She got a house number. Let’s say it was 540. Ok. I headed out the door. As I was walking over to 540, I saw a guy walking toward me. He had skinny legs. Could this be one of them?
I said hello to him and asked him if had been riding on his bike earlier. I said all of this, and I stuttered badly. But I wanted to just stop him and start talking before I could think twice about it.
I kept talking to this guy. I kept on stuttering. A lot. I was not happy with myself. But I eventually strung a few decent phrases together. He didn’t laugh at me or look at me strangely. He did mention that his boss rode. Ah, so now we’re getting warmer. He pointed in the direction of his house. That’s where I was going. I was on the right track.
I said goodbye and headed over to house 542. That’s right. I was off on the number. So I went to the wrong house (but didn’t realize it at the time.) Again, before my stutter could protest (we just stuttered so much with that last guy!) I knocked on the door. No response. Another knock, still no response.
Well, I tried. Maybe I’ll track them down eventually. But before going home, I went to the first house I knocked on. Might as well try again.
The door opened. Oh crap! What was I going to say?
I stuttered a lot. I asked if they had gone out riding — well yeah, the bike is right there. The guy was nice and invited me in. I introduced myself and stuttered while doing so. He stood there patiently. He told me about the other guy and how long they’d been riding. He didn’t acknowledge the stuttering either. Awesome! We sorted out how far and how fast and well, they’re heading out tomorrow morning, so would I like to join? Yes!
The next morning I headed out with them for a ride. They talked, I talked, I stuttered, they didn’t mind. And it was a beautiful morning. The miles ticked by quickly. And we’ve gone out a few more times since.
Being out there and stuttering is still a new concept for me. But as I get older, my patience for my stutter grows less and less. Sometimes I just want something, and I’m not going to use stuttering as an excuse.
Hello. I stutter. 
[…] I’ve mentioned before my fondness for bicycling, and I thought I’d let you all know I’m traveling this week to Manchester, England for a bike fitting. Well, it’s actually in Newcastle, but the friend I’m staying with (and the airport I’m flying into) is in Manchester. […]