Clydesdales/Athenas (200+ lb / 91+ kg) - Riding to my wedding - Sept 29th ride report

The day has come and gone.. and it couldn't have been better! We all woke up after too little sleep, ready to depart for the wedding venue.. until we realized we didn't have enough vehicle space. Panic set in amount the ladies, until I the Chubby Super Biker came to the rescue! Or.. something like that. I suggested that why don't I just ride my bike to the venue? Panic again set in, then a stern warning about not going to the emergency room, then.. I packed up my backpack and jumped on the Trek. A 20-30mph head/cross wind with 40mph gusts pushed, but I pushed back. The bride, maid of honor and children passed me as I attacked a hill, and were impressed/concerned with my ability.

So does it make me a hardcore bike commuter if I biked to my wedding? :)

Anyway, in all seriousness, it was a great day and I'm a very happy and lucky man. Attached is a pic of the bride and I ready to head down the aisle, now man and wife. It was a great day, and a great beginning to another stage of life.

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1425/1465720340_5e03b3d613_o.jpg

That is REALLY cool - a great metaphor, and a great story for the kids ;) . Congratulations!

Yes, I think that qualifies you as hardcore!

Congratulations are in order....

Does your wife ride a bike as well? If so, you are doubly lucky!

East Hill

AB-SO-LUT-LY!!
Congratulations, Senor!
Only thing that could top that is if you 2 LEFT the wedding on your bike, her busting along balanced on your handlebars and cans clankin' along behind you!!!
Buuuuuuut.....
that would be dangerous in that dress and she is WAAAAYY to pretty to rash up on the pavement.
Congrats again,
SpokeApe

Yay! It happened without a hitch! Congratulations!

I hope you two have a wonderful life together. The photo is wonderful.

Congrats to you and the Mrs. You make a great looking couple. God bless and keep you.

Biking to your wedding is about as hardcore as it gets! Congratulations on the marriage!

Btw, you don't look as scary in a suit. You should wear the helmet and sunglasses all the time.

Congratulations, Ben! Outstanding! Welcome to the world of the Married :D

Yay! It happened without a hitch! Congratulations!

I hope you two have a wonderful life together. The photo is wonderful.

Well, there was one Hitch ;) He did get "Hitched", after all ;)

(This was a good Hitch though ;) :D )

thats awesome!!
one question: Did you take a shower when you arrived, what did you do to clean up?

Coolest Clyde story ever!! :beer:

Only if you did it in your suit. Congratulations anyway!

http://img183.imageshack.us/img183/237/000985hk9.gif

congrats and best wishes to both of you..........

Great story! Congrats!

What a great story. Congrats to you and your bride. :)

Admit it - you were planning that all along weren't you? ;)

You both look great, awesome story!!!

Congrats Bdinger and Mrs. Bdinger.

Thanks everyone!! :D

To answer the question, yes indeed there was a shower there. We had our wedding at my parents' acerage, which was the *perfect* venue. My old man spends his free time working on his gardens and yard, and it really just worked out wonderfully. Everyone who attended loved the "non formal" setting, making them able to sit back, have fun, and enjoy it.

There were a couple of hitches, sure, as we got down to the final hours. And the tension, of course. But man, when I saw her walking down the "aisle"... all that went away. After that it was all fun and games. :)

She doesn't ride bike.. yet. With me and the kids enjoying it, it's only a matter of time before we "convert" her, I'm sure :).

And as far as planning it? I can't say that I didn't :D. The whole time before I was thinking of a angle to get in my Saturday ride for any number of reasons, but mainly because a good bike ride always clears my mind. So when we realized in the morning after leaving my pickup at the venue the previous night that we didn't have enough room, well, it all seemed to come together. Which was pretty much the theme of the day, I'm quite pleased to report!

You did miss the classic bike wedding though

Everyone sing "Daisy, Daisy......."

You both should have shown on a tandem!

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=qpoj96FAFu0

Awesome! Congratulations.

Congratulations, nothing at all bad about being married… Many years of happiness to you both.

Very cool! Congrats.

Congratulations!!! Biking to a wedding. If that doesn't describe the character of a great lifestyle, then I don't know what does.

Congrats on the wedding! And, yes indeed, riding to your wedding is very cool.

Cool deal, and hearty congratulations on being a happily married man. Many happy returns to you and your lovely bride.

Thanks everyone!! :D
She doesn't ride bike.. yet. With me and the kids enjoying it, it's only a matter of time before we "convert" her, I'm sure :).


Maybe a Tandem is in your future... This is what I am trying to get going to get my wife riding more. I am trying to get a vintage Gitane Tandem that my father in-law gave me up and running, so I can finally do some miles with my wife. She also qualifies as an Athena, and her problem is bad knee and asthma. Her knee Doc told her to start riding, but she gets winded easily. Now that I've ridden nearly 1300 miles since April 1st of this year I ride even faster and she re-injured her knee earlier this Summer. Hopefully all I need to finish is replacing one of the chains on the tandem as everything I've read on the web tells me this bike isn't worth sinking any real money into. I do hope to at least see if I can give her the "bike riding bug." My daugher also likes to ride along using her Wee-Ride Co-Pilor ride along bike. Now if I can get the tandem working we'll be a triple. That ought to be a blast. If this realy works out well then I need to start saving some real money to get a good Tandem in the future.

Congrates and enjoy your "new" life,
André

That is awsome!! Congrats to you and yours!!!!

Heya! I was doing a search on weddings and cycling.. and found your wedding post on here and was surprised to see that my random search turned up someone who is planning to do the DK200. I was signed up for it this year when I got hit by a car in March (http://www.jrmints.com/blog/). I haven't yet checked out your web site, but I did see your weight loss accomplishment/goals and wanted to send you a note of encouragement. Have you ever considered doing Biking Across Kansas (BAK)? It is a great event that your whole family can do together. The reason I was doing a wedding search on a biking forum is because I did BAK last year and met the love of my life on that ride. We haven't really discussed marriage yet, but since I am a woman first, and then a cyclist, you know my mind is going there. Anyway. I look forward to reading your blog and maybe I'll see you at DK200 '09!

Congrats to your new bride and yourself.:thumb: I wish you many you many happy years together:)

The day has come and gone.. and it couldn't have been better! We all woke up after too little sleep, ready to depart for the wedding venue.. until we realized we didn't have enough vehicle space. Panic set in amount the ladies, until I the Chubby Super Biker came to the rescue! Or.. something like that. I suggested that why don't I just ride my bike to the venue? Panic again set in, then a stern warning about not going to the emergency room, then.. I packed up my backpack and jumped on the Trek. A 20-30mph head/cross wind with 40mph gusts pushed, but I pushed back. The bride, maid of honor and children passed me as I attacked a hill, and were impressed/concerned with my ability.

So does it make me a hardcore bike commuter if I biked to my wedding? :)

Anyway, in all seriousness, it was a great day and I'm a very happy and lucky man. Attached is a pic of the bride and I ready to head down the aisle, now man and wife. It was a great day, and a great beginning to another stage of life.

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1425/1465720340_5e03b3d613_o.jpg

Bumped in honor of Bdinger's return.