The story of the day was all about the winds today. The wind was turblent, but mostly from the South. When I got out of the door, about 2 or 3 hundred yards, I tried to turn on the walkman, but the batteries were depleted. So, for a few moments, I debated on going back and getting my headphones for my cellphone which has music on it. I decided against it. I thought it was going to be more boring, but it turned out to be pleasantly silent, with just the tires whistling on the pavement and the sound of the air passing by. Stuff you don't notice that much while listening to music. I pretty much set out what I intended. Knowing that I was going to have a tailwind on the way out. I did good tempo all the way down Banducci mountain to the top of SS. I must have averaged over 30 mph before I hit the SS hill. And that was on relatively flat grounds with just the wind on my back. I was at the 1 hour mark a little past the right hand on SS rd. So, as I anticipated, the wind was strong and pushing against me like a paratute. I knew there was no point in laying down hard tempo, so I just did moderate consistent tempo. No digs, just nice and steady. It was pretty much like that the whole way back. The wind took out about 10 minutes into my ride than normal. My concentration was good, Very few lapses, and just a little loss of focus on the last leg up Cummings Valley Rd as I was fealing the pains of exhaustion. As for balance, I felt good considering that the wind was pushing me all about. Gear, worked perfectly. Today was the first time I rode the bike with the upgraded firmware that let me shift up or down 2x on a single lever click. After the last half of the ride, I was already used to it. So, the learning curve was real easy. Other notes, my right hand was numb once in a while, but not as bad as the last Keene n Back ride I did. I ordered more tires and cleats with 6 degree of movement. I'm curious what that will feel like. I put on a new tire today and it feels great. These are the same tires that I ordered, so that's encouraging.

Just a notation... The rear wheel was making creaking noises near the top of Cumming Valley Road. I ended up reseating it and tightening the skewer. After that, the noise went away. Will see how it does over the next few rides.