You know what's really badass?

Out-biking a thunder storm.


Yesterday, heading into Santa Fe, a group of us managed to beat the rain, just by pedaling - it was (and there is no other word for it) awesome.


The ride from Las Vegas to Santa Fe was my favorite trip so far. It was 70 miles, which by now sounds like low milage. The first 30 I rode by myself, pushing myself way harder than I would have with other people. [Don't let them pass you. Push! Don't let anyone pass you! Don'tletanyonepassyou.Don'tletanyonepassyou.Don'tletanyonepassyou.] I have fun pumping up the hills when I'm by myself, but when I'm with a group and I start to fall behind, I just get really discouraged and give up. I'm going to start riding by myself more when there are mountains to conquer.



And so during that first 30 miles, no one passed me and I was the 8th or so person to get to lunch. I'm getting so sick of people passing me. I know it doesn't matter at all, but every once in a while my competitive streak kicks in and I can't stand it anymore.

Then after lunch, I rode with people I don't usually even see during the day, and had a blast. Surprisingly, I can keep up. That 40 miles skirting the edges of the Rockies was the most fun I've ever had on a bike. There were some challenging enough hills, but there were also a bunch of flyingdon'tfalllookforpotholesdon'tdieYEAH!!! downhills. We had a tailwind for the last 15 miles (and we don't get many tailwinds with this east-west route of ours), and we were easily climbing at 24 miles per hour and pumped it into Santa Fe peaking 30mph on the flats. The grin stayed on my face for hours.

Santa Fe is 7000 feet above sea level and I'm starting to be able to feel the elevation. It's the highest capital city in the US and we're actually staying downtown. A lot of times we're on the outskirts of the city we're in and it can be hard to deal with cabs, etc.

I've been exploring by myself. It's a day off and I'm spending it alone; I need some time to myself - living with 32 other people is great most of the time, but sometimes I just need some space to breathe.

Last night we went out to a bar. I used a fake ID for the first time in my life. (I lost my Driver's License somewhere along the way - any suggestions as to what to do?) and I learned that between the extreme dehydration and elevation, I'm an incredible lightweight. One drink and I was drunk, 3 drinks and everything was spinning; I could get used to the prospect of cheaper nights out on the town.

So, now I'm going to a bookstore I found yesterday just at closing time, and then the Georgia O'Keefe Museum. Then tonight I hang out with my flute teacher from Rutgers and tomorrow we have a short 50m ride to a lake. Rumor has it that we're going to attempt a found-items fashion show. I'll have pictures...