This was the first real "alpine" bicycle climb for me this year. I started this ride at Eatonville, about 22 miles from the Mt Rainier National Park entrance. Cam and I had done this ride twice together several years ago starting from the Park entrance. I wanted a bit more of a challenge, hence the start from Eatonville. It was a 2-hr 22 mile ride to the park entrance with a bit of climbing - 1,300 ft and a head wind. Then from the entrance to Paradise Visitor Center on Mt Rainier was another 3,200 ft in another 2 hours and 22 miles. The Jackson visitor center is new and I enjoyed my lunch that I carried on my back (Rasam Sadam Curd Rice). I also had fruits and nits - apple, apricot, banana, cashews, almonds, and raisins. The vistas were tremendous on Mt. Rainier, it was thoroughly enjoyable ride. I stopped at the usual suspects along the way - Comet Falls, Nisqually Glacier Bridge, Narada Falls. The wind picked up for the way back and was a stiff headwind. So, I was robbed of my screaming downhill, which turned into a crouched, streamlned, low profile ride to try and avoid the wind. It was cold, of course and I had extra clothing which I had also carried on my back just for the 22 miles down. The ride from the Park exit to Eatonville was a bit tiring, still dealing with stiff headwinds. It took me 3 hours to ride back all the way from Paradise back to Eatonville.