Day 19 - El Paso to Fort Hancock TX

62.1 miles 696ft climb

The day started with breakfast at Taco Cabana, next to the Motel 6 where we spent the night. It felt like a luxury not to pack up a tent before dawn and eat breakfast we didn’t fix ourselves. Here's Taco Cabana's menu. Margaritas were $2.50 each and came in a plastic cups. Perfect for our group!

The route out of El Paso was not bike friendly. We rode through town in the morning rush hour with three lanes of traffic and no bike lane. It took forever and was high stress. The two bikers we ran into on the road yesterday warned us about going through El Paso, so we weren’t caught by surprise.

The first twenty miles of riding were wonderful. We could see the mountains in Mexico on our right. At first there was a light breeze, but like yesterday the wind grew stronger as the day progressed. Unlike yesterday, this was a tailwind. As the wind grew stronger, we could really ramp up the speed. When we changed directions, the crosswind stoutly pushed us.

To top it off, there was a section of fresh asphalt with no bumps and very little debris. We flew, averaging 22mph and higher on this section of absolutely flat road. It’s exhilarating to ride this fast with wind at your back and no pavement or shoulder issues.

The day's ride ended in Ft. Hancock, a small unincorporated community with about 1,200 people. Here's a SHORT video of Fort Hancock.

We stayed in a church, across the road from the high school and were allowed to use the gym locker room showers. It was great. We took over the whole church, I’m sleeping in the sanctuary with some of the others.

Day 19 Stats

Margaritas!

The other dining option.

Our last few days were hard and we needed a good riding day to boost our spirits. Welcome to Texas. Tomorrow a portion of the ride will be on our old friend, Interstate 10. With luck, tailwinds again.