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Pedal Bar!

This past Friday, I spent the night in Toledo celebrating my friend Jai-Lin’s birthday. For some background, I worked at a golf course for many years and, through that job, met some of my closest friends. Jai, Kayla, Lamai, Abby and I all worked together, and while we always have a blast during the summer when the golf season is in full swing, we don’t get to see each other much during the school year. That’s mostly because I don’t go to school in Toledo.

Despite the distance, one tradition we’ve kept alive is celebrating each other’s birthdays. No matter how busy things get, we make sure to show up for those moments. Jai’s birthday fell on Thursday this year, but the official celebration took place Friday night. The birthday girl also requested a "cowgirl/country" theme, so of course we delivered. 

To mark the occasion, Jai rented a pedal bar downtown. For the record, we are all over 21. The group was bigger than usual because she invited several of her other friends, which is always a fun dynamic. I enjoy meeting friends of friends, especially when we find unexpected connections. At one point I struck up a conversation with one of Jai’s friends, Klava, and learned she actually grew up in Ada. Even more surprising, her father is one of the philosophy professors at Ohio Northern. That discovery made me laugh because whenever I mention Ada back home, most people have never even heard of it, let alone lived there. It really was a small-world moment.

Once everyone had gathered, we walked to the designated pickup spot where our driver, Allison, greeted us. She immediately set the tone for the night. Allison kept the energy high and the atmosphere lively, which made the experience even better.

For anyone unfamiliar, a pedal bar is essentially a trolley powered by the pedaling of the riders. It moves through downtown and makes scheduled stops at different bars along the way. It’s a mix of exercise, socializing and bar hopping, all
rolled into one.

The night ended up being long, but in the best possible way. Between catching up with old friends, meeting new ones and laughing nonstop, it was a celebration that perfectly captured why these friendships mean so much to me. No matter how much time passes between visits, we always pick up right where we left off, and this birthday was no exception.

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