The weather has cooled off. Enough to wear a jacket. It's in the 50's, winds from the North West. Perfect for going to Keene. I wore arms, knees, thick base layer, head cap, face mask and a jacket. I was sufficiently warm. The legs felt pretty good to start. My right knee was a bit sore before the ride, but got better. I made it to the summit of the descent in good average time. I cruised the downhill, soft pedaling most of the way. I put in two digs on the risers. I crossed paths with a familiar cyclist as I was nearing the base. After reaching the base, I removed my face mask and stashed it in my saddle bag. After that, it was non-stop climbing. The ascent went super quick. I was a bit motivated, so the wattages went more than normal. The familiar cyclist was doing his second lap as I was making my way past the first segment. He didn't end up catching up to me, but I have a feeling he stopped to feed, bio, etc. Nevertheless, I was doing high tempo most of the way up. The lungs and legs felt good. I had a generous tailwind and the air was cool and dense with O2. The morale got better after passing the landmarks. I kept my temp going over the top. After reaching the summit, I took a few moments to recover. I let the HR down gently and then headed back home. I shut it down at the top of Weston.

Concentration was good. I had stuff to think about and the body was responding well. Balance and form felt good. Ailments were minimal. My right knee felt better during the ride then before I started. I experienced hand soreness as usual, but not so bad. Nutrition was good. I had a bowl of oatmeal with half a banana for breakfast. Then, another half a banana with grapes before departing. I drank about 3/4ths of my sport drink, no water. Gear worked flawlessly. Other notes, there was just one cyclist out there today. There were some spectators at the Loop Monument as I was making my way down to Keene.