Today was an April shower day, without the showers. The sky was filled with ominous looking clouds. The forecast was for rain and thunder. Fortunately, the weather held up and I had a ride without the rain. The temperature was great. I was expecting it to be much colder, but it never got below 60 degrees. Perfect riding weather. I wore 1 base layer and arms. I cruised the downhill, out of the saddle when necessary. But, pretty much enjoyed it. When I reached the base, I reset my gopro camera. There was a helicopter landing. I got it on video, but I'm not sure how it came out yet. After about a minute at the base, I started the climb. My legs were sufficiently warmed up, so I was able to get into my rhythm quickly. I was planning on removing my arm warmers at the Chavez center, but I decided not to. It turned out to be a good decision because when I reached the summit, the temperature had dropped a few degrees. I did moderate tempo at first. When I reached the more steeper sections, I put a little more power down. I gave it a push over the top of the loop monument, but I didn't go anaerobic. From that point, I did steady tempo. I was out of the saddle frequently to maintain my momentum and to keep the power into the pedals. My body responded well. Ailments were next to none, I had a slightly sore right knee before the ride, but I felt no pain for the entire ride. I think my right hand went numb, but it must have been subtle because I can hardly remember. Balance and form felt good, not perfect, but ideal. Gear is working good. I did crunch through some shifts, but it was difficult to tell if it was operator error or the mechanics. Other notes, as mentioned, there was a chopper landing at Keene base. When I was on the last mile or two of the climb, there was one thunder-clap. That gave me some extra incentive to get back ASAP!