8/11/2010
By: C. Kent, aka (Superman)



I was still a bit sore from Tuesday afternoon’s ride up Bautista but I had already planned a ride to Juniper Flats so I knew I would have to be my best by ride tome no matter what. I had a good breakfast and some coffee, took some allergy pills and headed for the parking lot. I got there right after Duramax and we joked about having a small turnout because I had plotted a ride over Juniper Flats. Still by 8am we had nine riders and they were all smiles as we rode down Latham to Lyon and made the turn for Ramona Road.

We moved along at a pretty good pace as we passed Devonshire and Menlo heading for Ramona Road. It was still a bit cool for a summer morning in Hemet but no one was complaining. I had heard Ocelot teasing some of the new riders about Juniper Flats being Juniper “no so” flat. I knew Afterburner was looking forward to the climb and I was pretty sure Gambler was going to push the pace a bit. All I was hoping to do was stay within sight of the rest of the group as we headed towards Nuevo on Ramona Expressway. But just as we turned onto Ramona Road and were getting up to speed I heard someone call out “FLAT” and the whole group pulled over. Sure enough Afterburner picked up a Goat Head.

I have mentioned before that every flat tire seems to be a tire changing clinic. I didn’t figure this would be much different because I had never seen Afterburner change a flat before. Didn’t really matter however because Gambler stepped in and assisted Afterburner as we all watched. About that time I heard Ocelot let out a little squeal and watched Duramax pull a Goat Head from her front tire. We weren’t sure it was leaking air but it was decided that we should change it while Afterburner changed his. I did notice that Ocelot got just a bit more help than Afterburner.

We finally got all the tires changed and were on our way. We stayed together pretty well till we passed Warren Road when the group split and I fell back to be with Duramax, Ocelot, and Huntress. Once we got into a pace line CycoBob fell back to help pull till we caught up to the lead group when they turned off of Ramona expressway.

Once we made the turn towards Juniper Flats the group split again and I stayed with the B group till we got to the last stop sign before the climb. I took off and started to see what kind of time I could make going up the hill. I was making pretty good time and when I looked back I could see someone was closing on me. All I knew for sure was whoever it was looked like they were going a lot faster than me. I managed to got to the stop sign before I got run down and when I looked to see who was chasing me it turned out to be Huntress. If I hadn’t had such a big lead I think she would have run over me. We all made it over the last little climb and decided to stop at Chris’s for Coffee. Ocelot and Huntress looked a lot more rested than the rest or maybe they just always look more relaxed than we do.

We rested and I had some coffee while we talked about and relived what turned out to be a pretty good ride. Afterburner was getting a bit antsy but we weren’t ready to leave yet. What I was impressed with is how well Jim did for his first trip up the Flats. I remember the first time I rode up the flats and how I felt like my lungs were going to explode before I got to the top. I was never so happy to see a stop sign in my life as I was to see the one at the end of Juniper Flats. I was also very unimpressed when I noticed I had one little rise left before we could start down towards Florida.

Soon we decided to get back on the bikes and head for home. There is something relaxing about the ride home even if it turns out to be quicker than you expected. We all cruised back passed the airport and finally back to Sanderson. Gambler took us through the Lowes parking lot and I ended up riding with Jim and CycoBob back to Burger King. Huntress wasn’t far behind us. After seeing everyone safely back to their cars I headed for home and saw Bounty Hunter on his way home from the Hospital. I managed to get in a great 39 miles with friends and see a good friend recovering from a hard fall. It was a good day.