It just seemed the right thing to do for Amy Hawk and Bob Peck.
The couple held their wedding ceremony on the night and at the start of the monthly Cleveland Critical Mass bicycle ride.
After all, the downtown ride is billed as a way for Clevelanders to meet, socialize and ride. Nothing says successful socializing like a wedding.
Amy and Bob met about a year ago on Facebook and their first date they described as ‘just a dinner’ but their third date was the Critical Mass ride. Bob had been a supporter and participant of the ride, Amy guessed she hadn’t ridden in ten years. She bought a bike to join the fun.
“And I had bought a bike because I knew he (Bob) was into bikes. I bought a little cruiser from a friend of his and we just did our first ride together,” said Amy.
Bob said they hit it off and the Critical Mass ride became a regular date.
“It definitely helped bring us together. We always looked forward to it every month. It’s one of the things we truly love as a couple’” said Bob.
Shawn Mariani participates in the downtown rides regularly and pointed to the bicycle wedding as another wonderful thing about Cleveland.
“I think it says a lot about the bike scene here in Cleveland, it says a lot about the people’” said Mariani adding’ “it’s so awesome that they decided to make this a part of their wedding and a part of their lives.”
Public Square was filled with bikes for the event. There was a violin playing for the assembling of the wedding party which included Amy’s twin boys ten-year-old Ben and Max as ring bearers. Amy’s mom Linda Dwyer became a minister for the event, at times she seemed more nervous then the bride and groom.
“We were trying to find somebody who could marry us. We had a couple of people in mind but it didn’t work out so she said ‘I’ll do it!’ She had a glass of wine and went online and called us one night and said ‘Hey, I’m an ordained minister,” said Amy.
They exchanged vows under the watchful eyes of the Moses Cleaveland statue as they stood next to the cascading fountain on the southwest quadrant of the Square.
The crowd of some 300 cyclists, some wearing tuxedo T-shirts, broke into applause as the newly married couple kissed following saying their “I do’s.”
The couple took a couple of laps around Public Square in a bicycle rickshaw driven by Rickshaw Willie. Willie pedaled them around wearing his extra-high orange Chuck Taylor tennis shoes.
The regular Critical Mass ride then departed the Square with the entire wedding party, including the bride and groom, on bikes and headed north on Ontario Street.
Immediate plans for the honeymoon include a night at a local Bed and Breakfast and then a later trip to North Carolina.
Yes, they plan to take their bikes along.
