25th anniversary of quitting smoking

This photo was taken in 1952 when I was six years old. Just six years later, at age 12, I started smoking.

For 25 years I smoked between two and three packs of non-filtered cigarettes almost every day. I tried over and over again to stop smoking and was unsuccessful. I risked getting kicked out of the school that I loved; I lied to myself and others about how much I smoked; I spent thousands of dollars on cigarettes and cures; I learned a lot about addiction.

When I finally quit on June 2, 1983, I was ready, and the timing was right. Twenty-five years later, I still think that quitting smoking was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. And that includes riding my bike 3300 miles from Seattle to Washington DC in 2004!

So I continue to ride in celebration of my good health in spite of my history with smoking and to raise money to support the good work of the American Lung Association of Washington. The money that you contribute to these rides goes to help stem the tide of big tobacco money that is pushing young people to start a lifelong habit that kills 8200 Washingtonians every year and to fund research to find cures for lung diseases.

Thanks to Susana Stettri Sawrey (friend, colleague, and lung-cancer survivor) for another generous contribution bringing my current fundraising for Big Ride Alaska to $5408.48!