Blair

When Blair emailed me this is what he offered to do for our date: get ice cream then ride a tandem bike down Mass Street in Lawrence. Yes and yes. I've had a lot of ice cream in my life, but I've never rode a tandem bike. And there was no way I'd pass up either.

Blair showed up at Sylas and Maddy's on his tandem bike. He actually built the tandem bike himself, following a youtube video that showed how to weld two bikes together. He used it in college to provide rides to other students. He's given over a hundred rides on it. He also own a unicycle. Pretty cool.

As he went into the bathroom to wash off some grease from the bike, I heard a female say my name. I looked over to see my friend Paige having ice cream with a friend. Lawrence is a small town. Plus, Sylas and Maddy's is very popular. Blair and I each got some ice cream and took a small walk to a Japanese garden off Mass Street. Kids were playing in the park, running around playing tag and making noise.

We finished our ice cream and Blair asked if I was ready to ride. Yes! I was! We got on the bike, went down Mass Street, crossed the river, and hooked onto the levee trail that parallels the Kansas River. And it was beautiful. The weather was perfect and we chatted easily as we rode along. During our email exchanges we had played two truths and a lie, so we spent the time discussing what was true and what wasn't. Blair ran the Chicago marathon. He danced with strangers in a public square in China. He designs audio speakers that cost $25,000.  He bought a house before he bought a cell phone.

 

 What's great about Blair is that he sees the need and importance of travel and friends. He talked of numerous trips with his buddies kite-boarding and driving all night to Texas. I like that he worked  and played. He also is part of various biking groups in Lawrence. We rode back to Lawrence and stopped to check out the sunset. We were able to admire both the setting sun and the almost-full moon. It was such a lovely day and evening with excellent company!

The tandem bike gets a lot of attention. It works when both people are pedaling, making the ride easier. And that's how anything in life is.

Also, Blair bought Tamara's book! And she wrote a personal message in it! Very cool.