11/09/09
By: C. Kent, aka (Superman)

Hemet, Ca


I will freely admit I wasn’t looking forward to today’s ride. To tell the truth I was in pain from a hike I took with T-3 and Ruby Tuesday on Saturday. All afternoon Saturday and all day Sunday my Knees, legs and lower back hurt and I could only hope they would be better by this morning. As I opened my eyes from a deep sleep I silently ran a systems check on my body. Arms: Check with minimal soreness. Back: Check with minimal stiffness. Upper legs: Check felt pretty good. Knees: Check they seem to be working without soreness. Lower Legs: Fail with major complaints about having to move. Feet: Recovered from soreness and ready for action. Oh well I guess I will get up anyway and limp along with the group.

Thank goodness the group was in a sympathetic mood so they easily agreed to a fairly flat run through Nuevo to Chris’s. The group split right at the start into two. Parky, Wart and Snow Goose, People from Michigan are called Michiganders and a gander is a male goose, went one way and Rocket, Raptor, Hitman, Highlander and I went another.
Raptor left a bit before the rest of us and we were in no hurry to catch him until Highlander caught sight of him and started closing the distance. Once Raptor was reeled in by Highlander the two of them pulled us most of the way to warren road.
We lost Raptor at Ramona Expressway and continued on by running an easy pace line all the way to Lakeview. After a quick stop for refueling at the gas station on Lakeview we all stayed in line pretty well all the way down Menifee. Once we turned onto Mapes Highlander seemed to get a bit of extra energy and started to pull away from us after we turned onto Briggs road. Highlander caught the light green at Florida and made it almost to the housing tract before we crossed Florida.
Just as we came out of the housing tract I could barely see Highlander disappearing into the distance and was discussing with Duramax where he might be. Duramax picked up the pace a bit and pulled me to within about 300 yards of Highlander. Ahead of Highlander I could see Wart and Parky and realized there was no way I was going to catch Highlander before he slowed down to say hello to them and I didn’t. I did pull even with him before he could take off again. But I made a good effort and now my upper legs were complaining just like my lower legs were first thing this morning.
After some great fellowship and visiting we left for home. Highlander, Rocket and Hitman turned and headed for the airport and Duramax turned towards Domenigoni to chase Parky and Wart. By the time I got home I had logged 40 miles in 2 hours and 17minutes. Now I feel balanced, I am sore from the hips down. But it beats riding in the rain or snow.