3/15/2010
By: C. Kent, aka (Superman)

Hemet, Ca

I was disappointed that I missed the group Friday but I had a commitment I promised my wife I would do and I simply couldn’t get out of it. Still I managed to get in a 40 mile ride on Saturday and my only complaint was it was cold and windy almost all day Saturday. Like the old song I have started to call the wind Mariah and Mariah was with me on my ride all day. Sunday was cool but hardly seemed like any wind so I was eager to see what this morning would bring. When I got up and had a cup of coffee I looked out on a beautiful day and suddenly I was ready for a new ride on a new day. It felt a lot like spring and I was looking forward to riding passed a heard of Sheep to see if they had any lambs.

Like any normal day Deacon, Duramax and Parky were waiting for me when I pulled into the parking lot. While we exchanged greetings Rocket, Highlander, Tax Man and Hit man pulled up. While we were still saying hello Attack Cat was unloading his Cannondale from his car and Traveler joined us about the same time Nathan arrived. It wasn’t long before we had a full crew when Jessie arrived. I asked if everyone was aware of the route I had posted and everyone side they were ready so we pulled out of the parking lot and headed towards the Hemet Airport. As we turned towards the Airport we picked up Casey Jones and we were off as a group towards Warren road.

Rocket, Hit man and I were running along at a pretty good clip down Warren Road before I noticed the group was starting to break up a bit. I backed it down a bit and joined Duramax in cruise mode as we passed Cottonwood and started gaining on Tax Man. We were joined by Mariah and not a gentle breeze but she was blowing at a pretty good clip. Somehow we lost Tax Man at Ramona Expressway and Duramax ended up pulling me most of the way to Bridge Street. As we made the turn we caught Highlander waiting for us at the corner. Because we didn’t stop he had to catch up with us and after he pulled up next to me he explained how he and Mariah were not good friends and he would rather not ride with her at all.

Most of the way to Gilman we were buffeted by Mariah and I had to drop into the small chain ring. We regrouped at the corner of Bridge and Gilman and discovered that Tax Man had turned right on Ramona when the rest of us went left. I told him to wait on Ramona Road and we would be there as soon as we could. However at this point Mariah was back in our face with the occasional hit on the left shoulder. Rocket and his group started to pull away but every time I tried to pick up and speed I would almost get knocked off of the road. Finally we regrouped one more time just before we were going to turn south on Sanderson. With Mariah hitting us hard we stood around like a bunch of Indian corn trying to keep from blowing over. Almost everyone was looking tired and we were only halfway through the ride. Rocket decided that when he got back to Ramona and Lyon he was going to call it a day. I guess you might say he had expended more rocket fuel than he had planned and wanted to save enough for the return trip home. Highlander and Tax Man decided to leave on Lyon as well.

It was down to Hit Man, Casey Jones, Duramax, Attack cat, Nathan, Jessie and I. At State Street Nathan and Jesse stopped for water and the rest of us continued on to Soboba expecting the two of them to catch us before we got to the golf course. Just before we made the turn off of State Casey Jones and Attack cat pulled into the lead. I thought about going after them but held back to see if we would be joined by the trailing group. Hit man and I rode side by side for a while and watched Casey Jones pull away with Attack cat on his wheel. After the first little roller we say Attack cat take the lead and then Hit man does what hit man can do so well he took off after them. I waited a bit longer till we were over the first hill before I decided to stretch out a bit on my new ride and see how she would do on a long chase.

Hit man pulled up on Casey Jones and then started to close on Attack cat. Casey pulled onto his back wheel and soon Hit man and Casey Jones were passing Attack cat. I also noticed I was gaining on them. By the time we were even with the beginning of the golf course I pulled up on Attack cat. At the bottom of the last hill I had Casey Jones in my sight and I managed to have just enough energy to get passed him. I was feeling pretty good and Mariah had backed off. As Hit man and I waited for Duramax, Nathan and Jessie we watched Casey Jones and Attack cat ride by. When Nathan and Jessie failed to show up Duramax, Hit man and I continued on but noticed we were running way behind our 11 am stop time. Hit man left to get in some Gym time and Duramax had to get home by the time we got to Columbia. When I got to the Old Hemet Train Station none of the other riders were there. But soon I was joined by Casey Jones and Attack cat and finally by Nathan and Jessie. I ended up with 39.5 miles and a great workout and spent some time with Casey Jones and Attack cat solving the problems of the universe over coffee.