Paris Mountain (in South Carolina)

Ged and I are in Greenville, SC, after seven hours in the car.  The drive wasn't too bad.  Mostly long stretches of highway.

But as soon as we got to Greenville, it was straight on the bikes.

Needless to say, my legs were feeling a little stiff the first few miles after being in the car for so long.  But thankfully, once the climb started I was feeling better.

This was my first ever "climb" on my new Scott CR1 Comp.  And...it was awesome.  (We rode 18mi in total.)


The transition from three cogs to two wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be.  Granted, the climb was only about two miles, but still, I think I did well.  I didn't even go to the lowest gear in the rear cog.  Snaps for me.

I know it's been almost a month since my last "big climb" (Tourmalet), but I don't think my legs forgot what it was like to grind up a hill.  Especially one that's only two miles long.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF GREENVILLE
I think there's a huge divide between social classes here.

It seemed as if all the lower class people lived in the valley and the richer people had houses on the mountainside or mountaintop.  The climb was really beautiful (shady pine trees, no traffic, nice views), but once we descended it was like we were in a different city.  The road surface was terrible, smoky cars trafficked the streets and haggard men roamed the sidewalks.

We did go downtown a little later and it was really nice:  plethora of upscale restaurants, pretty landscaping, fountains and statues.  But one HUGE thing was missing--signs or adverts about the national cycling race that's going on this weekend...

I guess what I'm saying is that Greenville has problems like any other city in America...

Going to bed.  Busy day tomorrow!

~Amanda