We started the day dressed like ninjas in our black tights and whatever long-sleeved warm clothing we had. The 8 am air was nice and cold but once we started climbing hills out of Santa Rosa we shed our layers and started to sweat. It was either going to be a 90 mile day to Edgewood or 116 mile day to Albuquerque.

We did well by riding 40 miles without a break before seeing the infamous Dairy Queen off I 40. There must have been 30 billboards advertising how much fun we would have and how much food we would have at the Diary Queen/C Ranch combo in Encino,NM. After doing serious work on some food we had to do some work on a flat tire Dave got on the way out of the parking lot. This put us about an hour behind schedule and may have cost us the chance of reaching our goal of ABQ.

We rode 50 miles after lunch climbing hills as we approached the beautiful mountain ranges ahead. We climbed close to 2,500 feet and rode 90 miles by 6 pm. We just rode past Moriarty and all the hotel apparently when we decided to stop in Edgewood, NM.

We thought this would be a nice town to call it a night and assumed there would be a hotel based on its size and the amount of people cruising around. This was no ranch town in the middle of NM. It’s was a nice suburb if ABQ and someone should come here to start a Super 8 to make a fortune.

The Route 66 RV Park would be where I got my wish of finally camping and using my hammock despite our efforts to find a place chatting up the locals at the Pizza Barn. The RV park owners were super kind though and didn’t charge us the $10. They even brought us some blankets because it was going to get down to the 40’s.

Dave and Shane slept in the tents under a pavilion blocking the wind but I thought it wild be smart to hang the hammock from the support beams. At 5 am I finally got up for the 5th time to try and regain feeling in my toes and gave up on the hammock as I crawled in the tent with Dave. I got about an hour of warm sleep on the floor. Next time I’m buying a sleeping bag or getting in the tiny two man tent sooner!

I still love camping and waking up to this beautiful sunrise with a view. We are going to try to ride 30 miles to Albuquerque by 11 and hit up a bike shop and post office. Then it’s onward and upward to Grants, NM. Today might be our first New Mexico century if we complete our goal of 112 miles to Grants!