Today was a big and tough one! I did a double. I got up as early as I could. The weather was predicted to be in the high of 90’s. I wore the standard summer kit. I brought my usual provisions plus an extra Clif Bar and three extra bottles of water. When I reached the end of the block, I realized that I forgot my mail locker keys. So, I had to stash the belongings in the bushes, away from plain sight. From there, I headed out. I made it to the top of OTR in good average time. The body felt pretty good. From there, I headed up the Banducci Wall. There was some traffic mitigation. I used my smallest gears, saving the legs for later. The remainder of the climb was more of the same. Mostly moderate tempo, not much more. After reaching the summit, I took a few moments to recover. I used the Komoot navigation app and it worked like a charm. It showed the remaining route in green and the route I covered in red. So, it was easy to get my bearings. From there, I headed down the mountain and to SS. After reaching the entrance to SS, I took a few moments to recover and stretch on the bike. I made my way around the back side and to the descent into town. I put in a sprint for kicks. I stopped at the local park for a quick bio. I made it through the tunnel in about 1:03 hours. I made stop at the min mart to mix a sport drink. Shortly after, I got back on the road and made my way to the farmlands. It was mostly a patience game through the false flats. I passed Boss Hogs in about 1:30-ish hours. I think I gave up around 5 or 6 minutes on the return. The last CV climb went as normal. I kept the tempo steady, mostly moderate. I eased it over the summit. I stopped at the summit to feed and hydrate. From there, I got back on the road. Route 202 had some traffic mitigation. The OTR descent was mostly fun and games plus recovery. I pushed over Mariposa and made my way back to the mail lockers. I filled bottles and put an extra in my saddle bag. Once that was all settled, I headed to Keene. I was at 2:02 hours into my ride at this point. The descent to the base of Keene was mostly cruising and soft pedaling. No digs on the risers today. After reaching the base, I headed back up the mountain. I stopped at the Chavez center to mix a sport drink. Somewhere at this time, I noticed that my stomach was going sour, so I hydrated with water more than the sport drink. I stopped once more to take a quick bio. From there, it was non-stop climbing to the summit. I kept the tempo steady, micromanaging my efforts. I could tell my body was taking a hit as my HR was elevated. The morale felt better as the landmarks went by. I did the numbers in my head just to keep my concentration occupied. After making it to the summit, I was able to relax. My HR was high, so I stayed on the bike and allowed it to lower itself. I was going to hop of the bike to check the Komoot app, but I didn’t want to stop after being at my max. From there, I headed back to the mail locker to grab my stash from the bushes and then headed back up Weston where I shut it down a for a minute or two to let the HR down. Overall, the ride was a success. I was pushing the limit of what I could tolerate. This ride was in preparation for the Spooktacular ride. It was a good approximation, equaling in the amount of climbing.

Concentration was good. I was in the zone most of the time. I went in feeling ambitious. I had minimal lapses and minimal gremlins. Balance and form felt good. Ailments were minimal. Some hand soreness. Towards the end of the ride, I was feeling the fatigue set in. My concentration held things together. My stomach went sour towards the end of the ride. I will make note of this by adjusting my sport drink mixture. Nutrition was good. I fed once at the top of the CV climb, otherwise sport drink and water. Gear worked flawlessly, no mystery clicks today. Other notes, I saw four cyclists today.