BIKE RIDE, CA to FL 2017: I-10, 10.25.17, DEMING, NM

I left the motel around 8:30 (slept badly) and still had not clearly decided which route to take. The entrance to I-10 was half a mile from the motel while route 90 was 3 miles away. As I got to the I-10 entrance, without really thinking much about it, I rode up the ramp and as I got to the top I said out loud, "I-10 it is."

There have been four routes on this map to date that did not make sense to me (as well as to other cyclists whom I have spoken with and read). When I started I followed the map, as I grow more comfortable and knowledgeable I'm making my own decisions. This trail goes from CA to FL and these side trips often seem superfluous and pointlessly indirect and therefore hard to justify. I took two of them, part of a third, and skipped this one entirely. We will see what happens as I move forward. Harvey, a friend from Borrego, felt 90 to Silver City was the right choice. Come ride with me Harvey, I'll do the side bits with you!

Sixty miles today and it was a good ride. For the most part the shoulders were good until the last few miles and the morning and late afternoon traffic was heavy with a lot of trucks but for the most part I managed to tune them out. There were a few good places to stop for breaks (including one DQ!!!) and the scenery like it was coming into Lordsburg and the grade was much like the fake continental divide: slightly uphill for most of the day but not so much to be difficult.

It is amazing how small adjustments make a difference in the ride. The new gloves completely stopped the numbness in my hands. Also, on the end of my handle bars I added upright handle bars when I got the bike and today I adjusted them about 2" toward me and suddenly they become so much more useful. I have begun practicing moving my knees toward each other as I ride and this seems to straightens my legs and my back which takes some pressure off of my butt (which is still by far the most painful part of this ride) while providing more power to peddle. It is not a natural position for me so I have to make myself do it.

A nice rest area with information boards and a great shelter to take a good break. I have been hoping for more of these since CA.

The only photo of today's landscape:

Finally, the real divide, although I saw nothing that indicated it in the landscape and the grade continued up for another ten miles. So I'm left still not knowing what the continental divide is in practical terms:

I turned on my distance app on my phone after I took this photo, the train is sitting on the tracks and it was 1.3 miles long. I thought that was kind of amazing.