First of all, Mike B successfully followed the right forecast and I, the eternal optimist, was hoping the forecast of 1 brief shower at 11am was accurate. I prep Almost Seven and I open the door, ready to leave my apartment, and it started to rain. Oh well, I was just annoyed that I was wearing a white TST jersey to do some advertisement about our team's fundraising event on May 29, but with the rain, it would be a missed opportunity. There's always tomorrow. Got to Quad on the dot at 9:30, as expected, not many people showed up due to the temporary lousy weather. I saw Anke and waited for her since I was planning to do a gentle pace destination ride. 5 of us left at 9:40 and took the bike path all the way to Bedford. We were so behind so the fast guys were gone. Taresh and Rebecca are training for the MS ride at the end of June and was looking to improve from a 35 mile-ish ride. So I invited them to join the ride. With the wet road, I really want everyone to stick together for safety. We wasted no time and move on after getting everyone's request. The route is essentially bit and pieces of the long usual quad loop in reverse, all quiet road, plus I added the Bruce Freeman Bikepath, perfect for conversational pace riding. We encounter some minor mechanical trouble on Rebecca's bike but a quick fix we were ready to go. Everyone was quite elated when we smell the fresh donut as we turned the corner arriving at Spruce Street Cafe. Their pastry is a bit too sweet for me but the overwhelming selection should provide choices to satisfy different individual's need. We discussed about ride nutrition and what to be aware of when participating a charity ride. Everyone did move faster on the return leg, must be the combination of sugar high and tailwind. I was pleased that Rebecca and Taresh accompished 50 miles and steadily working on riding longer to prep for their ride in late June. Everyone had a great time and we cleaned our bikes when we get back to the shop. I even got sprayed on with the hose (accidentally). I guess I signed up for "any" abuse when I decide to lead ride.