They predicted hot weather today. I also have business to take care of. I tried to get up as early as I could. I ended up getting out of bed at 8AM. I didn’t spare time to waste, had breakfast, suited up and got out the door. It was around 75 degrees when I departed. Winds from the North West. I wore the standard summer kit. I brought an extra bottle of water and stashed it in the mail locker. As I was riding to the end of the block, a bug hit me in the left forehead and stung me. I stopped to take off my helmet. The bug flew away but left a sting mark on my forehead. As always, it takes about an hour for it to subide. It still hurts as I write this log entry. Nonetheless, I didn’t let it deter my ride. After stashing the bottle of water in the mail locker, I headed to Keene. I made it to the summit of the descent in good time. I cruised the downhill and put in two digs on the risers. There was some traffic mitigation on the first couple miles of the descent. After making it to the base, I headed back without hesitation. I didn’t bother checking the time, but most likely good average time. The legs took about a mile or two to settle in. I felt better as the climb progressed. I was concentrating on the landmarks. I had other stuff to think about. My GPS announcements helped and so did the music. I was doing in and out of the saddle efforts. My forehead was hurting from the bee sting, but didn’t cause any reaction to my body. I kep the tempo going as I neared the summit. I kept the power down going over the top while guessing the number of songs to make it there. After cresting the summit, I took a few moments to recover on the bike and then headed to the mail lockers. I refilled my bottle from the bottle of water I stashed and then got back on the road. I forgot to restart the GoPro camera, so I lost some footage on this segment of the ride. The OTR climb went as usual. I put in my mind that this was PT time. After making it to the summit, I stopped to check the condition of the bee sting. I put the smartphone camera in selfie mode. I could see a red bump as was expected. I got back on the road. Made my way up Highline and around the Buffalo neighborhood. I was doing good. No heroic efforts. After making back to Highline, I made my way to OTR. Once there, I stopped to feed a Clif Bar. Then I made my way back home. I pushed over Mariposa and then to the mail locker where I grabbed the empty bottle from before. I did the dig over Weston and shut it down.

Concentration was good. Minimal lapses and mostly focused. I had a few things to think about and it helped my stay in the zone. Balance and form was good. Nutrition was good. I fed a bowl of oatmeal and a few grapes for breakfast. I fed a Clif Bar, one bottle of sport drink, and water while on the ride. Ailments were minimal. Some minor hand numbness. The bee sting hurt, but at least it didn’t cause reactions to my body. Gear worked flawlessly. There persists some mystery clicks, but it was less apparent. Other notes, I saw one or two cyclists and a couple walkers of which one was familiar.