The group affectionately called today a “rolling rest day”. Where 48 miles once seemed to be a full biking workout, now it is a slacker day. A few miles out of El Paso we joined the Mission Trail, which skirted several starkly beautiful Catholic churches from the 1800’s. The original Presidio Chapel in San Elizario was built in 1789 as a Spanish fort for defense against Apache and Comanche raids. The present church was completed in 1887 and is still an active parish.
As we paralleled the Rio Grande, we rode through the towns of Fabens, Socorro, and Tornillo. There were many small ranches along the way with pecan groves and cotton and alfalfa fields.
Our recommended lunch stop was at La Calesa in Tornillo, a tiny Mexican restaurant located in an unlikely place we never would have found on our own. A grandmother and her 10-year old granddaughter, home from school to help with the influx of our group, made us feel at home.
The riding conditions were quite good with a decent tailwind and flat terrain. Jan, our SAG driver, found the perfect place for a stop under a stand of mature cottonwood trees.
As we approached Fort Hancock, the landscape became drier with dust swirling along the roadside. Fort Hancock, built in 1881 and originally called Camp Rice, was a sub-post of Fort Davis. The Rio Grande has frequently flooded the town. Our experience at our 30’s era motel was that of a dustbowl. The winds picked up significantly in the late afternoon, gusting to 40 mph, so we took shelter behind one of the buildings to consume our outdoor dinner.
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