As I dreamed about 2019 at the end of last year, both with John and on my own, the desire to move more as a family came up again and again. Over the last few years of pregnancy and newborn life, fitness has not been our highest priority, but this felt like the right year to challenge ourselves to stretch beyond our comfort zone. We quickly settled on road biking as a fitting activity for our family’s current stage, and when we saw that there was an MS fundraising ride in New Bern towards the end of the year, we had a goal to work toward! I shared a little bit of our journey along the way, mostly in my monthly updates, but I thought I’d write this post to house everything in one place, both for my memories and for anyone else’s reference! It’s a doozy, so let’s go! My biking history: In September 2014, I bought a road bike off Craiglist. For a few months, John and I rode about once a week, usually 15-20 miles at a time. Then, I got pregnant, then we had a newborn, then I got pregnant again, then another newborn, and pretty much our only form of exercise for four years was walking around our neighborhood and the occasional hike. John has a more extensive biking history, including riding in two two-day MS 150 rides in college. Gear: Cycling is certainly not the least-expensive form of exercise, though once you have the initial equipment the ongoing cost is minimal. My used bike was $425 several years ago. (John’s was a gift from his parents in high school!) We also each purchased two pairs of bike shorts (key for long rides! Mine here and here and John’s), two jerseys (mine and John’s here