Today was another big training day. Not quite the mileage as the previous triple ride, but close in difficulty. I was able to get out there around 9:30. When I checked the temperature as soon as I got up, it was around the upper 40's. When I got to the start point, I think it was around mid 70's or so. I had everything preplanned, as usual on a ride like this one. I didn't forget a thing which is a good morale booster for the beginning. No worries from the start. I haven't done this ride in a while, so it's difficult how to gauge my performance. After getting all my gear on, I began the ride. My legs felt pretty good from the get-go. I really like this route's first few miles. It's typically into a tail-wind and nice and modest terrain. I was warmed up before I hit the first AND worst climb. It was just as I remembered it, in terms of the surroundings, there was a lot of shade. The difficulty of the climb was also as I remembered it. For some reason, though, this time around felt faster than the previous time. I think I was overweight the last time I did this ride. The summit came a lot faster than I anticipated. I think I stopped one time to take some photos and video. I was out of the saddle on many occasions and I had to weave my way up the steep slopes. I think I was around 80 to 90% of my max going up the entire climb. Fotrunately, I guaged the climb very well and had no signs of bonking or cramping or anything that was significant enough to make me put my foot down. Going over the summit, I planned on taking a break and having an energy bar. I changed my mind. I'm not really sure, I guess I didn't find a good place to stop. The descent was more or less what I remembered. The downhill had twists and turns and was very steep. I was on the brakes all the way down, until the road straightened out. A few miles later, I stopped to recoup and feed. I think I stopped for no more than 5 minutes. After resting and eating, I continued. My legs needed to get a bit warmed up. That took about 5 minutes or so. I wasn't sure how much farther the next summit was. It came sooner than I anticipated. When I reached the last summit, I took another short break, ate a fig bar, took some photos and video footage. After that, it was on to the next check-point, the mini-cafe. I had plenty of provisions to make it there and it was mostly downhill. When I got to the cafe, I got some fluids, chugged a couple of bottles and put the remainder in my water bottles. I ate another fig bar (if my memory serves me well). Shortly after, I departed and commenced the last leg of the ride. Again, it was just as I anticipated. It was a modest downhill and a mild head-wind. I did moderate tempo the entire way. I was stretching to keep everything nice and comfortable. It was approaching the 3rd hour and the weather was still nice and comfortable. Probably in the low 80's. There were no mishaps or any reason to stop. I made it back to the car in good condition and I didn't feel overly exerted. Ailments, the ride didn't have many ailments. I could feel my lower back begin to sore just a bit on the first climb. Weaving up the steeper slopes helped keep that in check. I was stretching periodically and that definitely helped my legs and lower back. My left knee was hurting in the surrounding tendons as I was making my way up the first climb. I was under-geared for some sections, so I was putting my knees to its near limit. I think if the climb was a bit further, I would have had to weave and mitigate the soreness a lot more than I did. Concentration was good. Considering I was by myself, it's difficult to keep the concentration going. This was especially true going through the Walker Basin valley. There's almost nothing there. It's a strange feeling and I had to keep my wits about me in order to stay focused. Balance was better than my previous ride. I noticed that my left cleat had shifted it's stance position to the inner most setting. I moved it to match the same distance as my right cleat. It's still not dialed in perfect and I'm not sure if I can do any better. Gear worked flawless, with the slight exception that I could hear a swishing sound when I was heavy on the pedals and out of the saddle. I'm not sure if it's the wheels or the front tire. Speaking of which, I noticed an opening on the Mavic rear tire. It was a potential for a blow-out flat, so I put on a new Michelin before today's ride. The Gopro camera is working well, I think I forgot to format one of my cards, but I was able to capture the entire ride on one sd card. I swapped out the batteries when I reached the mini-cafe. Other notes, there were some cows on the last 10-15 miles. Again, just as I had remembered it. Overall, this ride was done just as good as I could have planned.