About two weeks before my ride, I failed a stress test at my cardiologist's office. I underwent an angioplasty - a small wire was inserted in my right wrist, and pushed up through the artery in my arm and then down into my heart. Realtime video disclosed the stress test had scored a false positive, and I was good to go for my ride. I was back on my bike the next day, and I rode up 1,500 feet as part of my training.