It rained yesterday. It's a bit warmer with humidity. Probably about 80 degrees when I left. Winds from the North West when I departed, but turned 180 as I was making my way back from Keene. I wore the standard summer kit. I brought an extra bottle of water and stashed it in the mail locker. The legs felt a bit sluggish to start. After stashing the extra bottle of water, I headed to Keene. I made it to the summit of the descent in good average time. The descent went quick. At this point, the wind was mild and in my favor. I put in two digs on the risers. After making it to the base, I headed back without hesitation. The weather was warm, so I had to ease the power for the first mile or two. I was doing in and out of the saddle efforts the entire way. The landmarks helped. I had the music volume low so that I could hear traffic from behind. Otherwise, I was reasonably concentrated. I had a few things to think about. After reaching the Loop monument, I was feeling better in the morale. As I was approaching the summit, I was listening to the music and guessing the number of songs to reach the top. That kept me distracted from the discomfort. About two miles from the summit, the wind shifted to a headwind. After cresting the summit, I took a few moments to recover on the bike. Then I headed to Keene. But first, I stopped at the mail locker to pour a powder drink from the bottle I stashed at the beginning of the ride. Once that was out of the way, I headed up OTR. It was getting warm. I kept the tempo modest till I reached the base of the climb. Then it was more of the in and out of the saddle efforts, doing my best to keep the muscles from seizing. After reaching the summit, I took a few moments to recover. Then I headed up Highline. I was going directly into a headwind. When it got tough, I just reminded myself that I would have a nice tailwind on the way back. I zipped around the Buffalo neighborhood and then to Highline for the return. I had a nice tailwind that made things go much quicker. After making it back to OTR, I pulled over to feed a Clif Bar with some water. I swapped the GoPro battery and then headed down OTR. It was mostly enjoyable. I pushed over Mariposa and then made my way back to Weston. I pushed into the headwind till I reached the top. I shut it down once I made it to the top.

Concentration was good. I had stuff to think about. The morale was on the good side. I was a bit impatient in places. When I did, I picked a thought to stay focused. Ailments were minimal. Mostly hand soreness. The joints felt good. The left hand feels better. Balance and form was good. Gear worked flawlessly. Although the mystery click persists. I am going to put a dab of lube on the tip of the saddle where the rails join. Nutrition was good. I had a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast. I fed a Clif Bar. I drank two bottles of sport drink and the better half of one bottle of water. Other notes, I saw 2 cyclists and one casual cyclist. There were some spectators at the Loop Monument as I was descending, but none when I was on the return.