voodoochilli
Active Member
- Location
- Knighton, POWYS
OK, I joined up a few days ago and thought it was time to say a proper hello. I've already left a few messages in the beginners section and everyone has been so helpful, thanks! 
My story is a long one, so I'll keep it as brief as I can. I wasn't a particularly happy kid and came from a broken family, my dad killed himself etc., but one thing I always enjoyed was being out in the fresh air. At school I would run cross country and at home I used to ride my bike with my only real friend. I had a Raleigh Milkrace and he had his trusty Pursuit. Long summers cycling around Herefordshire where I lived, skiving off school and copying each other's homework. But then my family moved again (I attended about 20-30 schools) and I lost my friend and my bike. I can't even remember where we moved to. A few years later I got put into foster care nearby where I lived as a kid - I was in the middle of nowhere, but I managed to get hold of an old bike and reunited with my old school friend who lived just a few miles away. It was as if I had never went away.
Then we learned about women and beer and life just seems to have passed me by. A few years ago it occurred to me that I wasn't making the most of my life. I had been engaged for 10 years, and spent most of my time working in front of the computer by day, and sat in front of the xbox and night. I would sit up until 4 in the morning drinking beer and shouting at Americans on Xbox live and basically being miserable. Also, around this point I was randomly assaulted and put in hospital and I developed what I can only describe as a form of social anxiety. I also suffered some physical health issues that further dented my confidence and made me kind of a hypochondriac. I wasn't happy. I stopped going out almost completely and shut myself off from most of my friends. Then out of the blue, somehow logic penetrated my alcohol saturated, self-pitying brain and I realised something had to change, and no one else was going to do it for me.
I cut back on the beer and started to get my crap together. In 2010 I married my beautiful fiancee of 10 years, my mate who I used to cycle with was my best man at my wedding and gave a speech that brought tears to peoples eyes. Last year my wife and I became parents of our amazing daughter. We also moved out of our horrible house where I was assaulted and brought our own home on the border of Wales. It's amazing here and the people are so nice! I'm eating better, doing regular exercise and, I hope, being a good father and husband. I've taken up weightlifting again and feel better than I have in a long time, physically and mentally. I've also started driving lessons again (can you believe it, I'm 34 and don't drive, yet!). I got back into chess. I'm writing my 3rd book (sci-fi), and today, I brought a bike and can't wait to start exploring the beautiful countryside and start rediscovering who I am a little more.
Sorry if it all sounds a bit dramatic or a little midlife crisis. The bike is an important step for me, it's hard to explain why, but I have tried. It symbolizes stability in a chaotic life. Maybe it doesn't make sense to anyone else. I was putting off buying it for a long time, I was actually scared to do it because I know it means I'll have to get back out there - in the world - and I'll be committed to it. I am and can't wait.
My story is a long one, so I'll keep it as brief as I can. I wasn't a particularly happy kid and came from a broken family, my dad killed himself etc., but one thing I always enjoyed was being out in the fresh air. At school I would run cross country and at home I used to ride my bike with my only real friend. I had a Raleigh Milkrace and he had his trusty Pursuit. Long summers cycling around Herefordshire where I lived, skiving off school and copying each other's homework. But then my family moved again (I attended about 20-30 schools) and I lost my friend and my bike. I can't even remember where we moved to. A few years later I got put into foster care nearby where I lived as a kid - I was in the middle of nowhere, but I managed to get hold of an old bike and reunited with my old school friend who lived just a few miles away. It was as if I had never went away.
Then we learned about women and beer and life just seems to have passed me by. A few years ago it occurred to me that I wasn't making the most of my life. I had been engaged for 10 years, and spent most of my time working in front of the computer by day, and sat in front of the xbox and night. I would sit up until 4 in the morning drinking beer and shouting at Americans on Xbox live and basically being miserable. Also, around this point I was randomly assaulted and put in hospital and I developed what I can only describe as a form of social anxiety. I also suffered some physical health issues that further dented my confidence and made me kind of a hypochondriac. I wasn't happy. I stopped going out almost completely and shut myself off from most of my friends. Then out of the blue, somehow logic penetrated my alcohol saturated, self-pitying brain and I realised something had to change, and no one else was going to do it for me.
I cut back on the beer and started to get my crap together. In 2010 I married my beautiful fiancee of 10 years, my mate who I used to cycle with was my best man at my wedding and gave a speech that brought tears to peoples eyes. Last year my wife and I became parents of our amazing daughter. We also moved out of our horrible house where I was assaulted and brought our own home on the border of Wales. It's amazing here and the people are so nice! I'm eating better, doing regular exercise and, I hope, being a good father and husband. I've taken up weightlifting again and feel better than I have in a long time, physically and mentally. I've also started driving lessons again (can you believe it, I'm 34 and don't drive, yet!). I got back into chess. I'm writing my 3rd book (sci-fi), and today, I brought a bike and can't wait to start exploring the beautiful countryside and start rediscovering who I am a little more.
Sorry if it all sounds a bit dramatic or a little midlife crisis. The bike is an important step for me, it's hard to explain why, but I have tried. It symbolizes stability in a chaotic life. Maybe it doesn't make sense to anyone else. I was putting off buying it for a long time, I was actually scared to do it because I know it means I'll have to get back out there - in the world - and I'll be committed to it. I am and can't wait.
