I couldn't decide which bike to ride today. So much road compared to dirt meant no bike was going to be good on the ride. I decided to ride the gravel bike but really I should've ridden my "gravel bike". I think my Epic EVO would've been faster on the ride but we'll never know. I think it would've been fine on the road and would've had more fun on the dirt. I also, last minute, decided to go back to my old S-Works Recon's instead of my 2FO Roost Clip's that I've been riding for a while. I thought having a stiffer platform for all the road riding might help. Riding over to the start felt strange though. I didn't realize I had a different cleat position that was more forward. I wasn't sure if that would affect me. Luckily I forgot about it and it felt normal sometime after Richmond-San Rafael Bridge. And actually my legs feel pretty good back at home despite some hard efforts today. It was a really nice day with perfect temps and really clear skies too. Not windy either. Zack wanted a chill pace but Chris said, NOPE! At the beginning, I chilled in the main group but after doing some photo intervals at China Camp, when we got back on the road, I jumped on and rode with the fast group back to San Rafael. It was also decided at the start of the ride that we weren't going to do a snack stop in San Rafael. I was bummed at not being able to go to Sol Food. I was really looking forward to some sweet plantains and maybe some fries. I had to settle for a mid ham and cheese croissant at Peet's. Shortly after that, the short ride group split and headed back to the East Bay, while the rest of us headed to Tennessee Valley. Before climbing Marincello, we stopped at Equator Coffee in Mill Valley. I grabbed a bagel and cream cheese and an apple juice. It was Boichik Bagel but it was also mid (when they're normally not). I'm glad I ate it though. Without lunch, staying properly fueled was important and it would help me later. Marincello didn't feel that bad today. I rolled down ahead of the group (after everyone got to the top) to find a spot to take photos. I didn't realize I started rolling before everyone came through. I caught Raul and Geoffrey and tried to catch Zack and Vic. When I got onto Rodeo Valley Trail, I was like, where is Zack and Vic? How did they get so far ahead of us. Turns out they didn't, they missed the turnoff from Bobcat. So I was chasing ahead to catch them and they waited, once they got back to Rodeo Valley Trail, thinking everyone was still behind them. I ended up catching the fast group that helped a rando with a flat, near the top of Coastal/Julien. At the parking lot we waited for a bit for Zack and Vic but they never showed up. Chris and Peter decided to head up to Hawk Hill to wait with a better view. Tony and Paul decided they were just going to head home and eventually everyone left, leaving me to wait. Rather than potentially get stuck riding by myself, I headed up to Hawk to catch the rest of the group. We waited at the top for a bit and still hadn't heard back from them. Clearly they had missed the turn but maybe they had a mechanical or, worse, someone crashed. Foreshadowing... We rolled back to the parking lot/roundabout but they still weren't back so we also headed back. There were so many cars backed up trying to get down from Hawk Hill. I guided Chris and Peter down and waited for Geoffrey, Jim, and Raul at the start of the bridge. I don't know why but I asked Chris if he wanted to lead us across the bridge. I started off and blew the group up. He claims he wasn't hammering but we dropped Geoffrey, Jim, and Raul so hard. I was like, I hope they have the route. Chis made a wrong turn after the bridge which allowed the other guys to catch back up. We ended up taking the Crissy Field gravel back instead of the road. It was the most chill part of our ride back to BART because there were so many people. When we got back to Albany, everyone took off except for Geoffrey and I. We went to Headlands Brewing for food as planned and hoped Zack and Co. would catch up to us there. We finished and waited a bit longer but eventually decided to leave. Just as we were about to walk out the front, they arrived so we turned around to hang out and find out what happened to them. It turns out Anna was behind me after I took the photos on Bobcat. She wiped out and crashed on her face in the first of the two most dangerous turns going down Bobcat - the sharp right turn with the tree on the outside of the trail. Her cheek swelled up quite a bit. The park rangers and an ambulance came for her so that's why Zack and Co. were missing. Anna was cleared by the paramedics and she came to Headlands Brewing shortly after Zack and Co arrived. Thankfully it wasn't to bad and it certainly could've been a lot worse.