4/17/2010
By: C. Kent, aka (Superman)

Hemet, Ca

Special Report

I got up early or should I say I didn’t sleep well so I got up early so I could get breakfast and get ready for the first half of Hemet Double Century. I was looking forward to riding with some friends and getting a chance to meet new friends. As I got dressed I got a text message from Sidewinder they he had picked up his new bike and was ready to go except he was short a spare tube. So I rode over to his house and gave him one so we could ride over to the Motel together. It was dark but we were looking forward to the ride. We got to the Motel about 5:30 am. By 6 am our entire small group had arrived and we were getting ready to go. Just as the sun came up we took off towards Florida and Down to Warren Mark, “Metric man” pulled up next to me and was highlighted as the sun came up over Idyllwild.


The run down Ramona was easy and quick with our whole group catching and passing a few riders and a few riders caught and passed us. But as we got to Lakeview Beowulf, Metric man and I hit the hill hard and took turns leading the way to the top of the second climb and made quick work of the downhill and the turn at Evans. I stopped to wait for the group to catch up and Beowulf attached himself to two other riders I had passed earlier. We took the ride up Evans smoothly and encouraged each other that we were making good time. Metric man, Huntress and I continued on together towards the turn on

After we made the turn onto Alessandro Duramax, T-3, Ruby Tuesday and I pedaled along easily waiting for Sidewinder who had stopped to remove a long sleeve shirt he had on under his jersey. He soon caught us and took off in pursuit of Metric man and Huntress and then Beowulf. We were planning on regrouping at the first rest stop where we would refresh a bit and continue on.

At the rest stop I may not have eaten enough feeling that my large breakfast was still working for me but I still felt pretty good. Just as everyone was ready to leave Beowulf thought he recognized a rider passing the rest stop and took off. It didn’t take long before Sidewinder was going after him. Many of us knew we were looking forward to a long downhill where Alessandro and Central came together. The trouble is as a cyclist we all knew that for every long downhill you get to enjoy there is a long uphill somewhere to pay for it. But what I was thinking about is my hope that Sidewinder had stayed with Beowulf so he would get to the next rest stop safely.

As we turned onto Victoria we did a mini regroup and rode pretty much together all the way down the road towards Filmore. A few miles down the road T-3 got a flat and we waited while it was repaired. With the help of Duramax it was fixed in short order and we were back on our way heading for Corona and the turn south. It is that southern turn that pays for the long downhill we had on Alessandro. I was very impressed with T-3 and Ruby Tuesday as they set a constant pace up south Main Street to Foothill. Once we made that turn we knew we were within striking distance of Tom’s Farms. What I didn’t know was that Sidewinder had a flat ahead of us and didn’t have a pump. However another rider stopped to help him and he was waiting for us as we got to the rest area.

When we left Tom’s Farm Metric man, Huntress and Sidewinder left first. Beowulf was already gone and that left 4 of us to ride together. I started the pull to Elsinore and we feeling pretty good till right about the 70 mile mark and suddenly I hit the wall. It was like my power meter went flat and my legs filled with cement. As Duramax passed me he asked of I was OK and all I could say was that I was cooked. I fell in line behind Ruby Tuesday and T-3 as Duramax pulled us into Elsinore. Thank goodness we crested the grade about a mile up the road and I had a chance to recharge a bit as we tagged in behind two other riders. We followed them all the way to Railroad Canyon and made it to the rest stop on LaLadera.

Thank goodness for Duramax because he had to pull me most of the way back to warren road before I was ready to take my turn pulling once again. I took my turn to Sanderson and then like a horse heading for the barn took off for the finish. I caught and passed two of the riders that had been in front of us for most of the ride and they followed me into the Motel parking lot. I saw Huntress loading her bike and Metric man pulling out of the parking lot. Sidewinder was finishing his lunch as I walked in and Duramax, T-3, Ruby Tuesday and Huntress checked in right after me. It wasn’t one of my best rides but I enjoyed it and was glad I had friends to ride with.