Finally, the weather has let up and I was able to put in the ride I wanted. It’s in the mid / upper 60’s, winds from the North West. I wore arms, knees, thick base layer and head cap. I headed up OTR first. The legs felt good to start. The sit bones cooperated. I made it to the top of OTR in good time. After making it to the summit, I headed back. The downhill was enjoyable. After pushing over Mariposa, I made my way towards Keene. I don’t recall checking the time at the top of the descent. The descent was mostly cruising. I put it two digs on the risers. After making it to the base, I headed back. I stopped at the Caesar Chavez center to remove my headed cap and to swap out the GoPro battery. I had an extra bottle of water just in case. Turns out that I didn’t need it. The return was non-stop climbing. I was trying to hold no less than moderate tempo. The miles and landmarks went quick as I had stuff to think about. The body felt good and so did the legs. I was listening to the GPS announcements and that helped keep me focused. I am not sure how accurate the power meter was today. I think it was a bit off. About 6 or so minutes from the summit, I was trying to time the cresting before the end of the song that was playing. I was able to manage it. It felt exhilarating. After making it over the summit, I took a few moments to recover while on the bike. Shortly after, I headed back home and shut it down at the top of the Weston dig.

Concentration was good. I had stuff to think about, the morale was good. Balance and form was good. Nutrition was good. I ate a banana, some grapes and apple sauce before the start of the ride. That held me over. I drank most of my sport drink and some water. Ailments were minimal. I had some mild hand soreness on the out of the saddle digs. Gear worked flawlessly. Other notes, there were some people at the loop monument. On my way back up, some waved and I waved back with a smile. Always nice when that happens. There was one casual cyclist as I was making my way back from OTR.