Last year was tough. I mean really tough. Like the kind of touch that breaks your will. The kind of tough that requires you to obsessively recite affirmations just to get through each day. Broken hearts Separation Living alone Divorce New love Grinding through a dissertation. Defending said dissertation. AND FINALLY GRADUATING WITH A PHD! I went on the job market for the first time. I received a few academic job offers ...and even more rejections. I committed to working through my assumptions about work and careers. And I finally made the tough decision to leave academia altogether. I took a chance. I moved across the country. And I became an Executive Director– I promise I will share more about that soon! Through it all, there were bikes. Bikes, Bikes, and more Bikes I’m grateful for all the space that this past year has given me. I was recently asked by @ride4unity what I love most about biking... I think what I love most about biking is that it’s always there, in whatever form you need, whenever you need it. Bikes are really just a means for accessing joy, freedom, and liberation. What we do beyond the bike matters just as much, if not more.