Engagement Ring Advice: A ring or a bike?

Some women really do not want an engagement ring. But in my experience, I find that percentage is incredibly small! A story that always reminds me of this fact, involves my friends Sandy and Jeff. Sandy and Jeff live in the Pacific Northwest, and to describe them as “outdoorsy” would be an understatement. When it came time for Jeff to propose, Sandy made it very clear that she did not want an engagement ring but that she preferred a titanium mountain bike. So instead of a shiny ring, Jeff presented Sandy with a shiny, full suspension “engagement” mountain bike, which she properly got covered in mud riding the trails the next day. Two weeks later, I was surprised to hear Jeff’s voice on the telephone asking about engagement rings. I asked, “What happened to the bike?” Jeff simply replied, “ Its great. She’s on it right now. But I guess Sandy is a bit more girly than we thought. I think what she really wanted was the bike and a ring.” Needless to say, I had a ring made for Sandy the next week- out of titanium of course! Because a girl should always match her engagement ring to her mountain bike.