Thanks to Paul's urging we rode a 200k perm for fun! Meaning we both had earned our R-12 credit for the month and so did not need this length of ride, yet Paul had never been out this way so we rode it. This would be our last ride together before they had back to CO. The day started at 6:40am (yes RWGS time is still off) after a bit of a scare with his rear tire as he discovered a sidewall slit in his tubeless. We went to my house and picked up a spare tire just in case. Luckily we did not need it as the slit stayed sealed. He said it was kind of a messy job to change out to new tires in this tubeless setup as the tire sort of gets stuck to the rim by the sealant. We finally got going and it was smooth, fast sailing up north and across Greenway Rd. Then as we got onto SVP and headed toward the Shell Station we noticed the wind picking up. We switched to trading pulls every 0.5 miles and had a fairly fast ride down to I-10 even with the wind from the S-SW in our face. Paul was really strong today!. We visited a bit at the store where I bought a pre-made tuna sandwich, which was not that good. Paul had his made at his house turkey sandwiches. I had some Gatorade and forgot to actually refill my water. We slowed down a bit after the freeway as we headed toward the PVNGS. Today was warm enough out that we could not see the steam. When it is colder out, the steam condenses, like earlier this week. We had discussed about maybe exploring the return from Wintersburg by heading south toward and around the plant. We decided the traffic was not that bad and we wanted to get back faster, as this south route would add about 7 miles. Once we got to mile 73.4 I directed us to go N to get off the "busier" road and get to Southern Ave, which we rode to mile 82.5. At this time we started the examination of our 3 possible northern approaches to Buckeye as in recent past most of them had construction. I opted to take the Watson Rd north to ride right by Burger King where I usually like to top off my water. Oh boy what a wait for just a simple Jr Cheeseburger. It was a 20 minute wait!!! UGH. yet the sandwich was tasty. Then up to Skyline Park with the wind at our backs. I could barely keep up with Paul. He was still strong! I thought for sure he would crack! LOL Then over to Verrado and again a nice climb up with a tailwind. Again it was all I could do to hang on. Next up, finally was the climb out to White Tank Park Library. Paul was still very strong. I hung on and tried to take the lead after the last roller, yet just a bit too much headwind for me to go all the way and there was Paul coming up beside me, not breaking a sweat!. Now for the slog against the headwind as we headed home. We made it. And I/we got to enjoy our Hail Ceasar moment cruising N on Old Litchfield Rd through one of the most beautiful downtowns. Thank you Paul for a great set winter rides. See you next winter.