Monday, July 11, 2011

The Sweet Story of How We Met

David & I met on Halloween night of 2008. We met on Match.com. Our first date was on November 1st at Riverview Restaurant & Lounge in Moosup, Connecticut. The most memorable thing about our first date was how it was so comfortable and natural to be in each other's company... our first kisses, and oh... how David's teenage son called him around 11:00 p.m. and yelled at him for not being home from his dinner date by then!

Anyway, one of the things I was attracted to in Dave's profile on Match.com was that he was into cycling. I lived near a bicycle path at one time in my life, and I rode on it almost daily for exercise. I loved it. But I was still a casual rider. I had never been on a bicycle that hadn't come from a department store or a yard sale. I had never worn spandex. I used to watch the riders in spandex wiz by me when I lived in Rhode Island. I envied them, but I never, ever thought I could imagine myself as being "one of them"!

David and Karen Etchells on their Tandem
Lovin' Life Together!!

Well, now I am "one of them", and I believe it is one of the most positive life changes I have made. The other -- of course -- was becoming David's other half! Without him, it's probable that I'd still be riding on the  bike path only - on my Walmart bicycle.

Fast forward: Dave & I naturally talk a lot while riding our tandem bicycle. It's one of the greatest advantages of riding tandem. We can hear each other and communicate easily. But we also enjoy each other's company while sharing quiet, thinking time too.

Yesterday, while riding on our tandem, I was pedaling along, deep in thought. I've recently been laid-off due to "reorganization" in my workplace. Our wedding date has been set for over a year now, to happen in September. Other financial set-backs have occurred as well, each one contributing to the economical stresses many of us are facing these days.

Our wedding date is September 10, 2011 -- The ceremony will be very intimate, with immediate family in attendance.  It will be held at a local winery, casual and relaxed, yet eclectically elegant! Keeping it small has allowed us to make this affordable. It's all very nice, but we aren't your average, everyday kind of couple. We love cycling and it's part of our lives. In some way, shape or form, it's gotta be incorporated into our special day!

We have discussed various possibilities over the past year... Maybe we can ride into the ceremony on separate bicycles, and depart together on the tandem? That is a good possibility! But, it would also be a joy for us to be able to share our happiness with our cycling friends too!

Then I came up with an idea for establishing a Honeymoon Fund. With the goal of hopefully raising enough money to enable us to travel, I thought about the possibility of organizing a celebratory Wedding Day Group Cycling Ride. I can envision a wonderful route -- like the  everyday rides Dave & I get to enjoy on a routine basis -- with some of the most breathtaking views of old country barns, fishing ponds, and rolling farmland extending out to a vivid blue horizon!

In researching how to do this, I discovered GoFundMe which allows a group or individual a simple way to establish a fund to benefit a good cause. Maybe this could work for us? And maybe we could actually celebrate our happiness with fellow cycling buddies, and maybe we can really make a honeymoon happen for us!

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