u/JRKinney95

i’m a musician, and the first photo is a press photo i took last august a week before starting hrt. the album it was for comes out tomorrow, a work i composed partially on the subject of my transition, and i went to post the photo today and was blown away at how different i look now!

hoping things keep moving like this for a bit longer🤞🏻 beyond the physical changes, life has been so much easier to manage. i don’t spend every morning in bed forever, i don’t wake and bake, and my depression has radically improved. i feel when other loves me and feel my love for them stronger than ever, and that has meant more than anything!

anyways, here is my dosage history—just tablets so far:

month 1-3: 2mg estradiol, 50mg spirono per day
month 4-6: 4mg estradiol, 100mg spirono per day
month 7-now: 6mg estradiol, 200mg spirono per day

i started when i was 29, and i’m 30 now

i picked this up on craigslist this past december after retiring my bike of 12 years

the tires, tubes, tape, pedals, and cables and housing were purchased new, but everything else was repurposed, from the used market, or from my local bike charities parts bins

primarily using it for long rides, gravel, and touring/bikepacking 🤘🏻

frame: chromoly
fork: ishitawa hi-tensile
wheelset: 700c araya rims, sunshine hubs, steel spokes (from the bike i retired)
tires: kenda 700x40
handlebar: nitto noodle (fb marketplace)
tape: brooks rubber
brake levers: dia compe drilled (also from the bike i retired)
brake calipers: dia compe center pull (stock)
stem: velo orange adapter (fb marketplace), unknown stem (bike charity bins)
shift levers: suntour stem shifters (stock, might swap for a single bar end shifter)
crankset: shimano 600, 39t chainring (bike charity bins)
chain: sram 7-speed (new)
pedals: mks silvan (new)
freewheel: suntour "mighty 6" 14-16-19-22-26-30 (stock)
rear derailleur: suntour vx, branded for fuji (stock)
seatpost: stock steel, and quite scratched from previous owner—will replace when i can find a used one that fits
saddle: brooks b17 (craigslist)
rack: pletscher (fb marketplace)

lavender housing bc i wanted a pretty bike 🏳️‍⚧️

all in all the whole bike costed between $450-500.

once this wheelset goes, i plan to upgrade to a freehub wheelset so i can get more gearing, but i don't see that happening for another couple years though

the last pic was what it looked like the day i got it—those chrome wheels were a deathtrap haha