29, >29, and a bit of reflection

A few weeks back I achieved my 29th birthday. Normally I would celebrate the occasion rather than simply mark it's passing, but this year I did so in a slightly unexpected fashion - due to some accidental circumstances. Fortunately I had lots of advance time to think about things, and in the time since, have been lucky to have thought about some more.

You can easily fear birthdays, and use them as a reminder of time passing while certain things remain undone. I prefer to use them to remind myself of highlights from the last year.

Erik has a benchmark for racing a number of days equal to your birthday in milestone years. I like this concept (even if my first milestone is actually next year!) because it's a quality of life indicator. Riding bikes just happens to be what me and lots of my friends love to do, but I think the same concept should be applied universally: whatever your passion may be, if you're not achieving it, then why not?

In the 120 days between June and October, I raced 30 days. Reflecting on this number (1 every 4 days, for 4 months), it was time well spent. It gave me a chance to reconnect with myself, learn some things I had forgot. I also gave me hours of time with friends, memories, fun travel, and satisfaction.

At the end of it, I was burned out. It's funny how the days add up on you over the summer - and suddenly you have reached total exhaustion just from doing as you please. Even then it's a bit of a cleansing moment and you see the rest of life with different focus.

29 was also the year of the 29er for me - 29er mountain bike, that is.

There are many other things from the last year. Some were good, and others seemed insurmountable at the time. But now in retrospect, I wouldn't trade any of it for another year. At the end of the day, that must be alright?