It’s a great day to get out! The temperature is in the 50’s. Mild winds from the North West. I wore my jacket, arms, knees and a head cap with a thin base layer. I was sufficiently warm for the duration of the ride. Just as I was about to start the ride, I turned on the GPS and it showed 2% of battery charge. So, I ended up grabbing a battery bank and connected it to the GPS. That did the trick. The GPS worked flawless after that. The legs felt pretty good to start, so did the morale. I made it to the top of OTR in good average time. The Banducci Wall had minimal traffic mitigation. More of the same to the summit from there. The morale felt good when I reached the summit as the more difficult was behind me. I forgot to check the time to the summit, but the metrics show that I made it there in good average time. I took a few moments rest, checked the GoPro battery, hydrated, let the traffic by and then made my way down the mountain I enjoyed it as much as I could. I was able to let the wheels roll without too much caution. The wind was cooperative and the traffic was minimal. From there, it was the trek to SS. A bit boring, but the easiest part of the ride. I was checking for bathrooms, but none to be seen. I made my way around the backside and headed down into SS. I put in good sprint on the descent. Lot's of fun. I stopped at the local park and as luck should have it, the bathroom was open, so I took a quick bio break. From there, I headed into town and made my way back to Banducci for the return. I made it to the tunnel in about 1:05 hours. The trek back through the farmlands was the usual grind in the mind. A boring bit of road, but the traffic wasn't too bad. The road continues to be all torn up, so I was having to dodge pot holes. As I reached the last climb, I had to pull over to swap out my GoPro battery. A nice (fellow) cyclist pulled over to see if I was ok. I explained to him that I had to swap batteries for my camera. He smiled, I gave him a friendly nod and he went about his way. I was tempted to try and catch up to him, but the legs were getting heavy. After reaching the summit, I took a few moments to recover. The other cyclist was way up the road, so no point in trying to bridge. I assessed my provisions. I had enough to make it back home. I brought an extra bottle of water and Power Bar powder sport drink. I decided not to mix a batch. Route 202 had minimal traffic, so I was able to relax as I made my way to OTR. OTR was mostly fun and games. I was thinking in the back of my mind, where did that guy go? I never saw him again. Nonetheless, the descent was enjoyable. I pushed over Mariposa and made my way back home. I shut it down at the top of Weston.

Concentration was good. The morale felt good, especially as I made progress on the ride. Balance and form was good. Ailments, some right knee soreness in the start and end of the ride. It never escalated, but I stretched to for good measure. Nutrition was good. No hunger signs. I drank all of my sport drink, no water. Gear worked flawless. Although, the GPS indicated if it should shut down on 3 or 4 occasions. Not sure why. Must have been due to the fact that I had it plugged into my battery bank. Other notes, I saw 4 or 5 cyclists. One of which looked to be Corey Lockwood (spelling?) wearing a national championship jersey. Overall a great day to get out!

Other notes, the legs were hinting on cramping as I was pushing over Mariposa. It subsided by the time I reached Weston.