New Mexico

First off I hope everyone had a great and blessed Easter! I did miss celebrating with my family but loved all the support they showed with my absence. And no worries, we still celebrated while riding.

2 weeks in and the group is really coming along well. I've been biking for a few years now but quite a few people are pretty new to bike riding. It has been great to see the progression of several people and how 900 miles of riding in 2 weeks will drastically improve ones riding ability. My time on the bike has been great! Most people think of the southwest as desert and not much more but there is quite a bit to see. Once one type of landscape begins to become mundane there is new scenery that surrounds you.

We have made it into eastern New Mexico now after a few off days in Albuquerque. The city was great. It is full of culture,a great university, and breath taking view being situated in a valley with mountains in every direction. Oh and they love their green chiles here! They are so good initially but wow they pack a punch, burning up your mouth afterwards! We had several lectures at the Univ of New Mexico, inspiring several groups and being inspired by them on global health issues. We also made a day trip up to Sante Fe to explore museums, the plaza area, and the Sante Fe brewery. I felt fully recovered after the 2 days off. However today was a brutal ride. We rode into a head wind most of the day, heading uphill, and even saw a few snowflakes along the way. I'd rather be here than anywhere else and somehow enjoyed every minute of the ride still. We now start a stretch of 6 days of 95+ miles a day ride until we reach OKC! I'm eager to get there and see Katie and enjoy all the events we have planned in Oklahoma with the team. I'm making Facebook events and will begin inviting people once we have Wi-Fi service.

The group I have gotten to spend the last 2 weeks with is a very unique, influential, motivated group. The backgrounds and futures of several of the riders inspire me to continue to grow into the medical field and to make a difference through my life and career. Whether hearing about previous mission trips to every continent, future career paths from neuro surgery to family medicine, and hearing ideas on how to tackle global health issues this group makes me better. A college mentor of mine once said, "Be a part of something bigger than you but better because of you." And that is exactly what I feel I am currently doing. It's an awe feeling and motivates myself to continue to seek opportunities like this throughout life.

Again, thank you everyone for reading and supporting the team and myself! Looking forward to seeing many of you next week in Oklahoma! Keep up with r4wh.org along with my Facebook and twitter for more info!