A bicycle built for woo

Published July 25, 2006 by The Dallas Morning News
By PAULA LAVIGNE

Photo: [ KYE R. LEE/DMN] Dan Banse and Ruanne Varden of
Grapevine, who saw their romance blossom on the bike trail, will be
married during a bike ride in Iowa.

Cycling makes your heart grow stronger.

But did you know it could make your heart grow fonder?

Many local cycling couples have met, and married, on bicycle rides.

It makes sense to relationship experts who say that a shared passion –
especially for something that makes them more fit – goes a long way
toward building a healthy relationship.

That could easily describe Grapevine
cyclists Dan Banse and Ruanne Varden. They are planning to get married
in Waukee, Iowa, today during a well-known bike ride across the state.

The bride will wear white, of course, along with a pair of bike shorts
and a veil over her helmet. Mr. Banse will be sporting a tuxedo jersey,
with lettering on the pocket that reads, “You may now kiss the ride.”

They’ll be riding a tandem in the Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride
Across Iowa, the nation’s longest and largest organized bicycle ride,
sponsored by the Des Moines Register.

Mr.
Banse and Ms. Varden got engaged before the Iowa ride last year and
figured it would be ideal for their cycle-themed nuptials. It’s
convenient because Mr. Banse is a native Iowan and has relatives
nearby.

The couple, both in their late 40s, met on match.com but their interest
in cycling drew them together, Ms. Varden says.

“We both worked out and we both loved endurance cycling,” she says.

They belong to Dallas Athletes, a triathlon-training group, and have
tackled many bike rides, road races and swimming competitions since
they started dating in 2003.

People who are involved in
such physical activities are likely to be attracted to one another,
says Joel Muro, an assistant professor in the Department of Family
Sciences at Texas Woman’s University in Denton.

“Biologically, we’re drawn to attractive bodies. And the tight clothing doesn’t hurt either,” he says.

Also, Dr. Muro says those feel-good endorphins released when you
exercise make you feel better about yourself, which is exactly what you
want to feel when you’re around a possible suitor.

“And you’re drawn to someone who takes good care of themselves,” he says.

Joy Mayo admits she admired her future husband’s physical prowess when
they first met. He was training for the Boston Marathon and for cycling
the Tour de France route, which regular folks can do after the
competitors pass.

“I thought, ‘This guy’s really in shape,’ you know?” she says.

She met Don Mayo on a ride sponsored by the Greater Dallas Bicyclists.
The Mayos, in their 50s, and also from Grapevine, agree that their
shared passion for cycling is vital to their relationship.

Mrs. Mayo says that early in their relationship, cycling with her
then-boyfriend challenged her to improve her own pace.

“He was a darn good rider and I had to keep up.” Yet they maintained a
pace that allowed them to chat, and their relationship moved from “just
friends” in 1998 to “just married” in 2002.

“We just like
to get out and get some fresh air and some exercise,” Mr. Mayo says.
“You can cover quite a bit of ground and see a lot of things.”

Cycling two to three times a week, both with the Greater Dallas
Bicyclists and with the Carrollton Cycling Club, keeps them in shape
and in touch with their friends, most of whom are cyclists as well.

“There are several couples in our club that have formed as a result of biking,” Mrs. Mayo says.

Saddling up on a bike ride is a better way to meet someone than
wheeling up to a bar, says Carrollton cyclist Russell Tether. “You’re
not seeing people all dressed up. You get to see them a little more
relaxed.”

Mr. Tether isn’t the kind to ride and tell;
he’ll say only that he’s had “more than a few” dates on his tandem.

“When you don’t want to talk, or you run out of conversation, you can
just … look around and enjoy the ride,” he says.

Many
cycling couples migrate from single bikes to tandems, says Roane Logan,
president of the Dallas Area Tandem Enthusiasts (DATES). Mr. Logan
delivered a poetic proposal to his future wife, Juanita, during a DATES
ride in April 2000.

But Mr. Logan had actually bought the bike before he had the babe.

On his first ride with Juanita, she wore a hand-me-down helmet and a
pair of Mr. Logan’s borrowed bike shorts, which hung loose on her tiny
frame. But she loved it, and now the couple rides a $12,000 tandem and
wears matching cycling outfits.

If it were up to him,
he’d take the corners at top speed, but his wife keeps him in line.
“She pinches me. It’s the only option,” he says. “You can’t jump off.
You can’t brake. So she pinches me.”

Cycling as a tandem
couple taught Ms. Varden and Mr. Banse about the importance of teamwork
and sharing the load.

Most couples on tandems have a hard
time climbing hills and standing up on the pedals at the same time, Ms.
Varden says. She recalls some advice from tandem cyclists Jim and
Rhonda Hoyt, owners of Richardson Bike Mart and the royal family of
North Texas cycling.

“You have to mimic each other’s
movements exactly … if the stoker [rear cyclist] moves one way and
the captain the other, you could really wreck,” she adds.

The first time they tried, they were all over the road, but they
eventually got the hang of it and are now climbing pros.

“You have to be in constant communication, such as saying, ‘Hey, this
helps me,’ or ‘If you could do this in a different way …’ ” Ms.
Varden says. “Make sure to talk to each other about what works and what
doesn’t.”

That’s good advice for a tandem, and great advice for a marriage.

Best of luck to you, Dan and Ruanne. Happy trails.

E-mail plavigne@dallasnews.com