Today's weather wasn't as warm as the forecast, nor did it rain (yet). The wind was headed north. I knew that I was going to be riding into a headwind on the ascent from Keene, but I tried to put that out of my mind by thinking about the enjoyable return from WS. I made it to the base in good time. Testing the legs here and there. When I got to the bottom and turned around, it felt like I was carrying an extra 10 pounds. I told myself to get used to it and to adjust the tempo. It was somewhat of a patience game. Going noticeably slower. Counting off the landmarks helped a lot, today. After reaching the summit, I pulled over, called home for bottles, fiddled with a few things and then headed to the lockers. At this point I had a bit left in the bottles, so I drank what I could on the descent. When I got to the lockers, I met with the folks, drank a small, chilled, bottle of water. sprayed some cooling ointment to my knees and calf muscles. When I got out, my right knee was a little stiff, but as the ride progressed, it felt better and never escalated. I then headed out to the Alpine Forest. I was sufficiently warmed up, so I was able to settle into a good tempo, right away. The Banducci wall wasn't too bad. I was thinking to myself, ok 1/3 done, 1/2 done, almost there, etc. Keeping my mind active and preventing it from turning to mush. This proved to be the case for the remainder of the ride. I was counting off the bumps when I was on the Alpine Forest ascent. After making that forth bump and right turn, I was able to recover from the effort, then the kicker on Lemans and to Banducci. When I reached the summit, I called home, drank a bit, stretched, etc. While I was there, I looked around for the squeegee tool that I dropped the previous ride up Banducci. There it was, laying on the ground just where I was standing. I then headed out to Highline and WS. I kept the tempo nice and steady. Going into the headwind. So, I decided to practice spinning. Doing bursts of 110 RPM intervals. I was doing this on and off, all the way to WS. The return trip proved to be what I expected of it. It was enjoyable and FAST. I was able to push it in certain areas. Putting the power down to test the legs. The legs responded, so that was encouraging. The remainder of the ride was the enjoyment of OTR and the tailwind over Mariposa. Concentration was so so, today. My mind started to turn to mush on more than a few occasions. I was almost having to force some positive thoughts to stave off the boredom. Nevertheless, I was able to complete the ride unscathed. Ailments consisted of right hand numbness. My right calf was complaining on a few occasions, but I adjusted the tempo accordingly and it didn't escalate to anything significant. Balance and form felt good today. Gear is working well. I used the power band for the smart phone, and it seemed to keep it sufficiently charged with room to spare at the end of the ride. Other notes, no other cyclists today :(.