2004 Over and Out

A thought from Bikergrl

2004 is just hours from ending and waiting for supper to cook I suddenly realized that you should know what this past year has meant for me and those I share my life with, because believe it or not, you've been part of it.

Every night my mother chimes in on MSN and asks me "What's new with you?" With the exception of a few days this year that started or ended on particularly bad notes, I tell her "Nothing."

Truth is, this year has been jam packed with new, both good and bad.

I have lost friends this year. Some I have lost because they've moved hundreds or thousands of kilometers away. Others I've lost tragically, deaths that in every case came far too early.

But I have made friends this year too. I've found them on the trails and on the streets, and I've met many good people through this website. I've ridden with complete strangers and I've offered a shoulder and advice to kids who, besides the fact that my picture is on the internetweb, don't know me from a hole in the wall.

This year I have accepted and risen to new challenges. I've learned that I CAN live on my own (in my 36 years this is the first time I've ever lived alone). I have also learned some humbling lessons, including how to find compassion and patience at times when they are hardest to come by. I've learned that some selfish wishes are better let go, but I've also learned that sometimes, taking care of me is most important.

Through the thick and the thin, the good and the bad, some truly remarkable things have happened. Jeff and his wife Sam welcomed their new daughter Amelia into the world, people very close to me have persevered and come out on top during incredibly trying times. I have found a new place and peace to move forward from, and I am confident that 2005 is going to kick ass.

To most of you ECMTB is a place to discuss biking with your buds, arrange rides, kill downtime when you're looking out and wishing the rain would just piss off. Reflecting on this past year though, I realize that ECMTB has been much more than that for me.

Through every rough time I have used this site to find solace, either by distracting myself or discussing things with you on the forum. Through every good time I have felt the camaraderie that we share as similarly obsessed people - we don't always talk about bikes, but we seem to feel some sort of connection because of them.

Thanks to all of you, the ECMTB community. You have made this a very special year for me, you've helped me through absolutely awful and you've helped me enjoy absolutely fabulous. I think I speak for all the people who put time into ECMTB when I say that if you can get even a fraction of the good out of this site that we do, it's worth every minute we put in.

You rock. Happy 2005!

Posted by bikergrl at December 31, 2004 06:37 PM

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