New route with a Climb

10/26/09
By: C. Kent, aka (Superman)

Hemet, Ca


As the sun came over the mountains east of town Hemet was greeted with clear blue skies, very little wind and moderate temperatures. Just the kind of day one would wish for if they were planning on a group bicycle ride.

The mood at the meeting place was very upbeat as everyone arrived. Parky and Deacon were talking with Duramax and Tool Man as I pulled up. Just a few minutes later Rocket arrived followed shortly by Vadim,( Cossack) and Quicksticks. Tax man and Highlander were the next to arrive looking ready and energetic. To our surprise Red Rabbit showed up just before Raptor. Finally the question was asked about where we were going and after a pause I suggested our own local version of the little Pyrenees, Goetz road at the end of Newport. The plan was to ride west on Domenigoni till it turned into Newport and take that all the way to Goetz and then ride up to Ethinec and back over to Menifee. Once we got back to Newport we would stop and regroup at Jack in the Box in Sun City. With that in mind we all left the parking lot Heading for Domenigoni.

Someone must have something in Red Rabbits morning coffee because he took off like a cat with its tail on fire and left the rest of us in his dust. We didn’t panic because we knew we had a long way to go and it is very hard to out run a pace line against the wind on Domenigoni. So we were simply cruising down the side street off of Kirby as we watched Red Rabbit pull away.
Rocket + Quick Sticks + Tool Man
When we turned onto Domenigoni we were grouped up pretty well with Highlander, Cossack, Duramax and me making the turn ¼ mile behind Red Rabbit. We started a run at Red Rabbit and pulled in behind him when we reached to small overpass just passed Warren road. It was at that point that Highlander told me we were spread out and I backed off to see if anyone was having trouble. The Rabbit continued on and started pulling away again. Once it was decided that the stragglers we holding back because that is what they wanted to do Rocket took the lead and we quickly ran down the Rabbit. We caught the light at Winchester and I think Raptor may have left us there.

Shortly after Winchester Rocket started the pull and we followed him almost all the way to the Domenigoni Hill before Rabbit tried another break away for the traditional sprint up the hill. Cossack took up the chase and I went after him. It was a good run and we stopped at the top to regroup.

We rolled down Newport heading for Goetz when Highlander and Tax Man had to turn off for an early appointment. Quick Sticks and Tool Man turned off at La Landra and it was down to Rocket, Duramax, Cossack, Red Rabbit and me. When we turned onto Goetz I didn’t know what to expect but Rocket took off like his nickname heading for the top of the climb. Red Rabbit tried to follow Rocket leaving me to try and keep a relatively consistent pace with Duramax and Cossack following in my shadow. I expected them to pass me any moment only Cossack threw his chain and Rocket pulled over to see what happened to us. Soon Cossack was back on the road and we all topped the hill and raced down the back side.

Highlander + Tax Man

A quick turn on Ethinec and another on Murrieta and we were headed for a coffee break.

Cossack

We caught up with Quick Sticks and Tool Man at Jack’s but they were just leaving and Rocket couldn’t hit the afterburners long enough to make the turn into the parking lot so he continued on without us. Duramax and I had coffee with Parky and Deacon and took off for home by ourselves. Still I ended up with 47 Miles and a new ride I had never been on before.

Parky’s new ride