Well, today was the MAGUMBA ride! I was planning on this ride for quite a while now. I chose this ride because I knew it was within my abilities. So, the ride got off to a good start, I didn't forget any gear. I was planning on wearing leg warmers, but after I looked around, I saw more than half of the people with just shorts. So, I took them off, got my stuff together and headed out. I started a little later than I anticipated, but it was ok in the end. The long trek south was probably the most difficult mentally wize. Fortunately, by doing the recon drives, I was able to locate landmarks that helped me find my way. My GPS started to give false directions about 15 miles into the ride, it kept telling me to make a U-turn. From that point on, I decided to ignore the directions. I had my printed cue sheet, and the course was well marked, so I wasn't too worried. There was only a few moments where I had to get my berrings and make sure I was headed the right direction. Once I past the first leg, the East leg presented itself with a mild gradient. There was a rest stop just before the 5 mile ascent. I sort of cruised around and saw what was there. There was quite a few people, a refreshment stand and 1 portapotty. I looked at my provisions and I realized that I wasn't going through them as quick as I thought I was. So, I trecked onwards up the ascent. Like I predicted, this ride saw a lot of riders spread through out the ride. Some twos and threes, but not much more. Mostly people on their own. About 2 hours into the ride, I changed the battery in my Gopro. I was about 2 miles into the climb when I stopped. I had to take the battery out of my saddle bag and replace it with the depleted one in my gopro. SD card had plenty of space, so no problems there. After that, I commenced up the ascent. Part of the way up, there were these two guys that I past, and one of them told me that my saddle bag was open! So I stopped and checked it out. Fortunately, nothing came out. My car keys were in there, and I was concerned about that the most. They were in there to my relief. The ascent went faster than I thought. I was correct in assuming that it was like the Keene n Back climb. No reprieves, but one steady climb. I think the max gradient was around 7-8%. At the top of the climb, I made a left turn (going west), parallel to the 58. About a mile or so in that direction led me to a path that went under the freeway. Then it was mostly rolling terrain to the Caliente Post Office rest stop. Again, I poked around to see what was there. They had water coolers (as I expected), one with water and the other with gatorade. I took a sip of water. I don't remember if I put any in my bottle. I then tried the gatorade, it was the lime flavor. I didn't like it so, I didn't refill my gatorade bottle. I had more than 1/2 of my bottles full, and I only had about 20ish miles to go. After that, I headed back to the starting point. The outbacks were just really beautiful and serine (sp?). The terrain undulated with some steep climbs and some descents. After making the right turn onto Bena Road, it rose a little and then began its steady descent. Ailments at this point, My back was a little sore on the 5 mile ascent, but I was able to keep it in check. But once I made the left turn next to the 58, I was cramping a little in my right upper calf. It was sore for the remainder of the ride, but I constantly stretched and massaged it, this seemed to help alot! The return trip was real pleasant. I was able to cruise around 15-20mph with not too much effort. As was stated on the email, there were 2 sections of unpassable roads. The first road, I walked, and the second road, I road, very very slowly. In the meantime, my GPS started saying that the batteries were about to be fully depleted. I wasn't sure what to make of it, so I just prepared for it to stop, and then set my watch on timer, so I can get a slight idea how far I am from the Start/Finish point. The roads were a little dangerous, but mostly on the way out. The way back had more shoulder room. When I reached the Shell station landmark, I swapped out another gopro battery. So, I think this was the 3rd, but the SD card had about 50 mins left, which was plenty for the remainder of the ride. In the meantime, my GPS was still displaying the low battery warning. I left it alone and didn't change anything. At this point the weather began to warm up and was perfectly comfortable. The last 7 to 10 miles was pain management. Stretching my right calf as often as I could. Through out the ride, my concentration was pretty good. I think better than I thought. But, my walkman was very very helpful on those lonely straight roads. I felt pretty well balanced today, even on the most difficult parts. It really came together today, I was prepared, and my meticulous planning payed off.