Looks like I chose the day to do this ride wisely. I was counting on a day that was cool, but not too cold. The temperature was about what I expected. In the mid 60's, low 70's. The wind was somewhat turbulent. I got my gear up and running with no problems. I took a quick bio, and headed out. I had a tailwind all the way to the fork, leading up to the mountain pass. I decided to bring my arm warmers. I looked into the distance, to what appeared to be cloudy skies. I figure'd I could always stow them in my pockets if need be. Just before I reached the fork, I removed the arm warmers, put them in my pocket and headed up the mountain. I was curious what the gearing would feel like, now that I have a compact crankset and a 32T in the rear. Turns out that it made a big difference. I was able to find a sweet spot most of the time. I kept the tempo nice and steady. Out of the saddle alot. My HR was within my limits. I decided not to view the % gradient, as it would just discourage me. Some time before reaching half way up the mountain, I did an inventory check. (Feeling the rear pockets for my stuff). When I reached for my right pocket, I noticed one arm warmer was missing. I realized I had lost it about 1 mile ago. I slowed the pace down, tried to think of the most logical course of action. Continue or go back. If I continued, I would lose the arm warmer and would have to purchase a new set. Then it dawned on me, that it was less than 10 miles into the ride. I thought to myself that I'll just find them after the ride is over using my car. The weather looked to be cooperative and I had the feeling I wouldn't freeze out there. That was the plan, I put it out of my mind and commenced. I think the climb went by faster than the previous rides. I was trying not to look at the metrics and just focus on how I felt. I remembered some of the landmarks. That Compact+32T came in handy the last mile. I was in the lowest gear, grinding it out. I didn't have to weave my way up the steepest sections. Once over the summit, I think I stopped once or twice. And headed down into the valley below. Navigation was a no-brainer. Just make sure to make a right turn on the Walker Basin. I stopped two or three times to take photos and then headed towards the next landmark, the firestation. On my previous rides, on this route, I stopped about 3 miles prior to the summit. This time, I stopped to refill my bottle of cytomax with the spare I had mounted on my fork. I swapped out camera batteries and headed out. All together, probably no more than 2 minutes of stoppage. The plan was to make it to the summit and then feed. Again, the gearing proved helpful in the last few hundred yards of the climb. No weaving needed. I pulled over ate half a power bar, hydrated, photographed, and headed back down the mountain. At this point, I knew I had enough provisions to last the remainder of the ride. The descent was fun, but the wind was significant. When I was reaching, near 40 MPH, it felt like I was doing 60. I carefully made my way down the steep slopes and passed the mini cafe. I did a provision check once more, I had plenty, so I continued. I knew it was mostly downhill, but the headwind was fierce. I did the usual, steady tempo, no heroics. The miles went relatively quick. I was doing between 15 and 25ish miles an hour. There was road construction. I was somewhat worried about this. Before the ride, I was thinking, what if they had blocked off the road to traffic? I continued and the construction appeared to be resurfacing of the pavement. Likely due to areas that were washed out or damaged from running water. They were passable. Mostly compact dirt with gravel. I think I must have gone over 5 of them. After each crossing, I used my tire squeegee, for good measure. About 6 or 7 miles to go, I started to feel squeamish in the stomach. I couldn't quite gauge it. Did I need to bio? Hydration, too much sugars, bad power bar? Not really sure. I just tried to keep my mind focused. I was almost there. About the same time of the ailment, my right calf started to cramp just a bit. This was discouraging. I had stomach issues, the last thing I needed was a cramp. I ended up stretching as much as possible. In the end, I kept it under control. I wasn't at my max, but my concentration started to take its toll. I was focusing on the land marks. After reaching the fork, I thought to myself, I have this, just stay focused. At worse, I would have to bio before getting back. It wasn't the case. I was fighting the wind on the last few miles. Again, discouraging. After reaching the railroad tracks, I knew I was going to be ok. I took a moments glance to see if the car was still there. Sure enough, it was where I left it. Once I got back, I cleaned myself down with some water, put my gear back in the car and then I had to decide to go back and find my arm warmer or go home. I was thinking about my constitution at this point. Was my stomach going to escalate, or calm down? First check, it started to churn ever so slightly. Signs of escalation. I decided to head back and play it safe. About 1/4 mile after departing, I noticed my stomach had calmed down. I pulled over, waited a minute or two, and made a last minute decision to get my arm warmer back. I knew it was somewhere withing 1 to 2 miles into the climb. I made my way back to the fork and started to search for it. I was doing about 5 miles an hour. I put my hazards, for good measure. There was enough light and I knew it would likely be on the right side of the road. On a few ocassions, I had to pull over to let traffic through. All the while scouting the ground. After about 10 or 15 minutes of driving, I spotted what appeared to be clothing of the same size as my arm warmer. I took a second look. And there it was! Just as I thought. It made me happy, so say the least. Worth the effort to go back and retrieve it. Overall... Concentration was good for the most part. The scenery kept my attention. The last few miles taxed my concentration a bit, but I held it together. Balance and form felt good. Not great. Ailments consisted of right calf soreness on the last 6 miles. And the usual exhaustion from the effort. Gear worked flawless. Other notes, I saw 2 cyclists returning, just was I was about to commence the ride. While searching for my arm warmer, there was a person that pulled over to see if I was ok. I gave her the thumbs up. The next time she saw me was when I found my arm warmers. She had a curious look, I doubt she new what I was trying to find. All in all, a good ride. I did what I set out to do. Now to decide what to do, to prevent the ailments I encountered.