My intention was to do an early ride but I caught up in cleaning then preparing and making dinner. According to the weather forecast it was supposed to rain after 11pm but I forgot about that until I was already out and decided to ride from end of year into the New Year. It wasn't supposed to be windy but it was which beats the rain! For some reason this ride was much more difficult than it should have been. I was struggling to keep any speed and even the cadence. As tough as it was the ride was enjoyable and the traffic was super light. I almost went down at the 4.5 mile mark when i had to around a mud slide covered shoulder as I was getting off the road back onto the shoulder, there must have been a small lip and I was slightly knocked off balance and I could hear the front and rear tire side walls scrape against the ledge until I finally made the transition. That brought back my last crash that broke my handle bar and rear Di2 derailleur. I thought if anything else negative happens I would cut ride short and go home. I soon forgot about about that incidence and was back into the ride. At about 18 miles into the ride I saw a baby deer by itself near the side of the road, as I approached it stood still and starred at me the headlight on my helmet scared it off because I was starring back to make sure it didn't decide to run in front of me. That was my second big excitement just before the new year! I chose this route because most of the ride has big shoulders and rumble strips along the shoulder, I was very jumpy on this ride even with the rumble strip. I guess those close calls on the last few rides stirred up feelings of the times I was hit and clipped. What a ride to end the year with! Let's make 2024 a year for the record books, be safe out there, Enjoy Your Ride!!!