“In the depth of winter I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer”

~Albert Camus

I look back and sometimes I can’t even fathom the person that I used to be. For years I never really had an direction. And for the last many years alcohol had control over me. I was a drunk, messy, emotionally unstable. But at the time I thought I had it all together and that I was fun to be around and was living life to the fullest.

But I was wrong

In December of 2014 I realized I had enough. Two bottles of wine a day was taking a toll on my health and my spirit. On December 26th I quit drinking for one year. There’s so much to tell on my experiences in that year but I won’t do that now because I’m still processing everything that I went through. I fell in love with mountains and the outdoors. I replaced booze with climbing and hiking. I learned who my true friends are. I broke open like a seed and only just now am I a vulnerable green shoot reaching towards the sun.

But that is another story for another time. I made it a year. And I will continue to stay sober because this journey has only yet begun. But as a present to my one year of sobriety I bought myself a fancy mountain bike because there is more than one way to enjoy mountains.