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There have been more downs than ups in Mr. Anonymous´s life, but strenuous long distance biking isn´t one of them.

For 24 years, he routinely biked 50 miles a day, and on occasion, 130. The all time highlight of his biking career was a European trip he made with a group of friends that took him to Munich, Vienna, Prague and back to Munich in time for Oktoberfest, the world famous Bavarian beer festival. "I attended, and I stayed sober" through the 18 days of the vast beer-swilling event.

More recently, health and the passing years have taken Mr. Anonymous out of the biking scene, but he still has his bike and hopes to get back on board one of these days.

Though he´d been sober for 18 years at the time-his sobriety date is October 6, 1975-- his sobriety was still a daily struggle, so he´s especially proud of his strength that October of 1993. For most of his life, he has worked to overcome depression, and it was not until three or four years ago that "I found someone in the program who could respond to my emotions. I´ve always had health problems. "

Quoting "Alcoholics Anonymous" on page 58, he read as follows: "There are those, too, who suffer from grave emotional and mental disorders, but many of them do recover if they have the capacity to be honest." "That was pretty much me," Anonymous said. "A.A. has been better for me than all the meds doctors ever prescribed. But the ´…capacity to be honest…´ part was especially tough. I had cash register honesty but not emotional honesty. I am still learning to forgive and let things go."

But things are looking up now, and as a result, he has cut back on meetings from five a week to two or three, many of them at the Union Club. He particularly likes the Union Club because cross talk is permitted. But Wedgewood is his home group, and has been for many years.

Step 2, "Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity," required modification to fit Anonymous´s struggles toward serenity. He substituted the word "lead" for "restore" to make the step read "…could lead us to sanity."

Born and raised in Seattle´s upscale North Capitol Hill neighborhood, he started out with a silver spoon in his mouth. He´s a graduate of Lakeside, the exclusive private high school which later spawned Bill Gates and Paul Allen and Microsoft. When he graduated in 1951, the Korean War was at its height. A smart kid with a good academic record, he got a Navy scholarship to the University of Virginia and emerged after graduation with an ensign´s commission.

He served for three years aboard the destroyer USS J.C. Owens, rising to the rank of lieutenant j.g. and traveling all over the world. His ship barely made it through the Suez Canal before the Egyptian dictator, Gamal Abdel Nasser, nationalized the canal in July 1956 and closed it to the West . "He shut the door behind us," Anonymous remarked.

Discharged with a high fitness report and back in Seattle,he studied accounting and logic at University of Washington, then went on to law school. The fledgling lawyer went to work for a downtown firm in 1961, but liquor was beginning to get in the way. He was shown the door when he refused to admire his boss´s boat, an attitude he described as "alcohol-related."

He was married for the first time a little later. He worked as a lawyer for the city of Seattle, handling appeals from the Municipal Court. Over half his cases, he noted, were DWI appeals. "There was lots of trial work, every day. I wouldn´t see the case ´til the morning we went to court. No prep. All by the seat of your pants. It was fun."

He was sober for 12 of his 14 years with the city. He credits A.A. for making him a better lawyer. "I was mister stiff, uptight and nervous in court. With A.A., I could relate better to people." But not well enough, apparently. His job with the city came to an end. He tried working for another law firm, then went into practice on his own specializing in public defender cases. "A.A. was keeping me alive and sane in those days."

Anonymous´s marriage foundered in 1975. "My wife was all over me about the drinking," he said. As a result, he had six months of white knuckle sobriety before he said the hell with it and bought a fifth of gin. "I drank three-fourths of it to lift my depression, but it didn´t help. I might as well have poured it on the floor."

His wife got a lawyer and ordered him out of the house. For the next few months, he knocked around trying to find a formula that would lift his depression and let him sleep at night. Among the things that didn´t work was a quarter tablet of Valium washed down with booze.

In desperation, he called a friend for help. The friend got him into a 30-day treatment center and thus into the ragged sobriety he has finally been able to smooth out in recent years.

He tried marriage a second time. It didn´t work out. He´s been single since.

Anonymous has worked hard to achieve stability and serenity. "There is recovery from mental isolation," he said. In addition to A.A., he has worked with alternative health doctors at the Well Mind Association to strengthen his physical and mental condition. The most notable alternative treatment has been Vitamin B-12 shots which he learned to administer himself. "B-12 is one of the major things which has helped me."

Today, his faith in A.A. has never been stronger. "I have found acceptance here. This is a fellowship of people who share their experience, strength and hope. It has done me more good than all those shrink groups. I´ve learned to lead a good life. It´s a wonderful revelation to find how kind we can be to each other."

Interviewing and writing by Dick S.