I was approaching my 56th birthday and was getting tired of being fat and out of breath. My wife, daughter, and younger son all had bicycles and I was looking at them, trying to figure out if I wanted to try it or not.

My wife got me a bike for my birthday, and I thought "Great, just what I wanted. An effing bicycle!"

But, I gave it a try. And pretty soon, I was hooked. It has become part of who I am. I used to be the "fat guy" and now I am a cyclist.

Yesterday, my daughter ran into a family friend who remarked "I saw your dad riding his bicycle yesterday." My daughter thought to herself "It's like he doesn't do that ALL the time?"

When my wife can find me, the first thing she checks is to see if my bike is here or not. Then, she tries my cell phone!