I got up, looked outside and it was cloudy, but not raining. It was warmer than I thought. Temperature was in the mid / upper 60's. Winds from the North West. I wore arms, knees, head cap, thick base layer, head cap, face mask and newspaper in the jersey. Turned out to be the right combination. The legs felt pretty good to start. I made it to the summit of the descent in good time. I cruised the downhill and put in two digs on the risers. I made it to the base in good time. After making there, I removed the newspaper in my jersey and headed back. I decided to stop once more to remove more layers. Head cap and face mask. After that, it was non-stop climbing. It went quick. The weather was perfect for climbing. I was doing in and out of the saddle efforts while keeping the tempo going. The legs felt good. The morale felt better as I passed the landmarks. There was train activity all the while. As I was making my way through the gauntlet, I could smell the residue from the screeching metal on metal. It smelled a bit toxic. It went away a few moments later. The metrics announcements were working, but the power readings seemed a bit off. I kept my momentum going over the top. After cresting the summit, I took a few moments to recover on the bike and then headed back home. I shut it down after the dig to the top of Weston.

Concentration felt good. I had stuff to think about. The morale felt good to start. The music and announcements helped too. Balance and form was good. Ailments were minimal. The usual hand numbness and soreness that was manageable. Nutrition was good. I had a bowl of oatmeal, half a banana and some grapes for breakfast. I drank most of my sport drink on the ride. No water. Gear worked flawlessly. The bike is whisper silent. Although, I am tempted to bring it to the local bike shop to have the bottom brackets "tapped".

Other notes, no cyclists today. No spectators at the loop monument. There were plenty of trains today.