What a Hat Trick

Day: 5
Dates Remaining: 43

How, you may be asking, did I manage three dates in one night? Well, I can't say that it was easy. It took some patience and perseverance, but I pulled through and I'm glad to be here to tell you about it.

The other day, one of my old cycling buddies called me to see how things were going. It was great to catch up with him since it had been nearly a year since we had seen each other. It came up in conversation that I was going to be going speed dating on Friday. I was stoked when he said that he would join me.

I was even more thrilled when we decided that we would turn speed dating into a date and have dinner first. Going back to the ground rules of the 50 Dates in 50 Days, speed dating counts as two dates. (Trust me, after tonight, I wish I had made it count for more!)

Regardless, I had a speed dating date. This was definitely a first and I'm not sure how many people can say they've had such an experience.

Anyhow, onto my date. Let's call him Speed Racer since he drives a fast car, races fast bikes and joined me for speed dating.

He showed up after work to pick me up and did he ever look good. It's always interesting to see people who I normally see in sweaty bike clothes show up in city attire. Speed Racer definitely knows how to clean up.

He treated me to a lovely dinner over which we had a great conversation before heading to speed dating. Now, this is when things got interesting.

Speed dating consisted of eleven men, seven minutes each and a handy little scorecard. Do I ever wish I also had a glass of wine. Or ten.

The first guy I met was priceless. He was a total computer nerd whose voice and mannerisms reminded me of Steve Urkel. He was also painfully skinny and had a comb over. But you know what, he was nice. And despite his funny voice and elf ears, he had great blue eyes and could keep up a conversation. (As the night went on, this became harder and harder to find)! So he got a "yes" on the scorecard.

The second guy was very flamboyant and I questioned whether or not he had signed up for the right event. Nonetheless, he was interesting, a seasoned traveler and a mountain biker. He got a "yes" as well.

These two men were followed by a plethora of guys who all like to watch TV, go to work and play in a sporting beer league of some sort. They all got a "no."

Then came Fancy Pants. That's right, he told me his friends call him that. I wasn't sure what to make of this until he stood up to show me his blue jeans that were covered in velvet yellow designs. I should also mention that his sweater was a splash of a multitude of colours and his black t-shirt was littered with silver sparkles. However, he was clever and he won me over when he sat down at the table and asked, "If you were writing a self-help book for guys, what advice would you give them?" That led to a witty conversation.

Then, there was a guy who didn't ask one question which resulted in uncomfortable, awkward silences since I was tired of asking all the questions. There was one who sloppily licked his mouth between each sentence. Another did not know what skis were and finally, I met an elementary teacher who didn't stop swearing. And, my favorite was the snowmobile enthusiast who goes into the back country and did not know what an avalanche beacon is. Priceless.

All in all, the event was a learning experience. Though there were a few moments where I felt like stabbing the guy on the other side of the table with the scorecard, I'm glad I went. The best part was that I got to spend one of the seven minute time windows with Speed Racer.

Originally, he was just going to head home after the event; however, since we were enjoying each others company, we decided to grab a tea. We walked into the tea shop and a table of people pointed at me and excitedly exclaimed: "Hey, we saw you on TV! You're that 50 dates girl!" I laughed as they proceeded to question me about the 50 Dates in 50 Days. Speed Racer was right into the conversation and it was a cute and perfect way to end an evening filled with bizarre stories from random people.