Date night ride

We hired an older babysitter who could handle all six kids (yes, we even left Ellie) so we could go on a bike ride up Provo canyon and then go out to dinner.

The ride started out about as poorly as I could imagine. Manina was already a little unsure of a 22 mile ride with a lot of climbing. We started out from my workplace, and before we’d traveled six inches, Manina fell over while clipped into the bike. Apparently, she was in one of her biggest gears and just couldn’t get her bike moving. At least she didn’t get hurt (like last time).

I’ve done South Fork several times before, but it was Manina’s first real climb. We weren’t exactly setting any records getting to the top, but we made it. It’s over 1300 ft of climbing, then turning around and cruising back home. As you’ll see in the pictures below, it’s a beautiful ride.

After we rode back down, we took advantage of the locker room facilities at my work to get showered and cleaned up before heading out to dinner. I had a new restaurant that I wanted Manina to try.

As fun as the bike ride was, the highlight of the night may have been Cafe Paesan. It’s a new restaurant from the same people who created Cafe Rio (one of our all-time favorites). Well Cafe Paesan did not disappoint. It’s the same concept as Cafe Rio, but with Italian food, and it is delicious. Plus, it is much more open and spacious than Cafe Rio, but with the same cleanliness, prices, and fresh ingredients. It’ll be big.

I ordered the Siena spicy chicken pizza, and Manina had a balsamic grilled chicken salad with creamy pesto dressing, plus a mixed berry tiramisu for dessert. I had promised that she’d like the food, and I was right. Manina said it may have even been better than the Cafe Rio salad — and that’s saying something.