A Monthly Date Challenge: Bicycles & Basketball

I can't believe how fast autumn is flying by; I mean it's already almost Thanksgiving! #canigetanamen. In July, Alex and I created a date night challenge for ourselves. We decided we needed to get out more and move our dates past the couch and Netflix. I plan one for the month and he plans one for the month. Read below to find out what we did in October. 

Date #1 Sarah's Date

We have some friends who have repeatedly told us about this date idea that they do. I must admit it sounded like fun, but it involved bicycling which I can do, but it's not my favorite thing in the world. My husband man, on the other hand, LOVES biking so I figured I would put up with it for his sake. 

Denver has this awesome thing called the B-cycle program where you rent a bike for $8 for the entire day. As long as you check in at stations along the way, it's the one flat fee. A large majority of the stations that you get these bicycles from are downtown Denver, so I figured that we could rent bicycles and ride them to dinner. 

Now, riding a bicycle is my forte... if it's on a small deserted (preferably paved) path along a river or something. Riding bicycles downtown Denver? That sounded extremely intimidating and I almost talked myself out of it. Thankfully I called my friend (who had done this date many times before), to help me walk through the bike renting process, and she convinced talked me back into it. 

Alex got home, we threw helmets in the car and headed for downtown. We luckily found a place to park for free (I didn't want to have to pay for parking and a bicycle). We found the bicycles, rented them, and headed out. It was nerve-wracking at first but as I got more comfortable and realized how many of the streets had really wide bike lanes, I enjoyed it more and more. Did I mention it was October and the perfect night out? Like 70 degrees!

Alex was easily comfortable on his bike and led the way to the Mexican restaurant that I had picked out prior to leaving the house. We were downtown with cars honking, steam rising from potholes, and skyscrapers all around us... to this small town girl, the urban night life was both overwhelming and exciting at the same time.

We sat and enjoyed Mexican food... which is also a huge deal because if you know me I'm really picky with my Mexican food (as in I don't really like it unless it's New Mexican food- and YES, there is a huge difference). This place had awesome reviews and great prices online and they didn't disappoint.

The waiter got so tired of refilling our waters

that he eventually just brought an entire pitcher

out. Oops. 

It was dark outside by this time which made riding the bikes a little bit scarier, but they came equipped with a flashing front and rear light which made me feel a lot safer. We walked around the famous 16th street mall after dinner, stopped into Starbucks for a frappucino dessert, and then hopped on our bikes and rode around a bit more until we headed back to our car.

Alex loved the date, I thoroughly enjoyed the date, and we can't wait to hop back on the B-cycle. 

**Also, just as a note... you can download the B-cycle app through the App Store and see if there is a program in your city... there looked to be a program in a lot of the major cities around the country, not just Denver. Check it out to see if it's in your city! 

Date #2 Alex's Date 

So, if there's one thing that Alex and I will forever love, it's basketball. I have been a die hard Denver Nuggets fan since I was in 6th grade. And when I say die hard I mean that- I had my entire bedroom covered in posters, newspaper articles, jerseys, and other paraphernalia of Carmelo Anthony. #15... those were the days.

I also may or may not have pushed a little kid out of the way when  I was a sophomore in high school so Carmelo Anthony could sign my basketball.

Anyway, last season was pretty rough, but every season is a new chance. Since our latest move, we are only 15 minutes from Pepsi Center- the stadium where the Nuggets play. This is good and bad- good because we can watch games easier, bad because we probably should not spend all of our money on tickets. 

We had friends invite us to one of the games and when we looked it up, we found out it was opening night. Um, we'll be there! So, Wednesday October 30th we watched the Denver Nuggets open the 2014-2015 NBA season against the Detroit Pistons... It was awesome to start off the year with a win, and even more fun to share the game with friends (one whom had never been to a Nuggets game before).

Going to a Nuggets game with friends would just be too boring though. In the middle of it all, we got caught in traffic, missed the first part of the game, vowed next time just to take the light rail... and then locked our keys in our car. 

Our friends dropped us off at home after the game to get a spare key, we drove back to the Pepsi Center to get the car with keys locked in it, and pulled into home finally close to 11pm. When it was all said and done, we had a good time and were happy to welcome in basketball season. Go Nuggets! 

All in all, it was another great month of dates... 

Do you like riding bikes? Would you ever do it in a big city? Have you ever gone to a professional basketball game?