We met when Kate was working for AIDS/LifeCycle and Cassie was volunteering for pre-ride events and participating as a Roadie. Even though we'd been on a few previous Rides together leading up to ALC 2017, it wasn't until Kate was working with the Roadies that our paths finally crossed. We first became close friends as members of Breakfast Club. This 'Club' was where our group of 4 friends had breakfast together each morning before our ALC roles started for the day. That first year we started the tradition we went to breakfast in our 'work' clothes, but as the years followed so did a dress code. We all acquired onesies and now we're a Giraffe (Kate), Unicorn (Cassie), Flying Squirrel (Kiah), and a Shark (Preslee.) Cassie and Kate's friendship slowly developed into a relationship as the Flying Squirrel and Shark warned them to not eff up the friendship. We had to commit to making our relationship work as we were long distance for the first year and half of our relationship; Cassie living in Orange and Kate in SF. We got creative with dates over FaceTime, planned vacations centered around work trips, pressing play at the same time on the DVD player, attempts at baked goods, and lots of phone calls and texts. Eventually we closed the gap and Cassie moved to Berkeley to move into our own place together with Kate and Zoey. That is when we really got to start our life together!

We always had the joke, "of course we want to get married but one of us has to propose first!" We were in a stalemate for a while waiting on the other to ask, come to find out later that both of us had ideas forming back in 2019. Kate first came up with an idea after ALC 2019, to pop the question at next year's Ride, but thanks to a pandemic that idea was put on pause. Cassie first thought of asking Kate on their Anniversary, August 1st, but Kate beat Cassie to the punch when she planned a surprise proposal during AIDS/LifeCycle 2022. With the design help of Janelle, Kate had signs with their story written out as she asked Cassie 'THE question.' In front of their Ride family, Grandy, and many onlookers, Kate popped the question AND Cassie said/checked, Yes! A few weeks later, Cassie asked Kate if she would marry her at Johnny Donuts in San Rafael (where Kate took Cassie for their first official date 5 years prior). Under a sign that said, "I love you to the moon and back," Kate said Yes and Cassie gave her a glow in the dark ring with a space design, the perfect symbol of their love story. #toinfinityandbeyond