GALLUP, NM to ALBUQUERQUE, NM

Weather:
Mostly sunny
Starting temp 30, finishing temp 76
Winds mild to moderate cross/head to cross/tail

Ride stats:
Today’s mileage: 136 mi
Today’s climbing: 3110 ft
Total miles ridden: 852 mi
Approx miles to go: 2,615 mi

First, a note of thanks to those who have donated to the USO. Someone mentioned that they did not see the instructions to write “On behalf of Greg Browning’s cross country bicycle tour” in the dedication box on the donation link. Writing that note in the dedication box allows to USO to direct the funds to the Naval Station Great Lakes holiday meal program. If you made a donation and did not fill in the dedication box, send me an e-mail that you did not include the dedication note and I will send your name to my USO contact so they can direct your donation appropriately. Don’t send me the donation amount, just your name. If you donated and did include the note in the dedication box, no need to send me an e-mail. Thanks.

Today was another long day in the saddle, 136 miles. Big temperature variation. 30 degrees when we started and then mid seventies in the afternoon. The sun made it feel hotter than that. Some of today was on I-40, some on Old Route 66 which parallels I-40. Not a lot to see on this stretch of the route. We crossed the Continental Divide fairly early in the day, then pressed on down the road. Hit a short stretch of construction, but we were able to ride through it this time. Every so often we have a “jersey day” when they ask everyone to wear the America By Bicycle jerseys. Today was our second jersey day, the first being day one.

Very nice, long descent into Albuquerque. Rode by an outdoor wedding in the “old town” area of Albuquerque. Sunday will be our first recovery day, so we will stay in Albuquerque for the day. Everyone is looking forward to having a day off. My body is holding up okay with no major aches or pains, but I was pretty fatigued yesterday. I mentioned previously that everyone keeps a cue sheet on their handlebars to stay on course. I posted a photo of the cue sheet setup below so you could see what it looks like.

Here are photos from today. Click on any photo and a slideshow view will open up.