Mark was especially excited for this stop of our tour because we were staying with his cousin Todd and his wife Nina and their daughter Asha. Mark and Todd hadn't seen each other in a long time, but they both have a huge, huge passion for cycling so he was so pumped to reconnect with Todd in that way. We got to their house and Nina told us that Todd had been called in for an emergency at the school, that something was wrong with the pipes and he would come home as soon as it got figured out. We ate tacos for dinner and then went over to Mandi's house, one of Mark's friends.
Back in college, Mark was an RA at Madison and Mandi and her sister were residents of his. They've kept in touch over the years and now she lives in Albuquerque so we made it a priority to go hang out for a little while and chat and play a little bit of music. We were wiped, though. Days were long for us. So we headed back over to Todd's house and he still wasn't home yet. Later we found out that he wasn't at the school, that he had been at the hospital all night. He didn't want to worry us, so he waited until he could explain it in person. He was fine, everything was okay. And the two guys went for a bike ride in the morning.
We had time in the afternoon to just hang out with everyone in the living room, talking, playing music, and watching the US lose in the soccer match. Then they took us up the Sandia Mountains for dinner.
It was absolutely wonderful spending time with their family. They are so loving and inviting. I got to hear a lot of stories about their family and it was all so very special. I loved getting to be a part of it, and I know how much it meant to Mark to have these moments.
And even though Mark was wiped from two really big days of biking in a row, he wasn't going to miss out on one last bike ride with his cousin the morning we were going to leave. They left early morning to ride the Sandia Mountains and Mark described it like they were chasing the sun. The sun was just starting to rise, so they would bike to certain points and it was dark, but then the sun would catch up. And they'd bike even more and get to a point where it was dark again, and then the sun would catch up. I think it was a really neat experience for him and they got to have some really special time together one-on-one.
Todd is the principal at La Cueva, a high school in ABQ. So before we hit the road he gave us a tour of the school and sent us off with many hugs.
Our time in Albuquerque was really special. I got to be a part of the family. It went by way too quick, because before we knew it, we were in the car headed to Frisco, CO.
Until next time,
Jordan
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