7/28/2010
By: C. Kent, aka (Superman)


When we have such great weather I find that it is best to take advantage of it and ride as much as we can. Ok I will confess I try to ride as much as I can even when we don’t have great weather. Today was a good day for a ride and the weather seemed to be on our side. Turns out several of the riders that normally would have been out with us today had other commitments so we had a bit smaller group than I had expected. Still Cossack, Phoenix, Parky, Sherpa, cycoBob, Surgeon and a new rider Jim joined me as we pulled onto Latham and then headed up Lyon for the beginning of the run to Nuevo.


I was surprised to see Parky at the meeting place because he has been gone for so long that I had assumed he was off on one of his ride across some mid western state ride. I told him where we were going and expected him to take off in another direction only to meet up with us when we got to Chris’s. I was surprised again to see him following us closely down Lyon and heading for Ramona Road.
Phoenix expressed some concern about being able to keep up with us as we reached Ramona Expressway. It seems as if she hasn’t been feeling well but didn’t want to miss the ride. Jim told her that more than likely he would be riding with her because he had only been riding for a few weeks. All I could tell was that as we turned onto Ramona road and headed for Sanderson both of them seemed to be doing just fine. In fact I wasn’t sure I could keep up with either of them.

Once we did get rolling down Ramona Expressway Cossack took the lead and pulled cycoBob, Sherpa, Surgeon and Jim with him. I got caught at the light at Warren and Phoenix and Parky pulled up behind me. Shortly after we got started again I noticed CycoBob was stopped by the side of the road looking at a flat tire. I stopped to help and Phonix and Parky rode on expecting a quick change and that we would catch them before we got to Nuevo. Didn’t work out like that because CycoBob’s spare tube was bad. But we were in luck because Casey Jones showed up and had a tube that would work.
We finally got back on our way and regrouped with some of the others at the small service station on Lakeview and Ramona. After a few seconds rest we pulled out onto Lakeview and promptly Surgeon and I lost the rest of the group. Turns out that CycoBob and Sherpa couldn’t remember seeing Jim ride by when they were stopped so they were trying to call him as we left. Pretty soon Cossack and Casey Jones caught up with us and we saw Parky ahead as we turned on Nuevo road. We caught Parky on Menifee and I slowed to ask if he had seen Jim. Turns out he didn’t and by the time I looked up Cossack, Surgeon and Casey Jones were fading into the landscape. Phoenix call from up in front of us and told me she had Jim with her and would meet me at Chris’s.

I picked it up a bit and headed for Simpson when I got another call from Phoenix saying Jim had a flat and didn’t have a tube. I managed to find where they were waiting and assisted in the changing of the second flat of the day. But just as we were about to get back on the road Phoenix noticed her tire was a bit low. A quick look let me know we had a goat head and our third flat. After another tire change we finally were on our way and heading for Chris’s.

After some coffee and conversation those of us still together started for home. A quick run up Winchester and a turn onto Stowe and we were on our way. Normally this is the part of the ride were we do most of our talking and today was no different. Sherpa explained the advantages of clipless pedals to Jim and Phoenix and I discussed me catching her off guard when I took my pictures. It only took a few minutes before we were at California and Stetson. Phoenix left us as we turned on Gilmore and I rode back to Burger King with the rest of the group.

After watching Jim and CycoBob load his car Sherpa and I rode home together. It turned into a 38 mile ride at a bit over 16 MPH and the temperature was in the mid 80s as I got home. I got all the way home before I discovered my back wheel wasn’t on correctly and my rear brake had been dragging ever so slightly all day. I still had a good time and enjoyed the company almost as much as the ride. This week has turned out to be a great week to be a cyclist living in our area.