2/08/2010
By: C. Kent, aka (Superman)

Hemet, Ca


When I arrived at the meeting place for our group ride today I was impressed with the blue sky and the fact we had almost no wind. It also looked like we would have three groups all going in the same direction and ending up at the same place even if it was at different speeds. In other words it looked like we were going to have the perfect group ride. I explained the route and we got ready to head off towards Domenigoni and out to LaLadera.

It was a bit of a surprise to see Tax Man rejoin the group after a long absence and we had a new rider that Highlander had invited join us as well, his name was Mark. As we made introductions all around it seems as if the Red Rabbit decided to take the opportunity to get a bit of an early start. What I didn’t notice was that deacon had left when the Red Rabbit did so I was a bit surprised to see him as we turned onto Kirby. With Parky and Rick in the back of our main group I wondered if they might stick with us all the way to Winchester.


Once we made the turn off of Kirby we more or less started to settle into the order I figured we would be in most of the ride. Rocket said he had been feeling a bit weak and was hoping today’s ride would give him some indication on if he should ride the Palm Springs Century Saturday. I knew a bit about how he felt because I was still recovering from a cold I had over a week ago. However if he was not 100 percent he still seemed to have more steam than most of us had.

Once we turned onto Sanderson we could see the Red Rabbit about a quarter of a mile ahead of us and we were catching every light red. After we made the turn onto Domenigoni we fell into a pretty good pace line and managed to haul in the Rabbit by the time we got to Warren Road. About the time we were up to speed on the back side of the little overpass after Warren the group broke in two. Rocket, Attack Cat, Hit man and Cossack were in the first group followed closely by Highlander, Mark, Tax man and me. Red rabbit had fallen off of the back of the line and I have no idea where Raptor cut off.


After Winchester Road I went onto cruise mode and tried to stay with Tax Man. Soon we had Highlander join us and he informed me they might not be riding the whole ride with us. We were too far behind for me to close with the lead four riders so we rode together all the way to the Domenigoni saddle.

On the way down the back side of the saddle we lost Highlander, Tax man and Mark as they turned on Lindenburger and headed for home. After giving the Rabbit a head start we caught him again before we got to Murrieta and he stayed with us all the way back over to Macall after we made the turn on LaLadera.



We made a rather casual charge over Macall and down the other side. We all made it through the light at Menifee except Hit man who made a great effort to catch back up to the group by Leon. We all made the turn together on Grand/9th Street and headed for the traditional ½ mile sprint behind Rocket. At the end of the sprint Rocket, Attack cat and Cossack and Hit man all finished strong heading into Chris’s.

We had some quick refreshments after we were joined by the Rabbit and talked about the ride and maybe just a few personal aches and pains before heading home passed the airport. I ended up with 37 miles and some tired legs but all in all I felt like it was a good day.