Emily, what about a tandem? We may have talked about this before--my brain is shrinking, I think :-P.

I'll never be as fast as Chris, but I ride a lot on my own. And we have put 8-9,000 tandem miles since we started in 2005, in addition to riding our own singles regularly. We have a blast.

And for all those who instantly say, "I could never..."--rent one and try it first.