Today looked like an ideal day to ride. My usual impression on the day's weather looked promising. My legs felt a bit heavy in the beginning, but after reaching route 202, they felt better. I did strong tempo going up Banducci and made a dig over the wall. I did good time to the summit. When I reached the summit, I realized that it was very windy on this side of the mountain. Nevertheless, I continued. The winds were horrendous, I was doing 15 mph at first as I made the right turn onto Pelisser. Then I was doing 12-13mph, and towards the end, more like 11mph. On the Eastbound roads, I was struggling to keep 10mph. The winds were that strong. I did steady tempo, trying to conserve as much energy as possible. I reached Boss Hogs in just under an hour, but was losing big chunks of time due to the wind conditions. When I reached the last climb, I was sheltered a bit from the wind. About 1/2 up the climb, I noticed that I needed to feed. I decided to feed at the summit, as that would be my reward for this part of the ride. I made a dig over the top and started to eat my power bar. By the time I finished the bar, I was about 1/4 mile from the end of the road. The rest of the way was moderate tempo. It was a welcome relief. Concentration was very good today, I was able to focus on the task at hand and just keep it that way for almost the whole ride. Balance was also good, except in the cross winds which forced me to lean to the right (into the wind). Other notes, I forgot my HR monitor and realized it about 1 minute into the ride. I turned around, put it on, and restarted the ride. The bike is making creaking noises here and there. I think I want to inspect the fork as it might have a bit of play. Gear is working well, no problems there.