Day22 Las Cruses to El Paso 63 miles

---

Oct 10th
A great nights sleep at the Best Western and a hearty buffet breakfast sets us up for a great days cycling, all on the flat, the wind is light but against as usual. I have really enjoyed the company of Paul , Hughes and Susan, Paul's wife is flying down from Montana to meet him (later we find out her flight was canceled due to snow) but due to their different plans we split up on the route today.
The scenery is interesting once again , the Rio Grande is nothing to look at, without all the dams and extraction it would be more mighty and imposing I'm sure, but the abundance of agriculture and greenery is a testament to its influence in this desert.
I have booked a motel on the far side of El Paso to get a good start when I leave, this means I have to negotiate 14 miles of El Paso traffic which is ferocious, I am surprised and annoyed at how close vehicles pass me, danger danger! The problem of badly behaved drivers is solved by riding n the sidewalk which though poorly maintained is at least completely devoid of people. Its bumpy but safe.
So to the Coral Motel, again cheap and cheerful, there is a threat of thunderstorms so its good to be under a solid roof.
What about El Paso, well its just like Phoenix , strip Malls , Motels , gas stations, no human being outside a vehicle, buying their taco bells at drive thru's. If you rounded up all the pedestrians you could put them in the back of a pick up and have room left over. Bikes are a rare thig too.

---

Photos

Paul Hughes and Sue
Great cyclists , and people

Comments

[ex sec]

suerte :-)
Well, one hour and one bocadillo de pata asada later, and i've read the whole blog.... good luck David, sounds like you're enjoying yourself - rather you than me though lol sitting on a razor blade all day is not my idea of fun... Jesús sends his best and un abrazo fuerte, we all think you deserve this trip, though personally I think your loco perdido lol. take care xxx

[Joyce]

Alpacas.....
Awaiting with baited breath the comments from onefordeemoney about alpaca poo......

[coletti]

courage
Bravo David, veo que has pasado lo mas dificil, este desierto ya se quedó atras, sobrevivistes fisicamente y mentalmente, que susto me distes, con Dagmar estuvimos varios días sin poder abrir travelblog... Me quedo tranquila viendote rodeado de amigos en medio de paysages mas verdes. Cuidate que te quiero mucho. Coletti