Comparing this year's ride to last July's ride of the same route: This year I was better equipped (better saddle on the bike, better shorts, better tires, better bike bag, lower low gear, better generator powered lighting front and rear, better camera) and those things added up to a smooth, hassle free ride and a lot less abuse of what I sit on. Unfortunately this year I did not enjoy my mealtimes as much as I usually do, as I began the ride with a somewhat queasy gut and (through a logistical error) without all of my usual pre-ride chow. By mile 80 I was already feeling beat up, probably because I had succumbed to the foolish temptation to try to go faster by pushing harder on the pedals. Fortunately, starting around 5pm as I finished my second meal (at the Leverett Co-op) and as the heat of the day diminished, I recovered my energy, so that the return trip was not just a death march. As I rode the final 55-mile leg, I deliberately avoided reading from my cue sheet the finish time that would be required to meet randonneur pace for the 300k section of the ride. I did push the pace on this net-downhill leg, and was happy to find at the end that I had squeaked in 11 minutes ahead of the 20 hour time limit. I celebrated by taking it easy on the ride home from the 300k start point.