DAY 1: Bernalillo to Cuba, 63 miles We got our usual early morning start on a beautiful day that promised to get pretty warm by the afternoon. Highway 550 provided light traffic and wide shoulders the whole way. The scenery is not specatular, but quite nice. All in all a very ordinary but pleasant day of cycling. With about 2000 feet of elevation gain, pretty warm temperatures, and this being our first day of exercise in awhile we were both pretty exhausted by the time we'd finished these 63 miles. We'd planned on staying at the Circle A Hostel as the 3 motels in Cuba all sounded a bit uninviting. But by the time we got into town we were thinking more about having a TV set to watch the NBA playoff game, something we knew the hostel wouldn't have. So we scoped out the motel options and decided on the Del Prado. Simple, basic accommodations - but it did have a Dish Network satellite TV hookup - so we were all set. The Del Prado Mexican restaurant nextdoor provided all the sustenance we'd need. First things first, we showered and took a nice long nap. As the afternoon wore on we started seeing lots of backpackers in town. The Del Prado pretty much filled up with hikers, all doing the Continental Divide Trail that runs very close to town. Over the course of the next few days we'd run into other hikers, and mountain bikers doing the trail that runs from Mexico to Canada. NEXT

Typical bike tour scenes On the road again Luxury accommodations in Cuba, NM 1st day exhaustion