Today was certainly a big ride! I tried to get up as early as I could. I must have hit the snooze buttons 4 or 5 times before I dragged my body out of bed. I had oatmeal for breakfast, it was a wise choice and proves to be a stable food to eat. I made it out the door at around 8AM. The weather was cool, but I could tell it was going to warm up pretty quick. I wore my arm coolers, knee warmers and skull cap. I brought two extra bottles and 3 clif Bars. I stashed what I didn't need for the first half of the ride in the mail locker. The legs felt pretty good to start. I made it to the end of OTR in good average time. Patience was in check. I removed my knee warmers, skull cap and the sheet of newspaper I stuffedf in my shirt. The wind was going East, so I chose to ride to SS. I kept the tempo steady. No heroics. I stopped once to bio and headed back when I reached WS. The return trip from WS was quick. Aided by a modest tailwind. The Banducci Wall had some traffic mitigation, so I was constantly looking around. Otherwise, went as planned. No red-lining it. After reaching the Banducci Summit, I pulled over to take a breather. Checked the electronics and then headed down the mountain. The wind was mild, but mostly to the West. The descent off Banducci was safe. The trek to SS was the usual grind in the saddle. I kept moderate tempo. In and out of the saddle when needed. I was doing my best to stay focused. I made my way around the backend of SS and stopped at the local park to bio. I made my way through town. (They had a festival going on). I stopped at the mini mart to buy a bottle of Gatorade and filled my bottle of water with Ice. Shortly after, I got back on the road. I was now going into a headwind. It was a slow grind. There was no point in gritting my teeth, so I used all the gears I needed and stayed out of the red. I wasn't keeping track of time that much, but I did reach the SS tunnel in 1:55 hours. I think I reached Boss Hogs in about 2:30 hours or so. I stopped at the base of the CV climb to feed. I ate one Clif Bar. The legs were feeling a bit heavy, so I was shaking them every now and again. I was also stretching periodically. The CV climb was steady moderate tempo at most. I kept the tempo going over the summit. After reaching the summit, I took a few moments to recover while riding. I made it to Route 202, let traffic by and headed toward OTR. OTR was mostly fun and games and good for the morale. From there, I made my way to the mail locker to swap out the bottles and stash the layers I took off earlier in the ride. The effort to the summit of the descent was aided by a tailwind, so my legs were thanking me. I made my way down Keene. I stopped once to bio. After reaching the base, headed back without hesitation. I knew it was going to be a tough one, so I spared no remorse and used my lowest gears. I kept the tempo going steady. In and out of the saddles. I was reading off the land marks. The morale was good. The legs were fatigued, but manageable. I was guessing my time from a few occasions. I kept my momentum going over the summit.
After reaching the summit I took a few moments to recoup and enjoy the sensation of completion. I headed to the mail locker to pickup my stash and made my way back home. I shut it down at the top of Weston. Concentration was good. Some lapses of concentration here and there, but I kept it together. Balance and form was good. Ailments, hand numbness, a bit of saddle soreness, some knee soreness and quad fatigue. Pretty much what I expected. All mitigatable. Nutrition was good. I fed one Clif Bar at the base of the CV climb. Interesting, I didn't feed a second. Likely because I picked up an extra sport drink and went through half of it before grabbing another full bottle. Gear worked flawless. Other notes, I saw a bunch of cyclists today. Near WS, SS, and Keene. A great day to ride no doubt. Glad that I got out before the hot temperature bared down.