Touring - Your touring love stories?

I just posted the story of how my hubby and I met for a bike tour in Pakistan (http://www.examiner.com/x-17598-World-Bike-Touring-Examiner~y2009m11d22-A-bicycling-kind-of-love-story). What about you - any love stories involved with your touring?

In 2004 I rode my bike across the US. I started with a person who's Adventure Cycling companions-wanted ad I answered, but we didn't get along that well and separated after a few weeks.

Anyway, I was riding my companion's route, which was great - a combo of Lewis & Clark and a self-selected route -- OR - ID - MT - WY - SD - MN - WI - MI - IN - OH - PA - NJ. I was solo after Bozeman, MT. Just before Labor Day, I was near the Devil's Tower WY, and decided to stop there for a few days to climb the tower and stay off the road during the holiday drunks-and-RVs weekend. A friend had told me to go to the Tower Lodge, where Frank, the owner, would climb with me, and I could camp there. He has a kind of informal climber campground on his property, which is in the park. So I called Frank beforehand, he said I could camp and he would climb with me.

When I got there, it became immediately obvious I wasn't going to climb with him - he was too busy guiding! - but there were lots of other climbers there, and Frank let me borrow gear from his guide service. I met some climbers, and climbed the Tower for a few days. It was super cool. So about the 3rd day I was there - I was camping on Frank's land and doing some easy housework in his B&B to "pay" for it - I had plans to climb with some guy. Hanging around the B&B, I met this other guy (Z), who was looking for a partner. Turns out he knew some ex-boyfriend of mine (climbing is a small community) and we got to chatting. So Z and other guy and I went climbing. We had a great time - Z and I totally hit it off. So I stayed to climb w/Z another day. and another. and another. and another. We really liked each other! :love:

Eventually we both had to leave. He was on his way driving to VT, and was going to go back to CA (where I lived then) around the same time period when I was planning to make it to NJ. Z offered me a ride home to CA. His plan was to hit up a bunch of climbing areas on the way back, and just get back whenever. I didn't have a plan as to how to get home (didn't want some deadline looming) so I took him up on the offer. I figured we'd drive each other crazy in a week and I would get on greyhound and be done with it.

We were on the road climbing & living in his van for 3 months, before I had to go home and go back to work.

Since then we picked a great place to live for biking and climbing and now, 5 years later, we just bought a house together.

I posted Rowan's and my story here: http://www.machka.net/aboutme/rowan_charlene.htm

We didn't meet on a tour ... but we met first virtually here on BF, and then in person on the 2003 PBP. As our relationship developed, it included a number of tours in various parts of the world. :)

Well, not exactly touring, but biking.

It was the Spring of 1984 and a friend of mine convinced me to go on an Appalachian Mountain Club bike ride he was leading. I had never done a group ride, so I went.

When I arrived at the start I met the co-leader for the ride; a very fit woman wearing a lycra top and shorts. It was 1984. I had never seen anyone in lycra before let alone a very attractive fit woman. I was, uh, impressed. I spent the rest of the summer chasing those shorts in rides all over the Boston area, and Mrs. Speedo and I have been together ever since!

Speedo

Love it! It's fun to hear how cyclists get together!