On a rare day in which neither of us had calendars full of commitments, my husband and I went for a spontaneous bike ride today taking advantage of the brilliant sunshine and mild breeze.
A native of Minneapolis who spends more time than me on his bike, Arnie would have been fine biking from our Edina condo. Me, not so much.
After we each packed a quick picnic lunch, he loaded our bikes on the back of his car and we drove the eight miles to Lake Nokomis with plans to bike to nearby Minnehaha Falls after going around the lake.
Thankfully, after more than 10 years of marriage, Arnie is used to me making frequent stops for photo ops. It was a fun trip around the lake and by the time I found the perfect spot for our picnic with a comfortable place to sit and a fabulous water view, we had actually cycled the entire 2.7 miles around Lake Nokomis.
We enjoyed a healthy lunch and conversation with a young Minnesota man who was spending quality time with his adorable 18-month-old daughter while his wife was at the hairdresser. His British Virgin Island T-shirt had got my attention. He said he was originally from Minnesota but had lived the past 18 years in the BVI.
I shared that I had lived in the U.S. Virgin Islands where I edited a newspaper 45 years ago. When he said he has a sterling silver jewelry business [islandgemcreations.com] that led to a conversation about various local art fairs. I encouraged him to check out Edina’s Fall Into the Arts and the Uptown Art Fair.
With our picnic finished, we hopped back on our bikes and headed to Minnehaha Falls. After about 20 minutes, I started running out of steam. The temperature had risen to over 80, and a weather front was moving in so we decided to head back to the car.
Minnehaha Falls will have to wait for another day.
