2/28/2011
By: C. Kent, aka (Superman)


The rain was gone and it was clear when I got up to look outside this morning. I felt good and by the time I got dressed and started towards the parking lot I was relatively warm. The only question I had was how many people would join me. I almost hate to admit it but I believe I enjoy being out with the people of or group as much if not more than I do riding.

As I pulled into the parking lot I was surprised to see Sea Lion talking to Wolf. It turns out Sea Lion wasn’t going to join us but he wanted to stop by and let us know he is healing well and is looking forward to joining us once he is released to do so. By 8:30 we had all visited with him and wished him well as we got ready to leave Burger King and head out to Latham. At that point we made up a pack of eight riders.


We quickly made it out to Lyon and headed north towards Ramona. It was cool but warmer than it had been in several days and the sky was a beautiful blue as we rode past Devonshire and then Menlo. There seemed to be a eagerness that I hadn’t noticed in days and it seemed to have infected the whole group. As we got close to Cottonwood Blood Hound pulled for a while and the rest of the group started to bunch up into a pretty good pace line.

I took the lead again as we turned towards Sanderson and pulled till we got to the light and Sanderson and Ramona. After making the turn the speed picked up a bit but the pack held to together pretty well all the way to Bridge Street. We did pretty good until Centaur started feeling frisky and pulled around to kick up the pace two or three MPH. By the time we rotated through the group had split in half. Somehow I managed to hold onto the front half and cruised with the group all the way to Nuevo. We regrouped at the gas station and headed out towards Nuevo road.

By the time we got to Menifee the front group had outpaced the rear group by several hundred yards. Highlander, T-3 and I took Mapes to Brigg and the lead group went all the way to Simpson. We got to Chris’s after Bloodhound, Rocket, D’Artagnon Wolf and Centaur. T-3 didn’t stop so we were down to seven but we had a short stop for coffee and conversation before heading back out to Winchester and up to Stowe.

Once we were headed towards California the pace settled into a pretty constant twenty-one and we were pulled along with an ever so slight tail wind. I am not sure how everyone else felt but I was feeling pretty good and was pretty sure I could keep up the pace all the way back to the airport or even Sanderson if we all went that far.

We lost Rocket and D’Artagnon as we turned towards Hemet Ryan Airport and we all cruised past Hanger 1 on our way to Sanderson. I wasn’t a long ride or a real hard ride but it was a very enjoyable ride. It was one of those rides that lets you know that the people you are with are more than just fellow riders or competitors but people you can call friends. People you can count on and enjoy being with. Think about it how could you not enjoy 38 miles with people like that and weather like what we had today?

2/25/2011
By: C. Kent, aka (Superman)

There are times when you don’t expect to get to ride at all. Today was one of those days. If you tried to picture our area like a giant Pac-Man screen with Pac-Man being the area where it was raining or drizzling and we were the Ghost you would get a good mental picture of what things were like. Some riders from both the east and west called to say it was raining where they were and they were staying home. That wasn’t the case at my house so I rode to Burger King just to see who might be there and wanted to give a ride a try.

When I got to the parking lot a rider named Dave was waiting for me. He seemed glad to see that he hadn’t ridden all the way from Sun City to ride by himself. Highlander showed up with Dennis one of his neighbors and it looked like the four of us were going to make up the whole group. Just before we were ready to leave Traveler and his friend Al arrived to make up a C group. We decided because the group was so small we might try to keep the pace down and allow everyone to stay together. That at least was the plan as we pulled out onto Gilmore heading for Acacia.


We moved rather quickly out onto Acacia and headed for Kirby with Dave and Highlander close behind me. It was cold but not as cold as Wednesday and there was rain to the East of us and it looked like there was some to the North West but none to the South. So South on Kirby we went and headed for the railroad tracks and the turn onto Cypress.

We took a quick look west and there didn’t seem to be any rain as we moved out onto Sanderson and headed for Domenigoni. The problem I had noticed was when the weather is cool I simply don’t seem to warm up much and my legs felt pretty tight all the way past the high school. Still I took the first pull west on Domenigoni headed toward Warren Road and held a reasonable pace against a light head wind. I didn’t make it all the way to Warren because the head wind was taking too much out of me so we took turns rotating through the pace line and continued on towards Winchester. Highlander, Dave, Dennis, Al and I pulled away from Traveler rather quickly because no one wanted to get dropped in the head wind so we stayed pretty tight.

We stopped on top of the saddle and waited for Traveler until we noticed rain showers to the west of us moving our way. Al said he would wait for Traveler and that we should go so we didn’t get caught by the rain. If it moved our way Al and Traveler could turn back and try to run from it. We headed down the back side of the saddle towards Lindenburger and then Menifee.
If we turned left at Menifee we were avoiding the Pac-man like clouds in the west and heading towards Holland where we would turn east in hopes of stalling our getting wet. It worked out great because the rain moved north and we moved freely on the reasonable dry Briggs Street. Dave indicated that he might make a break for home before we got back to the Saddle but them changed his mind and opted for hill repeats as we crested the Saddle once again. He followed us down the front side and got ready to make a big turn at Leon as we passed heading for Winchester.

It was down to Highlander, Dennis and me as we turned onto Winchester well ahead of any rain. Without the wind in our face the pace picked up slightly and we managed to make it to Simpson with relative ease. We pointed out Chris’s as we passed and ran together all the way to Stowe where for the first time during the ride I began to feel like my legs had finally warmed up. By the time I was halfway down Stowe I thought I had received a blood transfusion and was pulling better than I had all day. I did have to temper my enthusiasm a bit because I had no idea if Highlander and Dennis were feeling as good as I was. Still they both hung in there and we got to California moving faster than we had all day.

Highlander pulled up next to me on Stetson and said he wouldn’t be stopping at Hanger 1 because he didn’t want to cool down too much before finishing the ride. Dennis and I stopped and were soon joined by Quick-sticks before Traveler and All showed up. A quick cup of coffee or two and we were ready to head for home. Traveler and Al stayed behind as Quick-sticks headed back towards Warren and Dennis and I headed towards Sanderson and home. It was a short quick ride but one that I enjoyed anyway. I(t may have only been 32 miles for me but it was a good 32 miles I never expected to get so it was good.

2/23/2011
By: C. Kent, aka (Superman)

The story of the escape from the Ice Monster

A small group of humans gathered in the valley wondering how long they would survive the cooling of the earth. Hunting had been very poor and they had all outlived the preferred game of their tribe. Long gone were the Lycra Deer, Velcro Cats, and carbon Fiber cows that made up much of their clothing. Nylon and Gore-Tex fish hadn’t been seen in the streams for years. All the wild Treks, Specialized, Giant, Lapierre and Bianchi and Masi horses had been captured. In short the landscape had changed and they didn’t know what to do. It is at this point our story begins.

The tribe elder waited as the men gather around in the morning to ask where the warm weather had gone. Once everyone had assembled the elder announced that an ice monster mush be coming for them and the only hope they had was to flee to a safer place and try to get warm. First they rode south till they came to a land called Acacia were they were forced to turn west to avoid the cold breath of the slow moving ice monster. Sidewinder and Rocket were braced for the cold clad in multiple layers of Lycra Skin.


The group was forced to turn south again on the Kirby trail. The elder managed to take the lead as they moved away from the chill of the ice monster followed closely by Blood Hound who didn’t seem to mind the cold at all. The group made it to Cypress pass for a jog west again. The group had to stop briefly as they checked for a misaligned shoe on Sidewinders TCR steed. It wasn’t long however before the elder moved the group forward followed by the group artist Highlander and T-3.

It was cold and quiet as the group worked its way over the Sanderson train and passed the Hemet Ryan depository for flying machines. The clod was oppressive but the intrepid group continued on till Blood Hound, Rocket and D’Artagnon broke away to take point and watch out for cave bears and woolly mammoths followed closely by Centaur. T-3, Highlander and the elder followed at a safe distance looking for any sign of warming or life. Once we turned onto the Stowe divide there were signs of life and death. They spotted a group of captive Canineasaurs and in the distance a pair of D V V tribe members, Raptor and Traveler, on an exploratory mission to Winchester. About halfway to Winchester we spotted a dead Pitbullrex on the side of the road. It was hard to tell how it died but the elder suspected a liquid carbon speed wagon may have done the beast in if not the cold.

After checking their bearings the group was off again headed south again towards the great Domenigoni divide. The elder led them passed the old dump road and towards the Winchester mountain range where they caught the advance scouts of Raptor and Traveler. 5 or the eight took off on a run east towards the Marina Mountain. The elder, Highlander and T-3 maintained a steady pace a few hundred yards back. Then the first of the group suffered an attack. The cold must have been too great and Sidewinder’s breathing became labored and he was forced to break off the quest. The remaining part of the lead group made the climb up Marina Mountain to see if there was an escape route from the ice monster. By the time the elder and his group arrived at the foot of the mountain Highlander and T-3 opted to stay and wait for the main group to return. The elder climbed the mountain even if the lead group had already been to the top. It was a point of honor that he would not send anyone on a climb he wouldn’t do himself.

It was here the cold started to take its full effect. Highlander and T-3 left us to head for shelter when we got to the straight of State Street. There were only five left as they headed for the great climb of Ramona Bowl. Rocket was the next to fall and he also returned for shelter at his Queens castle. D’Artagnon had run out of time and returned to
His daily labors. It was down to Blood Hound, centaur and the elder to look for the answer to the cold at the top of the mighty Ramona Bowl climb. It was difficult but they made it to the top and resumed their quest east. It simply had not warmed up at all and they knew they were the only hope of finding a way to beat the ice monster if the tribe was going to survive.

As they moved towards the Stetson trail the elder was feeling his cold tired legs more than he had in years past. He watched as the young Blood Hound moved away in the lead and wondered where the years had gone. At least Centaur was still close enough for him to draft and he did just that all the way to the eastern border of the valley where in met the mountain at Fairview. Centaur and the elder quickly caught up to Blood Hound and a decision was made to stop at the captured Trek store before heading to Carl’s food cave.

Much to their surprise Highlander was there checking to see about a repair o the rear drive device on his steed. After a short visit with visit at the Trek Stable it was time to head to the food cave so the elder led everyone back out into the cold still wondering why the weather had been so bad. As the group was pulling back out onto Florida they watched Highlander pass by in his own Liquid powered carbon speed wagon with his steed in the back. They figured that with the copious amount of liquid carbon Highlander was forced to use to stay warm he should buy warm liquid at the food cave.

As they stood outside of the food cave the elder looked east and the cloud had lifted enough so he could see the great white ice monster high up on Idyllwild. He realized there was no reason to leave the valley because soon the sun would melt the ice monster much like it did the wax wings of Icarus and warmth would return to the D V V tribe and once again their numbers would grow. It was a 38 mile search but it was well worth the knowledge gained.

2/21/2011
By: C. Kent, aka (Superman)


Because we were a day short on riding last week I thought it might be a good idea to add a few miles to our ride for Monday. Lake Paris is always a nice ride so I was looking forward to it and I thought others might be eager as well. Turns out at least 9 other riders were ready to go by 8:30.


It was a pretty eclectic group but a good cross section of the people that ride with us on a regular basis. Sidewinder had a day off from school and Huntress had a work holiday. D’Artagnon was simply looking to get in a few miles and Wolf and Double time had the day free. T-3 wanted to make up for missing Friday. Highlander was working on getting stronger and Tax Man was attempting to get on more saddle time. I just like being with the group and on my bike.

We were a bit cold but we managed to ride quickly down Gilmore and out onto Acacia with very little fan fare. A quick ride down to Kirby and we all caught the light and had to wait to turn south. We were planning on keeping the ride at Century pace to keep the whole group together and we did pretty well all the way to Cypress. It can be hard to hold back Sidewinder; he is a bit like a puppy on a long lead. But up to this point he was staying with us.

We made it out onto Sanderson and then made the run up to Domenigoni with me pulling. Once we headed west towards Warren road I held us to a respectable 18 to 20 MPH and passed the pace request back after I pulled off of the lead. We did fine till Sidewinder took over at the rise over the dry river bed. He kept the pace at 20 up the rise but let it creep up as he crested and pulled away from the rest of us. Huntress went with him. It turned out to be a repeated picture for the day, someone would take off a bit and Huntress would run them down. The rest of us pulled up to the saddle as a group and I attempted to make the sprint passed D’Artagnon going up the saddle. I didn’t quite make it and we laughed about it at the top where we regrouped before heading down to Linderburger and finally out to Menifee and Florida.

I ended up with two flats before we got to Lake Paris but they were repaired and we made it passed the guard shack and turned towards the Marina.

We stayed at the Marina for some conversation and refreshment and to relive some of our favorite rides and experiences from our youth. We even discussed the worthiness and worthlessness of squirrels. Once we had rehydrated and refueled we got ready to leave and started to look forward to the run around the lake and down Ramona expressway. Tax Man had already bypassed the Marina and headed for home so there were only 8 of us left to make the homeward trip.

We stayed together pretty much till we got to the east gate of the park and then we started to spread out a bit heading back through Nuevo. I pulled till we got passed Nuevo and then Huntress passed me to slow us down so we could pick up a few stragglers. Once we were all back together D’Artagnon picked up the pace because he had things to do at work and I watched as he, Huntress, Double Time and Wolf pulled away. Highlander, T-3 and I cruised along till we pulled up on Sidewinder who decided to kick back and clear his head. We caught up to Wolf and Double Time after we turned onto Ramona Boulevard and got back to Lyon. We all rode together heading back to Burger King.

We ended up splitting up at Latham and I followed Wolf, Highlander and Double Time back to the parking lot where Huntress was already loading up and getting ready to leave. I have to admit Highlander and Huntress were in top form today. It wasn’t that any of the rest of us were doing badly it was just that those two were riding so well. It is good to know that your friends are getting stronger even when it means it is harder for you personally to keep up. We don’t get better unless we have something to chase. We can thank the whole group for any improvements the rest of us are showing. For me it was 51 easy miles at a pace I could have easily have done for 100. It may have been cold but it was a good day to be out on bikes with friends.

2/18/2011
By: C. Kent, aka (Superman)


Who would believe the weathermen would have been wrong about the rain on Friday morning? I got up to a pretty nice looking morning today even if it was just a touch cold. After being rained out Wednesday I was looking forward to getting out and spending some time with good friends and my bike. I dressed warmly and took off towards the parking lot to see who would be joining me.

There were four other riders unloading their bikes as I rode up, Blood Hound, Centaur, Highlander and Dura max. Soon we were joined by Huntress, Bandit, Gambler, and Rocket. Barracuda and I rounded out the main group and Raptor and traveler made up the C group. By 8:30 we were off headed for the north end of town.


Looking behind me I could see the fast guys were just cruising along and I knew they would be pushing it sooner or later. For now they were satisfied was conversation and following along at whatever pace I set. A quick turn onto Lyon and we almost scampered north. I got a chance to talk with Highlander and Blood Hound as we worked our way passed Devonshire, Menlo, and Esplanade.

By the time we got to Cottonwood we were moving along at 18+ MPH and our legs seemed to be warming up quite well. Before we got to Ramona Boulevard Blood Hound moved up front and pulled us till we got to the turn through the little housing track where we worked our way out to Ramona and headed towards State Street.

The closer we got to state the more of a pace line we got into as we started the run towards Soboba. Once again we jockeyed back in forth till Blood Hound took the lead again and we were one solid line moving passed the college and headed towards the river bed. Once over the bridge and turning onto Soboba the pace picked up again as Blood Hound pulled us towards the first of the rollers. Gambler, Bandit and Rocket pulled around Blood Hound and for some unknown reason I went with them. We stayed together over the first roller and did the same for the second one. I managed to stay with them till we started to climb slightly by the golf course. When Rocket took the lead he fired the retro rockets and I simply couldn’t hold on and fell off the back of the draft. We were spread out for at least and eighth of a mile till we regrouped at the top of the last roller and the golf course. Highlander, Dura Max and I more or less cruised the rest of the way to the Ranger station while Rocket and the rest of the group took off at a quicker pace.


We finally regrouped at Cranston Station and took a few minutes break to discuss how blessed we are to be living in Southern California at least from a weather point of view. Here we are when most of the east half of the US is freezing riding between rain storms on a clear cool day that reminds most people of spring.


Once we were ready to head down Florida to Carl’s it became a mad dash in no time. I held onto Rockets back wheel all the way past the trees when Gambler and Bandit jumped us and took off. I tried to grab a wheel but couldn’t close and a few minutes later Rocket and Blood Hound ran me down and gave chase themselves. Barracuda followed suite a few minutes later and it was all I could do to not lose more ground as we got back to Carl’s. We regrouped and some of us stayed to have coffee while some had to leave early. Finally Barracuda, Huntress, Dura max, Blood Hound, Highlander, Centaur and I headed back towards the west end of town. Dura max left at Park and the rest of us rode back to Burger King before separating and heading for home. It was great weather and a good ride. It wasn’t a very long ride, I only got in 31 or 32 miles but it was a good day and we had a lot of fun. Just what the doctor ordered.

2/14/2011
By: C. Kent, aka (Superman)


I guess the words gingerly would best describe how I anticipated my legs would react to a ride today. To my surprise I wasn’t as sore as I thought I would be even if I happened to be a bit colder than I expected. I got to Burger King not knowing who if anyone would show up after the hard weekend some of us had. Traditionally we have a rather small showing after a weekend century but I was surprised at the turnout today. Wolf, T-3, D’Artagnon, Rocket, Quicksticks, Bounty Hunter, Highlander, Tax man, Dura max and I made 10 riders on a cool morning after a big ride, not bad.


We took off down Gilmore and quickly made it to Acacia without incident. We talked about some of our fallen group members that had fallen and were injured during the TDPS and managed to cheer ourselves up by rationalizing that things could have been worse. Those of us with a spiritual bent were grateful to the Lord our friends had been protected from more serious issues. The little warmth the Sun was putting out was just enough keep the goose bumps off of those of us that were thoughtless enough to eschew arm and leg warmers.

We managed to stay in one group and one long pace line all the way to Domenigoni. The pace was pretty easy and everyone seemed comfortable with it. Once we turned onto Dominigoni we settled into our normal drive towards Winchester but without the intensity we normally had. I gave up the lead after Warren and we continued at the same pace for quite a while before the B group decided to back it down a bit to save some energy for one or two of our returning riders. Still we regrouped at the Saddle and split into three groups for the rest of the ride. Rocket, D’Artagnon and Bounty hunter took off first Followed by Highlander and Tax Man on a modified ride and then followed by Quicksticks, Dura max, Wolf, T-3 and me following the path the A group took.

We managed to hit the lights at Lindenburger and C just about right so we weren’t that far behind the A group even if we didn’t expect to see them till we got to Chris’s. We rolled easily down Menifee and passed the school and headed for the little hill half way to Scott Road. Much to my surprise I noticed that the A riders had taken mercy on us and waited at the top of the hill and allowed us to regroup so they could pull us to Scott and then to Hawn.

Scott Road seemed easier today for some reason and finally the chill was gone from their air. We ate up the distance to the Freeway and caught the A group at the stop light. We had to pick up the pace a bit to get over the overpass and there were warning signs that Hawn was supposed to be closed but for some reason it wasn’t and we turned to watch the A group getting smaller into the distance as we headed closer to Holland. We noticed that Wolf had gone with the A riders and that there was some problem just before we got back to Newport. Turns out Bounty Hunter was having trouble with his bike and we stopped to assist. Turns out we couldn’t figure what was wrong so Rocket and Bounty Hunter headed for home and we joined D’Artagnon and Wolf heading for Bradley.
Bradley to McCall was a pretty quick run with first Quicksticks and then D’Artagnon pulled us to McCall then we attacked the McCall hill and regrouped once more at the top. We took some extra time checking our tires at the top of McCall because someone had tossed out a whole six pack of empty beer bottles out on the road and it was almost impossible to ride around the glass field with running over some of it. Still we made it with only a few cuts and no flats. It was a fast ride down the hill and a quick trip through the housing track and onto Simpson as we chatted away thankful we lived in Southern California where we didn’t have to fight the snow. We stopped at Chris’s but Highlander and Tax Man had already left so we took a quick break and headed back towards Hemet.
It didn’t take long to get back up to Stowe and not much longer to get to California. We took turns pulling all the way back to the Airport and pulled away as Dura Max and T-3 headed back to Johnston while we headed towards Acacia. Wolf led us through the Lowes parking lot and back out onto Acacia towards Kirby. Quicksticks had left us at Winchester Road so it was down to Wolf, D’Artagnon and me till we got to Gilmore where D’Artagnon headed for home while Wolf and I headed back to Burger King. I left Wolf to head for home and ended up with gust over 41 miles on the computer. What a great ride we had and what a great group of people we have to ride with.

2/12/2011
By: C. Kent, aka (Superman)


104 miles of Attrition!

Our group had really planned for the Tour De Palm Springs and most had even registered early. We had about 20 riders set to make the ride and we were planning on getting our Jerseys based on them being delivered in time for the tour. The plan was made and we decided to meet on a corner about ½ of a block north of the parking lot on Indian Canyon. Not all 20 decided or made it there but quite a few of us did.



The plan changed as soon as we were ready to start the Century. Attack Cat, Casey Jones and Doug decided to try and do a 5 hour century so they took off as soon as we got started. The rest of us started out at a more modest pace and managed to work our way through a mass of other riders heading up Indian Canyon and making ready to turn north on the long climb to the first SAG stop. As the road inclined a bit more we started to spread out but everyone seemed to be doing quite well. Metric man and Wolf seemed very relaxed and eventually started to lead the rest of us.

We saw the first crash of the tour about 12 miles into the climb. In all the years I have been doing this Century I have never seen this many people clumped together in one place and it was clear it would only one moment of inattention and someone would be going down. Little did I know that thought would turn out to be prophecy? When we got to the first SAG area I began to suspect that a lot more than the 100 mile riders had started at 7am. The place was literally packed with riders and you had to dismount to make any forward progress. Still we not only collected all the riders we picked up one or two that had missed our starting place.




We were all looking forward to the long downhill on Dillon road and a few of our riders decided to leave before everyone had refreshed themselves with the promise to meet up again at SAG stop two. By the time we had assembled what was left of our group and were ready to go we were ahead of most of the people that had stopped at the first SAG with us. I got out first and was moving down the hill in from of a string of our riders and a few others that were going down the hill the same time we were. I sat up to get one or two pictures and managed to get the camera put away just before disaster struck.

No sooner had I turned back around to continue my downhill run I heard Sea Lion let out a yell and turned back just in time to see him fly off of his bike at about 30 MPH and slam into the pavement. I don’t know when I have seen anyone go down as hard as he did. Several of us rushed to his side and attempted to render aid. Another rider called 911 and we thought Sea Lion might have broken his shoulder or collar bone. As we moved him to the side of the road and waited for the fire department rescue to arrive we naturally checked his bike for him. The frame and fork looked fine and there was some minor road abrasion on his saddle but the front rim was tacoed about as bad as I have ever seen. I figured Sea Lion was through for the day. So we called Huntress’s husband to come pick him up and left Double Time to wait with her as I took the rest of the group on to the second SAG stop.


By the time we arrived at the second SAG stop I got a call from Huntress saying that Sea Lion was back on the road. They put one of my spare wheels on his bike and he was determined to finish the ride. I had a hard time believing he was up to it and we decided to wait a few extra minutes at each SAG stop to give them a chance to close on us before the end of the ride. We took our time at the truck stop and discovered that Sea Lion, Huntress and Double time were behind us by about an hour. We headed for the SAG stop at the park and tried to put the accident behind us.


We got close to the park and Daredevil had to pull over with serious leg cramps. We left a rider with him and D’Artagnon gave him some electrolytes as we made it the last two miles to the SAG stop. Once we got there I noticed Ink Jet sitting on the grass all by himself. I didn’t see any of the rest of his group he had been riding with so I asked how he was doing. He told me he was shot and the only part that didn’t hurt from cramps was his legs. He got some of the free energy drinks one of the stops happened to be handing out and it went straight through him. He was done for the day. I refueled and filled both water bottles with ice and water and downed a small cup of M&M peanuts and got ready to hit the road with the main group again. By this time Huntress, Sea Lion and Double time were only about 12 miles behind is so I figured they were gaining a bit. We left and did the slight climb to Eisenhower before heading towards the SAG at Lowes.

I am not a big candy eater but I was very surprised at how well I felt after eating all of those M&Ms and found myself out front and pulling for all I was worth. I was passing people and holding off challenges to pass and even catching the occasional pace line full of young riders. At least for the first 5 or 6 miles till the sugar high wore off and it was like someone had pulled the plug on my electrical connection. I needed real energy and real food and there was none to be had. We all ended regrouping because Wolf had a flat and finished the ride into Lowes together. I quickly headed for some oranges, bananas and more cold water. I was also determined to stay there until Sea Lion arrived s I could ride the last 11 miles with him. Most of us just stood around and tried to guess how far back Huntress’s group was.


It took about 25 to 30 minutes for them to arrive but soon we noticed some of our jerseys riding up the road and heading in our direction. I can’t tell you how impressed I was to see Double Time then Sea Lion and finally Huntress pull into the parking lot. It takes quite a lot to suck it up and ride any distance after the kind of crash Sea Lion had experienced. To finish 70 plus miles after such a crash is almost more than I can imagine. I felt quite a bit of pride seeing sea Lion standing before me and knowing how tired I was without crashing after the first stop. Some of the riders had appointments so they left before the last group arrived but were still a few of us waiting to welcome Sea Lion as he pulled up to the last Sag.


We took off to finish the last few miles together. Phoenix was so used to hearing me say that it was all downhill from here it had become a joke between us. Still it more or less was a decent into Palm Springs from Lowes. It took us a bit longer than expected but we all got back to the vehicles. It was about then that we discovered how the other riders had faired. I knew Metric Man had made it back safe and sound and that Doug had finished in less than 5 hours. I didn’t know Attack Cat had crashed and had been unable to finish. I also didn’t know where Bloodhound was but I knew his parents were there to take care of him if I missed him. I called him while heading to the Italian Restaurant and he said he made it fine. We ended up with only about half of the people for dinner as we had planned but for those of us that did make it we simply called ourselves the survivors of attrition. At least we had some great food and great conversation and developed a closer bond as a group. Something that often happened when a group lives through adversity together and helps each other get through it. I for one am proud to be part of this group and am proud to wear a Jersey that lets others know who we are.