Romeos beware, love is a verb.
My grandiose and fumbling attempts at marriage rejuvenation - leaving, finding and wooing my wife all in one long weekend in Melbourne - have been recorded elsewhere as a permanent, hopefully inspiring, warning to all would-be romantics (''Falling in love again'', Otago Daily Times, December 18, 2012).
But that account failed to give proper recognition to the role bicycles played in the affair.
Love, they say, has many parts - patience, kindness, forgiveness, perseverance, acts of service, words of encouragement, spending quality time . . . it is enough to make you want to take a wee lie down. But once committed to the pursuit of love, there is nothing in the rule book that says you cannot find ways to lighten the load.
And so bicycles became an integral part of The Plan.
By mid-morning on Saturday, I had already left my wife, made her cry, apologised and negotiated a resumption of my mad venture.
There were now only a couple of hours before I needed to be able to ''accidentally meet'' her in the Royal Botanic Gardens with a ready-made, wildly romantic, sumptuous picnic lunch.
I dashed to Rentabike, which is on Federation Wharf - the riverside cafe and visitor attraction space beside the Yarra River below Federation Square in downtown Melbourne.
Given a helmet and a road bike with panniers, and clutching a map of the inner city, I pedalled off in the general direction of Queen Victoria Market.
There are many cities in which I would not attempt a cross-town ride.
Downtown Auckland, for example, feels decidedly car-friendly and bike-hostile. But Melbourne, perhaps in my blissful ignorance, seemed surprisingly straightforward and pleasant to navigate.
Most of the 2.5km pedal was gently uphill along Elizabeth St, sharing the carriageway with trams, cars and other cyclists, as I tried to make good time while also taking in the scenes of sunny Saturday morning shopping. In reality, there were plenty of unremarkable shop fronts, but I mostly remember a street lined with large leafy plane trees playing peekaboo with grand old buildings such as the General Post Office and St Francis Church.
My bulging panniers were compensated for by a lighter feel to my credit card as I sped back downtown. I probably still looked every inch the tourist, but there is nothing like a bike for helping you get in amongst it and feel like a local.
Two people out for bike rides who chance to meet in the botanic gardens - what could be more natural? Well it worked for Francesca and I. And the picnic food was as delicious as the conversation was enjoyable and fresh.
The only question then was how to continue our afternoon together.
My lady had a hankering for exploring myriad vintage clothing shops she knew resided in Brunswick St, in the suburb of Fitzroy, about 4km north of our restful picnic spot.
Love, I reminded myself as I picked up my helmet, is not self-seeking. To be honest, it was quite fun. Getting there that is. We chose secondary streets lined with Victorian houses set on spacious well-kept properties, and ducked through the edges of parks, as we wended our way north.
Melbourne on a spring afternoon is a delightful place. And this particular afternoon seemed to be the chosen date for all that month's nuptials. Every few minutes we seemed to pass, or be passed by, another wedding car or a happy couple having their photos taken.
In fact our romantic ride almost came to a tragic and ironic end when my darling attempted to cross the road in front of a white ribbon-festooned, stretched black Hummer transporting a surprised looking bride and her entourage.
She succeeded, by the narrowest of margins. Brunswick St was indeed a magnet for aficionados of vintage American couture. It was also a cultural melting pot, and home to a burgeoning kerbside coffee culture. So much so, that after working the crowded footpaths between clothing shops for a while, we chained the bikes to a lamppost and continued on foot.
Somewhere along the way I started looking at more book shops and fewer clothing stores. Eventually I lost contact with Francesca as she continued methodically trawling through thousands of pairs of secondhand leather boots, floral dresses and Abercrombie & Fitch T-shirts.
The sun was casting long shadows across Brunswick St by the time we found each other again.
As we climbed back on our bikes, tapas at an inner-city bar were beckoning, still several kilometres away. But my wife was happy, so my job was done. Until tomorrow. Because love, they say, is a doing word.
Getting around
Cycling is one of the best ways to explore Melbourne and its surrounding regions. The city offers a range of cycling tours or you can just explore it by yourself.
For anyone hankering to pedal their own adventure around Melbourne, the city offers some great cycling trails.
• Bayside Cycling Trail: Cycle along the shores of Port Phillip Bay on this 18km cycling trail. Take in the sights along the western side of the Yarra River and on through landscaped parks to beaches, then through the bustle of St Kilda and on to Brighton. Keen cyclists can continue for another 27km along the coast to Carrum.
• Capital City Trail: Visit the sights of Melbourne on this trail linking some of the best cultural, entertainment, sporting and outdoor recreation opportunities Melbourne has to offer. Starting at the vibrant entertainment hub of Southbank, highlights include the Victorian Arts Centre, Royal Botanic Gardens and the Herring Island Environmental Sculpture Park.
• Maribyrnong River Trail: The Maribyrnong River Trail sweeps past the historic Polly Woodside sailing ship, skirts the new Docklands precinct and runs to Flemington Racecourse, home of the Melbourne Cup. Further on, a steep climb to the scenic lookout at Lily St is rewarded with magnificent views along the river and of the city skyline.
• Main Yarra Trail: A 33km cycle along the Main Yarra Trail offers a scenic riverside path from Melbourne's eastern suburbs to the heart of the city, passing ancient gums and billabongs before ending at Southbank, the hub of Melbourne's bicycle trails system.
Visitors to Melbourne will have no trouble finding a bicycle and everything else they need to get pedalling.
Melbourne Bike Share is a new form of public transport, designed for short trips across the city. Simply purchase a subscription that suits you, take a bike when you need it, and then return it to one of the 50 bike stations throughout the city. For more information visit online at www.melbournebikeshare. com.au/.
And do not forget your helmet. Helmets are available for just $5 at many retail outlets or vending machines at Southern Cross Station and Melbourne University. Plus, once you have finished, return your helmet and receive a $3 refund.
There is also a variety of companies offering cycle tours:
www.kayakmelbourne.com.au/kayakmelbourne/
