I had the day off as well. Had lunch with IndySteel, took care of some business with my LBS on the Jamis, then went home to change and grab my Gunnar Had 20 glorious miles in my favorite park - it was close enough to rush hour that I didn't want to hit the road.

I did work a bit with my shifting, and experimented with climbing in an easier gear. I decided if I could conserve a bit of energy by dropping a few gears and spinning at a slightly higher cadence - say around 90ish - that it might be a good compromise. It worked

I've read comments here where people appear to be saying that spinning in an easier gear is more cardiovascularly intensive than a slower cadence in a harder gear. Personally I find it the opposite - but then again my cadence isn't THAT different in those two situations.

Beautiful ride, but there was this bright object in the sky from time to time? I am unsure what it actually was, but it seemed to hurt my eyes to look at it. Also, there were patches of the sky that appeared to be blue, not gray or black Unsure what all of that was, but I think I liked it