I put in a big one today. I'm preparing for the Spooktacular ride in October. The weather is fantastic. It was in the 60's when I departed. Winds from the North West. I wore the standard summer kit. I brought three extra bottles. One that I put in my saddle bag and the others I stashed in the mail lockers (for later). The legs felt pretty good to start. I made it to the top of OTR in good average time. The Banducci Wall had some traffic mitigation. I was using my lowest gears. I recovered on the flat segment and then to the top of Banducci. After making it to the summit, I pulled over to recover for a few moments. I let traffic by and then headed down the mountain. It was safe, with no traffic from behind. The trek through the farmlands was steady tempo. I made my way around the backside climb and into SS. I put in a good sprint on the downhill. I stopped at the local park to take a quick bio. I passed the SS tunnel in about 1:01 hours. So, I was on good time. I stopped at the local Mini-mart to mix a powder drink. I got back on the road shortly after. The return through the farmlands was steady tempo. There was a modest tailwind along the way. I passed Boss Hogs in around 1:24-ish hours. So, I gave up 2 or 3 minutes. The last climb went as usual. I kept the tempo going, doing in and out of the saddle efforts. After cresting the summit, I pulled over to feed. I fed a Clif Bar with water. Then I got back on the road and headed to OTR. Route 202 had minimal traffic mitigation, so it was mostly safe. Descending off OTR was enjoyable. I pushed over Mariposa and made my way back to WTR. I met a cyclist along the way. We chatted for a few minutes as we were on a similar route at that time. I stopped at the mail locker and grabbed my provisions. The metrics show that I made it there in about 1:57 hours. So, I was on good time. From there, I headed to Keene. I didn't bother checking the time at the top of the descent, but the metrics show that I made it there in about 9 minutes from the mail lockers, so good average time. I cruised the downhill. I stopped once to take a quick bio. When I reached the base, I swapped out the GoPro battery and headed back. The legs were a bit cold, but quickly warmed up. When I reached the Lower Loop, I noticed that I was a bit light headed. A sign of the necessity to feed. I decided to stop at the top of the Loop Monument. I fed a Clif Bar. I knew it would take about 10 minutes for my energy to return, so I played it safe and kept the tempo steady. As I anticipated, my energy returned. The remainder of the climb was mostly focus time. I was doing in and out of the saddle efforts and hydrating as much as I could. I ended up finishing my sport drink bottle. I had plenty of water to get me home. After cresting the summit, I took a few moments to recover. I headed back to the mail locker to pick up my remains. I pushed modestly over Weston and shut it down for the ride.

Concentration was good. The morale felt good. I had stuff to think about. The weather was nice. Balance and form was good. Ailments, the usual hand soreness / numbness. Nutrition was good. I had a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast. I fed two Clif Bars and about two and a half bottles of Sport drink and one and a half bottles of water. In hindsight, I could have brought a third Clif Bar. But, I had just enough. Gear worked flawlessly. The mystery clicks have returned, but only while out of the saddle. Other notes, I saw two cyclists today and a couple of runner / walkers.