Fathers’ Day came early this year. And my family is wily. That combination turned out great for me yesterday.

Melissa invited me to Bike N’ Hike¹We’ve had good experiences with Bike N’ Hike many times in the past. during lunch under the ruse of having me help her find a front wicker basket. She apparently hoped I’d want to test ride a bike I’ve had my eye on for a while. She needn’t have worried. I went prepared, taking my own helmet. Melissa and I test rode different sizes of the same bike, and

1. I was oblivious to her sly grin,
2. I assumed her grin was induced by riding such a fun bike, or
3. Melissa is much more devious than I previously realized.

It’s probably some combination of all three.

Early yesterday evening, after being told to sit down on the couch and close my eyes, my family carried in the same bike I’d ridden during lunch and parked it in front of me. When I opened my eyes, I couldn’t believe it. I had to go on a ride with Jamison.

Today, although the forecast was wet, I biked to work. On the way home, the forecasters earned their keep and my bike was christened with rainwater.

It’s perfect! A city bike — and exactly the one I wanted. It has fenders, a rack, a bell, and even a kickstand. All I need to do is transfer over my lights and maybe my bike computer.

Now for the naming. We have a tradition of naming bikes after flowers and I’m willing to expand that to plants. I’m wavering between Sage and Lichen.²Okay, maybe I need to expand my classification to “organisms.”

What say you?

• 1
  We’ve had good experiences with Bike N’ Hike many times in the past. ↩︎
• 2
  Okay, maybe I need to expand my classification to “organisms.” ↩︎