Date night?

It's not like I needed another barometer to tell me that I'm some kind of endurance athlete freak. The fact that I made it a point not to ride my cycling trainer until midnight last week so that I could pedal while watching ESPN2's taped broadcast of the Tour of California was enough of a clue. That I recorded other stages to watch in the future while on my trainer solidified the notion.

Fortunately, I'm not alone in my endurance athletic freakiness. My bride-to-be, Greatest Girlfriend Ever, is too. And then some.

That explains why we spent our Friday night together, in what might be considered to be date-night fashion, doing something I'm guessing very few other couples would even consider doing. Especially on a date night.

We had reservations for two at Spinervals.

Yep, that's right. The same Spinervals of the DVD-recorded cycling workouts.

We pedaled away on our cycling trainers. Together. Side by side. In her basement. On a Friday night.

How sick is that? Cue the Jeff Foxworthy-like "You might be an endurance athlete if..." mantra.

Sicker still? We enjoyed it.

It wasn't about either of us needing to get in a cycling workout. I'm not planning to participate in any races before my June marathon. She's still months away from her next triathlon and already had spent nearly 10 hours this week in various training endeavors.

Our workout passed with unexpected swiftness. The monotony of training alone was erased by having each other to pedal with. It wasn't exactly one of the leisurely bike rides we take together occasionally on balmy Friday nights in the middle of summer, but it was good nonetheless.

Does that make me or her an endurance athlete freak? No. To say that it does would be to ignore all of the other things that makes us endurance athlete freaks. And those, as anyone who knows us will attest, are too numerous to mention.