Friday, July 8, 2011

Adventure


My husband is a careful, methodical, conservative individual. He has very simple needs...a good meal and a Diet Coke, sitting on his deck with a book enjoying the nature preserve. He doesn't spend money on himself, and "Let's go shopping!" is not part of his regular vocabulary. I actually caught him trying to sew holes in some worn out t-shirts the other day. T-shirts! Can you imagine?

Ed had been riding his Diamondback hybrid bike for more than ten years. He'd had several accidents with that bike (two of them serious enough to warrant trips to the hospital), and yet he kept pedaling along. The truth was that he'd been pining for a true road bike for quite some time, but knowing the cost and knowing our family budget, he kept putting it off.

He was really surprised when I handed him a wad of cash on Father's Day and told him to go pick out a bike. I'm sure that his first reaction was to pay off a bill with that money. But I told him that it was my money and I could do with it what I wanted, and I wanted him to have a bike. After that, it didn't take too much convincing. :)

He picked out his new Specialized road bike just before the Fourth. In three trips, he'd put on over one hundred miles. He had big plans for that bike.

Yesterday morning, he packed a bag and took off on a grand adventure. He left central Indiana and is biking his way to Michigan, hoping to reach it by Saturday. He's sending us lots of funny texts and photos along the way.

I'll be leaving this morning for Michigan to meet him at his final destination to drive him home. My son Luke is calling his father's adventure 'There and back again", just like the Hobbit's Tale that Bilbo Baggins once wrote. Everyone needs an epic summer adventure once in a while. I'm glad my husband is enjoying his.

Enjoy your weekend!

2 comments:

  1. I just got off the phone with Ed...he's doing great...staying strong. I told him he should be blogging about his adventure in the down times...and that I would have a cold Bud waiting for him on his arrival. His new nickname is Madman!

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  2. You go Ed!!! I am proud of you. Tina

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