Today was a big day. The weather could not have been better. Mild winds from the North West. A bit turbulent towards SS. The legs felt pretty good to start. I brought two bottles that I stashed in the mail lockers for later. I did good average time to the summit of OTR. The Banducci Wall had some traffic mitigation. Otherwise, was the usual grind. The remainder was mostly moderate tempo after recovering on the flat. After reaching the summit, I pulled over to take a few moments rest. The GoPro battery was holding steady. I brought my extra battery bank and wired it to the camera. So, no fiddling with battery changes today. The descent off Banducci was a treat. There was a stray dog on one of the straights. Traffic slowed down to avoid it. The trek through the farmlands went quick. After making it to SS, I took a few moments to stretch the legs and back while on the bike. I made my way around the backside. I pulled over at the summit to check the GoPro battery. It was holding steady. The descent into town was fun. I passed the Tunnel in about 1:03 hours. So, I was doing good time for a ride of this duration. I zipped through town and then got back to the farmlands. I was averaging between 15 and 17 MPH. The wind was mild, but I think it was slightly a headwind. I didn't bother checking Boss Hogs, but likely in the ballpark up 1:25 to 1:28-ish hours. The CV climb went as expected. The legs weren't took fatigued, so I was able to settle into a comfortable but not to lazy tempo. I kept the momentum going over the top and used the false flat to recover. Route 202 had some traffic mitigation. I think I stopped or slowed down to a crawl to let traffic by safely. The descent off OTR was mostly fun and games. I pushed over Mariposa and made my way back to the mail locker. Once there, I swapped bottles after taking the last minute sips from them. I got back on the road and made my way to the summit of OTR. I pulled over to feed a Clif Bar. Probably took no more than 3 to 4 minutes. Shortly after, I headed down the mountain. The patience felt pretty good. It was an enjoyable descent in good weather conditions. The wind was going South East at this point. I put in some digs over the risers and then made my way to the base. After making it to the base, I turned around and headed back, no stopping. The climb went well. The legs felt lively and
not so fatigued. So, minimal muscle soreness or cramping. I counted off the landmarks as I was going along. The patience felt good. The miles went reasonably quick. I had a few things to think about and the effort kept me in the zone. I was stretching on the dips. The morale felt better with the passage of each landmark. After making it to the summit, I took a few moments to recover and then headed to the mail lockers. Once there, I grabbed my belongings and headed back home. I shut it down after reaching the top of Weston. Concentration was very good. I was in the zone most of the time. My patience was prevalent. Minimal gremlins. Minimal lapses. Balance and form was good. Very good out of the saddle. I had a good sense of liveliness in the legs. Ailments were minimal. The usual sense of fatigue that didn't manifest into something detracting. Nutrition was spot on. I drank mostly water for the first hour. Then I started to consume the sport drink in sips at a time. I fed a Clif Bar before the Keene descent. It went down well and didn't weigh me down. Gear held up beautifully. Bike did perfect. The battery bank worked like a charm. Other notes, I saw at least 5 cyclists today. This was a near best case scenario of a ride.