THE OLD SAYING has it that if you fall off your horse the thing to do is get right back on, or you'll be at risk of developing a fear of horses, or of riding.  After last week's tail-between-my-legs exit from Pennsylvania that seemed to be good advice for me.

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At the same time, changes were also clearly called for.  Reviewing my payload I found eight pounds of stuff I could seemingly do without.  Gone from the cargo manifest are my Samsung tablet, one camp fuel bottle, my sleeping bag, a bunch of the snack food items I carried but didn't eat, and my two person tent.

In the software development world, it's axiomatic that every change to a system should be tested, as carefully and thoroughly and deliberately as possible, before the software is committed to a general release.  That being my professional background, certain habits have carried over into my life in general.

If time were not a factor I would probably have undertaken a longer, more challenging test agenda.  But the calendar between now and my departure date is studded with various events that can neither be rescheduled, canceled, or ignored so I'm making the most of what time I have.  I put together an overnight trip to the county campground a convenient distance from home, doing what I could to get maximum benefit from it.

Change is in the air

For this trip, a two day one night affair, I am using my one person tunnel tent, which weighs about half what the Big Top does.  The tunnel tent isn't going to make the trip but as proof of concept it's good enough.  There are roomier, more capable tents in the same weight range, and still time to get one if things pan out as I hope.

I'm also going without a sleeping bag, using only the silk liner I carry anyhow, fortified with an extra shirt or two and socks to keep my feet warm.  If my legs get cold I can zip the legs onto my shorts.  If all of that still isn't enough I may get an extra liner and double them up.  I did cheat and buy a lightweight fleece blanket from the camp store after I got in; I hate trying to sleep when I'm cold.  But I'll start the night without it, and figure what to do with it later.

All told, I've cut the payload weight by about 15 percent, which also improves bike handling.  That's about as far as I can take it, I think.

Another possibly significant change is the addition of a bottle of electrolyte supplement capsules, as recommended by another member of the forum in either a forum conversation or in comments on someone else's journal.  I didn't take one every hour but did take three over the course of the day.  On hotter days that'll likely increase.

I also made darn sure I was drinking.  In 20 miles I emptied my two liter CamelBak (plain water) and two 20+ ounce water bottles of sports drink.  Snacks focused a bit less on pure carbs, a bit more on protein.

The route

Nothing new here.  I've traveled all of these roads before, most of them fairly recently. 

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 The one that I haven't done in a while, or with full kit, is Sugarloaf Mountain.

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It's a glacial monadnock that rises several hundred feet above its surroundings.  The road up is about 1.3 miles, and climbs 435 feet in that distance for an average grade around 5.5 percent.  I made it, stopping a couple times to let cars pass on the narrow, one lane one way surface.  It wasn't a leg burning, lung searing, heart pounding chest heaver, just a slow steady insect-like crawl.

All in, the outbound leg was just shy of 39 miles.

The weather

Unlike last week, which featured clear skies and temperatures in the low 90s, today was overcast and only got into the low 70s.  In fact, as I sit writing this, I am wearing my rain jacket for extra warmth.  A light drizzle began about 45 minutes after my arrival, and is on again off again.  The camp store has a nice covered deck, with a strong wi-fi signal, so all is well.  I imagine the rain pattered pleasantly, and hope it ran harmlessly off, the fly of my tent but I have yet to check.

The experience

Combining the reduction in payload weight, lower temperature, and somewhat shorter riding day has made an enormous difference in how I feel.  Where I was shattered by the first day's ride last week, and only "finished" (called a halt, ten miles short of my objective on the grounds I could go no farther) at 5:30, today I started 45 minutes later and finished not long after 1:15 having covered 39 miles pretty comfortably.  I might have gone farther, but for the weather.  It's not a perfect comparison to last week or what's in store for the summer, of course, but it's still very encouraging.

There's no reason to rush out tomorrow, I think, so I hope for another relaxed day.  I haven't decided how much I want to backtrack versus going another way, but a second assault on the summit of Sugarloaf is a possibility although hill repeats are unlikely.  If I can stretch to 45 or 50 miles, it'll feel like a good two days.