today was a bit hotter than the previous ride. Good thing I was doing the Willow Springs route. My legs were a bit heavy at the beginning, but got better as the ride progressed. I was sufficiently warmed up by the time I reached route 202. The first uphill mile was somewhat moderate, but I did get out of the saddle as I usually do. I was on top of the pedals most of the way. That mile climb felt a bit more difficult this time around. I think the wind was somewhat turbulent in that area. As soon as I crested the summit, I noticed that the wind shifted to a near perfect tailwind. I increased the tempo, but stayed within myself. No heroics. I think I let up a bit at the end because the wind started to shift again. I was feeling good at this point, no serious ailments. The return trip was nice and steady, sometimes increasing the tempo when the conditions were right. The last climb up Banducci wasn't as bad as I anticipated. I was out of the saddle for most of the wall and then stepped it down over the top. There was a headwind going up the last riser, no surprise there. I took a minute break at the summit and then turned around and headed for home. The remainder was staying out of trouble and pushing only where necessary. My concentration was good for the most part. Balance was the lesser of things. The Banducci plateau always gets me. I'm not sure if it's the wind, or a combination of things, but I was leaning more than I like. Gear is working well. The mp3 player doesn't seem to be playing the songs in random. More investigating on that later. Ailments consisted mostly of left hip pains, some soreness in the back. I was able to mitigate that by stretching now and again. Other notes, they are fertilizing the farm-lands on highline, I saw 2 other cyclists, and I stopped on 2 occasions to put my business cards on people's garage sale sign.