How can I fail thee? Let me count the ways. 1) 1 long ride every weekend doesn't cut it, weekend warriors in cycling are a no-go; 2) my suboptimal vision w/o glasses & faulty alarm clock management led to a solo unpushed ride, & riding w/ Henry & David would have vastly more enjoyable, fun & productive as far as ride stats, although I would have likely slowed their times, since I only have about 14% of their level of accumulated mileage this year; 3) too leisurely of an initial pace, on an unsupported ride, just trying to get free from stress of clinic & clients, & apprehension over events in Kabul w/ a family friend stationed there the past 2 weeks (his platoon did fly back to Kuwait last night, Amen & Hallelujah), so a ride to stop & smell the roses (or @ least get some pics), doesn't help ride stats; 4) drop the remembered Power Blocks from my pocket & had to back-track 2.5 miles to fetch them on Kimberling Rd.; 5) become "power-less" on starting the climb up the foot of Grapefield, 1st w/ phone (10%), then my HD recharger (no lights on), then the bike computer (20%)[Varia Radar sucks the power down faster], then my legs, feet & rear-end (on fumes), & finally all 4 water bottles running low, so rather than finishing climbing Grapefield & turning the loud 70's prog rock tunes off to save battery, & risk not alerting & warding off bears (and miss the 18 miles of better descent into RG), I turned around & rode back to Kangaroo/Loves intersection & went back to RG, to take less total time; 6) good grief, 90°F(+); & 7) trying to figure out what about bike or myself has changed to make feet & rear so soar, I know these were one of my less favored shorts, but... Still cycling is better than working. Got to smell ALL the barnyard critters - horses, cows, pigs, goats, sheep, not to mention skunks, deer & dead woodchuck. Fortunately the squirrel zigged when I zagged. Looks like that leaning barn needs MORE posts. Only 4 weeks left before leaving for M2C. Crunch time!😳