As readers know, I am committed to the annual retrospective! I like the exercise of looking back, though I must admit this is another one that I’m doing with my hands half-covering my eyeballs.
Someone said to me this year that it is in difficult times that we find the best in ourselves. Somebody else said there is opportunity in chaos. I hope both of those are true.
I told myself to be factual and not feelingful and that worked for me until my heart spewed over. The year was topsy turvy with a gut punch here and there, and occasional glints of sunshine. My body ached in new ways and anxiety became a thing I had to manage. I listened to podcasts, moved my feet a fair amount, and read a lot of books!
January
I spent a lot of time going back and forth over the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge. I like this crossing. Good views of the sky (look at these contrails against that blue!), and frequent osprey views. Unfortunately, people like to throw bottles from their vehicles onto the path so beware the broken glass (I mean, really people?!).
The pull of Anacostia Park – just on the other side of this bridge from this photo – was strong. It continues to be a serene respite in the city, and occasionally you even encounter the local turkey population strolling about.
February
February was a tough month in the city. Flight 5342 and a military helicopter collided and crashed into the Potomac River on January 29. It was shocking. Horrible. Devastating.
As the recovery effort continued into February, people made makeshift memorials for the dead, including one at the Titanic Memorial, which abuts the Washington Channel and Fort McNair.
Government work was tumultuous for reasons I won’t expound on here. You know why!
Winter walks to make sense and sort through it all either solo or with a friend became necessary. The city in winter takes on a relative quiet, especially in the evenings. Good for thinking!
Doesn’t this vista toward the Capitol radiate contemplative? Yes, it’s perfect for that, just be sure to bunde up.
March
Street protest art began popping up everywhere in the city! It’s always been there, but it felt like it went to a new level in 2025. This was one of the larger displays I saw over the course of the year.
I spent a lot of time surrounded by asphalt in 2025. I felt so out of sync with plant life and the natural world. I almost forgot about the impressive magnolias in the Enid Haupt Garden.
Almost! I did manage a brief visit one day before the garden gates closed. Their aroma dazzles as much as their blooms. It can be a lot. I don’t care though. Bring it on, magnolias! I’m sorry I didn’t spend more time with you this year, pencil me in for 2026!
April
Felkerino and I rode tandem again!!! We had not ridden the tandem since November of 2024 so it had been a while. But guess what, it’s just like riding a bike so we figured out how to do it again.
It’s been a process to find the right sweet spot for general bike riding (I reverted to transportation cycling on my single mostly this year) as well as tandem riding (no brevets at the moment and less time on open roads), but we’re figuring it out.
Like Felkerino keeps saying, he is just glad to be here. We’ll work through everything else as we go.
May
This was a month where the factual versus feelingful approach had to take center stage. I was running numbers, running numbers, running numbers. I took great solace in books and the library through this time when I wasn’t wearing out my calculator.
Our local branch put together a special display for Bike Month. Of course I had to document their creative work. Well done, librarians!
June
Well, that was that. I took this photo as I rode home from my last day in the office as a federal employee (at least for now). It was gusty with a crosswind so I take that to mean nature was agnostic about my decision.
I wrote about this previously so won’t belabor it here. I was full-on facts over feelings in my decision-making and that approach led me to my end point. It was exciting to be so rational! Maybe I am a pragmatist after all.
I didn’t realize the long tail of my decision, though, especially on the feelings side! Still, it was the difficult right thing for me. Thanks to those who have helped me process it all.
July
In July it was time to leave town and take a bike tour. YES A BIKE TOUR! Felkerino routed us on an incredible hotel-to-hotel tour from Geneva, Switzerland (where Mary Shelley penned Frankenstein!), to Aix-en-Provence, France, and back. We saw both the men’s and women’s Tours de France while there.
We rode the tandem! We had not ridden our green tandem since 2023 Paris-Brest-Paris and I really didn’t know whether we’d tour on tandem again. Lavender fields, the Alps, farmers markets, endless pastries. We met the mayor of Chambery! And Lucinda Brand! Pure bliss.
August
Vacation continued into early August and we rode L’Etape de Tour de France Femmes as part of our tour. It was an interesting? fun? engrossing challenge.
I swear our brevet legs and grit of years past rode us to the summits of the climbs we encountered.
There were a few tandems on the course, but not many. The participating riders were skilled and encouraging of our effort, it was a lovely event and very well-organized, add it to your bicycle to-do list!
We ended up going over the Col de la Madeleine twice, once to be official for the TdFF event (Felkerino wanted the medal), and the second time to get to our hotel.
I had been dreading going up the climb we had just climbed, but it was so peaceful and the weather – which had been cold and dreary when we first summited – had cleared and it was a vivid early evening.
The descent into our overnight town of Albertville was SPECTACULAR because there were no cars due to the Tour. Wow, what a special descent. Swoopy and twisty, yet not too gnarly. Night fell as we rode.
I have missed riding from sunset into evening hours in the country, it can be so delicious to ride through that transition. We even caught the pizza truck in our overnight town minutes before its closing, tour magic!
After three weeks away from home, it was boom! Back to reality. My batteries were recharged after we returned from France and I got back to my new unpaid job of finding a new paying job.
September
It was both nice and awful to be in between jobs. It’s so uncertain yet it can also be nice to have unstructured time and a less rigid schedule. But I had a lot of anxiety to manage and I was not a fan of that.
I spent a lot of morning time outdoors – walking, running, listening to music, book podcasts, and audiobooks. I took a picture of this snail, who I’m pretty sure was telling me to f off. Sorry snail, you fascinate me! These guys are plentiful during certain times of year along the Anacostia.
September also marked the arrival of the National Guard to the city so that happened.
October
People suggested various volunteering ideas to me during my in-between times, and I wanted to do something intrinsically motivating and easily accessible by bike so I’d be sure to show up.
In October I began volunteering at Congressional Cemetery. I was a guide for their Soul Strolls event, an annual occurrence around Halloween. Soul Strolls is organized around a theme – 2025 was Grave Robbing and Resurrection – and people tour specific graves and areas of the cemetery in small groups and re-enactors give some insight into the people and place of that time.
I really didn’t understand much about the prevalence of grave robbing in the 1800s – prior to the enactment of “bone bills” – and I learned so much while also having a great time leading people through the cemetery. I hope to do it next year.
Congressional Cemetery is such a special, alive, and picturesque space. Volunteering there has been an immersive way to learn more about the history of our country and D.C. as well.
November
In November, I made my grand return to the working life. I’m excited about the next chapter! There is some park space near where I work and I ventured out a few times to catch the fall foliage and check on the local fauna (or were they checking on me) during a lunchtime break.
I actually was concerned this buck was going to charge me so I tried to keep it moving as I took this picture. It was remarkable to experience a spark of wildness in the middle of the urban landscape.
December
This rumply fraught year raced through me and I’m still catching my breath from it all, rearranging the pieces from recent life changes. Felkerino went back into sling life, and hopefully this resolves some of the lingering shoulder issues he’s been having.
As for me, life remained simple and I stayed near home frequenting the farmers markets. This sign of the “BEST APPLE TODAY” alongside the Pink Lady gave me pause, as I’m completely on the side of the Gold Rush apple.
I wanted to move the sign, but restrained myself. I did test those Pink Lady’s and guess what? The Gold Rush were still BEST APPLE TODAY! Also they are an awesome late-season apple treat!
We pay a premium at our D.C. farmers markets in the city, but I’m grateful for the growers who wake up in the dark and drive hours to bring their delicious produce to us from Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania and other nearby states throughout the year.
I’ve been oddly reluctant about time outside lately, I hope it’s a passing thing just due to the short days. Otherwise, I’m going to have to start kicking myself out the door. The farmers markets incentivize me to get outside, be active, and get a little grocery shopping done.
I did convince myself to meet up with my friend to go on a contemplative, festive, and somewhat chilly walk around downtown and the White House to inspect the holiday decor. It was very sweet and infused holiday cheer into a somewhat bleak and uncertain year.
Friends, readers, thank you for reading this year! Your comments, emails, and in-person meetups have been the best. I hope you are all enjoying the holiday and I wish you good cheer in the new year.
Chasing Mailboxes 