It's hard to believe that it will be my 25th birthday in less than a month.  Every year around my birthday, I look back over the previous year and wonder if I lived or was just alive.  This year may take a little longer to reflect on it.

One year ago, I was living the sedantry life of a computer programmer in Perth, West Australia. 10 hour work days, driving to and from work, unhealthy food and a severe lack of exercise put me at 230 lbs with 35+% body fat.  I was discontent, but had no way to break the cycle - with barely enough money to cover the bills, there just didn't seem to be any way out.  And then it happened.  I got a better paying job in Seattle that meant I would have an opportunity to start over again.

By the end of the first month, I lost 35 lbs.  My clothes no longer fit me. Hills were getting a little easier to get up.  I was seeing things that other people who had arrived at the same time had never seen; things that in a car would be easily missed, but easily observed on a bicycle.  I realised quickly that exploring a new place by bicycle had its own rewards.

The rain and snow came, but I continued biking.  Throughout the winter, I learned some valuable lessons: that no matter how much I cleaned it, all that grit would eat through chains and brake pads in no time; that biking in the snow is far easier than it looks; what black ice was, and how it was more slippery than anything I encountered in Australia; how to ride in below freezing temperatures without getting frostbite; and the importance of fenders.

Now, as we come into Spring, I've put some weight back on, but not in a bad way.  My clothes no longer fit again, but it's around the thighs, not the waist.  My daily rides, rain or shine, are 30+ mi home, and it's impossible to have a bad day when I have a ride on the way home.  At my last physical, my health scores were still a little on the unhealthy side, but not the "heart attack/diabetes waiting to happen" case that I was just one year ago.  My riding has inspired others to join me, and my sister back home to ditch the car in favour of something with two wheels and pedals after seeing photos of the newer, slimmer me.

With Summer just a few short months away, I'm looking forward to it already.  Seattle to Portland, nothing more than a dream just one year ago, is a firm reality: I have registered as a one-day rider, and I know I can make the distance.  Tour de Cure, the Daffodil Classic and several other rides have been lined up, and I'm loving each and every one of them.

When I get on my bike, it's not my bike.  Maybe I own one of the brake pads, or a brake lever.  The rest belongs to the people who have helped me along the way, those who educated me and encouraged me.  Without them, I never would have become the person I am today.