Standing in St. Mary’s Park on a very cold November evening, Tess managed to convince her friend Emily to come to Baltimore Bike Party’s Pajama Ride. With no more than 200 folks at the ride, it was prime for people watching. A guy in Christmas party animal pajamas rolled buy with a homemade six pack holder with LED lights. “Wow! Maybe I should make one of those for my bike,” Tess said to Emily. Fast forward to Sunday, after a weekend out in Baltimore City, Tess plopped down on her parent’s comfy green sofa to watch 60 Minutes with her mom. During a commercial break she opened Bumble and noticed that she had a new match! With a profile full of bike touring photos and climbing adventures, Tess was intrigued enough to start a conversation. Taj immediately responded and asked if they could meet halfway for a date that night, as it happened, he was travelling back to Minnesota the next day. Though Tess was surprised, she was curious enough, and so they agreed to meet midway at Bread & Circuses in Towson. Eventually, they started talking about biking and Taj’s recent tour from Minneapolis to DC. Taj told Tess, “Yeah, you should check out Baltimore Bike Party sometime.” Not to be out-Baltimored, Tess pulled out her photo strip from the afterparty and retorted, “Oh, I didn’t see you at the Pajama Ride.” Taj, still oblivious to the challenge, took his out too. Tess immediately recognized the small santa hats on the jauntily placed circus animals, “Wait, do you have a six-pack holder with LEDs? Are you the six-pack guy!?” Taj nodded and added that he had sewed it himself but already had an idea for a better design. When Taj came back from his trip from Minnesota, they continued to go on date after date, and soon enough adventure after adventure (though Taj almost didn’t make it past round two when he cooked pescatarian Tess steak and mashed potatoes for dinner). Taj was relieved as Tess was willing to roll with his missteps, loved that she had made the world a better place in Central America and was keen to keep doing so wherever she ended up and her willingness to spring into action and start arts and crafts projects. Tess was enamored by Taj’s love for adventure, his creativity, and his genuine kindness and helpfulness to everyone he knows. After hundreds of bike rides around Baltimore, dozens of extra large movie theatre popcorns, and innumerable facetimes to make cross-continental long distance work, Taj finally popped the question April 18, 2025, and Tess said yes to her lifelong adventure partner.