Our love story began the organic way, at a bar in Mountain View. You could feel the spark when I mentioned to my then future husband that I was hoping to ride down the coast of California from Oregon to San Francisco. I spoke confidently about the rides that I had been doing up Old La Honda and out to the coast. He was new to the area and eager for me to show him these routes that I professed to have local knowledge of. Little did I know that this man was a competitive cyclist so when I showed up on my steel frame bike with tennis shoes, he was probably less than impressed although infinitely patient.

We began cycling regularly together and eventually he convinced me to switch out my trainers for clips and don a pair of cycling bibs. Come summer I was ready to take on my coastal quest joined by my __ companion. We fell in love riding the rolling hills along the coast and sleeping under the stars. My knight in shining armor patiently rode along side me occasionally grabbing the seat of my steal frame bike and pulling me, my bike, and my paneers up the steep undulating hills of the northern California coast.

It seems that my now husband fell in love with two things that year, me and bike packing. Once competing only in day long races, he now travels all around the world competing in ultra cycling events. These events have taken him across the United States, South America, and Europe several times. He rides his bike for 300 miles a day, stopping to sleep for a couple of hours before continuing his race. I admire his tenacity, but I will not be joining him on these endeavors. I prefer to stick to my relaxed pace, but who knows, maybe one day he will convince me.

In community,
Denise Kleckner