Madame Pobble was bike-shy after a couple of minor falls, but in 2004 she was game for a week-long tour in Denmark, which was very flat and cycle-friendly with its extensive paved trails. She still wasn't ready to mix it up with the cagers or take on the hills in Honolulu, though.

Then in late 2005 I came into a bit of unanticipated extra income and Madame P decreed that it was time for me to check out the Breezer that I had been fantasizing about. Off to the LBS. To make a long story short I came home without the Breezer (although I did get one later on) while Madame P came home with an entry-level Raleigh step-through town bike. I hasten to add that this acquisition was entirely her call, not mine, and that was the way it had to be. Before long she was joining me on my regular five-mile climb on the beautiful Tantalus loop:

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...light=Tantalus

Last summer we did another week-long tour, this time in France, and Madame P noticed that our rented Trek 7300FXs rode a lot better than what she was used to. And this year another LBS visit, ostensibly for some repair work on the Raleigh, resulted in an upgrade to a more roadworthy Bianchi Vantage.

Morals of the story:
•There’s always hope
•When she’s ready, she’s ready

ps -- on the most recent LBS visit, when we needed some new brake shoes, she started looking over the carbon frames ... while I'm still on the Breezer.