It’s windy out. Winds were from the South East and about 60 degrees. A good day to go to The Alpine Forest. I wore arms, knees, head cap and jacket with a thick base layer. I turned out to be the perfect combination. The legs felt pretty good to start. I made it to the summit of OTR in good average time. The Banducci Wall had some traffic mitigation, but went as usual. My power meter is more accurate. I am seeing numbers that are on par with what I can dish out on Zwift. There was less traffic mitigation going through the Alpine Forest, so I was able to relax into my tempo. The landmarks went quick. My GPS was announcing my metrics every two minutes. This allowed me to keep an eye on the road and stay concentrated without having to look down every now and again. I was near max going over the top. I made my way around the backside. I was taking it easy on the downhill segments, so no dive bombing the downhills. After exiting the Alpine Forest, I headed to the top of Banducci. When I got there, I took a few moments to recover. The wind was strong. I let traffic by and then headed back down the mountain. Around this time, the power meter went out. It wasn’t giving readings and when it did it was way off. I was very cautious due to the strong wind conditions. No risking it. I let traffic by the best I could without too much danger. The worst of it was descending off the Banducci Wall. I had my right shoe unclipped just in case I needed to put a foot down. There was traffic from behind, but there was nothing I could do to make it easier for them to pass. Suffice it to say, I made it down in one piece. After making it to OTR, it was mostly fun and games till I reached Mariposa. I pushed over Mariposa and made my way back home. I was trying to get the power meter to pair, but no luck. I am guessing I need to install a new battery. When I made it to the top of Weston, I shut it down.

Concentration was good. I was eager to see what the power meter was going to show now that it has been calibrated. It helped me stay focused while the GPS was announcing the numbers. Balance and form was good. Nutrition was good. I fed a banana, grapes, some Gatorade and half an ensure bottle. That held me over perfectly. Ailments were minimal. I had slight upper back soreness. It hurts if I twist to the left or right. Fortunately, it was minimal while on the bike. I had the usual hand numbness while grinding out of the saddle. Gear worked flawlessly, with the exception of the power meter, as it gave out when I was making my way back home. Other notes, no cyclists today. I’m glad I got this under my belt safely given the bad wind conditions.

Other notes, scratch the power reading today. The power meter went kookoo on the last half of the ride.