Remember that cart I said I wanted to build for my bike at the beginning of the tour? Well, I thought I'd let you jump in again and come along for the ride.Today we rode into New Mexico! One of my…

Remember that cart I said I wanted to build for my bike at the beginning of the tour? Well, I thought I'd let you jump in again and come along for the ride.Today we rode into New Mexico! One of my friends got a phone call for a new job, and another friends girlfriend drove all the way from Colorado on her day off to see him ride and cheer him on. She and her friend put together treat bags for all of us too with notes to each of us! How cool was that?!
This has been a challenging few days between riding up into Payson, then out of Payson and now into NM. The first half of today, we were hit by strong crosswinds... We were pedaling hard just to go 10mph downhills. After crossing the Arizona/New Mexico Border where we ate lunch, the wind died down. Today was more made up of rolling hills than it was mountains. Don't get me wrong, we climbed some good altitude, but mostly on long hills. That being said, it felt like every hill was another mountain. I think that's the challenge of a tour like this with riding day to day. It's hard, but I'm so excited to be a part of this challenge with a global impact.

Throughout the day, I always spend some time talking and hanging out with the team, but I try to always spend some time riding on my own too... Praying, thinking, asking God questions... Today, I feel like God dropped this into my heart:Sometimes, life seems like everything we face is a HUGE mountain. When the truth is that we've maybe faced one or two, but some of what we are facing are just hills. When everything starts to seem like a huge mountain you're facing, take some time. Stop what you're doing, and reevaluate what's going on. Are they really mountains? Ask God what his perspective on your challenges are -how to deal with them, rather than just getting defeated. The great thing is that a lot of the time when you're at the top of those challenges, you can look back and see how far you've come. Oh, and maybe learn to enjoy the victory too. On the way back down the last hill today, I reached my new highest speed 45.1mph -it was amazing! But it didn't come without the climb. You can't always understand God's purpose, timing or way with challenges we face, but you can know that He's right there with you, walking every step of the way.

With God we will gain the victory, and he will trample down our enemies. Psalms 108:13
What mountain, or hill are you facing? Let God help you TRAMPLE those enemies, those challenges.
Ride your lifes journey with purpose!

ps I just found out that since Monday Morning, we climbed over 14,000 feet!