I got out a bit late today. I should have gotten out about 1 1/2 or 2 hours earlier. Nevertheless, I got out... The weather was warm, in the mid 80's +/-. I wore the standard kit w/ arm coolers. Going out the door, my legs felt sluggish. I made my way to the top of WTR in average time. I don't remember exactly, but I don't think I spent much time recovering. In fact I headed downhill immediately. When I reached the base of the climb, I spared no time to rest and just headed back up the mountain. I put most of my cookies on the steeper section. I think I climbed a bit faster than I should have. When I reached the loop monument, I told myself that when I reach the next riser, that I'd put it into cruise control to the summit. That's what I did, for the most part. I was relieved when I reached the summit. I took a few moments break when I summited. Stretched, hydrated, etc. Then I made my way to the mailbox locker. before the descent, I put some water on my arm coolers and left quad. It had a reinvigorating and a relieving sensation. Will likely have to do this a few times in the GranFondo. When I reached the mailbox locker, I swapped my bottles out, drank the remainder, got an extra power bar and cytomax powder, then headed back out. By this time, my legs had cooled down and it took a while for them to get warmed back up. When I reached OTR, I felt better. I was able to tick over the miles, trying to keep my mind active. Thinking of the milestones. After reaching the end of OTR, I stopped to see if my cleats had moved in position. They didn't. My next milestone was Highline summit and to WS. I kept the tempo steady. No digs. Then the outbound leg. The tempo remained steady. Focussing on my form. When I reached the turn-around point, I took a few minutes break, ate a half power bar, stretched, hydrated, then headed back. The wind was a cross head, not to significant. As is always, this road is just boring, but safe. The scenery just seems to stand still while making my way back. Likely just the extra effort required due to the wind conditions. Keeping an active mind helped a little. Enough to get me through this stretch of road. I was relieved when I reached the summit of Highline. My legs felt somewhat spent. I was thinking about what lay ahead. I knew I had 2 more major climbs remaining. I took it by stages, the Banducci wall, the Banducci remainder, and the last climb on CVR. I actually felt ok on the Banducci wall. I put it into my 32T, with steady out of the saddle tempo. I was at my maximum going over the wall. The false flat was a welcome relief. It was traffic mitigation, but more importantly a welcome relief. Enabling stretching and hydration. I did moderate tempo to the summit. No real digs. Once at the summit, I was relieved. I had one major milestone remaining and my legs felt up to it. I decided not to go to the SS loop from before the start of the ride. The heat of the day required an extra effort. Somewhat making the milage more-so. The downhill was fun and games. Then through the farmlands. My hands were a bit sore, so I had to hold onto the tops for most of the trek to the last climb. I wasn't paying too much attention to the elapsed time, but I knew I had around 10 miles remaining (including the last climb). The last climb was mostly moderate, putting my efforts on the steeper sections. My mind was thinking about the milestone. Once at the summit, I had put the tough stuff behind. I relaxed a bit going through the false flat. I stretched, hydrated (I had about total 1/2 bottle left of fluids, this was enough to get me home). Route 202 was half traffic mitigation and the modest push to OTR. Once there, I was able to relax. Then the usual push over Mariposa, I felt good for some reason. I was expecting it to be a grind, but it wasn't so much. Then the trip home, steady, relaxing, kind of celebrating just a bit in the mind. Concentration was strange today. I got out too late today, so I was a bit on the off side and it took a while for my mind to settle in. Kind of actively coaching my way. Gremlins were worse than the previous triples. But I knew it was inevitable, so I was reminding to myself if I can get through this, then this would be worse case scenario survived. Balance and form felt good, maybe the greater of things. The cleat position felt good, perhaps a minimal adjustment necessary. Ailments were in check. I had some quad, hip, right calf soreness. The hip soreness went away after summiting Keene. The calf soreness came and went. The quad soreness slowly set in but was mitigateable. Gear is working good. The GoPro worked like a charm. Other notes, I saw 3 or 4 cyclists today. Kind of a lonely stretch of road. There were some motor cyclists as is usual on Keene.