Day 20

Second day back on the bike, and I'm still really nervous. My knee didn't hurt too badly today, but it was certainly soar. Only once this afternoon did I have any "bad pain" and I immediately backed off. As we came into El Paso, there were people tailgating for the UT-El Paso football game, and we started chatting with some folks as we rode up a hill. I lost my focus on my cadence and pedal stroke and was quickly reminded that I need to be careful. I did manage to stand up and pedal very briefly today, which is a big improvement from yesterday (knock on wood).

The ride was absolutely beautiful today. We lost about 400 feet over 70-some miles, so it was mostly flat. We rode through the pecan farms.

It would have been a really fun day to hammer out the ride because there were 20 mile stretches on great pavement and no sharp turns. At the same time, it was nice I was forced to slow down and look at the land a little more. At the last stop before El Paso, I finally found a cinnamon roll! It was good, but no where near as good as Big Boys.

We (fortunately) took a wrong turn somewhere and added a few miles, but we were then able to see the "Welcome to Texas" sign.

The last 10 miles into El Paso were rough due to the traffic. We were on a 6-lane road that was packed with cars and no bike lane. Luckily, drivers were decent, with the exception of a few that honked (for no reason).

We found our way to camp, which was a hostel in downtown El Paso. People had said that the city was so bad/dangerous (Melina went out and got a u-lock for her bike), but it wasn't so bad. It seemed just like any other big city, and I think as long as you stay out of the drug scene it's not that bad. The hostel was a hotel from the 1920's, oldest working hotel in El Paso.