10/06/2010
By: C. Kent, aka (Superman)



I didn’t know if we were going to get in a ride today but all I could hope for was that it would start off better today than it did Monday. As I walked out to get the paper at least the street was still dry and there was just a hint of blue sky. It was a bit cool so I decided a base layer would be in order and maybe a long sleeve Jersey.

I got to Burger King after Wolf, Duramax and Centaur and we talked briefly before Valkyrie, Highlander and Casey Jones pulled up. Raptor pulled up and talked to us just before T-3 arrived so we had 9 riders ready to go by 8am. Raptor decided not to join us so we were down to 8 and a look towards the planned route west didn’t look too promising so a snap decision was made to north and then east down Soboba and finally to the ranger station on Florida.


As we moved up Kirby towards Menlo the mist stopped and the roads seemed dryer. We could see a patch of blue up against the mountains over by Gilman Springs Road and I felt good about our decision to head east. My hope was that we could stay ahead or the onshore marine layer long enough for some burn off to happen and we could finish the ride without getting wet.

Highlander pulled up next to me once we got to Ramona Road and admitted that while east is not his favorite direction it seemed that going east was a good choice for today. The closer we got to State Street the better the road looked and the better the weather felt. Still it hadn’t warmed up enough for T-3 or Duramax to take off their jackets and I was pretty happy that I had decided to put on a warm base layer before leaving the house.

As we moved up State Street I started thinking about Soboba and the run to the golf course. Normally we round the corner at State and Soboba and more or less regroup before splitting into two groups. I knew Casey Jones was going to put the hammer down and I was pretty sure Centaur was faster than me on such a long run. Wolf would always be nipping at my heels so I had a choice to make. Run with Casey, Centaur, and Wolf or stay with Highlander, T-3 Valkyrie and Duramax. Well as they say nothing ventured nothing gained so I decided to give chase to Casey Jones, Centaur and Wolf. Just as I got to the front to take my turn pulling I heard someone shout “flat” and turned back to see Casey on the side of the road changing his front tube.

After a few minutes Duramax, T-3 and Highlander left to get a head start figuring Casey Jones was almost ready to hit the road again. We had a problem with my Air Kiss CO-2 so it took a few more minutes before we could give chase and we were moving along pretty well till it was discovered that Valkyrie was riding on a low tire. We stopped and got her some air and were back off again. We got to Florida and Casey Jones and Centaur picked up the pace while Wolf, Valkyrie and I cruised along in about ¼ mile behind. We regrouped at the ranger station and remarked how lucky we had been staying ahead of the moisture.

The ride back to Carl’s was a fast one and I ended up chasing Casey Jones all the way to the parking lot. As we passed through the Trees coming back down Florida we hit some light drizzle and my sunglasses looked a bit like I needed some windshield wipers but it never got so bad that it felt like it was raining. Still some hot coffee was going to be a welcome treat as the temperature seemed to have dropped a bit in the last half hour. It was also nice the Ocelot came by and joined us for coffee. Casey Jones, Wolf, Centaur, Duramax, Valkyrie and I headed for home together. Much to my relief the weather seemed to be better that it was when we started and the ride home was both pleasant and uneventful. I ended up with 32 miles and a pretty good ride considering I wasn’t sure we would get in a ride at all.