Today's ride, knee pain, Best Buddies

I went for an 80 minute spin late this afternoon. Not bad out.. though I wore more clothing than I probably should have- no booties or toe warmers, just wool socks. A paper thin wind breaker over two base layers, ss jersey, and arm warmers. I've had that Pearlizumi wind breaker since about 1990 I think.. My right knee flared up while in San Diego.. in two ways. First the IT band became sore or inflamed. This I can deal with. But then the patella or knee cap started to ache, just underneath.. This had happened once before, in May of '05, sometime during the 100 mile Best Buddies ride. It's an overuse thing, and today I tried to keep the heart rate under 150 with a high cadence. Had a good ride regardless.. But if I am going to push it tomorrow at Wells, I'll need to take a couple of Advils beforehand, as I did before the Long Beach Shoreline Crit. It works.. but then you can't monitor the pain and don't realize how much more damage you're doing.. I'll never learn.
Speaking of Best Buddies.. A good friend in the peloton, Jonathon Lowenstein, is riding this event later in the spring. I've been meaning to add to his sponsorship nest egg, and will.. Please make a pledge to support Jon's ride and the Best Buddies Organization. Per Mark McCormack:

"The mission of Best Buddies is to enhance the lives of people with intellectual disabilities through one-to-one friendships and integrated employment. Currently, Best Buddies impacts the lives of more than 300,000 individuals on an annual basis."