Cycling Tweetup and Stars and Stripes Charity Ride

Saturday, after the Pro Cycling TT Championships, a group of us bloggers/tweeters got together to put some names with faces and talk about a subject we are all obsessed about…cycling. This was actually my first blogger or twitter user get together and I am extremely glad I had the chance to get together with this group. A special thanks goes out to James over at Bicycle Design (a Greenville native) for getting this all together.

Great #USPro tweetup yesterday with @MTBby198 @probikewrench @bikehugger @lowcandence @thebrandbuilder @kirkflinte @tdfblog @bicycledesign . Lots of fun.

Stars and Stripes Challenge – Armstrong Foundation Charity Ride

Sunday morning came early after a day of intense cycling (ok…not really…I was just hanging out at a cool event with friends and a press pass that got me up close and personal!). The Stars and Stripes Challenge to benefit the Lance Armstrong Foundation started at day break and we were going to ride the exact course that the pros were taking later that afternoon. It was a great chance to not only raise money for cancer research, but ride some of Greensville’s best roads and tackle Paris Mountain. I was actually a little bit worried about this ride as I had very little time on the road bike in the weeks preceding.

The charity ride was fantastic! The weather was perfect…the organization and ride prep was perfect and there was a great feeling amongst the participating riders. During my first trip up Paris Mountain, I wasn’t really sure what to suspect. By the end of the first climb, I was really happy with the area. It provided more sustained climbing than anything I have locally, but not quite as much as the portions of the gaps I have ridden in North Georgia. It was the perfect balance and I was able to hammer out that second attempt in my goal to hit the top with ease.

The decent down the other side of Paris made every inch of the climb worth it as you bomb down the twisty, urban roads of South Carolina. You even get the occasional cheer from the spectators pre-gaming (that is nice talk for drinking in the morning!) for the road race championships. After my second lap was complete, I had the legs to go for a third…but no time. I had to go check out of my hotel before the road race and checkout was at noon.

There is one thing that I am continuing to notice out of my road riding and it sticks out like a sore thumb on organized rides. I am having a really hard time playing with others on road rides. There is a “road” block in my brain that just can’t seem to get out of the “it’s just me and my bike mentality”. The whole working together when it comes to road riding still does not come naturally…but I am working on it! Lucky, my Blue Competition Cycles Nx7 carries me to the end in a head wind!

The city of Greenville really put on a great event and it has some incredible riding available for the locals. I am going to make it up again next year for the event and take part in the charity ride. And..as always…the Garmin Edge 705 was mounted so you guys can see how I did on the ride and exactly where it took place…