1/01/10
By: C. Kent, aka (Superman)

Hemet, Ca


As I got up this morning I realized that it was the first day of a new decade. Vocally I haven’t made in New Year’s resolutions but internally I suppose we all do. I wanted to ride more and improve my style and endurance more in 2010 than I did in 2009. With that in mind I got ready for the days ride with a very positive attitude and maybe just a bit more energy in my tank that some other days. We would have three separate groups today so I had no idea who might join me but I was sure I could count on Duramax.


Shortly after arriving at the Burger King I saw Duramax riding in my direction. Once he pulled up I was expecting to see a new rider visiting from Baltimore and maybe Metric Man would come down from Beaumont. Sure enough they both showed up and unloaded their bikes getting ready to start the ride. The rider from Baltimore was named Aldona and she had a beautiful lime green Trek TT bike strapped to the back of her car. I was surprised to see Power Surge but then it was New Year’s Day so he should have the day off. The Red Rabbit pulled up on one of his Lapierres. It was almost 9am and to me this seemed like a perfectly good group to start the ride.

We had decided on a ride some of us call the Goetz Pyrenees. We turned towards Kirby and I got a shot of Metric Man riding relaxed and ready for the ride. We were working our way over to Sanderson from Kirby. This is always one of my favorite parts of the ride because we get to catch up on what we have been doing since the last ride or get acquainted with new riders. Power Stroke spent some time telling Aldona a bit about riding in our area and I think he was describing the benefits of the ride we were taking.

Having spent some time riding with both Red Rabbit and Power Surge I was a bit worried when I saw the two of them talking and Red Rabbit was acting a bit like a celebrity when they see the Poparazzi. I knew we had some small hills coming and I have been passed quite a few times by both of these men. You never know how Rabbit is going to ride one day from the next. He has dropped me more than once on hills I have thought I was doing pretty well on. Power Surge is just a strong rider that knows more about riding than I do and has been known to pass me when I least expect him to.
Once out on Domenigoni we fell into a casual pace line and started to eat up the miles heading west. I was thinking to myself that this was a well balanced group ride. Everyone took turns pulling and we kept the pace between 20 and 22 MPH all the way to Winchester road. Rabbit did fall out of the draft but that might be because he doesn’t like to draft or pull so we expect it. We soon caught up to him and once again took turns pulling as we came up on Leon. Once we passed Leon the pace line stretched a bit but we all managed to take the hill in line and at a respectable pace. We gave Rabbit another lead and then chased him down again as we headed towards La Ladera.

We made a quick pit stop at the park on La Ladera and then followed The Red Rabbit all the way to Goetz and made the right turn heading up the hill. Rabbit had dusted my britches the last time we did this ride so I was determined to run it better this time. I made better use of my gears and finally passed The Red Rabbit just before the first of the three climbs. Soon I noticed that there was a shadow right behind me and I expected it to be Metric Man, Power Surge or even the Rabbit but it turned out to be Bounty Hunter who stayed stuck to me like a trailer all the way up the first two climbs.

Once I made it to the top on the last hill I stopped to regroup and everyone did just that in less than 20 seconds or so. At least The Rabbit didn’t run over me this time and we all cruised over the top and down the hill heading towards Ethernic. Power Surge practically flew down the hill. It took Bounty Hunter and Metric Man most of the way to Ethernic but we were all smiles as we turned the corner heading towards Murrieta. Before we made our next turn Power Surge decided to head for home. It was good to ride with him again and we hope he can come back soon.

Once on Murrieta Metric Man picked up the pace and we almost raced back to Macall. We got to the top of Macall and took off for Winchester with Metric Man setting the pace because he had somewhere to be at noon. We ran down Simpson Heading for Winchester with two groups. Metric Man pulled us most of the way to Leon and I pulled us about ¾ of the way to Winchester where Bounty Hunter sprinted passed me only to allow me to catch him at the stop light. Metric Man and Bounty Hunter continued on as Aldona, Duramax, The Red Rabbit and I stopped for coffee at Chris’s before heading home. It was a great way to start out the New Year. I had 45 miles with another 2 ¾ hours of riding under my belt. I did I mention it was a beautiful day?