5/10/2010
By: C. Kent, aka (Superman)

Hemet, Ca.

Last week it seemed as if summer was almost here. I know some people don’t like the heat but for early morning rides a little warmth seems nice. In fact I did a ride to the beach on Saturday and the weather was close to perfect till late in the afternoon when it got just a bit windy. When I opened up the shades on the front window the sky seemed pretty clear so I expected the same weather we had Saturday. However by the time I got my kit on and went out of the front door I knew I would have to right back in to put on leg warmers and arm warmers. It was cold and windy and the sky was clouding over right before my very eyes.

Considering the weather we had a reasonable turnout for today’s ride. There was some small suggestions that we might want to shorten the ride, maybe even to just riding over to Starbucks about a block away. But we decided to go through with the ride anyway so we took off north on Lyon towards the Ramona expressway with Oso Rojo, Tool man and Sherpa setting the pace.


I thought I would have a hard time hanging on today because I had been up late in Loma Linda with a friend and didn’t get home till after 2am. Not getting enough sleep turns out to be just as hard on the legs as not having breakfast and I was suffering from both maladies at the start of this ride. Looking over my shoulder I could see Sidewinder, Hit man, T-3, Red Rabbit, and Duramax. Turning back to look in front I could see Sherpa, Jerry, (Sling Shot) Oso Rojo and Tool man. The problem as I could see it was once out on Ramona the pace would pick up and if the wind was in our face the run down to Lakeview can be exhausting.

Much as I suspected the pace picked up as we turned onto Ramona and I managed to hold my own at first. I even took my turn pulling till we got to Bridge Street and when I pulled out of line I lost the draft and the group split. Duramax and I took turns pulling the second half of the group to Lakeview and we all regrouped at the gas station on the corner. After leaving the gas station we took a few minute to get back in line while Oso Rojo, Raptor, and Sherpa headed for Nuevo Road. Once the rest of us we in line Sidewinder and I pulled everyone up to the lead group and we managed to ride to Menifee together.

Once we got to Mapes Street I realized I had enough energy to make it to Chris’s so I started feeling much better. We regrouped and were making the small climb to Brigs street while the big dogs barked greeting at us from behind fences. Just as we passed an open gate a small pack of dogs raced down the driveway at us or maybe it would be more accurate to say a pack of small dogs raced out at us. They weren’t serious about catching us because most of them would have to jump to get to our feet but they were letting us know they were there. Just as we were about to ride passed then a small brown Terrier took off running passed us as if to throw down the challenge of how fast he was. And he was fast because I got it up to 20 and didn’t pass the little guy. I couldn’t go any faster up hill and he didn’t race me down hill so I guess he won.

We quickly rode through the houses on the south side of the High School and soon found ourselves on the old dump road heading towards Leon. As we got passed Leon and headed for the rise on Grand Sidewinder and I were riding side by side. It wasn’t long before we got into a sprint and we both laughed as we pulled up at the end of the sprint. It felt good to put out the effort. Then I caught a glance of Tool man closing behind us and warned Sidewinder that he was coming. Tool man forced a second sprint before we got to the Pentecostal church and we got to the stop sign at Winchester a minute or two before the rest of the group. We all pulled into Chris’s in a long stream or riders maybe 20 yards apart. Parky was already waiting for us and had his coffee and breakfast waiting when we walked in.

On a morning like this coffee seemed to be the drink of the day and we enjoyed a cup or two as we tried to warm up. It turned out to be a good ride despite the wind and despite the cool weather. Sling Shot and Red Rabbit were the first to leave because they were going to go have a big breakfast somewhere. Oso Rojo and Tool Man got ready to leave next but they decided to wait while the rest of us got ready. It was good to see Sherpa back with us and there were many times during the ride he pushed the rest of us just to show he was back and getting stronger.

The ride home passed the airport was relaxed as we turned off of Stetson and headed towards Sanderson. We split up once more as Sherpa, Duramax, T-3 and I rode down Johnson together towards home. As much as I like riding I like riding with friends even more. Even if it was a cool windy this turned into a good ride.