Bob proposed this route for today's ride which was very similar to the ride I wanted to do last weekend so to me it was an easy yes. For Bob and Sonny, I guess they were a little less sure how they'd feel by the end but everyone did better than they thought they would. Bob did promise we'd take it easy for Sonny's sake. I kept my promise. Bob however... The ride started off overcast and a bit chilly. I had to put on arm warmers to start and almost brought my vest which on the way to the coast, there were times I wished I had it. On the way out to San Gregorio, three guys passed us. I was leading at the time so I jumped on their train for a free ride. Mindful of taking it easy, I wasn't sure if their pace was actually too high for everyone. When they started to rotate, I was skipping and letting them rotate amongst themselves. I felt a little bad about skipping pulls but would've felt less bad if Sonny wasn't coasting along with his loud freehub buzzing away. Eventually, I let them go which everyone agreed was the right decision. We originally thought we'd be too early to get food in Pescadero but we ended up getting there after Norm's opened so we decided to have lunch rather than wait for Davenport or Felton. I think that was a great decision. Later I realized my fueling plan worked great, helped by having lunch in Pescadero. I started the ride with two bottles of Skratch Super High-Carb. I finished one before Pescadero and since we filled bottles there, I held onto the second bottle for later since we had just eaten. The rest of my bottles were just Skratch Hydration. The sun finally came out as we left Pescadero and, with the tailwind, it started to get warm - no more windchill. We had a great tailwind down the coast. With the clouds gone and the sun out, the ocean was gorgeously blue. It's been a while since I've climbed Bonny Doon. At the start of the climbing Bob told me to go around him so I did and pushed but didn't go all out. There was still a lot of climbing to go. On the climb there were guys bombing the descent which I really wish I was doing instead. The climb didn't end up being too bad. Ended up having my second Super High-Carb bottle after the climb. After the climb, on Martin Rd., I was unable to upshift. That's never happened before and I didn't get any low battery warnings so I swapped the two derailleur batteries and the shifting came back. I don't remember the last time I road Ice Cream Grade and didn't remember how nice it was. Kind of like Tunitas riding among the redwoods. Descending Felton Empire, I could see the brake lights of a car in front of me so I didn't bomb it. Even just coasting and cornering slower than normal, I still managed to catch the cars ahead. DAMMIT!!! In Felton we decided to stop for a snack at The Grove Cafe and Bakery. Had a pretty good iced Vanilla Latte and some potato filled knishes. I think that really helped fuel me for the Zayante climb later. This couple walked passed us while we had our snack and the woman was talking about being offered $24 to walk a lizard and debating whether to do it. Only in Santa Cruz County! It's been a while since I've climbed Zayante as well and we were trying to remember where the steep sections were. I do remember the last time I did it was the first time on the Aethos with the easier gearing which made Zayante much easier to climb. Today, luckily, was no different. On the descent between the first and second climbs, I was once again unable to upshift. I had actually meant to check the app to see if there were any low batteries and suspected that maybe the shifter battery needed replacing. I ended up swapping the derailleur batteries since I got a warning that it was low. Again, it seemed to fix the problem. At the base of Summit Rd. Sonny wanted to take a break so we stopped for a snack. I started getting harassed by a horsefly. I swatted it away and so it went after Sonny. I almost killed it when it landed on him but it got away. I guess it then decided to go after Bob who actually got bit by it on the leg and it drew blood. It buzzed around him. I yelled to Bob that it had landed near his crotch. Bob swatted it away and said, "You are NOT biting my d!ck!" We got going after that. I usually hate climbing Summit because my legs are usually toast and it has some steep sections. This might have been the only time my legs felt good on the climb. Around the tree farm, I finally got the warning saying my right shifter battery was low. Fortunately I had an extra battery on me. The shifting issue was finally fixed. Skyline after Summit is normally similarly miserable but not today. We stopped at Castle Rock to fill our bottles. We had a clear descent of Hwy 9. Love that descent when there are no cars. Redwood Gulch was also great. I think this is a first but I had to clear my ears at the bottom. We ended up getting back later than we hoped but we finished relatively strong and everyone felt pretty good.