Diablo Junction, 23 miles

8:20 at the Gate and no one but me was there. There was a rock on the post though, which meant one of four things: JB got an early start and would be back down before 8:30, JB got an early start and would NOT be back down by 8:30, someone left a rock there from some previous ride, or none of the above. This system just isn’t very precise.

At 8:30 Peter rode up and said “hi”. He said he passed by Nicole who was unloading her bike but had told him Rick was already ahead. I was sure Rick hadn’t passed me, and Nicole wasn’t there when I went by, so someone was confused. Peter also told me that Nicole dropped her bike when she was getting it out of the Explorer, and the saddle landed in a pile of horse poop! We decided not to wait for her and go looking for Rick (maybe).

Peter got a new Specialized saddle and matching shorts – he’s one of those guys who has a lot of saddle troubles but he thinks this one will do the trick. Luckily for me I seem to be fine with whatever saddle looks cool. We also discussed training philosophies, heart rates, spin classes, and metabolisms. It was pretty social until near the Bump where his speed was a little uncomfortable for me, but I stayed with him. Later in the ride we both picked it up a little more and I didn’t have any trouble at all, and as we got closer to the Junction I got the feeling that he was having trouble staying with me. No sprint today, but I could’ve taken him for sure if there were.

Quite a few other riders showed up and mingled at the Junction, but we didn’t see Rick so I called him on my cell phone to ask where he was (thinking Juniper or so) and he was at home! Then Peter remembered that Nicole had said “the guys have already left” and that he just assumed that included Rick too. No sign of JB either but he doesn’t carry a phone so there was no way to check up on him.

Nice ride today – no wind or rain, not too cold, not too foggy, and I felt pretty good despite this cough that I can’t seem to shake.