WHITEFIELD, N.H. -- She wanted a wrap. I was hoping she meant cajun catfish with black beans and salsa. I knew there'd be leftovers and they'd be mine.
I was wrong. She had a rosemary mint body wrap in mind.
That was OK. I wanted to ride my bicycle in the mountains. So being a rational couple, we actually compromised (she said I could write that), and the ''wrap and ride" was born.
Spokes met spa here at the Mountain View Grand Resort & Spa. High on a hill, the refurbished 19th-century yellow Colonial-style resort has a sweeping veranda, White Mountain vistas, and is rich in history, but all she wanted was the Tower Spa.
The wrap, she argued, would energize us for the bike ride. So instead of morning caffeine, I was awakened with lemon-flavored water, repetitive New Age music, and a pair of hands I wanted to wed. Side by side (she liked that), each of us was worked over by a massage therapist. First with a loofah, then with peppermint oil and a rosemary mint body lotion. I melted long before hot towels were applied to my face after a scalp massage. We were wrapped in something of a space blanket, two blissed-out burritos. Unfurled at the end of the 50-minute session, we were sent wiggling away to ride the mountain back roads.
Even after a long shower with a liberal dose of cologne, I never smelled so good for a ride. She was happy, a sweet-smelling tough cookie, looking forward to the 30-mile road ride I had mapped out along forest, farm, and field. Cows watched us ride by. Pipe-smoking farmers on slow-moving tractors waved as we caught up, rode alongside, and moved ahead over the next rolling hill. All around us were mountains, from the high, familiar peaks of Washington and Jefferson to the lesser-known summits of Starr King and Waumbeck. We cycled along a river and by a state fish hatchery teeming with trout -- which got me wondering if a ''fishing and facial" weekend was in my future.
No time for dallying, she reminded me. We had an appointment at the Tower Spa. Back at the resort, we climbed to the top of the tower where a wooden Japanese-style Ofuro tub awaited us. The type of tub made no difference to me. It was hot-tubbin' time. Out of the robe and slippers and into the tub I plopped. She entered gently. Together, we leaned back in the warming waters to take in a 360-degree view of 57 peaks over four mountain ranges. What a reward after the wrap and ride.
She was happy. I was happy. She said something about coming back another time for a hot tribal stone massage. Fine with me. We'll bring the bikes again and call it a ''rock and roll" weekend.
If You Go . . .
How to get there
Whitefield, N.H., is about 150 miles northwest of Boston (about a three-hour drive). Take Interstate 93 north to exit 35 (Whitefield). Bear right on Route 3 and go north for 21 miles. Continue past Whitefield Center, and at the sign for Mountain View Grand, turn right onto Mountain View Road and follow it for a quarter of a mile.
Mountain View Grand Resort & Spa
Mountain View Road
800-438-3017
www.mountainviewgrand.com
Weekend bed-and-breakfast packages start at $145 per person with a two-night minimum.
Marty Basch is a New Hampshire-based writer.
