The weather has let up. It is partly cloudy, below 50 degrees. Winds from the North West. Perfect day to go to Keene. I wore the standard winter kit, from head to toe. I was sufficiently warm for the duration of the ride. The legs felt good to start. I made it to the top of the descent in good average time. I cruised the downhill and put in two digs on the risers. There was road work about a mile into the descent. I was not delayed. I made it to the base in average time. After reaching the base, I headed back, no stopping. It took but just a few minutes for my climbing legs to get warmed up. The landmarks went quick. After passing the Loop Monument, I was feeling better in the morale. I was doing in and out of the saddle efforts, keeping my tempo going. In the last few minutes of the climb, I was guessing how many songs it would take to reach the summit. I was very close in my estimate. After reaching the summit, I took a few moments to recover and then headed back home. I put in the usual dig to the top of Weston where I shut it down.

Concentration was good. The morale felt good. I was in the zone most of the time. No gremlins to speak of. Balance and form was good. Ailments were minimal. Just the usual hand soreness / numbness. Nutrition was good. I had a bowl of oatmeal, half a banana and some grapes for breakfast. I had two plantain slices, some grapes and the other half of the banana before departing. Gear worked flawlessly. Other notes, there was a train on its way down as I passed through the Upper Loop. There were spectators there when I was on my way back.