The Rule #9 Lunch Ride

Strava:  https://www.strava.com/activities/304629599

Badass Attendees:  Vin, Shannon, Mitchell, Jaffe and me

• It didn't really look like it was going to rain when we started.  Boy were we wrong.
• The person who called out Rule #9 when we thought it was going to rain last week said he was going to make it out this week regardless of the weather.  He didn't.  
• We went out as a team of 5 to represent BRCM in black with Jaffe the exception.  No arm warmers, no wet weather gear, nothing.  Just big balls.
• It was cool to see that one of the guys from the crit saw us and mentioned us in his Strava
• It was fast going out with some painful sections here and there, but we stayed together for the most part.  There was some separation going up toward Shady, but managed a rolling regroup by the time we hit Quail Hill.   The only other regroup was at the top of NPC, but it was very short.
• Riding up and over 133 was a battle with the headwinds basically driving us backward or so it seemed.  It was good to have a team to rotate with for sure on this section.
• The pace through Laguna Beach was pretty tough, but I think everyone was hoping to get back before it started to rain given the clouds were getting darker.
• While on PCH before NPC, we felt it...rain!  It started out light at first, but that didn't last long as it became torrential after we started climbing up NPC.
• Descending NPC was hella scary given that it seemed as though there was an inch of water on the surface.  Brake checking was a must and everyone gave each other plenty of room.
• It really started to pour on Bonita Canyon and it actually started to hurt from the size of the drops.   I actually thought it was hailing at some points, but only big drops of water were landing on the road.  Forrest Gump would classify it as "fat rain."
• By that time, I didn't really care who I was with as much as how soon I can get back.  I was beyond drenched and even had water swishing around in my shoes. 
• We created puddles of water upon entering the gym in Bldg 11. 
• 26 miles and 21 mph average in that weather with the wind and all the rain...yup...'badasses' sounds right.

Thanks for the training and the support, gents!  Make sure your bikes don't rust this evening.