Depending on the forecast you looked at today we were either going to get wet, get snowed on or stay dry. When it came time to ride though the weather was cold but dry with the precipitation to the west near Rolla. Mark and Patrick showed up, thank goodness. The plan had been to ride to Antonia but with the questionable weather I felt it was best to do a Tour of Spain route since that is a quick little 2 hr ride. I felt pretty confidant that the weather would stay away at least that long.

The ride was decent tempo ride. Nothing extremely hard other than what the hills provided in difficulty. We rolled back into Meramec just over 2 hrs later amid some snowflakes. Most of the ride home was spent with tiny ice pellets stinging my face. Fun times. Going on the shorter route was the right decision.

After Mark turned off on Eddie & Park I decided to give an effort. As mentioned a couple days ago I'm a little worried about when Froze Toes really ramps up the pace on the outer road next weekend. Sure enough, when I put it a big gear and really tried to go I suffered. I may have gone okay but my impression was that I wasn't tearing up the asphalt. Regardless, the effort was needed and will be the first of many power efforts to come.