4/07/2010
By: C. Kent, aka (Superman)

Hemet, Ca

As the sun hit my window this morning I had mixed feeling about the ride that was planned. I was pleased with the idea of the Pursuit ride but I was also well aware of how tired my legs were from riding up Lambs Canyon yesterday. I started to wonder if I would be able to keep up with the B group and I could only hope I wouldn’t slow them down before the A group had a chance to try and catch us.

I got to the parking lot a bit early but it seems as if Attack Cat had been there for a while. As we talked and waited for everyone to arrive it gat warm enough to remove my arm warmers. By the time everyone was assembled I explained to the A group than we would be riding up to Dominigoni on State Street and while the B group turned right for the climb to the marina the A group would go left up Gibbel Road. I could see by the look on some of their faces they were up to the challenge. Once we got started Rocket blasted off at a pretty good pace and Attack cat wasn’t far behind. Rocket took the most direct route towards State Street he could. Attack cat turned on Thornton like the rest of us but rushed off towards State Street as well. Once the B group turned onto State Street Beowulf started to pick up speed and we watched as the A group turned towards Gibbel.


The B group made the right turn on Domenigoni and ran directly into a head wind. Red Rabbit tried to make a run at the light into the water park but wasn’t able to make the run by himself so he had to wait till we were all together as we crossed the street and headed for the Marina Hill. I told the group that they only had to ride up the hill if they wanted to but everyone made the turn with me as we took the one mile climb to the top. Everyone made it to the top and back and we paused at the bottom of the hill to remove windbreakers and arm warmers before heading back out to Domenigoni. As we sat there I thought I saw Rocket go by and a minute or two later Attack cat followed.

The B group ended up chasing two of the A group riders all the way to Winchester. The group as a whole would gain a few yards and then lose ground at the stop lights. Finally as we approached Leon Hitman and I decided to see if we could run down Rocket and Attack cat. We took turns pulling each other till we came upon Rocket just getting back up to speed after stopping to take a call. As we passed he dropped into our line and we took aim at Attack cat. With Rocket in rotation we caught and passed Attack cat and headed for the Domenigoni saddle. At the bottom of the hill I started to run out of gas and managed to crest the hill well after Rocket and Hitman. As we waited for the rest of the B group Attack cat rolled on by believing the pursuit wouldn’t end till we got to Chris’s. The rest of us rode to Chris’s together. We took a few minutes to drink coffee and catch our breath and we were off for home.

The ride home was pretty pleasant heading up Winchester and over towards California on Stowe. At least the wind wasn’t right in our face and everyone was still pretty talkative. As hard as it was for the A group to ride up Gibbel they seemed to have recovered enough to have enjoyed the challenge. Beowulf was shocked at how hard the climb seemed but agreed he would do it again because now he knows what to expect. Officially the A group caught the B group in this pursuit so it makes the score one for the A group and one for the B group. It will be a real challenge to see what the next month’s pursuit. It may have only been 33 miles but it was a good workout for both groups. One part of Gibbel has a stretch that is 13 percent and one part of the Marina hill is 12 percent so both groups were tested based on their ability. Toss in a bit of wind and you have the making of a good ride for a group of good friends. What more can a cyclist ask for?