Feb-24: Howling Grits 103-km Perm-Pop

All the clever comments have already been made on Facebook.
All the interesting photos have been posted on Facebook.
So this is just an acknowledgement that I did JP's Howling Grits route
With some good people:

• Maria (with whom I did most of the ride -- "rando 'with'" has a longer bungee-cord def'n than "club ride 'with'").
• JP on Hawkeye and Fixie Pixe on Wee Giant, each rode fixed.
• Geof rode his pink bike with gears. 
• JohnM apparently rode bare-legged all day and nearly blinded Pamela, but I failed to notice his bike. 
• (I usually fail to notice anyone's bike, actually.) 

High temp of 61 in February.  Woo-hoo!
Thanks to Pamela for picking the one nice day in the midst of a run of yukky weather. 

 
Only the second time I've done HG.
The first time was in June-2010.
I, uh, teased -- is that the correct word? -- JP pretty good with that original ride post.
Considering that I had barely met Jerry at the time, perhaps I was a bit cheeky.
He has occasionally "thanked" me for showing MikeD the way to "Stovall Mtn".
And he came to appreciate my advice regarding Egypt Mtn Rd.
However, I'm still on the lookout for "mountain" roads for nearby permanent routes. 

Lystra is still Lystra, and although I may, repeat, may
Climb better/faster now than I did 2 or 3 years ago, Lystra is still Lystra.
I did the steep part slower than anyone else on the ride.
The fast-crew of JP, Fixie Pixie, Geof and JohnM were gone in 60 seconds.
And Maria, noting her power to weight ratio advantage, easily put me in her rear-view mirror.

After Lystra, my ride got better.
After 40 or 45 kms, my ride got much better.
I had thought it was because I "had legs" for the first time in a couple months,
But looking ... typing that phrase ... I'm going to rip-off borrow one of Pixie's photos:

If that would have been the view all day -- I'm quite glad I cannot climb Lystra with the fast-crew.  Pamela may have a different opinion.

Anyway, looking at the elevation profile of HG103, I now wonder if I "had legs", or if I only seemed to have legs because the climbing on HG is clearly front-loaded.

Comparing HG and BB, I'm a bit disappointed:
HG's lowest elevation is well below the lowest elevation on BB,
HG's highest elevation is well above the highest elevation on BB, and
HG's maximum grade of 9.6% makes the 5.8% on BB look puny.

However, according to a RWGPS mapping comparison, BB has more total climbing.  :-)
And BB has "Little Mountain Rd"; there are no "mountain roads" on HG.


Anyway, I had a good time (just don't tell Jerry).
I think everyone else did, too.
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Feb-24:   

Howling Grits 103-km Perm-Pop; 64.3 m.; 4h10 in-motion; 15.4 mph; HG elapsed time:  5h26. 

Blogger is messing up the font and presentation of the usual stats lines. 
I temporarily give up. 
Editing after publication can be a nuisance. 
Especially if one accidentally and prematurely clicks the "publish" button.