Music for this ride is Cocomo’s

Sunday afternoon Mai and I took a spin on the West Mesa’s Paseo de la Mesa multi use trail.  The open space edges against new housing developments and the Petroglyph National Monument.  This land use mix creates sharp contrasts.

We plan whole vacations around visiting places that mysteriously make us feel good.  Yosemite, Sequoia, Grand Canyon, Arches inspires us with awe and wonder.  With the bicycle and walking we can be awash in attractive places right here at home and soak up the intangible nourishment that open space, clear sunlight, and a relaxed ambiance resonate back to us.  Being in open space illuminates our sense of the oneness of the world.

We explore on our bikes and feet to connect with the diversity of landscapes that come together in Albuquerque.  To feel the slanted sunlight brushing up against our skin and throwing shadows from us and the lava rocks and wispy vegetation.  We learn about the prickly dimensions of the desert plants through sensations on our skin when we sit down on the rocks in the brush to take a break and drink water and eat some oranges.  I’ve never seen anything like this place anywhere else in the world.  Albuquerque is underrated!

Our senses spring out toward the silence to listen more closely.  When we walk and bike we get an honest assessment of how we are feeling that day.  I’m feeling better when I take a ride.

The chorus of unconfined life out on the open West Mesa is quiet but if you listen it is there. Energizing.  Paseo de la Mesa is a wild trail.  Get out and check it out!

sunset on Sunday night