Today was the "big ride" day. I chose to go to three places. The Alpine Forest, Cummings Valley, and Keene. They predicted rain later in the day, so I was relieved that I had a chance to get out and do a big ride. The caveat was the wind. It was going the opposite way that I like for this route. I decided to stick with the plan. I brought two extra bottles that I stashed in the mail locker for later. The legs felt pretty good to start. I took it easy going up OTR. No heroics. I kept the tempo steady. I made it to the summit in good average time. (Although, I wasn't paying too much attention to time). The Banducci Wall had minimal traffic mitigation, so I was able to concentrate on the task at hand. From there, I headed up the Alpine Forest. I was going into a headwind, so patience was the name of the game. It went fairly quick. After reaching the bumps, I was feeling better in the morale. I made my way around the backside. I reached over 45 MPH on one of the dips. About as fast as I can handle. I headed to the top of Banducci from there. I took a few moments rest. Checked the GoPro battery, then headed down the mountain. There was a tailwind at this point. Instead of going faster, I had to slow down! It was too dangerous to let the brakes go. I was on high alert for traffic. I pulled over once to let traffic through. From there, I made my way to the farmlands. Pellisier had mostly cross / head wind conditions. I stopped once at a porta-potty. Shortly after, I got back on the road and made my way to the last climb. I don't recall the time to Boss Hogs. I was going into a severe headwind, so I was in no mood to pay attention to anything else except the task at hand. The last climb wasn't so bad, but still a headwind to contend with. After reaching the summit, took a few moments to recover and then made my way to Route 202. There was some traffic mitigation, so I was on high alert. I made it safely to OTR. OTR was mostly fun and games and good for the morale. It was a recovery zone. I pushed over Mariposa and then headed back to the mail locker. I swapped bottles out and got back on the road. After reaching the summit of the descent, I pulled over to feed a Clif Bar. After feeding, I got back on the road, but had to stop once more to bio. I then made my way to the base of Keene. I had a tailwind most of the way down, so I was extra careful. After reaching the base, I headed back, no stopping. The wind was present, but not as bad as it was during the first half of the ride. The mountain provided shelter. I counted off the landmarks. The music kept me company. I kept the tempo steady. The legs felt pretty good. Fatigued, but not so much sore. I tried to remind myself to stretch when permissible. The morale got better after the second dip. I kept my momentum going over the top. After reaching the summit, I took a few moments to recoup and then headed back down to the mail locker. When I got there, the mail carrier was putting mail in the lockers. I checked my locker and noticed he had taken my bag with bottles out. I politely asked him if he took it out. He went back to his car and handed me the blue bag just as I had left it. After sighing in relief, I put the bag around my backside as you would a backpack, and then headed back home. I shut it down at the top of Weston. Concentration was good, all things considered. I was discouraged when I got out due to the wind conditions. I've ridden these conditions before, so I just kept that in the back of my mind. Ailments were minimal. Some right hand numbness while climbing out of the saddle. Some quad soreness in the last hour or so. The body felt lively, all things considered. Gear worked flawless. I just had to replace the GoPro battery once while on my way back down OTR. Nutrition was good. The new Power Bar drink worked like a charm. Staving off some of my hunger. While keeping my replenished. I was having to dilute it by sipping water. I fed a Clif Bar. It went down gently and kept the stomach feeling content. Balance and form was good. Other notes, I saw just one cyclist today. There were a bunch of spectators at the Loop Monument as I was descending down to Keene.