I first saw Brian one Saturday morning on my way to meet friends at a local coffee shop. I had never seen him before (at least not that I remember), but I still remember that moment perfectly; we glanced at each other, exchanged the simplest of smiles, and there was the tiniest little spark.

I immediately assumed he must be from Arkansas, just in town for the weekend working at Phat Tire Bike Shop. He had the hat, the look… everything matched the guys I had met from there. In my mind, it all made perfect sense.

Turns out, I was completely wrong. Over the past decade, our paths had actually crossed many times—we just never knew it. It was destiny that finally brought us together that June day.

While sitting with my friends, I couldn’t help but mention “the cute guy at the coffee shop” and how I had never seen him before. One friend immediately said, “You mean Brian?!” and another replied, “Well… hook a sister up!”

A few weeks later, that same friend was at the coffee shop and sent me a text with a picture that simply said, “He’s here…” I had other places to be, but somehow, I knew I had to stop by.

Thanks to my sweet (and slightly scheming) friends, we ended up sitting with Brian, and they introduced us. We spent just a few brief minutes talking about bikes, life, and even farm animals. Somehow, in that tiny window of time, I knew he was someone truly special.

A few days later, my friend sent me a screenshot of a message from Brian. He wanted to know if he could get in touch with me to see if I wanted to go for a bike ride. He had tried to find me on Facebook but couldn’t, so he reached out to our mutual friend. I told him to give Brian my number and waited with equal parts excitement and nerves.

Later that day, Brian reached out and asked if I wanted to ride bikes that evening. I met up with him that night… and we’ve been riding bikes together ever since. 🚲❤️