It had been a pretty sleepless night, maybe 3.5 hours or so, and as I’m tossing and turning and noticing the clock says 3am, beginning to wonder if it’s going to make sense to try and ride. But that’s not really an option, and at worst, I consider it training for my trip to France just over a month away, where minimal sleep can sometimes be the norm.

Interestingly, when I got Kevin up at 6:55am, he gave me that “Dad, no way, I can’t ride, I feel terrible because I didn’t get much sleep” routine. And for some reason I gave in, decided not to try and drag him out there, something which he later admits to being a mistake.

Glad I rode anyway; I find that getting out on a ride, with very little sleep, somehow seems to recalibrate and energize me so that I can survive the rest of the day. That and I would have otherwise missed the beautiful views up on Skyline and elsewhere, as we’re in yet another “transitional” day between cooler & slightly-damp weather and the high temps that are supposed to kick in tomorrow. My only frustration would come later on, after downloading the ride and discovering I was just two seconds off my best time between the lower and upper gates at Huddart Park on the way up. Hate that!