It warmed up a bit. It was probably 80 degrees with winds from the North West. I wore the standard summer kit. I tried to get out earlier, but I overslept by about 20 minutes. I got out around 9:15-ish AM. Right after breakfast. I’m not sure what happened, but my left hand is sore for some reason. Fortunately, it didn’t bother me for the most part. The legs felt ok to start. I made it to the summit of OTR in good average time. The Banducci Wall had traffic mitigation. I was within my limits, but the traffic disruption didn’t help. I recovered on the flat segment and then to the top of Banducci. More of less the same traffic mitigation while doing moderate tempo. After making it to the summit, I took a few moments to recover. I let traffic by and then headed down the mountain. I pulled over once to let traffic from behind to pass. The remainder of the descent was safe with minimal traffic. The trek to SS was quick. The wind was mild at this point in the ride. I made my way around the backside and then the descent into town. There were a lot of elk grazing and roaming around. I stopped to take photos and videos. I put in one sprint on the downhill. I stopped at the local park to bio then I made my way to the mini-mart. I made it passed the tunnel in about 1:05 hours. Not too bad. After making it to the mini-mart, I mixed a powder drink and then got back on the road. (I forgot to restart the GoPro, so I lost quite a bit of footage, although, nothing interesting happened). The return was relatively quick. I kept the tempo steady. Getting out of the saddle when going over rough terrain and to relieve the sit bones. I passed Boss Hogs in about 1:28 hours. So, I gave up only 3 minutes on the return. The last climb went well. I kept the tempo steady. No heroics, but no slacking. I pushed over the summit and then pulled over to the side of the road to feed. I fed a Clif Bar with some water. After feeding, I got back on the road. This was the point where I realized that I forgot to start the GoPro. I made my way to Route 202. Route 202 had traffic that I let by before heading down the road. As I was approaching the intersection, there was traffic from behind. I signaled to them that I was going to make a left turn. It was probably safer than forcing them to pass. The descent off OTR was mostly fun. The clouds appeared to be rolling in, so the heat subsided a bit. I pushed over Mariposa and then to the top of Weston where I shut it down.

Concentration was good. I had a few things to think about. My left hand was good enough to complete the ride without much pain or discomfort. The bee sting on my forehead is still swollen, but did not hurt when I put my helmet on. Otherwise, I was concentrated. Balance and form was good. Perhaps a bit wonky to one side. Ailments, some hand soreness. There was a hint of right knee soreness in the first half of the ride. It subsided and didn’t come back. And, the left hand. It was painful to grab things out of my left pocket, so I had to be careful. Nutrition was good. I had a bowl of oatmeal and a few grapes for breakfast. I fed a Clif Bar with water. I drank about one and a half bottles of sport drink and some water. Gear worked flawlessly. Although, some hints of mystery clicks are still apparent. I lubed the saddle yesterday as planned. If I had to say, it’s better, but needs confirmation. I lubed the back part of the saddle and am contemplating doing the same to the front part. Other notes, I saw a ton of elk today. I saw a cyclist in the distance as I was approaching SS. I may have seen another, but I may be confused with the previous ride.