Bob was the one who got us all to sign up for the double. Unfortunately Bob got sick a few days before so couldn’t make it. 😢Sonny joked that he took Bob’s place with his ride shenanigans. 😂 It would’ve been a reunion with Doug who we haven’t all ridden with since before the Pandemic. We would’ve made it back before sunset if Sonny hadn’t gotten stung by a bee at mile 155, then Doug got a front flat 5 miles later, and then 5 miles after that he got a rear flat. 🤦🏻‍♂️🤷🏻‍♂️🙃 I thought something was going to happen to me after Doug’s first flat, and I guess it did because I got small cut on my knee brushing past the bucket of Coke at the last rest stop where Doug discovered his rear flat. 😂 Still, this is the fastest double I’ve done in a long time. The ride started off foggy and it didn’t really lift until after 9a. By that point, I think it might have been warm enough to take layers off but I was so damp from the fog and sweating that I was too cold to remove anything. While the sun was out, it was only briefly. A few miles after the first rest stop we entered the fog and it was varying levels of fog and overcast all the way to the second rest stop in SLO where the sun was out again. There were some nice roads to be sure but there were far too many highways with little or no shoulder on this route. We were even on Hwy 1 for a few miles (which I mistook for Hwy 101 but it might as well have been). It was not cool. Also too many of the roads were terrible and pothole-filled. They didn’t get enough people registering for the event and they were short on help for SAG. A sad state in general. I don’t know if it was because of the lack registrations but the food at the rest stops was not great except maybe the lunch sandwich. But they didn’t have any vegetarian options so Doug couldn’t even have one. The rest stops were way too far apart. The second rest stop was at mile 78, 40 miles after the first one. I barely ate anything at the first stop because there wasn’t really anything good to eat. So I was wondering why I was so hungry and then I saw we were over 70 miles in. On a normal ride, we would’ve already eaten lunch. The theme today would be my legs would feel terrible when I got hungry and after I ate, they’d feel good again. I’ve never notice such an immediate change in response to hunger/food like that before. In SLO we were able to take off all the layers. It was supposed to be hot today but there wasn’t significant wind chill. At first it had a nice moderating effect and the temperature was perfect but on the way back, we went back into the fog and it got chilly. At the second last rest stop, I actually put arm warmers back on which I would never normally do in 80° weather. At first I thought I made the right choice but around mile 150, the wind turned to an amazing tailwind and it wasn’t really cold anymore. But as the day got later, it cooled and I never took them off. The final stretch back might have been the most fun. It was mostly fast and downhill and we were almost finished. Because of the lack of registration, they were saying it could be the last one. With the route, which to be fair changes and they have had better ones, the bad roads, and the bad rest stops, I don’t think I can recommend it and I’m not sure I’d do it again.