Wow! Lotsa good stuff today. I planned well for this ride. The weather was perfect, my preparation was perfect, and everything went as planned. I got out a little later than I anticipated, and the weather report said that it was going to be in the upper 70's. When I checked my smartphone, the temperature read 60 something. The winds were from the North-West. Just a beautiful spring day, perfect for a bike ride. So, today's plan was to go out to Keene, back, then out to Willow Springs and back. Out the door, my legs felt so so. Making it to the top of the first descent warmed me up perfectly. I did no heroics on the downhill. Just nice and steady and out of the saddle when necessary. I did a full strength day yesterday, but I felt no fatigue as a consequence. When I reached the bottom, I adjusted the forhead padding on my helmet, as it became un-seated. Apart from that, I did a quick about face and up the first ascent. I think I gauged it to perfection. At no time was I feeling like it was taking forever. My concentration was focused at the job at hand and things went smoothly. I held back, just enough to make the climb comfortable, yet a good workout at the same time. I had no ailments at that point in time except some mild numbness in my right hand. A quick stretch of the fist helped that problem. As I reached the summit, I stopped and fed. I ate one of my Power Bars and finished up my gatorade. I also took a few swigs of plain water. I think I was there for about 4 or 5 minutes. After consuming my provisions, I proceeded down to the mailbox. The downhill was perfect as I was able to recuperate and keep my legs warm. Upon arriving at the mailbox, I switched bottles and headed to Willow Springs. My legs were a bit fatigued, but nothing unbearable. Again, I knew I had a ways to go, so I kept the pace nice and moderate and out of the saddle when necessary. Once I made it past OTR, I felt ready to tackle the last half of the ride. Being that the winds were from the North-West, I had a tailwind on the way out. It was a welcome reprieve. I'm not sure what my average speed was, but I think I did good time considering the miles that I had already put into my legs. When I reached Willow Springs, I fed the second Power Bar, again, taking about 3-4 minutes break. On the way back, I had a headwind, so I kept a nice steady tempo. The winds weren't as strong as the last time I went out to Willow Springs. I think I was doing 14-15mph most of the time. The other day, on the same route, I was struggling to keep 12-13mph. The return trip from Willow Springs was perfectly calculated. I had enough in reserve as I reached the Banducci intersection. From that point, it was the fun OTR descent, and taking care of the few undulations until I finished the ride. Ailments, My back and hips were sore on more than a few occasions as I was making my way out and back on Highline. I stretched when I could and that helped alot. When I was on the second to last undulation, I could feel my back just about reaching its limit, but just as quickly, the terrain turned into a descent and my back pains went away from that point on and until I reached home. My concentration was spot on. I could tell I was well focused because the ride didn't feel like a drag. Balance was so-so, best on the way up Keene and on the return from Willow Springs. Gear worked perfectly. My gopro had enough storage space and batteries to last the entire trip. Other notes, I saw 2 other riders. I'm surprised I saw that few. I also spotted what appeared to be a young fox, or perhaps a stray baby deer. I should have stopped to take a photo, but I was just too into my ride. All-in-All, I don't think the ride could have gone better.