12/03/2010
By: C. Kent, aka (Superman)



It was another beautiful day as I walked out to get the paper and have breakfast. It was a bit warmer than it had been for the last few days and we were going to ride up Bautista which is one of our favorite rides.

Sea Lion and Dura max wee already there when I got to Burger King. Highlander and Raptor pulled up after me and Rocket and Cossack were just moments behind. D’Artagnon, After Shock and Huntress got there just before Shadow to complete the group. Eleven riders pulled out of the parking lot and headed down Gilmore to begin the ride.

There was nothing special about the ride to Thornton. Due to one or two red lights Sea Lion, Dura max and I were several block behind Rocket, Cossack, After Shock, D’Artagnon, Shadow and Huntress. By the time we got to the start of Bautista the lead group was nowhere to be seen. I headed up Bautista with my best imitation of a spin and slowly pulled ahead of Sea Lion and Dura max. Every time I would try to back down and cruise a bit Sea Lion would gain on me and I would push myself a bit more. This went on for the first five miles or the climb till I caught sight of Huntress in the distance. All I could think about at that point was stalking her like she has done me so many times and closing the gap. I snuck up behind her just as we got to the last climb only to see Rocket, D’Artagnon and Cossack fly by in a blur going back down the hill.


As I pulled even with Huntress just before the end of the canyon she went into a full sprint. I tried to stay with her but she just may have clipped me at the finish line. We took a break with After Shock and Shadow until we were ready to head back down to Carl’s. I hit a rock or something on the first hard right coming back down the hill so I was paying pretty good attention to my tire while chasing Huntress and After Shock down the hill when I flatted at about mile 6. Shadow stopped and we changed the tire and rejoined the rest of the pack at a regroup on Bautista and Fairview.
We lined up heading north on Fairview and slowly but surely got into a pace line running about 21 MPH. The great thing about Fairview is it gives you a chance to recover and at the same time keep up a good pace. Of course I was thinking this all the while we were gobbling up the road heading passed Stetson.

By the time we got to the little bridge over the drainage channel we were moving at about 25 and my legs were pretty much recovered. In fact everyone looked pretty much recovered as we rolled passed the elementary school. I was hoping no one was going to go into a sprint because I didn’t know how much I had left but it seemed that everyone was content to more or less cruise along as a group rather than push the pace. I for one was relieved we could relax a bit before we got back to Florida.

We waited at the light on Florida and Fairview for what seemed like 10 minutes. I am sure it wasn’t that long but it is also one of the longer lights we face on our ride to the east side of town. Finally we made the turn and headed passed Casino Bikes in one long line. We made the light at Ramona just as it turned green. We pulled into the parking lot and headed for Carl’s where Huntress, Sea Lion and Aftershock left to get back to their vehicles at Burger King. Shadow, Dura max and I stopped for refreshments and conversation before heading back west ourselves.

The three of us rode down Lincoln and talked about how great of a day it had turned out to be and how lucky we were to live where we could ride for twelve months a year. Just how much nicer can it get than 72 degrees and blue skies? We made it to Park where Dura max left us for home and Shadow and I continued on to retrieve his arm warmers from Burger King where he had hidden them before we left in the morning. We then road home together till we got to Johnson and Lyon where Shadow went right and I went left. I got home with 38 miles on the clock and a good ride under my belt.