The weather today was ideal. Although the winds were a bit different than usual. There was a tail cross on the way out. I tried my wheels for the first time today. More about that later. I felt pretty good from the beginning. I did weigh in a bit less than usual, around 139 lbs. This may have skewed my perception of the uphill portions. It didn't take much time to warm up. By the time I was at the end of OTR, I was plenty warmed up. Being that the winds weren't directly from the west, I didn't push the outbound on Highline. At this point my legs were a bit lacking in balance, but not so bad. I had plenty of reserves left when I reached the turn-around point. I decided to go up Stueber (sp?) to check out the road. This is the last road before Tehachapi Blvd, where the Gran Fondo will take place. The road was a bit rough, but definitely rideable. There were no obstructions that I observed. The return trip, from that point on was done in moderate and sometimes good tempo. I planned on going up Banducci, so I allowed my body to recuperate when I reached the end of Highline. I felt pretty good going up the wall. I was a bit fatigued when I reached the summit. I took about a 1 or 2 minute break. I was going to have my energy bar, but decided against it. Turns out that it was a good decision. I had enough fluid provisions to last me all the way back, and then some. My concentration was better than the previous ride, but it was about average. As I mentioned, my balance was a bit lacking, but nothing worse than average. Ailments consisted of soreness in the back, especially going up the climbs. When it occurred I was able to mitigate the pain by standing further up right while out of the saddle. It never escalated any further that would require stopping. Now about the wheels.... My observations... They are definitely the best pair that I've ridden. They feel light, very well balanced, they track straight, they have enough rigidity and forgiving over bumps. While coasting, the rear wheel is about half as loud as the previous pair. I am really happy about that. I did notice that the cassette has a bit of play, probably less than 1 mm when applying pressure perpendicular to the direction of the gears. I did notice a click that happened once when I was close to the end of Highline. I'm planning on installing the cassette on my old wheels to see if it also has a bit of play. Other notes, I have to oil the chain.