People might scoff or be shocked to hear this from the high desert, but yes, seeing that big yellow ball out this morning in the blue sky was a very, very welcome sight. Geez Louise, we've been getting so much rain and cloudy skies here!!

Anyway, did my usual early morning route up to the foothills. I felt a bit slow for a good 20-30 minutes, probably because I had a decent breakfast prior to riding. It is a catch 22 - eat breakfast, then I feel slow for the first 1/2 hour - don't eat breakfast, then I bonk an hour into the ride. I opted for the former!

My first climb up the foothills was rather workmanlike. Concentrated on smooth pedal strokes and pacing myself. The second time, it was much easier, smoother, not to mention faster. FInally I finished with a couple of hard sprints up some short but very steep grades. Then an easy ride home, downhill