7//26 [1]

I’ve covered so many miles since the beginning of July (particularly since July 10th) and taken so many photos that I already know I need to break this month up into two posts.

Break… ha. Too soon?

This “part 1” is part of a larger “part 2” or “take two” on my travels that started back in April but ended abruptly when I broke my friggen’ arm.

The serendipitous part about the second go around is that I’m bringing with me the Atlantis 2; how apt.

The photo above was taken on the day of the Peachtree Road race where I was attending to cheer on my Dad (and my friend Maxime who was running in my place). Here are some other photos I captured from that day:

I took all the photos above before 7/10. After that I had my final X-Ray, got the “all clear,” and hit the open road.

The first two days were just a long-haul to New Mexico that was split up into ~7hr drives each: GA > AL > MS > TN > AR // OK > TX > NM. It was HOT and gas was is EXPENSIVE.

In an effort to escape the high temps, I pushed through Texas on Saturday and followed the rain into straight into New Mexico where I camped on Conchas Lake. I had no clue what monsoon season meant, but it was in my favor when it came to sleeping in a tent. It also afforded some beautiful views of a rainbow.

Eventually, after enough staring the window (or standing on my hood), I made it to my campsite in the Santa Fe National Forest:

Seems like the party started without me. This trailer caught on fire and the aftermath was devastating; hopefully everyone was alright and I’m glad did didn’t result in a larger wildfire…

Herbert must be pissed. In all seriousness though, the campground was pleasant and at ~8,500ft elevation, it was also much cooler. The only downside to the altitude was getting acclimated, which I couldn’t do quickly enough to ride bikes with my neighbor, Ryan. Thankfully we got plenty of good chats in otherwise, and we follow each other on Strava now. Fingers crossed we’ll cross paths again down the road.

A couple of final reflections I want to note from my journey so far:

• I miss my friends and family
• My socks are not white anymore and I’m not sure any amount of laundry can change that
• I came the closest I’ve ever come to pooping myself until I found a hotel in Las Vegas, NM and asked if I could “borrow” their bathroom. I did not return it in similar condition
• The countryside between central NM and CO is some of the most beautiful I have witnessed yet
• At one point I couldn’t smell the difference between a heard of cattle and my own ass

For everything the trip is (and at a one week in, it’s already amazing) it sure isn’t one thing and that’s glamourous – but that’s okay; I’ll cash in the humility of B.O. for what will hopefully be a lifetime of memories, and at least I can always get new socks…

See you in part two.