March 14 - Day 14

We rode 101 miles today - from Las Cruces, NM to Fort Hancock, TX.  We rode through a lot of pecan groves and chili farms.  The sycamore trees are just beginning to fully leaf out along with the cottonwoods. 

We ate lunch at the Village Inn in El Paso - the waitress asked what we were up to and spoke to her manager which comped our lunch - thank you both for your interest and support of Pedaling for Preserves! 

We stopped at a bike shop in El Paso. They have some "fat tubes" - tubes that are much more thorn resistant than typical tubes.  They were extremely thick - at least 20x thicker than a typical tube.  The drawback is they slow you down - adds a lot of rolling weight.  We spoke to other riders with the fat tubes and they noticed that their speed did slow.  We were debating whether to get them or not and the salesman stated - "you've already made it through Arizona and New Mexico without much problem - so you should be fine."  Perhaps not the best sales tactic, but we appreciated the honest advice.  Looks like they are meant primarily for mountain bikes - can see where they would be of great value in this area.  I've blown 4 tubes, 3 of which due to thorns. 
  
Through most of El Paso we were riding along the border. There were several cell phone or communication towers made to look like palm trees along our route through El Paso. 

We had flat, nice roads all day - here is a typical view: