8/7 NRLB - Bayway - 6:30am rollout from Ritual

Somewhere between work outtages, the caffeine required to combat them and my cat deciding that my face was the most comfy bed she had ever seen every 30 minutes I didn't get a whole lot of sleep last night and was reconsidering riding when I woke up. I choked down a powerbar, a couple Advil and some water before gearing up. My stomach was a little cranky but I told myself if it wasn't better by SFO I could bail to Caltrain and headed out the door a few minutes later than planned(06:44). Yo-yo had +1'd from Martha's and I always like to meet new people discovering the premier meetup spot if I can. Unfortunately as soon as I stepped out onto my front steps I could see helmets cruising past on Cortland. I cruised down and caught peoples on Bayshore. We had a very mellow ride from there down past Bayshore Caltrain and a smaller group starting massing at the front led by Mark, Christian(#2), Faye, Logan and myself ( did I forget anyone?). I tried pulling a little but no one wanted to grab my wheel so I settled in to a decent tempo. Logan mentioned it was a little fast and started yo-yo'ing a little but eventually did manage to claw his way back in. We cruised down past Amgen and our small group rolled up on the first of many green lights. We made SFO with remarkably few reds and picked up another rider clad in purple on a titanium frame for a short time until he went off the front a bit before Coyote Point. Christian(#2) and I chased the mystery rider down and rolled into midpoint, Mr. Grape blew past. Mark said something about trying to make a 9AM and didn't wait around for any more than 3 seconds. The rest of us chillaxed a bit, ate some food and refilled water. In another few minutes Debbie and then shortly thereafter maybe another 9 riders ( most of who I'm sure I can't name ) rolled in. Around then our small group headed out to visit the feral cats. We picked up another rider or two and Christian(#2) pushed the pace and attacked a bit. Once we passed the Bucket List(TM) and were onto the straight bike path Debbie who was now in our group also burst off the front with mighty bursts of speed. Faye, ever the impatient, suggested strongly that we raise the pace up a bit and so we burned up the pavement remaining between us and Oracle in no time. Again we made the light onto Marine pkwy and yet again from Redwood shores pkwy. Just before the bridge to nowhere we picked up another rider. Happily everyone managed BTN with no scrapes or falls and I expect our group was off the road easily by 9:15.

It was good to see Logan back out on the bike. And never having ridden with Christian(#2) before welcome him as well.

For double bonus points did anyone else spot the former sf2g regular jogging along the lagoon?