Wonder Twin Powers

I'm here to confess. Jess and I have a problem. It started innocently enough. When we first started going out, we noticed that we owned a lot of the same things; a Mountain Hardware bag here, a pair of Keen's there. Wow, we're so compatible and well matched, we thought.

She was shopping for a new bike and just happened to find a great commuter bike with all the features I'd been wanting.  So I got one too.  Well, it was a little more round about than that, but that's another story. 

She got cool new bike shoes.  Wow, those are perfect, I thought. A few months later, I had a pair.

Over time, it became clear that when it comes to clothes and sporting gear, we have exactly the same taste in just about everything.  Yeah, we're those lesbians.

The really sad part is that we barely try to hold back anymore (if we ever did).  I mean, when you find what you like, you gotta have it right?

Consider a recent trip to REI. We were both looking for some new pants, something non-cotton that would be good to ride in, but also look nice when we got to our destination.  I took a few things into the dressing room, but wasn't happy with them.  She kindly offered to go out and look for some other brands.

A few minutes later she came back with a new option, but the fit was terrible.  She went back out again.  When she came back, she had some tan pants that looked like casual dress slacks, but were stretchy and comfortable and would dry quickly. "I'm going to try them on too," she said.  (The warning bell should have gone off then).  

"These are cool, I like them," I said.  And they were on sale of course.  Jess rarely pays full price for anything at Really Expensive Items.  That's when she suddenly turned on me.

"I found them," she said, holding them protectively.  "They're mine."

"What!? I sent you out to look for pants for me!"

"Well, I could have said I didn't find anything and come back later without you," she said.

"Oh HO! I see how you are! You had no intention of letting me leave with these pants!"

A Cheshire cat grin was her only reply.

Buying two pair was out of the question.  We've sunk pretty low in the matching department, but we do have limits.  We tend to be a bit more strict about 'regular' clothes than sports-specific stuff.  If we both bought them, there's no way we'd both wear them at the same time anyway.  After much cajoling on my part and a promise not to wear them everyday and get bike grease on them, we agreed to a shared pants arrangement.

I had made many similar agreements with mom over the years but this time I didn't have to argue over who's closet the clothes would live in.

In our defense, we do try to get different colors when we can.  But in the case of bike gear (rain jacket, rain pants, shoes, bike shorts), there's usually not much choice.  So at this point you're wondering---how bad can it be? Off the top of my head, here's a list of all the matching gear we own.  

Exact:

Scott Sportster P4 bikes (J)*
Keen Blackcomb winter boots (K)
REI down slippers (K)
REI bike capris shorts (KJ)
Smartwool base layer tank top (J)
Smartwool base layer tights (KJ)
Showers Pass rain jackets (K)
OnGuard mini U-Lock (K)
Outdoor Research Snowline Mittens (KJ)
Specialized Motodiva cycling shoes (J)
Specialized BG gel gloves (JK)
Mountain Hardware fanny pack (b.d)
Nike sports bras (2) (J)
Kleankanteen water bottles (KJ)
REI water bottles (b.d.)
LG 8600 Verizon Wireless phone (J)
Giro Havoc bike helmets (J)
Various Ani Difranco CDs (b.d.)
SHIFT short sleeve jersey (KJ)
SheBeast bike shorts (J)
Sorella Forte 2008 jersey & shorts (K)
Rossignol BC3 Back country ski boots (J)

Similar:

Various Smartwool socks (b.d.)
Timbuk2 Messenger bags (K)
Mini backpacks (J)
Cotton Cloud bed frame (K)
Trek Road bikes (b.d.)
Keen Sandals (K)
Keen Low hikers (J)
Zeroshock laptop cases (KJ)
Cats (b.d.)
Ortlieb Panniers (K)
Pearl Izumi winter biking gloves (b.d.)


(* Indicates who had the item first. Both initials means we got them at the same time. B.D. is Before Dating).

When we rode our bikes around Crater lake last August, we pulled into a view point and a woman there said, "Oh look at you, you must be on some kind of team."

"Nope, we're just matching dorks who dress alike," I confessed. But now we really are on a team.  Jess joined Sorella Forte cycling club this year and we're picking up our new kits this month.

Hi. We're Jess and Kronda. And we're matching dorks.