The weather has cooled off quite a bit. I had to wear arms, knees and a thick base layer. The temperature was around 60 degrees when I departed. Winds from the North West. The legs felt somewhat sluggish today. I had to fiddle with the gadgets as I was making my way to OTR. That delayed my ride by a minute or two. I stopped at OTR to get the HR sensor to work. I made it to the summit of OTR in average time. The Banducci Wall had some traffic mitigation. I kept the tempo steady. I recovered on the flats and then the remainder of the climb. There was some traffic mitigation from behind, so I was on high alert. After reaching the summit, I pulled over to recover. I checked the front and rear wheels for brake rubbing. No brake rubbing to be heard at that point. From there, I headed down the mountain. I took it easy. I was feathering the brakes as I was descending. There was one or two cars from behind that passed me after reaching the base. The trek to SS was moderate tempo. I was going into a headwind at that point. After reaching the entrance to SS, I took a few moments to stretch on the bike. Then I made my way around the backside climb. I stopped at the back entrance to adjust my knee warmers. I got back on the road and made my way downward. I put in a good sprint. I reached over 40 MPH. I played it cautious. I was getting that lack of stability feeling, so I just feathered the brakes a bit to stay in my comfort zone. I stopped at the local park to take a quick bio. I got back on the road after that. I passed the tunnel in about 1:10. It became apparent that it would be a slow ride today. I stopped at the local mini-mart to mix a powder drink. I was trying the new "Red Fruit" flavor Powerbar powder. I like it. It's not as sour as the Raspberry Pomegranate flavor, but they are very similar. This will work just fine for future rides. After mixing the drink, I got back on the road. The morale began to get better. The trek through the farmlands was the usual chore. Nothing special about it. I kept the tempo steady. I passed Boss Hogs in about 1:35. So, I gave up about 5 minutes on the return. When I made it to the base of the last climb, I pulled over to swap out the GoPro battery. From there, I headed up the climb. I kept the tempo steady. The legs were sluggish at this point, so no heroics. I pushed over the top. After reaching the summit, I pulled over to feed a Clif Bar. There were some familiar goats behind a fence. They always have a curios look about them. After feeding, I got back on the road and made my way to Route 202. The legs were hinting on soreness, so I was doing my best to get them to warm up. Route 202 had some traffic mitigation. I had to put down the power to make it to the left turn onto OTR. The descent off OTR was enjoyable. I was able to have a good time. I pushed over Mariposa and then to Weston. I put in a dig to the top of the road and shut it down.

Concentration was good. The morale was pretty good to start. I was impatient at moments, otherwise I was mostly focused. I had some new things to try, like the new powder drink and the brakes that I bled yesterday. That kept me occupied. Balance and form was good. Ailments were minimal. Some hand soreness. The usual sense of fatigue. Perhaps a hint of soreness in the legs, more than usual. Nutrition was good. I had a bowl of oatmeal, half a banana and some grapes before the ride. I fed a Clif Bar on the last 20 or so minutes of the ride. I went through a bit more than a bottle of sport drink and some water. The GI was cooperating today. Gear worked flawlessly. The brakes feel like new. There were some interesting mystery clicks today that I couldn't put my finger on. I am guessing it is the saddle and perhaps something else. More investigating on that later. Other notes, I saw one familiar runner (at SS) and one cyclist as I was exiting SS. I thought there was going to be a car show at SS like last week, but not today.