4/09/2010
By: C. Kent, aka (Superman)

Hemet, Ca
As some of us get ready for the Hemet Double Century I try to put together some longer rides just so we can get prepared. Today was one of those days. I called it the 44 Mag run because it was going to be at least 44 miles for anyone riding from Burger King and back. I didn’t know how many would show up but it looked like a good ride to me and I could only hope it would look like a good one to the rest of the group. The plan was to ride south to Domenigoni then west to Lindenburger where we would turn north and end up on Menifee heading for Nuevo. That was the plan but the execution ended up being slightly different. The first challenge was that we would have to meet up with T-3 after we turned off of Kirby. But we met the challenge with flying colors with only a brief stop to adjust her seat post.


It seems as if T-3 had to use Ruby Tuesday’s bike today and so the saddle and seat post were just a bit too high so we all pulled over to help her get in adjusted correctly. Just like most of our on road repairs it reminds you of the old stereotype of county road workers with one or two people working and everyone else watching. Still Rocket and Duramax got things fixed and we got ready to leave. Once back on our way Rocket and Highlander started to lead the way with Nathan, (Gambler) and Jessie, (Bandit) in tow.

Once we were in a pace line it wasn’t long till we were moving at a rather rapid pace for the whole group. We stayed together pretty well after Bandit and Jessie took the lead and crossed the river overpass at blistering pace for the B group. I have no idea what happened to Wart but I could see Red Rabbit up ahead of us and we were closing fast. We started to spread out a bit after Beowulf took the lead and he kicked it up a bit. Shortly after we passed Red Rabbit I took my last shot at the lead and fell to the back as Hitman and Rocket moved back to the front. The pace picked up and the pace line started to break up. Soon riders were falling off like heat shields off of the space shuttle and I found myself trying to cross the gap as they pulled out of line. There was no way I could catch the first three or four riders but I did catch two or three as we regrouped at the top of Domenigoni Saddle. I didn’t discover that we had picked up Casey Jones till we were all waiting to regroup and recover at the top of the Saddle.

Miscommunication raised its ugly head at this point as we talked about Cossack not feeling well and he might have to leave the ride. Because he lives in Murrieta some decided that was where we were turning. So you can imagine my surprise as I watch most of the group ride right through the light at Lindenburger. I tried calling to turn everyone around but it didn’t work so we had to regroup at Menifee and Domenigoni and work back through the houses to get back to Lindenburger. Finally I heard from Rocket, and arranged to meet up with him and Sidewinder at Menifee and Macall. Turns out he had Beowulf with him as well. Still no wart and Red Rabbit had turned for home. But I had most of the group with me except I had lost Highlander to the Rocket break away.

We waited at the bottom of Macall till Rocket and his contingent arrived and I received a formal complaint from Beowulf that Sidewinder doesn’t make enough of a draft for anyone to follow. Personally I find he makes about three times the wind shadow as Shadow does but I will admit it isn’t as much as one of the larger riders. Highlander called to say he was way out of the flight path and didn’t want us to wait for him so he would be heading home and because of time we lost Rocket, Cossack and Hitman. Still we had a good group and decided we would continue on north on Menifee all the way to Nuevo. I gave implicit instructions about stopping on Nuevo and Menifee and we all regrouped after a hard run with Beowulf and Sidewinder getting to Nuevo first. It was a short hop and a skip to Evans and we turned towards Ramona before heading home with Power surge taking the lead.

Once on Evans Power surge took the lead group with Bandit and Gambler to Ramona while Sidewinder, T-3, Duramax, Beowulf and I cruised several hundred yards behind. Sidewinder tried to close the gap between the lead group and the rest of us as we got to the bottom of the hill by Lake Parris but Power surge was kind enough to stop for us at the top of the grade so we regrouped and got ready for the next run to Lakeview. As we got ready to leave Sidewinder saw the downhill and simply couldn’t hold himself back. He took off like a sprint race and left some of us in his dust. Problem was he had Power surge, Bandit, Gambler, and Beowulf right behind him and they were not about to let him go.

After Sidewinder had maxed out the pace line behind him started to gain and as the hill leveled out they were like a runaway train and he learned a valuable lesson about when to break away and when to wait. His riding has improved every week and already is considered a valued member of our A group. As I watch Sidewinder develop I often wish I had a group of riders like the one we have that were as interested in seeing me get better as we are of wanting to see him mature as a rider. If he continues at this rate soon we will be moving him from the A group to our racing team. We just have to find a way to hold him back till he is ready. We had a conversation to this effect when we stopped to get more fluids at Lakeview but by the time we had rested for just a few minutes he was ready to go and chase Gambler and Bandit all the way to Sanderson.

Beowulf, Duramax, T-3 and I cruised along at a reduced pace till we got back to Ramona Road where we saw Gambler leave and head for home. Everyone started to break off and head for home after we got onto Lyon and while I wasn’t that tired I was having trouble because I got something caught in my throat and I couldn’t seem to get rid of it. I ended up riding most of the way home with Duramax and T-3 and by the time I got home I had just about 50 miles on the computer. The Hemet Century will be longer but no more difficult than the ride we had today so I feel confident we will have very little trouble with the ride on the 17th. I guess that will depend on the weather but if it is as nice as today it should be a great ride.