Hozho

The first hints of bloom are creeping into the eastern sky as we pedal east out of Kayenta in the morning. A warm blush washes across the desert around us, revealing stunning beauty, seeping into my heart and soul, pushing strength and energy into my body.

The mountains and rocks here have been washed by oceans and chiseled by winds over the eons. As dawn along the horizon spreads brilliant red across the eastern sky, the red sand and rock around us is transformed into a deep red…

[fullwidth backgroundcolor=”” backgroundimage=”” backgroundrepeat=”no-repeat” backgroundposition=”left top” backgroundattachment=”scroll” video_webm=”” video_mp4=”” video_ogv=”” video_preview_image=”” overlay_color=”” overlay_opacity=”0.5″ video_mute=”yes” video_loop=”yes” fade=”no” bordersize=”0px” bordercolor=”” borderstyle=”” paddingtop=”20px” paddingbottom=”20px” paddingleft=”0px” paddingright=”0px” menu_anchor=”” equal_height_columns=”no” hundred_percent=”no” class=”” id=””][two_third last=”no” spacing=”no” background_color=”” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” background_position=”left top” border_size=”0px” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” padding=”” class=”” id=””][fusion_text]Day 13 – Kayenta, Arizona to Towaoc, Colorado

The first hints of bloom are creeping into the eastern sky as we pedal east out of Kayenta in the morning. A warm blush washes across the desert around us, revealing stunning beauty, seeping into my heart and soul, pushing strength and energy into my body.

The mountains and rocks here have been washed by oceans and chiseled by winds over the eons. As dawn along the horizon spreads brilliant red across the eastern sky, the red sand and rock around us is transformed into a deep red mystical world punctuated by the quiet of the empty road. I can’t imagine a human looking across this desert in this light and not thinking of it as sacred.

How many places on earth can offer a sunrise this stunning? Riding east into the rising sun, floating through the desert lavishness around me, my legs fill with endless energy. I keep slowing myself down, knowing that we’ve got over 100 miles to ride today. The magic of this place percolates into my body and soul, wrapping me in a spiritual high. The line between physical and spiritual blurs: the physical rising and falling with the spiritual like a small boat on a tide, the spiritual breathing life into the physical. When the breath of the spiritual subsides, the strength and vigor of the physical wanes.

Hozho.

I feel like a racehorse crashing out of the gates, bent on gulping every moment the world has in front of me right now.

Life is good.[/fusion_text][/two_third][one_third last=”yes” spacing=”no” background_color=”” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” background_position=”left top” border_size=”0px” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” padding=”25px” class=”” id=””][imageframe lightbox=”no” style_type=”none” bordercolor=”” bordersize=”0px” borderradius=”0″ stylecolor=”” align=”none” link=”” linktarget=”_self” animation_type=”0″ animation_direction=”down” animation_speed=”0.1″ class=”” id=””] [/imageframe][separator style_type=”shadow” top_margin=”50″ bottom_margin=”10″ sep_color=”#71b5dd” icon=”” width=”” class=”” id=””][fusion_text]

“Take a breath of the new dawn and make it a part of you.”
~Hopi Proverb

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Pilgrim Wheels Excerpts

This post is part of a series of posts, representing excerpts from Pilgrim Wheels, a story of a cycling journey across America. Pilgrim Wheels was released on March 1, 2015. We’re honored and grateful for the awards the book is receiving, including the following:

  • 2015 National Indie Excellence Awards – 1st Place
  • Great Southwest Book Festival – 2nd Place
  • LA Book Festival – Honorable Mention
  • San Francisco Book Festival – Honorable Mention

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Author: Neil Hanson

Neil administers this site and manages content.