Today's weather was colder than the previous ride. In the mid 50's, strong winds from the north. I felt average going out the door. I knew it wasn't going to be a day for good time, so I put that out of my mind. I reached the end of OTR in average time, I was sufficiently warmed up by then. The Banducci wall started with moderate tempo and bumping it up to good tempo after the mid point. I used the false flat to recover, stretching a bit. The remainder of the climb was no less than moderate tempo. I took a 1 minute breather and then commenced the downhill. As I was descending, I was negotiating around a turn when I saw another cyclist on his way up. I was about to wave when, at that same moment, a car moved into my lane to pass the cyclist. I was probably 3 feet from hitting the car. Fortunately, I was alert and able to make a quick swerve to get out of the way. After that, it was mostly fun and games, practicing my tuck as usual. Being that I was going into a strong headwind, I decided to put it into moderate tempo mode till I reached SS. After that, I recovered and continued the downhill into SS. I don't remember my time when I reached the tunnel, but I wasn't thinking about that when I got there. After exiting SS, I realized, that I was well off the pace, so no need to ride in urgency to put in a good time. I was able to hold 18MPH+ for most of the remaining flat lands. I increased my tempo going up the last climb. Mostly good tempo, and a slight push over the top. The flatlands proved to be a good place for recovery. From there I made my way down route 202, negotiating traffic to OTR. I made the usual push over Mariposa, but not red-lining. The remainder of the ride was mostly moderate tempo back to the door. Concentration was good for the most part. I'd say it was average at best, with lapses. But I was able to coach myself into maintaining focus. There were minimal gremlins, less than I anticipated. Balance and form was good. I used this as my focal point. Ailments consisted mostly of lower back soreness, nothing to detract from my tempo. I was stretching often to keep it from escalating. My right wrist continues to be sore from the previous weeks, but I felt no discomfort due to this. Gear is working well. Other notes, I saw 2 cyclists today.