M
MattB
Guest
Last week MrsB and I celebrated our 10th anniversary. It's been a great
time sharing my life with this wonderful girl, and I wanted to get her
something special to express my feelings.
About a couple of weeks before the date, she emailed me some links to
some pretty cool-looking rings I could choose from if I was at a loss
for gift ideas. We sometimes have trouble buying gifts for each other
because we often just buy items ourselves if we need them, leaving few
needed items left over for gift giving. I often need these little hints,
but not this time. I had coincidentally just returned from the LBS to
pull the trigger on the gift I wanted to get for her, an On One Inbred
singlespeed. She had already test ridden this very bike and liked it. As
our lives get busier and more complicated we often have shorter time
slots to get rides in. I've found the SS to be a great way to still feel
like I got a decent ride in even if I only have an hour or two. I
thought she would like one for similar reasons (and more once she got
riding it).
I had the shop swap out the cranks for shorter ones, which required a
new BB. We also put on some ODI lock ons and a little bigger rear ring
which required a new freewheel (the On One spec'd one wasn't going to
cut it). I also added some new Time ATAC XEs to fit her existing pedals
and cleats.
Then I played along with the ring suggestions and she completely fell
for it. She was even in the LBS telling people that I was getting her a
cool ring. They smiled and said "Really? That's great!".
To complete the illusion, I went to the local jewelry shop and got a
fancy little velvet ring box. Then I went to the toy store and bought a
$2 mood ring, put it in the box with a note rolled up in the ring that
says "Ha ha! Go look in the garage.". The night before I went over to my
friend and LBS owner Rick's house to pick up the bike and slipped it
into our bike garage. I put a ribbon on the handlebar.
Then morning comes and we get ready to exchange gifts. She's holding the
wrapped gift box saying things like "Ooh, I wonder what it is!". Her
expression when she saw the mood ring was priceless. She reads the note
and says "WHAT did you get?!?!?" as she headed for the garage. I follow,
asking "Hey, what does your mood ring say?".
She's blown away by the bike. Immediately she wants to ride it. I
chuckle to myself as she's taking it around the block. I think this may
be the first time I have truly surprised her (in a good way) with a
gift. She's hard to surprise, and is really into being the surpriser
rather than the surprisee.
We went for a little ride later in the day but soon got chased back home
by a huge thunderstorm with lots of lightning. She's since been out on
one SS ride and commented on how her legs were tired afterwards and how
good the bike felt. I think this will be the thing to take her to the
next level of strength. If nothing else, it makes her happy and that
make me happy. Yay!
Matt (now how will I top this for the 20th...)
time sharing my life with this wonderful girl, and I wanted to get her
something special to express my feelings.
About a couple of weeks before the date, she emailed me some links to
some pretty cool-looking rings I could choose from if I was at a loss
for gift ideas. We sometimes have trouble buying gifts for each other
because we often just buy items ourselves if we need them, leaving few
needed items left over for gift giving. I often need these little hints,
but not this time. I had coincidentally just returned from the LBS to
pull the trigger on the gift I wanted to get for her, an On One Inbred
singlespeed. She had already test ridden this very bike and liked it. As
our lives get busier and more complicated we often have shorter time
slots to get rides in. I've found the SS to be a great way to still feel
like I got a decent ride in even if I only have an hour or two. I
thought she would like one for similar reasons (and more once she got
riding it).
I had the shop swap out the cranks for shorter ones, which required a
new BB. We also put on some ODI lock ons and a little bigger rear ring
which required a new freewheel (the On One spec'd one wasn't going to
cut it). I also added some new Time ATAC XEs to fit her existing pedals
and cleats.
Then I played along with the ring suggestions and she completely fell
for it. She was even in the LBS telling people that I was getting her a
cool ring. They smiled and said "Really? That's great!".
To complete the illusion, I went to the local jewelry shop and got a
fancy little velvet ring box. Then I went to the toy store and bought a
$2 mood ring, put it in the box with a note rolled up in the ring that
says "Ha ha! Go look in the garage.". The night before I went over to my
friend and LBS owner Rick's house to pick up the bike and slipped it
into our bike garage. I put a ribbon on the handlebar.
Then morning comes and we get ready to exchange gifts. She's holding the
wrapped gift box saying things like "Ooh, I wonder what it is!". Her
expression when she saw the mood ring was priceless. She reads the note
and says "WHAT did you get?!?!?" as she headed for the garage. I follow,
asking "Hey, what does your mood ring say?".
She's blown away by the bike. Immediately she wants to ride it. I
chuckle to myself as she's taking it around the block. I think this may
be the first time I have truly surprised her (in a good way) with a
gift. She's hard to surprise, and is really into being the surpriser
rather than the surprisee.
We went for a little ride later in the day but soon got chased back home
by a huge thunderstorm with lots of lightning. She's since been out on
one SS ride and commented on how her legs were tired afterwards and how
good the bike felt. I think this will be the thing to take her to the
next level of strength. If nothing else, it makes her happy and that
make me happy. Yay!
Matt (now how will I top this for the 20th...)