Leg 41 El Paso – Las Cruces

Leg 41 El Paso – Las Cruces (Mar 14): 59 km, climb 344 m. Total distance 4147 km.

So nice to wake up to a clear crisp (6C/42F) blue sky this morning with abated wind, only 10-20 mph (16-32 m/s) and no sudden gusts. Unfortunately the wind came head on, but it was a short ride today so no problem. Some 10 km out of El Paso we got onto a wonderful bike trail parallell to the Interstate 10 with two separate lanes and kick ass surface. Unfortunately it only lasted til the border to New Mexico and then the roads were of more moderate quality.

Coming into New Mexico it was obvious they have completely different rules for keeping cattle compared to Texas (where what we’ve seen been generally good). Here there were so many cows crammed into small, but numerous, enclosed pastures without a single grass straw, only dirt and mud. So incredably unworthy and depressing… Really encourages me to stop eating meat… Getting closer to Las Cruces we got out of the cattle area and into huge Pecan plantations which markedly lifted our spirits. The surroundings getting into Las Cruces was beautiful, as well as the city itself. Really gave a welcoming feeling. Staying at Hotel Encanto now for two days, the hotel being much nicer than I knew. Tomorrow resting day where we’ll participate in the Chili Pepper Running Festival, should be fun!