I want to share a story that didn’t make it into Tripping Through. My editor insisted I cut out a particular chapter because it portrayed the main character in an unrealistically stupid light. I had real problems cutting it out because it was based on something I'd actually done!
So I’m in my early twenties and this SUPER fit guy (and at the time I’m the OPPOSITE of super fit) asks me out. Because he bikes, I give the impression that I enjoy it as well. He invites me on a five hour bike ride and I think "oh how romantic." I picture us on a tandem bike carrying a baguette and bottle of wine in our straw basket. Just in case it’s a little more physically challenging, I hang out on the stationary bike a couple times with a good magazine.
I'm ready.
We bike for ten minutes before I figure out that there is no way I’ll last for five hours through rough trails with this guy. But of course when he asks if I’m okay, I nod yes. (I can’t actually get any words out.)
We approach the steepest, longest hill in the world and he says,
“That’s probably enough of a warm up, let’s get going,” before he zooms off at the speed of light.
I stop.
I see a beer bottle on the ground.
I smash it into pieces.
I run over it several times with both tires.
He returns and I explain my bad luck. We go for a nice lunch and lovely stroll in the village.
“Oh how romantic.”
I end it the next week when he suggests we climb up the side of a mountain.
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