RIding across El Paso

I was asked recently to offer my favorite cross-town route in El Paso. This is a difficult ride no matter what the options, because we lack bike-friendly routes in many areas.
Since I live in the Upper Valley, I occasionally take the long way to the far East Side: Transmountain to Loop 375. This is about 30 miles and involves climbing. It's also not very practical for most West Side-East Side trips.
I've attached a map of my most common route to the East Side. I take Doniphan to West Paisano to Delta to North Loop to North Carolina to Yarbrough. The part of this ride that scares some people is West Paisano. The traffic is fast, but a bicycle is fairly visible as you're going toward Downtown. There are bike lanes/routes designated most of the rest of the ride.
If you're going from east to west, West Paisano is trickier because the street curves in such a way that makes bicyclists less visible. One suggestion is to cut up to Yandell through Sunset Heights and then enter Paisano from Yandell. This involves a steep climb as you go into Sunset Heights, but avoid some of the riskier traffic as Paisano leaves Downtown.
If you are coming from the West Side, there are no good routes. Mesa is the only option for much of the way. At Brentwood you can head over to Stanton and take Stanton to Downtown. Or you can take Executive Center to West Paisano then to Downtown.
Occasionally I've taken Montana from Downtown to the East Side. I don't like it much because there are so many stoplights and so many side streets. It's very easy for a car NOT to see you.
No matter which route you take, cross-town riding is not for the faint of heart. Be as visible as you can be. Use a rear-view mirror if you can.

Levee and Ditch Ride

If riding the levee road all the way from El Paso to Mesilla (see previous post) is a bit over the top, there are plenty of easy scenic rides along the local levee roads and irrigation ditches.

Recently (Sept. 6) I led a small group on an El Paso Bicycle Club-sponsored ride of about 13 miles that featured the levee road and ditches in the Upper Valley.

We started at River Run Plaza and rode over to the levee road that goes along the east side of the Rio Grande from Country Club Road. Note: You have the option of both the ditch road and the levee road at this point; the ditch road has better shade and slighter softer surface than the hard-packed gravelly dirt of the levee.

We turned east where the ditch heads towards Camino Real, then south on the ditch that dead-ends (with a fence barring the way) at the drainage ditch. Before we got to the dead-end, we turned east on Woodland, rode a block on pavement then continued south on the Montoya Drive ditch. Where Montoya hits Meadowlark, we jogged over to the canal that runs parallel to Portsmouth (not to be confused with the drainage ditch that runs slightly to the east of that canal). This branch of the Montoya canal took us back to the Rio Grande levee, where we kept going southeast until we hit the Sunland Park bridge.

At the bridge, you can cut down to the left across some vacant land and then ride the sidewalk a few blocks until you hit the main Montoya canal after crossing the drainage ditch and before you get to Emory Road.

The Montoya canal took us all the way past Mulberry to Montoya Drive, where we turned south then west on the lateral canal that begins where Mulberry intersects Montoya. This canal took us back to the Rio Grande, where we turned south and got back to Country Club Road and River Run Plaza.

This was intended just as an introduction to the levee/ditch network. Once you become familiar with the major elements, you should feel free to explore various ditches and see where they lead.

Ditch riding to me is pure enjoyment, free of the need for speed I feel on a road bike or the danger of crashing that deters me from technical mountain biking.

Here's a map to get you started.