simplygib

A word to the wise: Never make any major life decisions while in the "infatuation" stage of a relationship. Experience speaking, learned the hard way. Give it a couple of years. That's all I'm saying about that.

I was once in your position. My "new" girlfriend (not the one alluded to above) expressed an interest in doing a bike tour with me. We had been dating about 8 months. She had heard about all my tours and wanted to give it a try. She had been on a bicycle a grand total of 4 times in her entire life. I tried to inject some reality into the situation by telling her that it isn't easy, there are plenty of difficult and uncomfortable times on tour, there's weather and bugs to deal with, sometimes exhaustion, etc., etc., etc. She would not be deterred. So we got her a bike, some panniers, and she started doing day rides with me to get in shape.

A few months later we set out. She did fine on days one and two, which were flat and relatively short. Day three was still relatively flat but longer. But it warmed up and she bonked. We were nowhere near any services, so I tried to keep her eating and drinking. When we got to a store she sucked down some gatorade which helped a lot, and we got a room, took a day off. She was ok on the 4th day of riding, but day 5 required a fairly decent climb about 3 miles long followed by 50 miles of gradual downhill on a two-lane highway with a narrow shoulder and plenty of logging trucks. The last 20 miles was into a brutal headwind and the temperature was 90+ degrees. She was miserable and in tears by the end of the day.

When we made it to our motel I suggested we throw in the towel. She felt really bad because she really wanted to finish this tour, but reality had hit her in the face and she now knew that bicycle touring just wasn't for her. She couldn't see the point of it. And I knew if I tried to urge her to continue on for another 400 miles, she would probably end up hating me. And that's the last thing I wanted, because she is an incredible woman. So we rented a car and drove back home.

That was 9 years ago. We are still together and have an incredible relationship. She's the best thing that's ever happened to me. She doesn't bike tour, and that's just fine with me. She has no problem with me doing it, and more than once she has flown out to meet me while on tour thousands of miles away from her.

I think it's just as well that you and your gal aren't doing a tour anytime soon. It's the kind of thing that could easily backfire on you, especially since you don't yet know each other well. Traveling with others can be hard enough when it's just an easy road trip. With a brand new romantic interest, and one who isn't into cycling, or isn't sure whether or not she's into it, it could be disastrous.