It has cooled off quite a bit. It was less than 50 degrees when I shoved off. The wind has picked up, but was going South East, the way I like it for this ride. I managed to get out around the time I intended to. I wore arms, knees, head cap, thin base layer, face mask and my jacket. I was sufficiently warm for the whole ride. The legs felt a bit heavy to start, so I allowed the body extra time to warmup. I made it to the top of OTR in average time. The Banducci Wall had minimal traffic mitigation, so I was able to concentrate on my effort. I recovered on the flat and then made my way to the summit. There was some road construction going on at the summit. I was allowed to stop at the turnout at the summit. After letting traffic by, I headed back down the mountain. It was a quick descent as I had a nice tailwind at that time. Descending off the Banducci Wall was a bit of caution as the wind was slightly turbulent. The OTR descent was mostly fun and games. I took it easy on the Mariposa hill. From there, I made my way to the top of WTR. I was riding into a headwind. I played it patiently by not redlining it. There was road construction at the summit, but I was allowed to go. I put in two digs on the risers. There was one more construction zone a bit further down than the Loop Monument. I was needing to take a bio, so I was looking for a convenient place. I found the usual spot, but for some reason, it didn’t look familiar. I think they cleared some brush. So, I decided to keep going. I ended up stopping below the freeway pass where there was a small embankment. After conducting business, I headed to the base. After reaching the base, I headed back up the mountain. I stopped at the Chavez Center to feed and mix a sport drink. (I brought an extraq bottle of water in my saddle bag). I also removed my face mask. After hydrating and feeding, I got back on the road. It was non-stop from there. The body felt better. I had a generous tailwind. I was loving it. I had to slow down in the road construction zones, but was minimally delayed. After reaching the second dip, I was feeling better in the morale. I was doing a few calculations to keep the mind occupied. I was also listening to the GPS announcements. The readings seemed to be off by about 20 watts or so. I calibrated the power meter, but that didn’t seem to make a difference. Nonetheless, I made my way to the summit. After reaching the summit, I took a few moments to recover on the bike and made my way back home. I shut it down after digging to the top of Weston.

Concentration was good. I had stuff to think about and the morale felt good. Balance and form felt good. Ailments were minimal. Some hand soreness while grinding out of the saddle. Otherwise, the body felt good. Nutrition was good. I fed a banana and grapes before the start of the ride. I fed a Clif Bar before the last climb and wen through about and a half bottles of sport drink and some plain water. Gear worked flawlessly. However, after stopping to bio, for some reason the left cleat wouldn’t engage. No clue why. I stopped to check it and all of a sudden it started working again. I’m guessing a small gravel bit got lodged somewhere. I should probably inspect it. It was the left cleat. Other notes, there was only one car parked at the Loop Monument with a man and his children. No other cyclists on the road.