I got up at 5 thinking I was missing something, so I went to the motel PC (the android tablet does not do ridewithgps very well) to look at route alternatives. It looked like there was an alternative way to get to Las Cruces that avoided a nasty summit. The major unknown being whether the roads between Deming and Las Cruces were all paved or whether I10 can be used by cyclists. So I generated a new route, loaded it on the garmin and cancelled the U-Haul sag plan.

I started a little later again and after a few miles of downs followed by ups to 6000+ ft, the road tuned into a freshly paved gentle downhill for 30+ miles. Straight as an arrow (an arrow shot by that hunger games actress), 30+ mph without pedaling!  The road did level off and I was able to maintain the mid 20s with some pedaling effort. I would have been disappointed had I driven instead of ridden today. The altitude decreased to about 4300ft on today’s ride.

At the only rest stop on the route, I met a DOT worker who said that he has seen cyclists on I 10 and we talked a little about tomorrow’s route. And pictures were taken of course.

The land flattened out but no real agriculture. This could be related to the signs warning of sudden sand storms with 0 visibility and advising not to stop in the driving lane.

I will get much closer to both Texas and Mexico if all goes well tomorrow.

And today’s ride puts me at about 25% done.