A Bicycle Build For Two

Today is our 29th anniversary and we just returned home from the weekend on Coronado Island, across the bay from San Diego. It was a lazy three days of sleeping late, eating good food, swimming, walking on the beach, exploring the quaint town of Coronado and enjoying each other. On the last day we rented a tandem bicycle and rode around town, seeing the historic houses and dreaming of re-landscaping our yard with all the exotic plants that grow so effortlessly in the moist California air.

I laugh when I look at this picture, because I look like a midget next to my tall husband because of the angle of the shot. Seriously! I am NOT that short.

Now I know this is going to sound corny, but I'm going to write it anyway: having a good marriage is like riding a tandem bicycle. Yeah, yeah, corny, but true.

For three reasons:

1.  It Was Better When We Worked Together.

Pedaling, leaning on turns, putting the same foot down when we stopped so we didn't tip over, working the hills -- all these things were much easier when we pedaled in unison and didn't fight against the other person.

2.  We Had to Communicate.

Deciding which turns to make, how to go around the trash cans on the sidewalk, slowing down so we didn't hit the mom pushing the stroller or the old guy walking his dog - this all happened as Kevin and I chatted with each other on the bike.

3. We Had To Trust Each Other.

As the person in the back, I was essentially riding blind, but that was OK, because Kevin had to do all the maneuvering and I got to enjoy the scenery.  I might have had handle bars, but I had no control of the steering and I didn't have any brakes either. I had to trust Kevin to make those decisions. In the same way, he had no idea if I was pedaling or not. He had to trust me to do my part behind him.

Those three pieces of advice worked for riding a tandem bicycle this weekend and for 29 years of marriage.

But next time, I want the front.