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When You Come to a Fork in the Road, Take It
My wife thought she’d give cycling a try — and nothing turned out as planned
“You know, I could get into biking.”
This is how my wife put it, one summer morning, a few months into the quarantine of 2020.
I nearly choked on my fruit smoothie.
“You… could?” I stammered.
She shrugged. “I mean — sure. I haven’t really done it since I was a kid. That could be something to get into, right?”
I was gobsmacked. After 15 years together, K. had never once expressed interest in two-wheel conveyance. The idea had never seemed to cross her mind. We had ridden bikes together exactly once. Yet somehow, on that bright June morning, riding around struck her as a fine idea.
“Maybe you could see if there’s a cheap used bike for sale?” she nudged.
“Yes,” I said, ripping out my smartphone. “Absolutely. Already on it.”
K. is a runner. That has always been her thing. She ran cross-country in high school. She started running again in her early twenties, and soon she finished her first marathon. She followed this up with several more marathons, until running 26 miles became a totally feasible weekend option.
