We first met June 1, 2016 out at Marabou Ranch for the kick off of the summer Town Challenge mountain bike races. Rita was a spectator cheering on two friends who were training to bike from Jackson Hole, WI to Banff, BC that summer. And Ben, well, was being Ben and racing. Rita's friends knew Ben and invited him to sit with us at the after party. We sat together and chatted the entire evening. We now know we both really enjoyed each other's company but Ben was not available. We became friends, showing up at our friend Mindy's annual macro-brew Christmas party, running into each other around town and other functions, and being neighbors. Ben was also remodeling his Whistler Village kitchen and Rita's roommate Alex had already done so. So Alex and Rita had the pleasure getting to see Ben from time to time looking for advice on how to make his kitchen great. What a treat it was for Rita when he stopped by and Ben liked the excuse to head one street over. Fast forward to November 26th, the Sunday after Thanksgiving. Rita had just bought her Whistler Village townhome in July, which happens to be on the same street as Ben. Rita was sitting on her couch, Ben was taking out his recycling and headed to the pool. We saw each other through the window and waved. We ended up chatting through the window until Ben was asking about Rita's front door as he was curious about upgrading his too. Rita invited him to come take a look. Ben asked what Rita's boyfriend was up to for the holiday, little did he know they had broken up 2 weeks prior. Ben asked Rita out then and there and Tuesday, November 28th we met and had dinner at Carl's Tavern. We got a 2 for one off season special, Ben's always on the hunt for a good deal! We obviously had a lovely time and had many great times together since. "Prince charming can knock on your door and say I'm going to be your life long person." -Rita's prayers were answered

On Memorial Day weekend Ben took Rita on a little get away to the desert. We were hoping to go bike packing but due to water and snow we ended up biking in Grand Junction and Fruita, CO. We had a lovely Saturday drive along Colorado River Road. Once in Grand Junction we had a challenging but fun ride at the Lunch Loops followed by an early dinner at Handlebar Tap House. A guy directed us to a great BLM camping area off the Mack exit. We found a spot with an abandoned tent and made home for the night. We took a little evening ride and then enjoyed the sunset in a field of wildflowers on the hill above our camp site. We went to bed each saying three things we are thankful for. The next morning we rode Troy Built. It was a perfect temperature morning. The sky was clear and the views were spectacular. We saw Common Collared Lizards and one even ran alongside Ben as he rode. The ride was CHALLENGING and Rita had a bit of a meltdown. Ben stuck by Rita though and followed her back to camp. After some time Rita cooled off as Ben had been so supportive and encouraging. Sitting on the back of Rita's green Subaru outback Ben started going into his duffel. Rita asked "What are you doing?" Ben replied, "Don't look!" He got on the other side of the bike rack, got down on his knee and asked, "Will you marry me?" Proposing with his grandmother, Marie's (come to find out later in the day) wedding band. You know my answer. We went to the Loma exit and took a quick chilly dip in the Colorado River to celebrate, headed to Palisade to wine taste but ended up hungry and eating lunch instead at the Palisade Cafe. We ventured on to Snowmass where we enjoyed an evening just the two of us raiding Rita's parents fridge for dinner and celebrating our engagement. The next day we picked Teddy up and went skiing on Aspen Mountain. In the week to follow we celebrated with a second engagement (with the engagement ring) at the Quarry on Emerald Mountain overlooking "OUR town".