I was unsure what to wear today. My smartphone said it was around 59 degrees, but it felt much colder. I decided to wear arms, knees, jacket, head cap and a face mask for descending. I stashed my cycling gloves in the saddle bag just in case it got too hot. I was glad that I chose to bring what I did, as it was a bit chilly on the way down to Keene. The wind was from the North West, so in my favor for this ride. The legs felt pretty good to start, but needed warming up. I made it to the top of the descent in good average time. I cruised the downhill and put in two strong digs on the risers. After reaching the base, I removed my face mask and stashed it in my saddle bag. From there, it was non-stop climbing. The GPS was giving me turn-by-turn directions as I wanted to practice using it. It was giving me climbing reminders as the ride went on. Suffice it to say, it kept me occupied. The climb went quick, given the nice tailwind and cool air. I was counting off the landmarks as they went by. The morale got better, too. I was doing in and out of the saddle efforts. No less than moderate tempo. I kept my momentum going over the summit. Once making it to the summit, I took a few moments to recover while on the bike. I zipped up my jersey and jacket before heading back home. I shut it down at the top of Weston.

Concentration was good. Minimal lapses and no gremlins to speak of. Balance and form was good. I'm continuing to like the current saddle position. Nutrition was good. I fed a banana and some grapes before the start of the ride. I went through most of my sport drink, no water. Ailments were minimal. I experienced some minor right knee soreness towards the top of the climb, but it subsided. That, and the usual hand numbness while grinding out of the saddle. Gear worked flawlessly. Other notes, I saw two cyclists today. One on a TT-bike, and the other casually descending.