I didnt want to do this ride, especially so early in the morning. I knew that if I didnt do it, I would be pushing myself to do it later in the evening. So instead of laying around and waiting for the excuses to flood in, I rolled out of bed and jumped on the bike. Like the ride before, it started out slow. The racers and wanna be sprinters took off the line with an aggression that would be warranted in a grand tour. By the time the group settled in to a bunch the pace partner, was already left at least a few miles behind. It was on the second lap that I lost my rythum and fell back more than a few meters from the lead group. It was on the Second lap around Jarvis island, on the second climb where I lost the wheel. No matter how hard I pushed, the chain on the bike skipped ramming the links in to the cassette and chain rings. I was forced to ease the pace and rely on my cadence ( as opposed to strength) to get up the ten percent climb. At the end of the ride, I took to the same technique to finish the final climb. It was not as hard at only three percent. Here the I was able to catch up the group that had left me before and I was able to fight my way to the front for a new finish time. As much as this was not a race, I would have not been happy with the result. The finish time was one minute slower than the day before. I can only attribute that to the slamming chain and the slower climbs. Maybe I need to shorten the chain? Maybe I need to replace the cassette. In any case, this ride is done and I have the rest of the day to relax and recover for tomorrow.