12/30/09
By: C. Kent, aka (Superman)

Hemet, Ca


There was a time when weather men used bear grease and crickets in a match box to predict the weather. Today we have college educated weather men with satellites and computer tracking so when the weather man announced on TV that there was a slight chance of rain today but more than likely it would go north of us I believed him. I got up and looked out this morning and it was overcast but there was no rain. I bundled up and left to meet my friends for our weekly ride.

Duramax and Deacon were waiting at the Burger King just like I expected. Rocket pulled up a few minutes after me and we all talked and joked about how cool it seemed. Last to show was Raptor so we knew it was time to leave and that there were only four of us. It seemed like a good idea for us to stay close so we decided on the Marina and Cactus Valley before heading up towards the east end of town and stopping at Carl’s.

We rode down Sanderson and headed east on Domenigoni to the park entrance and got ready for the climb up to the Marina. Rocket made the turn and started to smoothly pull away and I just put my head down and hit the hill as well as I could. Rocket made it to the top and was coming back just after I made the last turn. The ride down the hill is always the best part. Still we all made it to the top and back down in pretty good time. Raptor had already started for Cactus valley so once we regrouped we started in that direction as well.


We stayed together pretty well until Rocket took off just before the first little climb. I stayed with Duramax and he pulled my up the first hill and part of the way to the golf course. As we got close to the golf course we could see Rocket passing two riders that were just cruising along and soon recognized Tool Man and another rider, Jeff. About that time I commented o Duramax that I thought I felt a drop of water and he confirmed my suspicion that a few drops had hit us just as we rode passed the golf course. We continued on and once we reached Tool Man and Jeff we rode together towards the little climb at Sage and Cactus Valley.

After we climbed the little hill the weather seemed to clear up just a bit as we steadily rode towards the end of the pavement passed a Church, a rather large house and a few horses. It seemed like a good day for a ride and we say Raptor heading back in our direction.

While three of us were climbing the road to the boat ramp Raptor had taken the opportunity to reach Cactus Valley ahead of us. We stopped and talked for a minute and then headed for the end of the pavement. There in the distance was Rocket waiting for us to join him.

After a brief stop to pass around introductions and to inspect each person’s ride we rehydrated and got ready to head back down the road and had a plan of heading east towards Lake street and Carl’s. Rocket and I led the way out of the valley and Tool Man, Duramax and Jeff followed.

We got a good run down the little hill and Rocket and I made it passed the horse ranch and Golf Course when the rain started. It was like a slap in the face and my legs started telling me that this ride had turned from fun to no fun in a matter of a few yards. Tool man and Jeff caught me as I lost the draft behind Rocket and I opted to wait for Duramax as the raced down the road in pursuit of Rocket. They were waiting for us as we approached Thornton and we managed to ride together the rest of the way to Carl’s. I told Duramax I must be getting hard core because normally I would have headed for home as wet as we were going down Stetson. Once at Carl’s we met up with Deacon and welcomed the warmth of the building and the hot coffee. As we rode home Tool Man informed me that his hands were numb and he had planned on going home and thawing out before he did anything for the rest of the day. Well except he might be forced to take a nap. It was only just over 30 miles for the day but it was more miles than I had ever been in the rain before.

12/28/09
By: C. Kent, aka (Superman)

Hemet, Ca


There are some days when it just looks like it will be a great day for a ride and there are some days that will surprise you. Today was a surprising day for a good ride. It was over cast and cold when I got up and it didn’t look like it was going to warm up. I got a call early from Metric Man saying the wind was blowing north of me pretty bad and he wanted t make sure we were still riding. I told him it was dead calm and we had every intention of riding. Shortly after than I got dressed and headed for the meeting place.

It turned out that is wasn’t as cold as I had thought and there were small patches of blue trying to peek through the overcast. Rich,(Duramax), Jim, (Parky), Forrest, (Deacon) were already waiting when I pulled up and Bob, (Rocket) was just getting off of his bike. Soon we were joined by Ivan, (Highlander), Curt,(Bounty Hunter) and Russ, Raptor. The last two to arrive were Vadim, (Cossack) and Metric Man, (Mark).


Because we had an extra day to rest it seemed like a good idea to head west passed Lake Parris and make the big loop over to Chris’s in Winchester. We planned to get in about 45 good miles in to work off some of the Christmas goodies we had eaten over the weekend. 9 am rolled around and we were took off heading north on Kirby. The group looked like they were more than ready for this ride and I expected to get rolled over.

Once we got out to Cottonwood we could just make out Raptor in front of us. When we told him where we were going he said he would be breaking off at Bridge Street so he left a few minutes before the rest of us. As we traveled along in a rather loose pace line we slowly closed the distance on him until we watched him disappear into the housing tract on the other side of Warren road and Cottonwood. We caught the light red at Warren Road but were back in pursuit in less than a minute. As we got ready to exit the housing tract I looked behind me to see Duramax and Bounty Hunter and I began to get the feeling a seal must get when they see sharks swimming around.

When we turned onto Warren the pursuit of Raptor was taken over by Rocket, Highlander, Metric Man, Bounty Hunter and Cossack. They reeled him in just before we got to Ramona. At the light we all regrouped and got ready for the run east on Ramona. We started out in a simple pace line that slowly crept up as Rocket started to feel the need to try out his new Christmas Compact Crankset. Cossack took off with him and Metric Man followed. The rest of us kept it at just over 20 MPH and watched them pull away. Everyone regrouped before the Nuevo turn off at Lakeview and Highlander took the lead pulling us to the bottom of the first hill in front of Lake Parris before Rocket pulled out and took off. Next Cossack gave chase and I considered doing the same but I thought it was a bit early for me so I waited and checked my dashboard. My heart rate looked pretty good and my speed wasn’t bad so I decided to pull in front of Highlander and give chase myself.

Soon I was in a pretty good sprint and coming up on the back of Cossack. I didn’t want to pass him too early because he had come back on me before and I knew he was in pretty good shape. Still I got a lead on him and it even looked like I was gaining on Rocket. As I rode towards the top of the first hill I could hear the theme song from Rocky playing in my head. I had to check to make sure my MP-3 player was still in my back pocket with the ear buds so I know it was my imagination. At the top of the hill I tried to increase my speed and close the distance even more when I noticed he was starting up the second hill. I knew I would never catch him and the Rocky song left me. I settled into a reasonable spin as I hit the bottom of the second hill but when I looked behind me I could see Cossack gaining and the music from Jaws started running through my head. It wasn’t the MP-3 player.


I managed to crest the second Hill in front of Cossack and found Rocket waiting for us at the bottom of the hill. We regrouped once again and headed off towards Evans and Nuevo Road. We formed another pace line and held together pretty well all the way to Mapes Road. Highlander and Cossack went straight on Menifee while the rest of us turned on Mapes. The rest of us stayed together as we turned passed the High School and I talked a bit with Metric Man. Duramax and Metric Man were running along at a pretty good clip but Rocket had started to pull away.

I informed him of a trend that most often happened as we rode down Grand or the old dump road. Rocket would run along at a pretty good pace just passed Leon and then there would be a slight rise for the next ½ mile. Once over the rise if Rocket was in the lead the pace would increase and it could turn into an all out sprint. If he wanted to join in he needed to fall in line by Leon. About that time Bounty Hunter pulled up to get behind Rocket.

I fell in line behind Bounty Hunter and Rocket took the lead. I didn’t know if Rocket was planning on making a run after the rise or not but I wanted to see if I could go with him if he did. As we approached the top of the rise I once more started hearing music but this time it was from Top Gun and the Song was “Highway to the Danger zone”. But my Heart Rate was down to 140 and my legs felt good. I knew if he went I was going to give chase.

After about 50 yards Bounty Hunter pulled out of line and told me to give it a shot and I took a run at Rocket. We were building speed rather quickly and were soon pulling away from the rest of the group. I pulled out and tried to pass and managed to get out in front but could only stay there a few seconds before Rocket started back around. I decided if he got passed me I was going to fall in on his back wheel and chase him all the way to Chris’s if I had to but it turned out he must have read my mind so he simply sat up and we rode side by side all the way to Chris’s. Once at Chris’s we split up and Highlander and I stayed for coffee while everyone else continued back home.

It was a great day for a ride and I managed to get in 45 miles with a few good friends.

12/25/09
By: C. Kent, aka (Superman)

Hemet, Ca

While many of us had family obligations Friday and many of us were enjoying Christmas day we didn’t realize that it was the beginning of the training year for someone that hard worked very hard last night. Yes our good friend Santa was getting ready for the 2010 cycling year. Work had kept him and his friends secluded for much of the year but now that work was over and he had several months to train for several centuries and maybe a race or two before heading back for the North Pole at the end of the riding season to start getting ready for the next big night.
Things started out pretty much as expected as Santa and his group left the East end of town and headed west towards Ramona Expressway. Frosty took the early lead and set a pretty good pace as everyone drafted him down Soboba and up Gilman to Sanderson.


Once on Sanderson Frosty started to feel a bit winded so he pulled over to let one of the Reindeer take a turn at pulling. The Reindeer proved to have some strong legs and soon they were turning onto Ramona and setting a 24 MPH pace. Santa looked to be holding on but he just might be getting a bit tired of the pace

The Reindeer got a bit distracted by watching all the contented California cows eating breakfast as they passed several dairies along the way but he held on till he ran into a bit of gravel just before Bridge Street. That little bobble cause the Elf to take the lead and he decided to see just how much everyone had left so he held the pace at 24 and at times pushed it to 25 MPH. Things started to get a bit ragged and they approached Lakeview and the Elf started to fade just a bit.

Santa wasn’t quite as spent as he had let on and he decided to attack just as the Elf was getting ready to pull to the right. The move caught the rest of the group a bit off balance and allowed Santa to pull out a 100 yard lead till he hit the climb just before Lake Parris. He pushed on as hard as he could but all of the extra cookies and milk made him a poor climber at best and soon the Reindeer caught him and not long after the Elf was breathing down his neck.

As they rode over the two big rollers Santa watched as the Reindeer pulled everyone passed the park entrance. However with the long second downhill Santa was able to close and get behind Frosty and catch his breath and rest his legs. Everyone was in a pace line behind Reindeer as they turned onto Evans and headed south towards Nuevo Road.

After the turn on Nuevo heading towards Menifee Frosty got a second wind and came out of the draft to take the lead and kick things back up again to 24 or 25 MPH. Reindeer fell to the back of the pack but was enjoying the draft created by Santa almost as much as Elf was happy to be drafting Frosty. Frosty even open up a bit of a gap as everyone headed passed Mapes towards Florida Avenue. As they came up on Macall and made the turn west Elf had closed on Frosty and began to notice a few cold drops of water were hitting him in the arms. The sun was getting a bit higher and as they climbed the back side of Macall Frosty seemed to be getting weaker. It wasn’t long till Elf took the lead and Frosty just got slower and slower till the top of the hill. At the hospital road Frosty turned off and headed for some much needed shade and the industrial freezer they had at food services

Elf, Reindeer and Santa continued on to Murrieta Road and turned right towards Ethinec so they could make the turn to Goetz and back to Newport. Elf made the pace as punishing as he could and was feeling pretty good all the way back over to Goetz. Try as he might he just couldn’t hold off Reindeer on the big climb but he did manage to stay ahead of Santa all the way to the top.

Reindeer wasn’t wasting any time and soon pulled out quite a lead going over the crest of the hill. By the time Elf crested the hill Reindeer was hardly in view. Santa was at least 50 yards behind Elf. Santa must have been thinking that is simply wasn’t fair that people gave him so many goodies while he worked and Reindeer was in much better shape than he was. Elf simply didn’t weigh much and climbing was much easier or the smaller rider. But once over the hill Santa started to gain on both of them.

Once Reindeer made the turn onto Newport he must have felt as if he could outrun both Santa and Elf all the way back down Domenigoni to Sanderson and he just might have if Santa and Elf hadn’t started working together. Santa had the greater downhill speed to he pulled Elf down to Newport at speeds in excess of 34 MPH. Once they turned onto Newport they took turns pulling till they could see Reindeer passing over the freeway and heading passed Jack in the Box. Elf pulled them to within 200 yards and Santa covered the rest of the distance till they caught Reindeer just before Menifee. Elf took the lead with Reindeer falling to the back.

Once again they came to a small hill where Newport turns into Domenigoni. Reindeer sprinted ahead and Elf followed expecting to drop Santa once again because of the climb but this time Santa stayed with them and crested the hill only a few yards behind making up any lost distance on the downhill heading towards Leon. Elf held off Reindeer all the way to Winchester where finally he had to surrender once again to Reindeer.

Reindeer and Elf must have thought Santa was cooked because he never once contested for the lead running down Domenigoni and he did look a bit tired. He even fell back a bit after they all turned down Sanderson. While he seemed to be running out of energy Reindeer and Elf knew they were out of Gel Packs and water and would have to finish the ride to Burger King on what energy they had left. It was at Sanderson and Stetson that Santa reached into his back jersey pocket and pulled out something and put it in his mouth. Once they made the turn back on Florida Santa sprinted around both of the other riders and jumped out to a 30 foot lead in a blink of an eye. Reindeer tried to respond but he had very little left and Elf didn’t create enough of a draft for him to rest much. As they raced by Kirby Santa was still pulling away and he made the turn into the Parking lot almost 50 feet in first place. Once they all stopped both Elf and Reindeer asked him what gave him the extra energy to sprint home like that. Santa simply said, I found some Sugar Cookies someone left me Christmas Eve and it gave me such a rush I just knew I would finish the race I started in first place. Never count out an old fat man.

12/23/09
By: C. Kent, aka (Superman)

Hemet, Ca

Sometimes my imagination just runs away with me and this morning was one of those times. It was cold and clear and just a bit breezy as I stood in front of my window looking out at the day. I sipped my coffee and waited for my breakfast to finish turning in the microwave. Once I had my breakfast I started getting ready for the day. Like any other sport there is a uniform for cycling and that uniform changes a bit depending on the weather. I could imagine the very same thing happening in the other riders households as well.

By the time I got to the meeting place I could see my imagination was pretty closed to right on. Deacon, Parky and Duramax were all dressed pretty much as I had described. Power Surge joined us after a few ride absence and he looked like he might be just as comfortable in a Snow Mobile as a bicycle. Tool man was there but he was waiting for Quicksticks and another rider to ride up the mountain to Idyllwild. When Huntress showed up early we were all surprised and she was dressed pretty much as I described earlier. Raptor pulled up with heavy gloves and a jacket and Cossack was the last to arrive and he was the only one with fingerless gloves. But the time we were ready to leave Quicksticks was sitting with Tool Man waiting for the last rider in their group so we pulled out of the parking lot and headed over to Lyon and then north towards Ramona.


Parky and deacon had left a bit before the rest of us and were going to do a modified route ending up at Carl’s on the east end of town. The rest of the group were planning on going down Lyon to Ramona and then over to Soboba. As we moved down Lyon we could see way in the distance the small flags on the back of Deacon’s “Bent/ Cat Trike”. It took a while to catch him and when we did we could see Parky way out in front of him motoring along at what looked like 15 MPH.

I felt a bit of pressure to pick the pace up a bit because it seemed as if Huntress was straining at the bit and just might roll over me if I didn’t.
As we continued on passed Deacon we continued to gain on Parky even if it was taking a bit longer to catch him. Huntress had already passed me as had Cossack but they weren’t sure of where the turn was so Duramax pulled in front. It gave me time to get a picture of deacon as we passed.


I was surprised at how long it was taking to catch up to Parky and noticed we were running along pretty close to 18 MPH and the gap wasn’t falling all that quickly still we were gaining. A few blocks before we reached Ramona we caught Parky and for a while he decided to stay with us before he broke off to turn on a route he and Deacon had picked earlier. From that point on we tightened up as a group a bit and then took turns pulling a pace line up to Ramona and then over to State Street.

When we turned onto Soboba I took the lead and we stayed together all the way over the first two rollers and I surrendered the lead to Cossack. Once3 we were in sight of the golf course Cossack started to stretch the lead a bit and Power Surge started to pull in behind him. Duramax was close behind followed by Huntress and me. Once we saw the last hill at the golf course Huntress put the hammer down and closed half of the distance between us and Cossack. It was one of her better runs up that little hill. We regrouped and made the right turn heading for Washington and once again Huntress attacked the Soboba overpass with impressive results. When we made the left turn onto Washington/Ramona we got back in line and slowed the pace down a bit as we headed towards Florida.

As we rode through the quiet neighborhoods I was glad to see that Duramax seemed to be feeling better even if he told us he was still recovering for the flu that had knocked him out of riding several weeks ago. It seems as if this time of year a lot of people have been hit by some kind of bug. That hasn’t been the case with Power Surge it is simply that he has been working so much lately he hasn’t been able to join us as often as he would like. While he has complained that he isn’t ready for a full ride with us he stayed with us very well all the way back to Florida and Fairview where he split off from the group and headed for home.

The rest of the group made the ride to the Ranger station on the east end of town in pretty quick time. As we came even with the tree dividing the roadway we noticed Quicksticks heading back down the hill. I guess the other riders with him must have continued on to Idyllwild because we didn’t see them coming back. We stopped for a few minuted at the Ranger Station and watch a controlled burn they were conducting before heading back down Florida towards Carl’s. It was a great run back to the coffee shop and a great ride for 32 miles on a rather cool morning. I rode back home with Cossack and Huntress and thought to myself that I was lucky to have such good friends to enjoy an activity that has become so important to me.

12/21/09
By: C. Kent, aka (Superman)

Hemet, Ca

It sure wasn’t the prettiest looking day when I looked outside thins morning. The sky was seriously overcast and it wasn’t supposed to get much better. It wasn’t the coldest day in the last few weeks but it wasn’t going to get very warm either. Still I was looking forward to getting out riding with my friends and tossed on a base layer and leg warmers and I was ready to go.


Duramax, Parky and Deacon were waiting for me as I pulled into the parking lot and they all looked as if they were ready for the cold. Rocket pulled up next and he was also dressed for cooler weather. Highlander and Bounty Hunter arrived with jackets on. Last to arrive was Raptor and we decided to head for Batista Canyon. We also decided to take the most direct route by going down Lyon to Thornton and then east on Stetson. Shortly after we turned onto Thornton I turned on my MP-3 Player and started thinking about this time last year. I didn’t even try to ride up Batista until January of 09 and here we were heading for it just like it was any other ride during the week. It felt good to be riding with these men who I have come to respect and enjoy their company.

Shortly after starting down Stetson I started feeling a bit of a burn in my legs and I was wondering if Batista was the best choice I could have made. Still I was willing to take my turn at the front and found myself in the lead after we left the light just passed the High School. As we started up the short grade on Stetson I could hear someone pulling up on my left and to tell the truth I expected to see Rocket and Bounty Hunter sail passed me but it was Highlander. Not only did he sail passed me he continued to pull away well passed Lake Street.

It wasn’t long before I found myself at the back of the pack and I noticed way out in front of us there was a lone rider that just might be Raptor. He had decided on a different route when we took Lyon to Thornton and had a lead of at least 500 yards on us. After we reached Fairview Highlander took the lead once again started closing with Raptor with the rest of us in tow. Highlander caught Raptor after we turned onto Batista as we all began the climb.

After about a mile up the road Rocket pulled in front and I started to follow. To tell the truth I didn’t plan on pushing up the canyon at all but once I got into a pace I just put my head down and tried to hold a steady spin to the top. For some reason Rocket let me get away and soon I found myself out front all by myself.

I kept looking over my shoulder expecting to see someone closing on me. At the six mile mark I could see someone gaining but I couldn’t tell who it was. I kept spinning and wondered if I was going to run out of steam on the last two grades but up to that point I was doing pretty well. My heart rate was below 160 and I was still running along about 90 RPM. At last I saw the little dip just before the end of the pavement and I knew I had made it sore legs and all. A minute or two later I saw Bounty Hunter cresting the top and realized he was the one gaining on me earlier. Duramax wasn’t far behind but he was still recovering from a bout of the flu and his lungs weren’t operating at 100 percent.



I ended up riding down the canyon with Bounty Hunter and I have to admit he was setting a pretty good pace. In fact it picked up my average by an additional 2 MPH. Bounty Hunter turned off when we got back to Stetson and Duramax and I continued on to meet Parky and Deacon. We enjoyed a few minutes of conversation and coffee and then we took off for home. I got a good shot of Parky and Deacon with their respective Recumbent bikes and then turned onto park and home.

Just as an aside I want to warn my fellow cyclists about traffic this time of year. Because I found myself riding by myself I decided to cut over to Florida and ride home like my good friend Highlander often does. I have only done this a few times and one other time I was following Highlander and Surgeon when a light colored Small SUV decided to cut us off by turning right in front of us. I was very impressed with Highlanders bike handling skill as he managed to lock up the back wheel and hold himself up without falling down while going sideways. Today I had a chance to duplicate that trick as I approached the light just before State. Traffic was stopped and I was passing a line of cars watching to see if any had their turn signal on. Because no one did I thought it was safe to glide up to the light.

Just as I pulled next to a light colored small SUV a sweet lady decide to turn right and attempt to park in an empty curb side space. She managed to just miss the car in front of her and I managed to slide to a stop without falling down. I wanted to shout Merry Christmas and Happy New year as I passed but I didn’t start breathing again till I was well passed her car. I shall make an effort to avoid that section of Florida and even more so during the holidays. I can only hope the rest of you are careful riding in Holiday traffic when people have their minds on anything but driving.

12/19/09
By: C. Kent, aka (Superman)

Hemet, Ca


Well it was that time again, the monthly coffee shop ride. I think these rides may just be my favorite kinds of ride. It is riding for the pure joy of riding and with other people that are riding for the same reason. We don’t ride very far and we don’t ride very fast but the time still seems to fly by. Today was a perfect example of what a coffee shop ride should be.


We all started to arrive in front of the bike shop about seven forty-five in the morning. It seemed to start out a bit cooler than I like but it wasn’t anything worth complaining about. I recognized some of our regular riders and was happy to see some new faces. I have yet to go on one of these rides where I didn’t meet some interesting people and today was no different. I even discovered that one of the new riders lives in the same neighborhood as I did.

We always try to plan these ride to have the least amount of car traffic and today we seemed to be very successful at doing just that. We meandered through quiet neighborhoods with Christmas decorations placed strategically on manicured lawns. Every now and then we would pass people walking either with a friend or with their pets.

I was struck with the clearness of the morning and the quietness as we rode through the neighborhood streets. It was quite easy to carry on a conversation and get a chance to know the people you were riding with and we easily pedaled along with little or no effort

Once we were through Seven Hills we started east towards an older section of town yet we were still traveling on quiet streets. One of the riders had brought along his two sons and they were easily dispersed between the other riders and seemed to be enjoying themselves as well as anyone.

Once we made the turn north and towards downtown we did run into a few more vehicles but still not enough to disturb our ride and we proceeded through the intersections with incident.

We finally rode passed the weekend farmers market on Latham and made the turn on State Street heading for the old Hemet Train Station. Once there we had a chance to sit and develop new friendships. One of our riders discovered a young man waiting at the station who had broken the chain on his bicycle so a few of us pooled our tools and attempted a repair. Turned out the young man was a neighbor of one of our group and he had just recently earned his Eagle Scout status. All in all I would have to say, I believe we had a very good ride on a very good day with very good people. I hope to ride with them again.

12/18/09
By: C. Kent, aka (Superman)

Hemet, Ca



What a great day it was for a bicycle ride. Just a few wispy clouds in the sky and it seemed reasonably warm. At least it was nothing that a jersey and a light vest couldn’t handle. I felt pretty good this morning and I knew that traditionally we have a pretty easy ride on Fridays to prepare for the weekend. With all of these positive notes running through my head I was out the door and pedaling towards the meeting place to see my riding friends.

Even thought I left a bit early Deacon and Duramax beat me to the Burger King. Sometimes I suspect they get there the night before just to prove they get up earlier than I do. It didn’t take long before some of the other riders started showing up. Highlander showed up and brought a friend, Scott I believe. While the new rider unloaded his bicycle Highlander put in a bid for a ride west for the day. Once it was clear that Huntress wouldn’t be with us today and that T-3 was still under the weather the westward ride was agreed upon. Next to arrive is Hit Man and he also brought a friend, Gary, to join us. Bounty Hunter was able to be with us today so it looked like we would be starting out with seven riders heading towards Nuevo and deacon heading toward Domenigoni and Winchester.

Shortly after we pulled out of the parking lot we were joined by Raptor increasing our number to eight. With the rather easy pace we set as we cycled towards Cottonwood it was easy for people to ride together and get to know one another. I had time to reflect on the bright colors associated with cycling as well as the different kinds of bikes people had. Like jockeys with their racing colors we had bright blues, Greens, Yellows, Reds and Oranges mounted on their steeds with names like Trek, Lemond, Giant, Specialized and Lapierre. If you discounted the voices as we conversed you would simply heard the light sounds of tires on grit and cassettes and freewheels clicking. To my mind it was a very pleasing sound.
By the time we made the turn towards Warren road I could see that we have a very evenly matched group for the days ride. Highlander looked rested and strong and Scott seemed to be enjoying the pace. Bounty Hunter was riding easy just behind Gary and Hit Man was riding with Duramax a few paces off of the rear. Raptor was in front setting the pace and I was a bit behind him as we headed towards Warren Road
Raptor left us at Warren road to continue on one of his own rides while the rest of us rode through the housing tract before coming back out onto Warren Road. I had the chance to lead us down to Ramona Expressway where we all gathered at the light getting ready to make the run towards Nuevo. Once on the expressway we formed a pace line and held it quite well at about 21 or 22 MPH with each one taking their turn at the lead and letting me know that we had a well balanced group. We did break up a bit after Highlanders lead just before the light before Lakewood but that was as much because of a sudden gust of wind as anything else. We regrouped at the service station and after a short break continued on to Nuevo road and down to Menifee.
We started another pace line down Menifee and that held together pretty well all the way to Mapes where we made a turn. Highlander led about halfway up Mapes when Hit Man decided to stretch his legs a bit and he pulled out in front. As he started to pull away even farther Scott decided to give chase and it was all I could do to hand onto his wheel till we made the downhill heading for the high school on Florida. Thank goodness we caught the light at Florida so we could all regroup once again. We then continued on through the housing tract and towards the old dump road. It was about here I noticed how quickly Bounty Hunter seems to get his energy back. He pulled in front of me and pulled several of us all the way to the dump road and most of the way to Leon.
Just before we got to Leon Scott pulled in front and started a pull leading up the slight grade on Grand. I fell into third behind Bounty Hunter as we lined up for the run down to Winchester and Chris’s. After about 100 yards passed the crest of the ride on Grand I pulled out to attempt a sprint and only realized when I was about halfway passed the group that I had started out a bit early. A quick look behind me showed that Highlander was following behind me like and Amraam Missile and Scott followed behind him like the jet that fired it. I could only assume that Bounty Hunter was following Scott. All I could think of was that any moment Highlander was going to pull around me as I ran out of gas but for some reason they let me off the hook and we continued on to Winchester road in that order. As we were pulling into the parking lot at Chris’s I began to wonder if Highlander hadn’t slipped in a ringer on me so that he could run me into the ground. In fact on reflection they may have been planning it way back on Kirby. Still I had a great day and managed to get in 38 miles and a pretty good average speed. I hope Scott and Gary will join us again because I believe they would make a good addition to our group.