Today was another early morning ride. As usual the most difficult part was getting up that early. I got ready in good time and shoved off around 8 AM. My body is responding well in the morning now and it seems to fair better than my afternoon rides. My legs felt good from the beginning and I was sufficiently warmed up by the time I reached Route 202. Banducci is easier to climb in comparison to my afternoon rides. I continued to feel good all the way to the summit. The wind was very mild and I think it was somewhat going north. By the end of the ride, it shifted to a southerly wind. I wasn't intent on doing a good time. But mostly a test to see what it's going to be like at this time of the morning. I wore one base layer and it almost proved to be too hot on the climbs. I'll likely wear a cotton shirt on the Gran Fondo ride. Concentration was good for the most part, a few lapses but nothing major. I was able to pass by what will be the rest stops. One on the Banducci summit and the other in SS. I think the one in SS will be the greater of all the stops. For the remainder of the ride, I did moderate tempo and sometimes picking up the pace. I did good time considering I wasn't pushing the pace. I made it up CVR climb doing slightly higher than moderate tempo. The remainder of the ride was mostly relaxing. Only pushing out of the saddle over the summit and other uphill sections. Balance was good, not perfect but a definite improvement. I think I'm headed in the right direction. Ailments... My right knee has been sore for the past 3 or so weeks while off the bike. Today was the first time it was sore while riding, mostly going up and down the stairs and kneeling down. As I anticipated, it went away for most of the ride. It did feel sore on some of the ride, but it was real mild. I think I'll ice it today. Gear is working well, my Charity Miles app is working on my smartphone and all other gear is working perfect. Other notes... I think I've selected some good places to stop for feeding and replacing the batteries in my camera. First, just a few streets north of the first climb (up Keene). The next will be over the top of Banducci, about 2 bends down the descent. There's a nice turn-out. The next will be in Stallion Springs (I think that's where I'll change my camera batteries). There's a few streets where I can pull into in order to get out of the crowd and feed after replacing the batteries and SD card on the Gopro. The next stop will likely be around the base of the CVR. I've calculated that I can last till SS on 2 full bottles. At that point I will refill my bottles. It should hold me over for the remainder of the ride. If I have to do a bio break, I'll probably go to the quickie-mart. Today, I felt no need. I've been keeping tabs on my diet. Eating high fiber, some protein and bread. My morning meal consists of my usual microwave eggs and a diced apple. I think had a glass of water, no juices. Lunch consists of Oatmeal, a banana, a nutrition bar and an Apple. I'm going to stay away from the fig bars as they seem to give me bio urges. I think I'll be ok eating them on the ride, though. Most likely eating just one bar at a time. But eating a power bar in the first 2 stops, leaving the figs for the latter part of the ride. I'm getting new clothes, I hope my shorts fit well. Will have to see tomorrow when they arrived. I've started my checklist and prepared some spare tires/inner-tubes.