Day Thirty-Four: "Bad Winds" (4 February) 62 mi

Decided to get a later start because it was going to be relatively short day. There was a very good Cline coming out of Las Cruces and certainly by the end of it I was pretty tired. But I was rewarded with a very nice view of the Organ Mountains which are east of Las Cruces. I also cross the "mighty" Rio Grande River, which was all dried up. Tried to stay off interstate 10 is much as possible using the frontage road but eventually I had to use the interstate. The shoulder was extremely rough and just a displeasure to ride on. I actually had to stop to kind of let out some anger and just frustration about how uncomfortable the riding was. And then as usual I collected myself and talked myself off the cliff and continued on, slowing my pace and adjusting according to the shoulder conditions. I think I was incensed by the fact that was the frontage road was closed off because one of the bridges was out. I had hoped to stay off the interstate as much as possible but I ended up going an extra 15 miles because of that. I also crossed a US border patrol inspection station. They had a bit of a quizzical look on their faces because of a bicyclist coming in. They asked if I was a US citizen I said yes. And then they asked where I was going and  I told them where I was going. They wished me luck. It was a pleasant experience. The whole day was constant uphill with strong headwinds.

I did get to Deming in pretty good time and now I'm at the Days Inn which is a nice motel. I do have to give them credit because they have a very nice breakfast selection and clean rooms. That's really all I need. It's off to Lordsburg tomorrow.