or 10 years old.
She and Ashfield’s POPcycle ice cream bike opened with a soft launched on May 22 on Fredericton’s Southside, and Monday on the Northside.
“We tried to keep some old elements of what Dickie Dee was like for those people around our age and older who remember them,” said Ashfield.
The POPcycle bike adds a couple pf modern twists, such as a music speaker and portable debit machine. The prices of the frozen treats range from two, three, and four dollars, taxes included.
To enhance the nostalgia, Corby said she’s on the search for an old Dickie Dee ice cream bell, as well.
“When we were kids, you would hear the bells and you would stop whatever you were doing and would run in [the] direction of where the bells were coming from,” said Corby.
On days the POPcycle bike is out, the location will be published on their Facebook page, so people know where to go look around the city. Throughout the summer the POPcycle ice cream bike will go to set locations, sporting events, and other activities happening in Fredericton. It will also be for hire to set up at birthday events, weddings, and other occasions.
Until the end of June, the POPcycle bike will operate mainly on weekends. While riding the bike will depend on the weather, they hope to be out every sunny day. Depending on what events they attend, they plan to try to make a route around that area.
At the start, the freezer will have a set menu of frozen treats, like fudgsicles, ice cream sandwiches, popsicles, and drumsticks. Ashfield said she envisions eventually bringing in some old-school frozen treats such as root beer popsicles and the Bubble Play popsicles for the adults who want to reminisce.
Corby said they were overwhelmed by the responses they received already. Within 24-hours, the POPcycle Facebook page received around 500 likes, all from a personal post Ashfield made.
Corby said if people see the bike riding around the city trails, feel free to stop the bike and grab a frozen treat.
Jessica Saulnier is a summer intern for Huddle. Send her your story tips: [email protected].