Santa Fe, NM

A big city!! I was so happy to be able to go to a city where there are going to be lots of shopping and places to eat!  I started my ride off with a very delicious breakfast on the way out at a local diner and then my group, Kirstin, Charlie, Gaurang and Shayan got started! As usual, there were quite the rolling hills but nothing we couldn't handle. The majority of the ride was pretty simple because the wind wasn't too terrible. The wind is always what gets me down. Eventually, my group broke up and I got to ride with Jamie into lunch. After lunch, I decided to take off on my own for the first time this trip. It was really nice to be able to get into my own groove and be able to settle into my own pace. I haven't been able to do that in a long time. On the way into Santa Fe, there was a little cafe that everyone was stopped at, getting snacks, water and coffee (a huge luxury on B&B). I rode from there into the city with Micah and Josiah and we were killing it, taking in the scenery and having a great time! Santa Fe is amazing. Right when I got in, everything made sense and all of the classic "New Mexico"/Native American theme things started popping up. I didn't even go to the host right away. I immediately started to explore and check out what was around. I got to go into this tiny little beading craft store and I bought two skull beads to go onto my Camelbak. I really do think that after being in Santa Fe, I would like to spend some time in New Mexico and live here for a little while. It's beautiful and so different from where I live and I love it! I hope to come back for sure. After the little craft store, we went to the plaza in the middle of the city and I went to the market and checked out the live band. I really wanted to buy some earrings or a ring from the market but I didn't have any cash with me at the time. Eventually, I made it back to the host but got scooped up right away and went to help Colleen and Greg round up some dinner for the crew! We got a lot of food donated from the local businesses, thanks to Colleens hard work all day! After that, we just ate and all started getting ready to go back out and continue exploring the city. Right as I was getting finished up in the shower, there was a huge bang on the door and someone was yelling for me to get out because, unfortunately, the host started to flood from the toilet downstairs...that kind of stunk because we had to pick up all of our stuff that was all laid out and move it over to a different place. Luckily, the place we moved to was a lot nicer and we ended up with the better end of the deal. That night, Colleen and I went out and walked around the plaza for a little while and then ended up meeting up with the rest of the crew at a pizza place. Everything closes in Santa Fe pretty early so we were all back in bed by 11 and ready for an awesome build day the next day!!