Day 20 Lordsburg, New Mexico

Stats
Daily mileage 73 Ride time 6hr 15min
Avg speed 11.73mph Total mileage 1136

I am sitting in a stink hole of a room writing this blog. For 20 bucks I am not expecting the Hilton but I was hoping for a bed. But then again, even if it did have one I still wouldn’t use it as I would be too afraid of being eaten alive by fleas. Instead, I have opened my roll matt and sleeping bag and will crash on the floor. The luxury of living on the road.

With my ankle still very sore, I stopped after 11 miles and lowered the saddle. I thought that reducing the toe extension might elevate the strain and I also altered my foot position so the pedal was underneath the arch instead of the toes. This definitely helped but it was very inefficient and was putting more strain on my knees.

The terrain was flat and you could see all around you for miles and miles. It was a great feeling not being able to see any civilisation and barely have any traffic on the road. The cacti have been replaced with small bushes and on all the horizons are large mountain ranges. I loved it.

I did come across some agro drivers today though. I have been cycling on the road instead of the hard shoulder mainly because the hard shoulder is littered with rubble, thorns, bolts, glass and holes. This appear to anger motorist and who began beeping their horn at me and that really really pissed me off. My middle finger would shoot up in lightening fashion and a yell along the lines of “you f*****g p***k what is your f*****g problem you a**hole” would come screaming out my mouth. They never heard but it made me feel ten times better. I usually got a arm movement back indicating to me that there is a hard shoulder. I would then frantically wave back at them to pull over so we could discuss this like true gentlemen. If there were oncoming cars then I do pull into the hard shoulder but when the road is completely empty they can suck my balls!

I arrived at my destination about 1600hrs and I didn’t expect it to be so run down. There is a distinct Mexican feel to this neighbourhood and after speaking to the motel owner she warned me to be careful on the border road I am planning to take. It is clear to see that immigration and border control is on high alert as there are vehicles patrolling everywhere. The motel owner said expect to see tanks by the side of the road tomorrow. I cant work out whether she is serious or not. We shall find out.

I went to the supermarket and bought some goodies and scouted my route out of town. I have to go on the motorway for about 25 miles and according to the owner bicycles are forbidden from riding on the interstate. I have no other choice but to brave it and take the consequences.
I apologise for the lack of photos again and I promise to try harder tomorrow. Sorry.