July has been a full and exhilarating month. So much has
happened, adventure-wise, that it’s hard to know how to get it all on paper (figuratively
speaking, of course). So rather than try to cover it all, over the next few weeks
I will try to share little adventure vignettes. Maybe I should call them
adventurettes? Or possibly vignettures…?
Anyhow, the way I see it, adventures are made up of a lot
of little decisions and discoveries as well as climbs and vistas in a wide variety
of locations and time frames and levels of importance. So I’ll start with an
adventure that will now encompass all future adventures… A little thing called
marriage.
June 29th seemed like a great day for a ride. My old biking buddy Paul rode next to me up the hill in
Hyde Park, UT past tall cottonwoods and grass fields and picnickers. The
picnickers were looking at us funny like there was something wrong with us.
Could it be they recognized me as that Huffyman dude and were just waiting for
me to hit a tree branch and go flying? Or was it that we weren't wearing
helmets? Ya, it was the helmets!
It certainly wasn't the fact that we were both wearing full
formal suits…
As we reached the top of the hill overlooking a
beautifully decorated pavilion in Lion’s Park, inspirational music drifted up and
beckoned to us from below. This was our cue and we 2 old guys started our
descent down the rocky and weedy hill to the small, well-dressed group below.
This ride into my own wedding had been a closely guarded secret and there were
many surprised guests.
“What’s that idiot think he’s doing?! Bobbi – it’s not
too late to change your mind!”
“That’s Huffyman! He’s gonna biff it for sure! Quick
Marge, get this on video!”
It was fitting that the short ride was with Paul, who had
been with me on my very first mountain bike ride 16 years earlier. During those
first few rides so many years in the past, we ran into a lone rider who had
just moved into the area and was looking for friends. This lone rider, Greg, was
now waiting next to Bobbi in front of the gathered friends and family members where
he would soon perform a beautiful wedding ceremony. Paul and I rode down the
hill gloriously (my own description, not anyone else’s) and parked our bikes
proudly (after I got my suit pant untangled from the chain) and took our
places. My place was beside to the soon-to-be Huffygirl…
Words were shared, beautiful words. Words that celebrated
each of us to the other and also united us in matrimony. And I finally got to
kiss the bride!! These events were followed by greetings, congratulations, pictures,
and then it was time to head off to start our new life together. And what would
be more appropriate than heading off into the sunset (as much as there was at
1:30 in the afternoon) together on a tandem bike with a “Just Married” sign
hanging from the rear reflector amidst a cloud of bubbles blown by all present!
In on a single and out on a 2-seater. I can’t think of a
better way to start this grand adventure…
