5/28/2010
By: C. Kent, aka (Superman)

Hemet, Ca.


I never know what to expect on a Friday ride. The problem is the rides take on a life of their own. That might not be a problem come to think of it because we ride for a different reason than some clubs. We ride because we enjoy riding and because we enjoy riding together. Today was a good looking morning and I had high hopes it would be a good ride.


Once I got to Burger King I didn’t have long to wait till people started showing up. Parky was already there and Duramax wasn’t far behind me. Some of our regulars showed up, Rocket, Cossack, Hit Man, Gambler, Sidewinder, and Raptor. I also noticed Kathryn, (Ocelot) had brought a whole new group of riders with her, Chad, Windy, Troy and Jay. Each and every one looked faster than me. Noel and his wife Mary joined us as well. It was 8am so we pulled out of the parking lot and headed for Devonshire to make the turn towards Lyon and then up to Ramona Expressway. Looking back I noticed we had picked up Huntress as well.

Raptor had left before us so we spent most of the time on Lyon trying to catch up to him. He made a turn somewhere before we got to Ramona so I lost him. Just before we got to Ramona I looked back to see the faster riders moving towards the front. I knew that soon I would have time for many more pictures because once I fell off of the lead the group would start to pull away and I wouldn’t see the front again till we stopped at the golf course. Once we made the turn onto Sanderson I pulled over and just as I suspected the faster riders started to pull away. I fell back with some of the new riders to make sure they made it down Gilman and onto Soboba.

The run down Soboba is almost always a good workout but everyone seemed to be taking it in stride. We regrouped at the golf course and then took off once again for the run to Florida and the final run up to the Ranger station. Some of the group broke off and went to Carl’s as we turned onto Florida and the rest of us made it to Ranger Station and once again regrouped for the ride back to Carl’s

Four of us made a break as we entered the trees coming back on Florida. Sidewinder was out in front but was caught off guard as the group passed him. We made it to Fairview where Cossack and Rocket planned to turn off and Hit man and I continued running hard knowing that if Sidewinder caught the lights right he would be on us before we got to Carl’s. We were in luck however and managed to get to the Ramona turnoff just as the light turned green. We went into a full sprint all the way to the driveway and got ready to go in for coffee. Much to our shock we got a call that one of our riders was down and everyone rode back passed Fairview to see if there was anything we could do. There is nothing quite like downed riders to make a group of cyclists seem like a tribe as when they are taking care of one of their fellow riders. It is always good to make new friends and it is always good to let them know you care. I hope all of our new found friends return to ride with us again soon. And may all the cuts and scrapes heal quickly.