It was raining and snowing the past few days. Today was the first day being able to ride outdoors since. It’s a bit chilly out. I purposely got up a bit late to let the weather to warm up. My plan worked. Although, I lost some hours of productivity. I wore the full winter kit with my helmet shield. The legs felt good to start. My right sit bone was hinting on soreness when I started the ride, but it went away after about 10 minutes or so. I made it to the summit of OTR in good time. The climb up the Banducci Wall had some traffic mitigation so I was constantly looking around. I had my metrics announcements going, so that helped by not having to look at the GPS thus making it more safe. The Alpine Forest went quick. I was doing no less than moderate tempo to the summit. I was near max going over the top to Lemans. I took a few moments to recover and then made my way around the backside. I enjoyed the downhill. From there, I made my way to the summit of Banducci. Once there, I took a few moments to recover. Then I let traffic by and headed back down the mountain. I had a slight tailwind. There was minimal traffic mitigation, so it was safe. Descending off the Banducci Wall was enjoyable. There was a slight headwind but it was nice and steady. It had the effect of feathering the brakes without the jolting that gusting winds have a tendency to do. The descent off OTR was mostly fun and games. I pushed over Mariposa and then the dig to the top of Weston where I shut it down.

Concentration was good. I was in the zone most of the time and no gremlins to speak of. Balance and form was good. Ailments were minimal, just some mild hand soreness when grinding out of the saddle. Nutrition was good. I fed half a banana and some grapes before the start of the ride. That held me over plenty. Gear worked flawlessly. Other notes, I saw one cyclist that was pulled over on the other side of the street. I forgot to put on the forehead pad on my helmet. Luckily, I had my head cap, so it didn’t matter.