Today was my first ride out-doors in so many days. The weather was cold. In the low 40's winds from the North West. I wore the standard kit, 2 base layers, arms, knees, 2 socks, full gloves and a cap (that I put on, later in the ride). I felt good for the most part. I wasn't sure how my body was going to respond after having trained in-doors for a while. There was a lot of run-off water on the road. Mostly on OTR. All of which was safely passable. I was sufficiently warmed up by the time I reached Route 202. I stopped to adjust my GPS. It was displaying the wrong screen. As I was climbing the Banducci wall, there was a cyclist behind me. He looked to be my equal. I kept the poewr down, out of the saddle. HR up to 166! Nevertheless, he didn't bridge and appeared to have turned around or gone up towards the Alpine Forest. When I got to Bright Lake, I pulled over to put on my skull cap. My ears were starting to freeze. I took a few moments break at the summit, then commenced. There was a spot of danger as I was going down Banducci, there was a 20 or 30 yard patch of slush. I kept my wheel straight, foot on the ground. It wasn't ice, so I was getting enough traction. After reaching the base, it was steady tempo through the valley, doing good tempo up CVR climb. I put in a modest dig over the top and headed back down OTR. No traffic today. At this point, my feet were starting to get that frost bite sensation. I kept my mind on a good meal to find me at the end of the ride. I made it home safely. Concentration was good. Few lapses. No ailments. Balance was good. Gear is working well. The bike needs a good washing after having ridden through a bunch of run-off water and sand. Other notes, I have to put my Di2 battery on charge.

Other stuff. I should mention that I took the wrong meds earlier this week. It knocked me back a couple of days. I felt like I was in the Bermuda Triangle. It took a lot out of me and I wanted to bounce back ASAP. I feel back to normal now, perhaps a couple more days to confirm. I really needed this ride today! Thank goodness, the weather held up.