Hmmm
My SO got me started on the bike. I owned a bike, but just used it to ride to the store or the Stagecoach Bar. I was more a tennis player, skier, rock climber, backpacker, kayaker, etc..She was a ladies bike racer when I met her.
Our first "Date" we took the bikes out to the San Juan Islands in the northwest and did some 'carcamp/bike touring'...Mainly took the bikes along for some excercise, but I found I enjoyed riding that 28lb Schwinn. When we returned to our place in Jackson Hole, she said..."Hey, lets go for a bike ride" so we went out and headed up Teton Pass, a ~3000' climb beginning at 6200' and going up steeply. About 1/2 way to the top, I said "Hey, I am a bit pooped, I'm gonna stop for a rest" and she said.."We don't stop for rests, us real bike riders"....Ooooh, that got me!
So I got a real bike and began a 30yr (so far) love afair with cycling. We both raced avidly for about 10 years and had many great training rides together..
My SO still rides, but no longer do we ride together except rarely. She doesn't train to race any more and I still race Masters, so we have "issues" with relative speeds now (again?)
When we do ride together, it is social or on my 'recovery' days. As the other poster mentioned, it's difficult to keep a 12mph pace for long...Riding with a 'retired' racing spouse...it's hard to pretend, when the other person KNOWS how fast she used to be able to ride..
Including a bike along on a sightseeing vacation, or renting one for your SO, that might be a way to see if she'll get interested in the lifestyle...the obsession?
Don Hanson