Today was a biggy. The last ride in preparation for the Spooktacular ride next weekend. I chose this ride because it near equals the Spooktacular by elevation gain. I got up a bit later than I would have liked. Somewhat on purpose to let the weather warm up. I almost got it wrong. I was going to leave with a jacket and long gloves, but decided not to. So, I wore arms, knees, thick base layer, and skull cap. When I got out, it was sunny and around 60-ish. That’s when I decided to leave the extra clothes behind. Nevertheless, I shoved off. I went to the mail lockers to stash my extra provisions. Shortly after, I headed out to OTR. The legs felt pretty good to start. No aches or pains. I made it to the summit of OTR in good average time. I had my Komoot navigation app running on the smartphone, so I was checking it from time to time mostly for practice. It’s proving to be accurate. The Banducci Wall had some traffic mitigation, otherwise went as normal. No red-lining it. The Arosa climb was quick, by perception. I had some things to think about, so the landmarks went quick. I was near max going over the top, but I wasn’t red-lining it either. I made my way around the backside, while micromanaging my effort. I reached 40+ MPH on the downhill. After making it to the summit, I pulled over to recover and check the gadgets. Everything was in check. I forgot to check my time. I was on track. I let traffic by and then headed down the mountain. It was mostly safe with minimal traffic mitigation. I made my way to the base and through the farmlands. It went well. I kept a moderate tempo, while stretching the backside and legs. The CV climb was calculated. I stayed as relaxed as possible. The legs weren’t complaining much, but I wasn’t about to put in a heroic effort. I crested the summit and made my way to Route 202. Route 202 had minimal traffic mitigation. I think there were two or three cars that passed me. Descending off OTR was fun and games while relaxing in the moment. I pushed over Mariposa and headed back to the mail lockers. When I got there, I topped off my sport drink bottle. I stashed an extra powder drink in the bottom case for good measure. I noticed the weather held up. It didn’t get much hotter than when I left. I decided to keep my gear on with the plan to remove my knee warmers on the return from Keene. When I was sure I had everything in place, I headed to Keene. The legs felt good. I let them warm up by staying in my easy gears. I stopped at the to of the descent to feed a Clif Bar. Shortly after, I made my way down the mountain. It was mostly cruising. I pushed over the risers without risking overexertion. I stopped once to take a quick bio. My quads were hinting on compression soreness that didn’t escalate. When I reached the base, I headed back up the mountain. I stopped at the Chavez center as planned. I topped off the bottles, fed a Clif Bar, removed my knee warmers and then got on with business. It was non-stop climbing. The landmarks went quick. The morale felt good. I was micromanaging my effort as best I could. I was doing better after passing the landmarks. The quad soreness was in check. I wasn’t experiencing compression soreness that happens once in a while. The body responded well. I was doing in and out of the saddle efforts while stretching on the downhill dips. I remained hydrated and kept an eye on hunger signs. The sport drink held me over till the end. I kept my momentum going over the top reaching maximum. After cresting the summit, I was able to relax and take a few moments on the bike to recover. In the meantime, I made my way back to the mail lockers. I grabbed my stash and headed back home. I shut it down at the top of Weston. My legs were sore, but not cramping which is a good sign.

Concentration was good. I had minimal lapses. The morale was good my patience was in check. No gremlins worth noting. Balance and form was good. Ailments were minimal. Mostly hand soreness and numbness on the return from Keene. As usual, shaking them while in the saddle fixed that problem. Nutrition was good. I fed one Clif Bar, about two and a half sport drink bottles and a bit of plain water. I did not have hunger knock signs. Gear held up perfectly. I had the external battery bank powering the GoPro camera. It made it on one charge. I didn’t have to swap out the internal GoPro battery. When I got back, it was at 80-ish percent. Other notes, I saw some walkers, horse back riders and one or two cyclists.