6 years ago, on a whim, I started doing year-round commuting on a hybrid bike at 230 lbs, because I liked the adventure of riding before and after work, and in all types of weather, and not because I wanted to lose weight. A year later, when I was a little fitter and 15 lbs lighter, I decided to get a proper road bike and ride with a fast B-group for the first time, and I liked that even more than commuting. But I got dropped A LOT, and I was overworking way too much, and always slowing the group down. The desire to no longer be the one slowing the group (or potentially being asked to ride with the slower group) became my motivation. A 5,000 mile year, and then an 8,500 mile year followed, along with dropping 52 lbs total., down to 168 lbs at the lowest. No longer was I the guy getting dropped, instead I was holding the wheel of the group leader for most of the ride, and once in a while beating him to the top of a sprinting climb. Then came all the centuries, back-to-back-150 milers, double-centuries, a 5 hr 15 min century, a 326 mile 24 hour solo ride, and countless all-out sprinting attempts going for Strava KOM's.