Another glorious day of wondering why I didn't train harder during the winter - Jim Merrifield

The sun is shining. The birds are chirping. There is no snow on the ground. And Barney and the boys are plotting my demise. Oh, it's not directed at me, personally but the effect will be the same. I will ride a wheel for all I am worth, saving my meager climbing reserves for "the stinger", wherever and whatever it turns out to be. We - Barney, Eric, Gordie, Diane, Arietta, Shirley, Glen, Kari, Jeff, Amber and myself - are a little north of Travelers Rest in South Carolina for spring training. In years past, we have been in Solvang but opted for a change this time. We are still in "exploration" mode - searching out routes that will keep us away from traffic and giving us the right mix of terrain for the day. Unlike Solvang, where we had the routes wired, we are frequently surprised. We had a great route figured out for yesterday only to run into a closed gate a few miles from the start - the planned route took us thru a gated community, much to our surprise. On to plan B! And for all the training over the winter time, I am right around the bottom of the food chain. And, yes the terrain is challenging. The first day riding as a group, we went up Howard Gap. I think Eric described it as 15 - 20 minutes at 12%. I think I expanded the description a few minutes. I was lovin' my compact crank with the 28 in the back (planned on using a 26 on this trip but the 28 was on from cross season - and I am keepin' it on!) for the first half of the climb, spinning nicely when my endurance (or rather, the lack thereof) caught up to me and I had to do the weave a few times. Oh and there goes Eric, climbing out of the saddle and out of sight. Damn! I remember being that young but not that strong :(
Last night, the talk was of doing Hincapie's Gran Fondo. The 77 miles sounded OK (kinda) but the major "stinger" was slated to be a climb much longer and steeper than Howards Gap. Would I attempt it? Or Go straight to the second climb - Howards Gap - and save some energy for the 3rd climb, another Howards Gap kinda climb from the route description. Now there is a rethinking of the route. Maybe here, maybe there. Decisions, decisions. Me? I am gonna follow the wheels and try to find some climb when the climbing starts and try to keep my bearings, just in case. And now it is time to try to put some magic in my water bottles and hope the previous day's ride prepared me for today instead of hosed me.