I Thought I Knew My Spouse. Then We Honeymooned at a Bike Park – Bicycling

In 2015, I married Will. In 2019, we finally took our honeymoon. It wasnt the result of four years of planning. Rather, after letting life get in the way for too long, I found a crazy deal on flights to London and booked them. I didnt consult Will, but I knew from his endearingly deep appreciation for grime music, Cockney rhyming slang, and Guy Ritchie movies, itd be a trip of a lifetime for him. Carried away with the excitement of surprising Will, I concocted a plan where Id take him to the airport under the guise of a trip to Chicago. Then, once we arrived at the airport Id declare we were headed to London!

After I realized that was insane, we talked and decided to make it a honeymoon of Wills design, since I normally plan everything. He wanted to drive around and visit mountain bike trails. Though Im supremely confident on pavementin another life I was a messenger, and in a normal year I race Pro/1/2 fieldsdirt, and the obstacles that come with it, was a new challenge for me. But wed recently both started mountain biking, and I was excited to try out my skills in a new place with my ride partner for life. We also booked a camper van to fulfill our desire to try van lifeand combine the travel and accommodation costs. Will picked the destinations and I planned the route. Wed make our way across the south of England to visit the U.K.s Whistler, BikePark Wales, hitting quaint towns with trails along the way.

Im still not sure if I should be annoyed or honored that he thinks so highly of me.

We landed in London, picked up Bonny the Van, an adorable Citron Relay complete with a bed, kitchen, and well-secured succulents, then unpacked our bikes and immediately broke them. Short on sleep and low on food, I had the bright idea to shorten my dropper post cable before we started our journey. Will followed my lead, and we were so distracted by how sick our bikes were going to look with more aesthetically pleasing cable lengths that we didnt notice we hadnt eaten a single thing all day. With our brains short-circuiting from fatigue and hunger, we both botched what should have been very simple jobs. I cut my cable too short, and Will removed both his cable and housing to a point where he was unable to reinstall either. We surrendered, decided to figure it out after wed eaten, loaded up Bonny, and started the journey west.

Courtesy Ayesha McGowan

After a first stop at Stonehengemy one request for the tripwe made our way to the nearby Croft Mountain Bike Trail in Swindon and parked for the night. Will was adamant about not riding until he had a functioning dropper post. With a shrug, I put on a headlamp and took my first-ever night ride alone. Riding at night wasnt nearly as terrifying as Id always imagined. I love the peace of night rides on the road, but the fear of sharp rocks, pointy sticks, and hungry predators swirled as I approached the wooded trails. (I figure in the daytime, at least Ill see them coming.) Something did actually leap out at merepeatedlyand even if it was consistently my own shadow from the headlamp, I remained convinced there was a large animal pouncing out of every corner. At least the adrenaline rush was a lot of fun.

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Croft was reminiscent of our local trails, South Rockdale Park in Conyers, Georgia. They were flowy and relatively flat, nothing too steep in either direction. The mild jumps, occasional roots, and (barely) elevated bridges were within my ability, but also near my limit. I got back to the van, feeling exhilarated and confident. Maybe this whole trip would be a little easier than I expected.

The next day we hunted for a bike shop to fix our mess. At our first stop I found a new dropper post cable I could install. But Will needed his bottom bracket removed, and shop after shop informed us that they were too swamped to fix his bike today, tomorrow, or anytime during our trip. We even took our chances on a Google listing that turned out to be a friendly and confused guy named Phil fixing bikes out of his home. He took the bike in only to bring it back outside minutes later to explain this was beyond his ability. The situation was too ridiculous to get angry. Wed let jet lag and empty stomachs nearly derail our honeymoon.

Will and I complement each other in that rarely does one thing stress us both out. Really, Will only gets anxious over running out of gasI can live on E. I was annoyed at his insistence on a working dropper post, but as the problem-solver and usually anxious one of us, I kept making calls and googling shops. Meanwhile, with a full tank in Bonny, Will was unfazed. Wed simply either bike the U.K.s greatest trails or have a different trip.

Finally, the Swindon Cycles Superstore lived up to its name, took mercy on our pathetic souls, and got Will up and riding the next day. It meant wed have to change our plans a bit, but wed get to ride bikes!

Courtesy Ayesha McGowan

After a few loops around Croft, we loaded up the van and headed west to our next stop, Woodchester Cycle Trails. We were expecting something at least on par with Croft. We found a not-quite-400-meter pump track.

It turned out to be exactly what I neededa chance to nail my fundamental skills and receive an impromptu pep talk. A local boy around 9 or 10 years old took a break from practicing his pumps and jumps to admire our bikes, tell me I looked like a pro, and ask every question that popped into his head: Where are you from? What do you do? We bonded over our lack of confidence and rode together, pushing each other a little bit more every lap.

What he and friends that joined later lacked in technical pointers, they made up for with cheerleading. I can handle a bike, but Im still scared of demolishing myself off a jump. The kids insisted on teaching Will and me how to jump off a berm. And while their advice was no, go faster! it eventually stuck and I was getting both tires in the air.

Courtesy Ayesha McGowan

I still didnt understand Wills insistence on an operational dropper post. The trails we rode back home were all doable without one, and Croft was no different. But I trusted him.

The next day we reached BikePark Wales. I was in shock. Id never experienced anything like it. Even just the prep to ridesigning waivers, buying lift tickets, and attempting to wrap my mind around the billboard of a trail mapwas overwhelming. I followed Will onto the shuttle van, dazed. That trail map clued me in that this was a place where you follow gravity, like when Ive gone snowboarding, but I was still processing what Id signed up for. As the van ride kept going up, around a turn, and up again, I became aware of a few more details that werent like the mountain biking I was used to. As I glanced around at the other riders in the van, I noticed they were staring at us. We already stuck out like sore thumbs as Black cyclists in rural U.K., but I also saw a lot of full-face helmets and all sorts of padding. There I was in my road-racing kitmy only protective gear was a helmet and glasses.

It was only once we reached the dirt lot at the top that I fully realized the dire situation Id gotten myself into: We were at a downhill bike park and there were no beginner trails. I could have done a bit more research beforehand, but I was trying this new thing where I wasnt in control of everything. I trusted Will. But Will trusted back a little too much, like that I knew where we were going and that Id made the conscious decision to throw myself down a gravity trail with almost no protective gear. Even he had knee pads. Im still not sure if I should be annoyed or honored that he thinks so highly of me.

My roadie mentality told me that rocks, gravel, and roots were obstacles to be avoided at all costs. I had to relax and let my mountain bike deliberately roll over them.

We settled on the easiest-looking intermediate trail, and I did my best to follow Wills lines. Whenever it seemed like too much, I took it slow. I dont have the ego to get myself hurt when I have no idea what Im doing. The downhill features, the berms, rock gardens, and jumps, mimicked those of the trails Id done before, now just bigger and faster. I remembered to breathe, look where I wanted to go, pedal through the berms, and trust my bike. My roadie mentality told me that rocks, gravel, and roots were obstacles to be avoided at all costs. I had to relax and let my mountain bike deliberately roll over them. Wills insistence on a dropper post was making more and more sense. And now on the steepest trail Id ever ridden, I learned that going downhill made it even easier to roll over things. As the adrenaline started to build, I allowed myself to ease off the brakes enough to pick up speed.

I reached the bottom, put my heart back into my chest, and promptly made my way to the gear shop, where I scooped up the first elbow and knee pads that fit from the bargain box. I knew I had more runs in me.

I never imagined my honeymoon would be a weeklong intensive mountain bike training camp. I learned so much in just a few days and walked away with way more experience, confidence, and vocabularyand not just bike park. Our adventure of errors also built more trust in our relationship. Despite feeling very unprepared for BikePark Walesand wishing Will had encouraged me to bring protective gearIll admit that Will was right to feel that I was capable of the challenge. It was definitely not the trip I would have planned for myself, but it gave me a new appreciation for the U.K., van life, mountain bikes, and going with the flow. But Will is also never again allowed to plan anything sight unseen. I will ask all the questions.

Courtesy Ayesha McGowan

HOW TO TRY #VANLIFE

With no established Airbnb of camper vans, city-specific rentals are common. But the largest renter in North America is Escape Campervans, with fleets in 13 cities starting at $40 per day. Mileage, and gear like bedding and a kitchen kit, cost extra.

Wed done our fair share of camping and can get creative. We started a system of peeing in empty pasta sauce jars, but because we werent exactly in the backcountry, we made friends with the bathrooms at 24-hour supermarkets.

Bonny had a water heater for warm showers and it was glorious, but thats not standard. If your van lacks a shower, there are three options: buy a solar shower plus pop-up shower tent; park at a campground, like KOA, with amenities; or get a national gym membership, such as Planet Fitness.

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I Thought I Knew My Spouse. Then We Honeymooned at a Bike Park - Bicycling