Paris, Texas

It’s starting to get repetitive, at least for me, to talk about the winds of Texas but once again it was what dominated the minds and legs of the team as we pulled out of Greenville this morning.  Paris is located 56 miles north of Greenville, which wouldn’t be much of a test for us as we have covered many more miles than that in a day but with a wind consistently blowing 20 miles per hour directly in our face it became an absolute battle along the road this morning.  After a great breakfast (including Special K!) provided by the church we stayed in last night we put our heads down and began the grind north along highway 24.  As a rider having to work that hard against the wind means sitting in a high gear, pedaling at a high cadence and not a lot of breaks, a combination that can really put a damper on the mood of team which it especially seemed to today. With a couple of monster pulls on the front of the group by Pete, Chris and I following the water stop at mile 25 we still managed to pull into Paris around lunch. Once there we had a photo-op with the Eifel tower including an interview with the local news station who put together a nice piece about the ride for their nightly news.  Eiffel tower, Paris? I know what you’re thinking but no we didn’t ride all the way to France this morning. Following a tradition of many of the American cities named Paris, a 65 foot replica of the Eiffel tower was constructed in 1993 including my favorite part a giant red cowboy hat on the top of the tower.  With some free time in the afternoon before another great dinner provided yet again by the church we stayed at I spent some time walking around some of the neighborhoods surrounding our church before cooling my feet off in the fountain at the center of the town square. Our night was filled with the usual; updating our blogs, prepping our bikes for tomorrow’s ride and talking to friends and family on the phone.  The youth center of the church we slept at had 13 couches in it which made or some great sleeping which we all needed after getting beat up and worn out by the ride there. 92 miles to Texarkana tomorrow (our last day in Texas!) hopefully the wind will be back on our side and blow us all the way there. No chain!  

The wind and flags were not our friend yesterday.

Waiting for the rest of the riders to arrive.

The hardest part of the ride yesterday, after waiting for the news crew for an hour having to get back on the bike and ride the 3 miles to the church we were staying at.

The town square.