Originally Posted by
adlu
Have you ever ridden from El Paso to Austin or San Antonio? My other option is to ride the portion of the Southern Tier from around Navasota west to NM, but I've read that the west Texas portion of the route isn't that enjoyable, so I'm leaning towards taking the train.
Yeah, it's riding across the Chihuahuan Desert, and to keep from dying of heat stroke, most folks do it in late fall or early spring. It has its own beauty even at that time of year, but it's no cool-weather ride on the Florida Coast-to-Coast Connector Trail. Adventure Cycling didn't help when they rerouted from Fort Davis' mountains (lovely country!) to Valentine (Yes! More flat desert, since you just can't get enough.)
IF you have a folding touring bike, my recommendation would be to ride from
Amtrak-Sanderson (See the picture on post no. 36 - no baggage service, thank you very much!) east to where ever your vacation days/money runs out. A taste of the desert, the lovely Texas Hill Country (Clifford Graves even liked it!), Austin, the Post Oak Belt, and vast pine forests - plus great barbecue!