Today's weather was the warmest its been in the past couple of weeks. In the mid to upper 50's, winds from the South West. It seems like the weather has favored this type of wind conditions for the past few weeks. I felt good going out. I made it to the top of the descent in about 8 or 9 minutes. From there it was fun and games to the base of the return climb. After reaching the base, I did an immediate u-ee, as usual. I started with moderate tempo till I reached the freeway underpass. From there, I concentrated on steady tempo. Between moderate to good. And some efforts such as going over the loop monument. Other than that, it was mostly steady with no heroics. Concentration was the lesser of things. I started to show signs of lapsing on the descent. I knew, from that point, that I was going to need frequent coaching. I was right. I was having to talk myself into concentration every now and again. Balance and form felt real good. I was using my 32T on the steeper sections, I think it helped keep my legs from getting too heavy. Ailments were next to none. Some mild soreness in the lower back. After reaching the summit, I stretched on the bike and that seemed to cure the ailment. Gear is working great. No issues there. Other notes, the route for the 2016 Tehachapi GranFondo ride was released. They've increased the ride to 104 miles. It looks like the same route as last year. I sent them an email, asking them where they put the extra 4 miles in the course. There were no other cyclists today, to my surprise (given the good weather conditions). I was thinking about my training, leading up to the GranFondo. I've decided to alternate the Keene n Back route from last in the double and triple rides to first on about every other ride. This should help keep the moral up, not having to do the same thing over and over.

Other notes, about clothing... I wore 1 base layer, arms and knees. Turned out to be the right amount of kit.