I'm back for more. Lots of headwind, but as soon as I dropped into the valley of the Headlands there was a calm stillness. I attacked early on and gained even more time on the Miwok trail climb. However, my early effort left me struggling for the rest of the ride, but I managed to pull together some nice times for the remainder of the ride.
I spent half of the ride battling coastal winds and rolling clouds, and finally got passed by a fellow rider on a rather steep downhill section. He happened to be going up the same way I was and we struck up a conversation while panting up a gradual gravel climb. Turns out he just started racing Cat 1 cross-country a little while ago. So nice to meet someone new on the trail, especially a potential training partner. He even showed me a really gnarly section of single-track before the ride back.
Tomorrow I have to take the day off, and spin easy the day after that in preparation for the Sea Otter Classic, which is on Friday.