Today was not a fun day to ride. The weather was hot, wind was turbulent and warm. Pretty much all the things I don't enjoy riding. The legs felt average to start. I don't remember my time, when I reached the summit of OTR. There was a rattling noise on the bike. I was trying to figure out what it was. I never did figure it out. I was thinking about it the whole ride. When I was on OTR, I knew it was going to be a scorcher. It felt like I was at 10,000 feet elevation. So, much less oxygen in the air now. I made my way up Banducci, and then to the summit. I took a few moments to rest and hydrate. The GoPro battery was around 66% charge remaining. I calculated that it would last me till the last major climb of the day. (My estimation was right on the money). I headed downhill. I reached 44 MPH. There was a slow truck ahead. I probably could have reached 45, had he not been there. So, I was having to ride the brakes, on the last half mile, down the mountain. The trek to SS felt like a had a slight tail-wind. I made my way around the back-side. By that time, the want had shifted. I was doing no more than about 35 MPH. I made it the tunnel in about 57 minutes. As I was making my way around SS, I noticed that I had already gone through half my Gatorade, and about 1/4 of water. So, I made the decision to stop at the mini-mart. When I stepped inside, I was greeted by the worker. I told her that I had my mask in my extra case. I forgot to pack it, before start of the ride. I was so upset. I explained to her that all I needed was Gatorade. She was king enough to let me in. She would later tell me that her husband road the past 3 TGF rides. We were both in agreement about being disappointed about this years cancellation. I probably should have told her that there was another ride. AKA, the Spooktacular. I was thinking about that for about 30 minutes. I guess that's just like me, "What did I forget to do?" (moment), besides the mask. Nevertheless, I got back on the road. Headed back onto the farmlands. The wind was in my face for most of the return. It got bad when I reached CVR. The wind was right in my face. I kept the tempo moderate. I made it to Boss Hogs in about 1:23 hrs. So, I gave up about 6 minutes on the return from SS. When I reached the last climb, I pulled over to swap batteries on my GoPro. I forgot to stop the recording, before replacing the battery. After putting the new battery in, it showed an icon that I didn't recognized. Apparently, it was repairing the previous recording. As per the, improper shutdown. Shorty after, I got back on the road. I was doing no more than moderate tempo. The heat was building up, and the wind was in my face. I was delighted to reach the summit of the climb. The false flat was mostly recovery and hydration. Route 202 was partial traffic mitigation. After reaching OTR, I was at more ease and was able to cruise my way back home. Concentration was good. Few lapses. I had my music to keep myself company. The heat made it difficult to focus, but I held it together. Balance and form was good, not great. Ailments.. Left knee soreness, that went away after a while. Right hamstring, and maybe the knee too. I was having to adjust my tempo when I experienced the hamstring soreness. I didn't want to let it cramp. Gear worked great. I still have to figure out what that rattling noise was. Nutrition was good. I had no hunger pains, and I made a good call to stop by the mini-mart. I ended up going through most of my Gatorade. Other notes, no other cyclists out there, today.