Excellent. My ride for today went according plan, for the most part. The weather was just right. It was in the mind 70's with winds from the west. I wore 1 base layer. My plan was to get out before 11AM. I woke up around 8am, had some breakfast and took a 45 minute nap. I had eggs on a bagel, half an apple and a cup of water. Before departing for the road trip, I drank some gatorade, about a cup, I think. After getting to the start point, I did everything according to plan. I got ready, reviewed the checklist, and headed out. My legs felt ok at the beginning of the ride. I had a slight tailwind on the way out to the fork which was perfect for getting warmed up. After reaching the fork, I was ready to do battle. I was gauging my efforts according to my memory and how I was feeling in the moments. The climb was as brutal as I remembered it. There is little respite until about 40 minutes into the ride. There were some less steep sections, but that only lasted a few hundred yards. I did steady, moderate tempo. And even still, my HR was pegged to 85% + for the entire climb. It was getting hot as I was only moving around 6 to 7 mph on the steeper sections. I unzipped my jersey. At one point, my zipper came undone, so I stopped for a few seconds to get it zipped back up. That was around 30 minutes into the ride. The most difficult part that I recalled from previous rides was near the summit. It kicks up and does not relent. I was at my maximum, weaving my way up those last few hundred yards. Once I got past that point, I knew the remainder of the ride was going to be much easier and enjoyable. This was to be the case, for the most part. I had enough provisions and my gear was working with some issues I will note in the "Gear" section of this entry. As I made my way down in to the valley, I was being cooled off by the winds. It was a fantastic sensation, especially after having been cooking on the climb. I didn't use a map to navigation. I knew it was just 2 right turns after making the left turn on the fork, at the start of the first climb. So, I kept the pace nice and steady. No pushes or heroics. Somewhere around 1:45 hours into the ride, I decided to stop and feed. It took me about 3 or 4 minutes. I took a bio while I was at it. After that, my next landmark was the Fire Station at the summit. When I got there, it wasn't as difficult as I remembered, but it did require a good effort to get over it. Once I reached the summit, I knew that the majority of the last hour was going to be downhill. My next destination was the General Store a few miles down the road. My provisions were right on the money. I had just enough by the time I reached the General Store. When I got there, I bought 1 bottle of water, 2 gatorade bottles and 1 Hagen Das (spelling?) ice cream with chocolate on a stick. It really did hit the spot! After eating the ice cream, taking on fluids, I got on with business. The last part of the ride was just moderate tempo. There was head-cross wind on some sections. But, the canyon walls and twisting turns gave some respite here and there. It was just as I remembered it. All the landmarks and such haven't changed much. It wasn't long before I got back to the starting point. I had no significant mishaps that hindered the ride. I was exhausted in the end, but I felt within myself for the entire ride. Concentration was spot on. I was being punished enough to the point where I had no choice but to stay concentrated, otherwise pay the penalty. Ailments... I did have some ailments. Most notably, my leg muscles had some sharp pains in the quads, a bit in the hamstrings, and right calf. Fortunately, none of which escalated. I was constantly stretching and the brief breaks that I took helped mitigate the conditions. Gear is working well, with the exception of the Gopro and phone reception. The phone reception was no fault of the phone itself, so that is excused. The Gopro had some issues that I wasn't anticipating. I'm not sure if I hit the start button on the camera upon departure, at the start of the ride. I think I was distracted because my chain was dropped just as I was about to head out. I had to search around for something to put it back on, because I didn't want to get my hands greased up. I'm wanting to say that I just forgot of of distraction. Suffice it to say, about 35 minutes into the ride, I noticed the camera wasn't recording, so I stopped and turned it on. It seemed to be working for the remainder of the ride. The battery usage was a bit unpredictable. I didn't swap out the batteries because the indicator on the camera showed that there was enough till the end. This was not to be the case. When I got back to the car, it was turned off. I'm not sure what happened there. I'm assuming it was a battery issue. It did record over 2 hours of footage. So, i think the battery charge indicator is off. Next time, I'll have to swap out batteries after about 2:15-2:30 hours of recording. Balance and form is doing well. I felt on top of my pedals. I was mitigating the pains in my body as well. Other notes.... As expected, I did see some cows. I was able to take some photos. Will have to see how those turned out after this log entry. I saw no other cyclists today. As I left the General Store, there was a helicopter with an umbilical connected to it. I couldn't see any fires or smoke. As I was making my way on the last 15 miles, there were about 4 medical vehicles going the other way. No clue what the deal was there.