An impulse purchase that changed my life ...

On 17 March 2010, I walked into one of the many bike shops in Fort Collins, Recycled Cycles (Mason Street location), and within about 60 minutes departed with a new GT Avalanche 1.0, 26er, mountain bike. For the first few months, I stayed, mostly, on city bike trails. I was intimidated by trails and rocks. But eventually, by the end of 2011, I was beginning to develop a real love for the sport of mountain biking. By 2012, I was climbing and dropping, on this 32+ pound tank, the most difficult trails in Fort Collins. Ignorance was bliss at that stage in my cycling adventures. I had no idea, e.g., that I probably shouldn't be dropping Howard's in Lory State Park on this very entry-level bicycle. Instead, I grinned and pointed the bike downhill. Recently, July 2017, I walked back into the same shop where I impulsed purchased that GT and asked if they by chance could print me the original invoice, here it is (below). This purchase will always stand-out as one that significantly changed my priorities and along the way my life in ways that I'll continue to nourish and celebrate.
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Preparing to ride the crest, at Monarch Pass, and (lower image) taking a break on Indian Summer Trail in Fort Collins, both images are from the summer of 2012.
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Before I was a bi-cyclist I was a motor-cyclist, and during the transition from motor to quads I found a way to accommodate both of my passions! That's the GT strapped onto my (at that time) 2004 1150 GSA BMW. Summer of 2012.