Today was an interesting day. The weather was cold, low 50's winds from the south-east. I planned on going to WS today, contingent on how my saddle soreness behaved. Turns out that it was hurting from the get-go. I decided to take it step by step. I was riding out of the saddle for a while. The sore was more of a pressure soreness. So, staying out of the saddle relieved the pain. I knew that if I went to WS that I was going to be in pain most of the way. I made it to Route 202 in good time. I was feeling good from the start, despite the soreness. As I was making my way up Highline, it became apparent to me that I was going to have to turn around at the top. Then it occurred to me that there was a near-by climb that I could do. This fit the criteria because I knew I was going to be out of the saddle about 70% of the way. I decided to go for it. I went up Water Canyon. This is the climb that goes to the Teh. Mountain Park. This climb is notorious for its steep gradients. This would also put to test the new 32T rear sprocket. I had to use it almost immediately, because the gradient went upwards of 8%. I was able to do the in-out saddle routine for the first half of the ride. My initial plan was to go a mile or so, then turn around and go home. As I was climbing, my body felt good. The cold air helped alot. As I anticipated I was out of the saddle for the majority of the climb. This fit the bill. After the first mile, I knew I might be able to do the entire ride. I was thinking to myself, if I can make it to the entrance of the park, then I should continue to the summit. That's what I did. I made it to the entrance and crawled my way up. The gradient topped out around 15-16%. Ridiculously steep. I was in the 32T for the remainder of the ascent. The last few hundred yards were the worse. Just when it looks like it's going to level off, it kicks up. I made it to the summit without having to put my foot down. Overall, I stopped one time, to take photos. Once at the summit, I took a few minutes to catch my breath and munch a power bar. Afterwards, I descended the mountain and made my way home, mostly fun and games. My saddle soreness continued, especially because my patch came undone, so the chafing escalated the pains. Concentration was good for the most part. That climb put me to my limit, physical and mental. Ailments consisted of saddle soreness. Balance and form felt real good today. It was a good day for symetry and fluidity. Gear is working well. The 32T + small chainring produced a chain rubbing sound. More fine adjustments should fix that. I got the backing plate the other day, so I installed it. The support bolt rested perfectly on it. Other notes, there was snow at the summit of Teh. Mountain Park and I had a headwind for part of the ascent (to make matters worse)!