The temperature was comfortable today. It was a bit on the warm side, but the air was cool. Clear skies and winds from the North West. I wore the standard summer kit with my new jersey I got the other day. I got out at 9AM. The perfect time. Enough for me to get good sleep in and before the heat started. I made it to the summit of OTR in good average time. The Banducci Wall had traffic mitigation, so I couldn’t settle into a steady tempo till they passed. I recovered on the flats and then finished the climb. I made it to the summit in about 40-ish minutes. So good average at best. I took a few moments to recover and let traffic by. I checked the font wheel’s brakes. I could hear an ever so slight rubbing of the brakes, but the wheel spun freely. I will never be happy about it until it is 100% silent like the rear wheel. So, the tweaking will continue. After a few moments, I made my way down the mountain. It was safe with no traffic from behind. The trek through the farmlands was mostly steady tempo. After reaching the front entrance, I took a few moments to recover and stretch. I made my way around the backside and to the rear entrance. I took a few moments to recover and then made my way down. I put in a good sprint at the top of the descent. I reached over 41 MPH on the descent. It was safe and fun at the same time. I stopped at the local park to bio and then got back on the road. I made it past the Tunnel in about 1:06-ish hours. I stopped at the local minimart to mix a sport drink. I think I swapped the water and sport drink bottles. I drank more water than sport drink on the return. The stomach cooperated. The trek through the farmlands was quick. I had the road to myself for most of the return. I was able to weave around the bumps most of the time. I reached boss Hogs in around 1:29-ish hours. So, I only gave up 2 to 3 minutes. The last climb went well. The legs responded well. I was able to sustain moderate tempo and a bit more. After reaching the summit, I pulled over to feed a Clif Bar with water. The body took it down without a negative response. After feeding I got back on the road and made my way to Route 202. Route 202 had traffic mitigation. I let one car pass. Then I merged with traffic, sprinting to the left turn onto OTR. The OTR descent was relaxing. I pushed over Mariposa and then back to the top of Weston where I shut it down.

Concentration was good. With few lapses and no gremlins to speak of. I was in the zone most of the time and the morale felt good. Patience was in check. Balance and form felt good. Nutrition was good. I drank more water this time. I think I will have to try it on future rides. It seemed to calm the stomach a bit. Ailments, the usual hand soreness. Shaking them off fixed the problem. Gear worked perfectly. Still some mystery clicks. I am now guessing it is a combination between the bottom bracket area and the saddle. So, both. Given that the noises occur in and out of the saddle. I am liking my new jersey. It conforms to my body and it grips the arm coolers so they don’t run down my arms. Other notes, I saw two e-cyclists at SS, a father with a tow attached to his bike at the SS minimart. I think I saw one other e-cyclist too. It was a great day to get out. This one felt good.