Video: Cycling the Southwest
One of our favorite things about the work we do, is visiting new bicycling destinations. As the idea of bicycle tourism catches on, more towns and cities are becoming aware of the great natural bicycling assets around them. Last year, we had the great opportunity to do some filming in El Paso, TX and Las Cruces, NM. Though they are two different states with distinct vibes, they are the two closest cities to each other in the enormous Southwest. For us, neither El Paso or Las Cruces were obvious biking destinations. This video project was a great opportunity to sink in, challenge our expectations and find new places to ride.
Did some #filmpacking this AM in El Paso. #productionlife
A photo posted by PathLessPedaled (@pathlesspedaled) on
Culinary Surprise
What immediately struck us about both destinations was the food. We got tipped off to a lot of great local places for Mexican food and were never disappointed. If you go, our all time favorites were the L & J Cafe (great local’s spot in an unlikely location), the Thirsy Monk (craft beer with a view of the Franklin mountains in their patio…also the owners are bike friendly) in El Paso; Andele (amazing Mexican food!) and The Bean Cafe (popular cafe for cyclists) in Las Cruces.
The Riding
While we didn’t get to do a ton of riding out there (oh the ironies of filming bicycling!), we did get a good sample of the opportunities in the area. The biggest surprise was the mountain biking in El Paso. Living in Portland, where the closest legal mountain biking is an hour drive away, we were blown away at the accessibility of the mountain biking in El Paso. There was some cross country trails right in the middle of town in the Arroyo and a little outside of town you could access the Franklin Mountains which has a multitude of trails! The best resource for mountain biking opportunities in the area is GeoBetty. What we appreciated, since we are mountain biking noobs, is that there was a fair amount of beginner friendly trails to get you started to work up to the more advanced trails.
In Las Cruces we filmed the iconic ride of the area along HWY 28 which goes through groves of pecan orchards. The trees give great shelter during the hot summers and also adds to the desert landscape. We didn’t get a chance to ride any, but we spied a quite a few gravel roads leading into the mountains that begged for more exploration on another trip! A popular road ride is to ride between the two cities along the TransMountain Highway. Although it is along a highway, the road has a good shoulder, is highly popular with cyclists and offers some amazing views of the desert when you get to the summit of the pass!
Before this project, El Paso and Las Cruces didn’t really pop up on our radar as places to go ride a bike on vacation. Having spent a few days there, it has piqued our curiosity and we’re looking forward to returning to do more riding (and they have craft beer! yay!).
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