It was light until the Palomares climb. I started slow, was feeling like utter crap but felt better once it warmed up. My time was 34 minutes faster than last year's with 1000 more calories burned according to my Polar computer. Cadence was higher was well, probably due to 11-27 vs 11-26 cassette last year. After Morgan Territory I didn't see Marco or Chris until I rolled into Sunol rest stop while Chris was heading out. Since it was about to get dark I teamed up with Laura from SJ bike club for the last 25 miles. The pesky tandem I had seen all day caught up from Palomares descent so we rode with them. The gradual hills were getting to me at this point so once we hit Norris Canyon I was happy as my power/weight ratio favors >10% climbs. Didn't eat as much Lasagna as last year.