6/30/2010
By: C. Kent, aka (Superman)


I was feeling a bit groggy for some reason when I got up but I knew I wanted to get ready for a ride. By the time I had a cup of coffee and breakfast I was feeling a lot better. One look outside told me it was going to be another good day for a ride. A few minutes later Sidewinder stopped by so we could ride to Burger King together. I finished my coffee and we were on our way.

When we pulled into the parking lot Parky and wart were already there. It is always good to see both of them considering Wart is recovering from an altercation with a car and Parky has been AWOL for other reasons. As we chatted Surgeon pulled up followed by Rocket, Brian, (Double Shot) and Shadow walked up to visit while the rest of our riders arrived. Centaur and the Phoenix pulled up and as we chatted some more Gambler pulled up on a brand new Giant TCR that we all drooled over. It was a beautiful White and Red with white and red American Classic White and Red Aero wheels. By the time Cossack, Duramax, T-3, Huntress, Oso Rojo and Hit Man pulled up everyone had commented on Gambler’s new ride. We were 13 Strong and ready to hit the road so off we went down Gilmore towards Acacia.


Like most days we made it to Acacia and over to Kirby pretty quickly and then made the rapid run to Cypress Street and over to Johnston before catching the light at Sanderson. Well to be honest half of us got caught at the light on Johnston and Sanderson and the other half made it to Stetson and caught that light. Rocket had to leave us at Stetson so the rest of us stayed in a pretty close pace line almost all the way to Domenigoni. We did lose some at the light on Mustang but we regrouped after we turned onto Domenigoni. It was about here that the ride was kicked up a notch. Once Double Shot got the lead we started a run down Domenigoni that averaged 19.2 MPH all the way to the Saddle

We divided into two groups and for the first time in a long time I found myself in line with the lead group as we cruised down the road taking turns pulling. We lost Oso Rojo at Warren due to his work schedule but we still had half of the group running up front and slowly pulling away. We stacked up a bit at Warren but we started to stretch out again pretty quickly. One by one the lead riders pulled off till I found myself pulling after we passed Leon. I was too far back from the hill to make a run for it and I knew I was in no position to participate in the traditional sprint so I simply continued my pull till the sprint took place. After about half of the lead pack passed me I managed to grab a wheel and hold my place in the middle of the pack. Most of the group continued on as I waited for the other group before heading down the back side of the saddle and headed for Menifee.

We made reasonable work of Menifee road and regrouped at Scott Road before running all the way to Murrieta Road. Once again we regrouped and I discussed the rest of the route to McCall and over to Chris’s.


Murrieta road is a high speed run almost all the way to Newport and we were all in one long line within sight of each other. As we got close to the turn on McCall I noticed we had picked up a Mini Van that was following us and blocking the lane so no cars would come up behind us. Looking in the window of the Mini Van you could see a man with a MTB helmet and a small American Flag waving out of the driver’s side window. The man turned out to be a transplant from Argentina named Eduardo? Anyway he felt it wasn’t safe for us to be on the road without an escort so he followed us all the way back to Hemet. All of us however made it back safely to the airport where our blocking vehicle left us.

By the time I got home I had just over 40 miles on the clock and our average speed was a lot quicker than I had thought it would be. One of the great things about our group is the focus is on having a good time while we ride and if today is any indication we succeed far more often than we fail.

6/28/2010
By: C. Kent, aka (Superman)


Finally I got up and my legs weren’t sore from my attempted hike with Hit man and Huntress. I decided that I just might enjoy today’s ride even more than I have the rides last week. I had breakfast, got into my kit, put air in my tires, put the water bottles on the bike and headed out of the door. The ride to the Burger King was quiet and uneventful.

I pulled into the parking lot to see Wart had rejoined us and he was standing next to Duramax. We didn’t have long to chat before Light Saber, T-3, Cossack, Surgeon, Sidewinder, Rocket and After Burner arrived. We only had ten riders on such a beautiful day so I decided to add a few miles to our planned route. We left right at 8 am and Tax Man joined before we got to Acacia. I didn’t even notice him till we got to Cypress and made the turn towards Johnson.


I was thinking the two young riders, Sidewinder and After Burner would keep the speedsters busy and the rest of us could cruise on to State Street. But I figured wrong because no one wanted to take off and I ended up pulling all the way to the light at the Marina. We all stayed together to State Street before Rocket started to pick up the pace and Cossack had to go with him. I fell back to talk to Tax man and watched as Light Saber and Surgeon pulled away as well. As we got to Thornton I noticed Rocket as on the side of the road on his cell phone. Turns out he had to leave us and we didn’t catch up to the lead group till we got to Columbia. Cossack had the group wait for us and we continued on towards Lake Street through the Housing track.

I fell back to ride with Tax Man as we traveled down Stetson to Fairview and he left us to go home and take care of family matters as we got there. I followed everyone up Fairview until Sidewinder decided to come back and see if I was OK. I told him I was fine and we finally caught up to Duramax, T-3 and Light Saber. After about a mile Sidewinder took off and I stayed with them till we got to the white fence area and I noticed that every time we got to a bit of a climb Light Saber would pull ahead of me. I finally got to a bit of flat area and managed to pull away a bit but I had to push myself all the way to the top. I managed to get there just a few seconds before Light Saber.

The run back down to Fairview was fast but into the wind. I had to pedal all the down and managed to chase Cossack most of the way to the last little hill before he just pulled away from me. Before I made the hard left turn I managed to run off the road into the sand. It was all I could do to stay upright until I stopped and I was so relieved I hadn’t crashed that I forgot to unclip and I simply fell over in the sand and laughed at myself. I picked myself up and we all rode on to Carl’s, except Cossack who had to go home. I even tried my hand at drafting Shadow but it still doesn’t work.


We had coffee and conversation for a while and finally Afterburner had to leave so he and Sidewinder headed back for Burger King. We were glad to see Ocelot stop by after taking a break from getting her house painted and soon she left as well. In the end it was Shadow, Light Saber and I heading back to the west end of town.

All in all it was a great ride even if the wind did kick up a pit towards the end of it. Duramax and T-3 decided to do a repeat of Bautista so we didn’t get a chance to see them on the way home and I am sure they got in a lot more miles than I did. Still I got in close to 40 on an easy day with great weather. I will miss this group when I am on vacation.

6/25/2010
By: C. Kent, aka (Superman)



Even if it was Friday and even if traditionally I have planned some rather easy rides for Friday I was a bit concerned about today’s ride. Wednesday I had a suspicion that the women had made a pre-run of the ride and seeded the road with goat heads. Knowing the trap that was set they stayed home while the men suffered five flats. With that in mind I did the anti flat dance on the way out to get the paper this morning. I chanted the anti flat chant all the way back in to drink my coffee and read my paper. With this positive reinforcement I got ready to ride over to Burger King to see who would be joining me.

I got to the parking lot first but it wasn’t long before I was joined by Duramax, After Burner and Sherpa. Light Saber and Ocelot pulled up just minutes apart and Rocket was just in front of them. Gambler and Bandit Pulled up only minutes apart. Surgeon and Raptor were next to pull up and we thought we were about ready to leave. We were joined by Bob from Cycopath and we took off towards Latham and Lyon. Just as we got ready to turn on Lyon Brian joined us and told me he was planning on joining the splinter group that would be leaving us and heading to Oak Glen.



I spent a few minutes on Lyon trying to get my cycle computer to pick up the speed sensor and finally by Menlo everything seems to be working like it should. I looked north towards Ramona and saw nothing but clear blue sky. It seems like we had picked another beautiful day for a ride and I was looking forward to it. The plan was for the group to split at Sanderson with the regular riders heading for Nuevo and some of the A group heading up Lambs Canyon to start a climb to Oak Glen. The name of the ride was the Apple Hill ride and Sherpa, Rocket, Brian, After Burner and Bob were going to be the ones to give that a try. After making the turn off of Lyon onto Ramona Expressway I pulled the group to Sanderson where we split up.


Once we made it through the light at Sanderson we started a long steady pull towards Lakeview. I was very impressed with Light Saber and Ocelot because they held onto the lead group well passed Warren and even well passed Bridge Street. Surgeon and the lead group started pulling away from us about the time we got to the large soccer player cutouts on the side of the road. They made the light and the left turn off of Ramona about 150 yards ahead of us and we regrouped at the gas station on Lakeview. We made the decision to go to Kelly’s for coffee for our next stop and it became obvious that Bandit hadn’t done the anti flat dance before leaving home because he got a flat as soon as we turned onto Lakeview. Once the flat was fixed everyone took off and Duramax stayed with me as I followed Ocelot and Light Saber towards Nuevo and Menifee road.

We closed on the other group a bit as we got to Grand and somehow got ahead of them when they stopped at Chris’s by mistake. They caught us at Stowe and we continued on first to California and then to Stetson. Once again I was impressed with Ocelot and Light Saber as I noticed our average speed for the ride had been 16.4 and Light Saber’s brake had been dragging for about 1/3 of the ride. Ocelot even attacked me with a sprint once or twice showing she still had a lot of energy left even towards the end of the ride.


Once we got passed the airport it was long before we were at the light on Sanderson waiting to make the left turn and head for Kelly’s. Today we were in luck because there was a car at the light with us so we even got to make the turn on the first light change. It was a quick run to Kelly’s and something cold to drink before we headed for home. I ended up following Ocelot and Duramax most of the way back to my house before leaving them as I turned onto my housing tract. I only got in 37 miles today but I had a great time and enjoyed the time spent with my friends. I think we are going to have a good summer and hope for many more good rides before fall.

6/23/2010
By: C. Kent, aka (Superman)




When I managed to drag myself out of bed this morning all I knew was I needed a cup of coffee. One look outside however told me it was going to be a good day for a ride. Clear skies, no wind and warm weather are about the best you could ask for if you are a cyclist. So as I walked out of the front door and got on my bike that was what I was thinking.

I stopped by on my way to the parking lot to pick up Dmitry, “After Burner” and we arrived at Burger king just before Duramax and Rocket. We didn’t have long to wait before Surgeon, Shadow Sherpa and Cossack arrived as well.

I don’t tend to tell war stories but one thing I noticed when I was in Viet Nam was that if the locals didn’t show up for work at the fire base camp it was because we were going to have a bad day. When I looked around I noticed there were no women riders. Ocelot, Light Saber and T-3 were missing and Huntress was out of the state. I should have suspected something wasn’t right at that point. Still we cut across the Mall parking lot to travel down Kirby because Gilmore had some mud on it from a broken water main.



Things were still going smoothly as we ran down Kirby and passed Acacia pretty much in one group. I was thinking it was going to be a rather quick easy ride today even if we did have more than 42 miles to go. We already had good pace going as we turned onto Cypress and I looked back to see some good friends following me. Sherpa had promised to take it easy on his knees and Shadow was still recovering from at least two if not three falls. Duramax said he was a bit tired today but I knew even tired he would hold a steady pace once we got to Domenigoni. I figured that Rocket, Cossack, Surgeon and After Burner would be in one group and Duramax, Sherpa, Shadow and I would be in the other.


After Burner got in front and took off down Sanderson with Cossack and Surgeon and Rocket in pursuit. Once onto Domenigoni we regrouped and soon were headed for Warren road at about 22 or 23 mph. After the river overpass we started to split up a bit and Shadow joined the lead 4 as they took off for Winchester. At first Surgeon and I followed until we got to Winchester and then Surgeon tagged onto the lead group and I fell back to ride with Sherpa and Duramax. When we got close to the Domenigoni Saddle Sherpa got a flat. Rocket, Duramax and I stopped while the flat was fixed. When we got to the top of the saddle After Burner was fixing another flat. We split up at Menifee road with Cossack and Rocket stopping by Cossack’s church and the rest of us heading for Scott Road. We got over to Hawn and sprinted down to Holland and over to Bradley only to see Cossack with a flat. Like true friends we all watched as he fixe the flat and smiled.


We were soon back on the road and heading down Holland to Murrieta then left on Newport and over to the park on LaLadera. After a brief stop we were on our way again and eagerly looking forward to getting over to McCall and hitting the hill going towards home. It was easy to see that After Burner loves hills and maybe even as much as Shadow. We moved easily passed the Ground Owl habitat before making the left turn on Valley Boulevard.
The pace kicked up again as we topped McCall and headed down Simpson road. It was even quicker as we turned on Leon and again on Grand. We made quick work of Winchester road and everything was going good till we turned onto Stowe. Now Rocket got a flat and After Burner got a second flat. Five flats in one day must be some kind or record and it sure increased the time our ride was taking. Still we got After Burner another tube and watched as both he and rocket got ready tot get back on the road. It was our plan on making a stop at Kelly’s for Coffee or cold drinks and that is pretty much what happened.


We rehydrated at Kelly’s and got a chance to talk about the ride and even watch some soccer and exchange cell phone numbers. Even with all of the flats it turned out to be a good ride. I ended up with about 44 miles and considering how hard it is to get the tire off and on my rims it was a good thing. We might still be out there changing tires. All I can say for sure is that we have a good group of people to ride with.

6/21/2010
By: C. Kent, aka (Superman)





When I got up this morning it was with mixed emotions. I wanted to see my friends and go for a ride but I was also sore from a weekend hike. I had planned on a quick easy ride east so if I couldn’t keep up I knew I could cut my part of the ride short and meet everyone at Carl’s. But I also felt like taking another day off for my legs to stop hurting or at least loosen up. Seeing friends won out so I got up, had breakfast and got dressed for the ride.

I got to the parking lot about the same time as Ocelot and just before Rocket. For a while it looked like we were going to be the whole group. But soon Surgeon, Duramax, T-3 and Raptor pulled up as well. As we chatted lightly Sherpa arrived followed by a new rider, Dmitry, who was joining us for the first time. The next was Cossack followed by the last to arrive, Quicksticks, just as we got ready to leave. We pulled out of the parking lot about 8 am and headed towards Lyon and making the turn North. My legs were still pretty tight at this point and I was wondering if I was ever going to be able to catch up with the front of the pack to get a picture. Cossack and Dmitry pulled us almost all the way to Ramona Road.



I finally got to the front just before we reached Ramona Road and headed for State Street. I had already heard that Dmitry was pretty quick so I pointed out who I thought would be in the A group today and told him what I expected to happen when we got to Soboba. We made the turn onto State Street and as I expected Rocket, Cossack, Sherpa and Surgeon got into position to lead us onto Soboba road and started to pull away from the rest of us and Dmitry held on to that group. Just as I had predicted the A group started their run as soon as they made the right turn.


After the turn was made Duramax, T-3 and Ocelot got into a line and started a pretty decent run of their own. I was riding in the back chatting away with Quicksticks watching as they started up the first little hill. All three of them had been riding over the weekend. Ocelot had put in more than 65 miles on Saturday and T-3 and Duramax had done hill repeats with Sherpa on Sunday. I wasn’t sure if I could keep up with any of them as they got over the first hill and headed for the second. It didn’t take long before Quicksticks had picked up his pace a bit and we were on their wheels by the top of the second hill. I was pretty impressed with Quicksticks because he has been off of his bike for at least a month, or at least he hasn’t been out with us during that time. Still I fell in behind Ocelot and drafted both her and T-3 till we got close to the Golf course.


We regrouped at the Golf course and caught our breath while some took the time to shed extra bike jackets, arm warmers or vests. As we pulled away the group spread out a long way and soon we got separated by a stop light and then two stoplights. However as we turned off of Washington and Ramona to get over to Fairview the A group allowed us to regroup and follow them all the way to Florida. As we got ready to make the turn towards Cranston station Quicksticks decided to make the run back to Carl’s.

Rocket, Cossack, Dmitry, Surgeon and I started up to Cranston Station with rocket setting the pace. I was on Dmitry’s wheel and noticed that he was doing a very good job of staying straight and following the draft of the rider in front of him. I looked down and noticed that we were running along between 20 and 21 MPH. That is faster than I have been able to run up Florida all by myself. Before we entered the trees Rocket pulled off of the front and Cossack kept up the pace all the way into the opening after the tree line. About 200 yards before the Station driveway Rocket came from in back and I attempted to go with him but it just wasn’t going to happen and my sore legs started to complain just as soon as I got started. About 50 yards from the driveway Dmitry came back passed me. We all regrouped under the trees at Cranston Station.


I mentioned to Dmitry that the run back down to Carl’s might be a bit quicker than we had been running all morning and he simply got a big smile on his face. Surgeon took us back down to the trees and a bit passed with Sherpa on his wheel. It didn’t take long before the pace line picked up and we were taking turns pulling up to about 24 or 25 as we got close to Fairview. Cossack broke off and headed for home and Rocket, Dmitry, Sherpa and I continued to run for Carl’s. We pulled in a few minutes later to find Quicksticks waiting for us. It was time for coffee and conversation. Half of us rode back towards Burger King and half went towards Stetson. By the time I got home I had just over 33 miles. Another great day with great friends and my legs even felt even better.

6/18/2010
By: C. Kent, aka (Superman)





When I first got up this morning I noticed a lot of light coming through the front drapes and we very impressed when I noticed the clear blue sky once I opened those same drapes and looked out. I could tell it was going to be a good day for a ride. I could only hope others would feel the same way. While I do enjoy riding I will admit I enjoy it even more when I get a chance to ride with good friends. I got dressed and even left the house a bit earlier than normal so that I got to the parking no one else had arrived. But I didn’t have long to wait before a full group of riders showed up for the days ride.

It took a while for everyone to greet each other and we had two brand new riders join us for the first time, Eyrn and Mary. I took a quick head count before we pulled out of the parking lot and we had sixteen riders ready and eager to go.


While Raptor had to leave a bit early and take a slightly different path than the rest of us we did manage to get all fifteen remaining riders down Gilmore and over to Lyon. It was pleasing to look back and see all the happy looking riders and all the different colored jerseys and bikes. It wasn’t long before we made it passed Stetson and made the turn onto Thornton. Surgeon, Beowulf and Shadow were up front as we moved passed the first two blocks. It was good to See Shadow back with us as it was to have Beowulf there to make sure the group stayed together.


As we moved through the quiet little neighborhoods between Lyon and State Street everyone looked eager and seemed to be riding strong. The female contingency of the group seemed to be doing as well as any of us. They also looked every bit as relaxed and determined as any of us. Huntress was up front nipping at the heels of the normal A group riders and the rest looked like they would have no trouble running over me if I didn’t stay on my toes. Ocelot was due for a good day and T-3 never ceases to impress me. Light Saber gets better with every ride and Mary looked like she fit right in with the rest of them.


We finally turned onto State and Surgeon and Beowulf pulled us all the way to Domenigoni. With Beowulf pulling we made quick work of the road till we passed Sanderson. It looked to me like we were bunching up a bit so I moved forward and asked Beowulf to pick it up a bit to see if we could spread out the line a little. By the time we got to Warren road Hit man and Sherpa were breaking away with the bit of the A group we had for the day. I watched as Cossack, Hit man, Surgeon, Eyrn, Beowulf, Huntress, Sherpa, Light Saber, Gambler and Shadow slowly pulled away from the rest of us. Once on top of the Domenigoni Saddle we regrouped and got ready for the run down the other.


Next it was a quick turn on Lindenberger before crossing Sempson and making the turn on Heritage. Next we ran north on Menifee to the Mini Mart on Florida and Menifee for a short break. Once we were refreshed and refueled it was a fast run north and a regroup at Nuevo Road. I got a late run at Menifee when I went back to the store to turn in a set of keys we found in the parking lot and I simply couldn’t close ground on the group before they got to Nuevo. I can only hope they didn’t have to wait too long but they seemed ready as I rounded the corner and followed Sherpa and Surgeon towards Lakeview. We made the turn and headed north towards Ramona expressway and once again the pace picked up. Sherpa was pulling us along about 21 MPH and all in all everyone seemed able to keep up. We did end up dropping a rider but I fell back and pulled till we got close to the main group again.


At the last regroup there was no reason not to let the A riders ride whatever pace they wanted on Ramona Expressway and as we pulled out onto the road that is pretty much what they did. We still had quite a few riders and we set a reasonable pace line of about 19 MPH. This seemed to be about the perfect pace for the group at this stage of the ride and I started thinking of stopping for coffee at the end of the ride. Huntress and Hit man pulled us all the way to Warren Road and Duramax pulled us most of the way to Sanderson. As I got close to Sanderson I pulled out to catch Duramax and let him know where I wanted to stop for coffee and got around the corner on Sanderson in front. As I headed to Ramona road I could feel someone closing on me rather quickly only to see it was Ocelot just stretching her legs. She was a lot stronger today than she had been Wednesday and I am not so sure that if I hadn’t stopped to regroup once more she might have passed and dropped me on the way to Lyon.


As we got closer to Latham some of the remaining riders had to break for home but we still had a pretty good group as we stopped and socialized over coffee or cold drinks at the Mall. I ended up with just over 43 miles and was still feeling pretty strong. I got a chance to get to know Mary and Eyrn a bit as well as spend some quality time with Huntress, Surgeon, Shadow, Light Saber and Hit man. Like I have said many times it just doesn’t get much better than good friends, good weather, and a good ride.

6/16/2010
By: C. Kent, aka (Superman)

Hemet, Ca.

There are times when a plan works out and times when it doesn’t. Today was one of those better planned days, at least for me. I got up and it was a bit overcast and maybe just a touch cool but I just knew it would burn off and what difference did it make if I had to start the ride with knee warmers?

As I pulled into the parking lot I noticed Ocelot and Light Saber pacing in front of the windows like two Lionesses waiting for prey. As soon as I dismounted both of them started talking about adding mileage to whatever ride we did that day because they were both feeling especially strong this morning. In fact everyone seemed to be feeling pretty good as they rode up. It was good to see Raptor and Beowulf back with us after being gone for a while. Rocket, Hit man, T-3 and Brian showed up as well. Surgeon and Bob from Cyclopath rounded out the group because Huntress was running late and planned to meet up with us out on Domenigoni somewhere close to Winchester.


I was counting on Rocket, Brian, Beowulf, Surgeon and Hit man making up the A group and Duramax, Ocelot, Light saber, T-3 and I making up the B group. I didn’t know who Bob would wish to ride with but he had his choice.

We quickly made our way down Gilmore and over to Acacia and finally Cypress as we got ready to work our way over towards the airport and West Stetson.


As we headed towards California Street on Stetson I have to admit I was feeling pretty good and for a change thought I would see if I could hang on if Rocket and the group made a charge down Stowe. I remembered to hydrate before I left home today and I had eaten a good breakfast to when they took off I went with them. Rocket, Brian, Surgeon, Beowulf, Hit man, Bob and I made short work of Stowe with Brian and Rocket doing most of the work. It was when we stopped at Winchester that I planned to spring a twist into the day’s ride for the A group and I thought I had an interesting twist.

Plans don’t always work out however because Rocket got a call and had to leave and Hit man had to make a quick run to Chris’s so that when we all left Winchester and Stowe we were down two A group riders. We turned onto Grand and then Leon where we stopped and I explained the special nature of the rest of the ride. I was sending the A group, now consisting of Brian and Beowulf, right on Simpson to Lindenburger and finally Domenigoni while the rest of us went left to Winchester. If my calculation were correct the A group would have to average a bit more than 23 MPH maybe even 24 just to catch us if we averaged only 18. Without Rocket it was going to be hard for just two of them to make that kind of pull. As it turned out they caught Hit Man and Huntress but we did manage to make it to State Street where we waited and regrouped with Brian and Beowulf and then met up with Hit man and Huntress at the golf course on Thornton.


The rest of the ride over towards Fairview was rather normal and we stayed together pretty well until Lake and had to regroup once more on Fairview and Stetson. It was a quick jump down to Florida and then over to Carl’s. We had some quality conversation and coffee and then a few of us started the ride back towards Burger King and home.

After Huntress turned off for home we rode together and chatted until Hit man and Beowulf broke off. Duramax, Bob, Ocelot, Light Saber, T-3 and I rode the rest of the way to Gilmore where we saw Bob back to his car and Light Saber turned for home as well.

I stopped by the Bike Shop for a minute with Ocelot and then the remaining four of us heading down Lyon and Johnson. I made the turn for my house and waved good bye to my friends as noticed that I was right at 38 miles and only three blocks from home. Once again it was a good ride punctuated by good company and good weather.