Both Dan and I have ridden our bikes since we were little children. Our parents rarely drove us places during the daylight hours. Our bikes were our form of transportation.
I rode my bike to school, to see friends, to the store to buy penny candy, to the pool and beach, to go to special places to have picnics with friends, and to the “Farm” to care for and ride my horse. I would put on a costume, decorate my bike, attach playing cards to my spokes to imitate a motorcycle, and ride in the local parade every summer. I was on my bike most every day and rode it virtually everywhere I wanted to go.
We rode hundreds of miles as children. In those days it was unusual to see an adult on a bicycle....or a kid riding in a car.
When I went away to college, I bought a 10-speed Peugeot, and for four years my bike was my only form of transportation. I rode it to my classes on campus, to do my grocery shopping and laundry, out to the wheat fields of Eastern Washington to feel wild and free, and to Taco Time where I worked 4-5 days a week.
As an adult I always had a bike hanging around the garage. I rode many miles with my children until they took off as young teenagers on their own with their bikes and horses. I would often jump on my bike to do an errand in the local village, for a spin down Saratoga Road, to the local Farmer’s Market, and to feel the wind blow through my hair and the exhilaration of “flying” down a hill.
But I never thought of myself as a cyclist. I was a “runner.” I ran (actually jogged) several times a week on the trails through the beautiful forests and fields of Whidbey Island. I knew every trail and was constantly exploring new parks and trails.
......And then I met Dan in the spring over nine years ago.......and he was a “cyclist!"
By summer we were married and two days after the wedding, we rode our bikes together for the first time.
We were married in Mesa. Dan’s father preformed our ceremony, and mother sang at our wedding. The next day we flew home to the Pacific Northwest to celebrate with my family as Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Graybill. I wore my wedding dress on the airplane home and that evening to the family celebration.
The next day Dan and I rode our bikes east of Seattle on the Burke-Gilman Trail. I had worn my wedding dress all day for the two previous days. We were planning on dancing that afternoon at a cafe where our friends’ band from Whidbey Island was performing. I was so very happy to be married to Dan that I decided to wear my wedding dress for the third day.....after all, how many brides get to enjoy dressing up in their wedding dress for their new husband every day!
Here I am on our first bike ride together, wearing my wedding dress:
Since that day in early August, Dan and I have ridden our bikes all over our beautiful country. We have cycled all over Whidbey Island, the San Juan Islands, Washington State, and the Pacific Northwest. We cycled through the wine country north of San Fransisco, on the ocean in Monterey California, through Red Canyon in Utah, at Stone Mountain in Georgia, on the trails in Fort Collins Colorado, in the Mojave National Preserve, and through the middle of Death Valley National Park.
We have cycled in many organized bike rides including the Seattle to Portland Bike Ride (seven times with Jules, and one time virtually with our children, grandsons, and family), the Tour de Whidbey, the Tour de Peaks, Brews Cruise, and Daffodil Classic in Western Washington, the Apple Century and Inland Empire in Eastern Washington, and the Tour de Tugaloo with Sean in Georgia and South Carolina.
We even rode the “Tour de Leisure World!”
And now we are cycling the Race Across USA (virtually) and we are almost to the finish line in New York City!
Dan was a cyclist when I met him and I am now a “cyclist” too!
We cycle for fun and we cycle for exercise. We cycle because we like to feel the wind blow through our hair and the exhilaration of “flying” down a hill. We ride our bikes because when we cycle we feel like children again.
As of today we have cycled 20,000 together!
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