Paris Mountain and Donaldson Center

Last night I went over Paris Mountain. I told myself that I wasn't going to push it coming back up the Furman side. Of course, I did.

The worse thing about the climb was the wind. In certain sections of the climb, I was protected and then I would turn a curve and wham I was hit in the face with a headwind. By the time I got to the wall, I was crawling.

I did average 10 mph for the first 3/5 of the climb. I felt kind of good about that. It is that last section beginning with a yellow fire hydrant a little ways before the wall. This is the point where I start to bog down. From that point to the top I dropped to 9.5 mph average.

Tonight I am off to Donaldson Center. It should be a little warmer - around 60 degrees (it was 42 degrees during my evening ride) - but the wind could be gusting up to 20 mph. That is the thing about spring; it gets warmer, but it is also kite flying weather.

I'm a little nervous. It will be the first time I enter a group ride as part of a team. I have not idea what to expect. Does that mean that we will hook up in the ride and help each other? Does it mean we will all just show up looking alike but not take advantage of it. Probably a lot depends on me and my willingness to introduce myself, etc.

We'll find out...