Met up with Ashley Lopez of Colton out at the Green Riverr Promenade shopping center just before the cross over of the 91 freeway and we rode to Balboa Peninsula together from there. Head wind outbound and tail wind coming back give or take a few dead zones and sideways blowing. Lots f bizarre synchronicities for this one. I was supposed to meet up at Yorba Regional park with another group at 7 am to ride on to Redondo Beach and back and upon grabbing my bike to head out this morning the front brake lever felt mushy! I pulled the front wheel off and pulled the brake pads out then inserted the piston spreader then reinstalled the pads. Did the brake lever protocol to reset the pads in rela to being centered in relation to the rotor. Now I had pad rub and a mushy lever! So I realized that the immediate reality was I had to meticulously troubleshoot this to figure out what anomalies were showing up here. I ended up disassembling that brake system, sanding lightly the pads, bleeding the hydraulic lines, and various other protocols to insure everything was factory spec adjusted and perfect. Eventually got that done and just about then Ashley texted me explaining she had slept in and missed her ride with a couple of other guys that was supposed to ride at least part of the way up to Big Bear (the back way) So we both missed our meetups. So we decided to to meet up… Upon my arrival, as she got her bike out of her CRV she mentioned she has a front brake rub going on! Synchronicity #2! She let me know she was taking her bike to a local bike shop tomorrow to have them fix it. As soon as we rolled out I could tell it was dragging a lot! She still wanted to ride onward…. It made dragging sounds the whole ride. Guess what happened to my front brake the moment we left Balboa Peninsula? Yes! Mine to developed the same rub! It got so bad on the way back that I was having to push up to 200 watts to hold 18mph with a tail wind! Forgot to mention that on the way outbound we stopped at ARTIC Bus Depot in Anaheim to top off water bottles and immediately a guy on a bike walked over and asked if he had just seen Ashley and I a couple weeks ago filling water bottles along PCH at the Newport Beach public restrooms by the beginning of the bike lanes? I told I’m actually yes! That was my first actual face to face encounter with Ashley 2 — 3 weeks ago! The other guy with him recognized us also! She has no racing background… loved long fast rides and like myself rides solo a lot. I’ve been patiently waiting for anyone to show up male or female that loves long fast rides that’s open to meetups and can ride strong enough that I can draft in a paceline like rotation to keep the pace high. So between the dragging brake and the rising heat of heading inland the 72 miles turned into a zapper for me. Great ride though Ashley. I am very proud to call you my friend and new riding partner. Nothing but Honey Stinger gels, water and electrolytes for this ride.