Diablo Junction – 20 miles

Adam really tried to drum up a big crowd from work tonight – he e-mailed everyone he knew with a bike but we wound up with only five of us. And Amanda was the only one who wan’t a regular. It was supposed to be a social ride and we would all go slow and … well, socialize.

Right after we started, a big group of John Muir riders passed us up. It looked exactly like what we were not – cohesive and numerous. So after we got to the rolling section JB, Adam and I left Nicole and Amanda but we still tried to keep the pace conversational. After a bit we started to catch stragglers from the JM group – they had split up and weren’t as cohesive as they first appeared. Passed some more of them on the Bump and some more near Clavicle Cracker. As we got near the Upper Ranch we saw one more guy in a Health Net jersey but I started to fade. Adam told me I had to catch him and then he and JB rode away from me. I tried my hardest but couldn’t keep up. Adam and JB did catch the guy and he held on to their wheels for a little while but then lost it. So it was Adam, JB, Health Net guy, and then me across the line.

We mingled a little bit at the Junction and then turned down to go ride Amanda and Nicole up. It was relaxed but still fun. And now it’s getting dark pretty early so we didn’t stay long, but we decided there was time for some pizza and beer at Round Table.