2/02/2011
By: C. Kent, aka (Superman)



Cyclists in Southern California tend to have it pretty good when it comes to weather. They might miss a day or riding because of rain now and then but it isn’t like living where it snows. We do have a thing that bothers most of us and it is called the “Santa Ana Winds.” When I started planning the ride for today they were predicting those winds and I put together two different rides just in case they hit while we were out. There is nothing that will wear you out like a 30 to 50 MPH wind it your face and I for one wasn’t looking forward to challenging the Santa Ana face to face. It was calm as I left for the parking lot at just after 8am. I was a bit surprised to see 11 other riders when we got ready to leave at 8:30.

One of the things the Santa Ana’s do is it seems to make you tense or at least anxious and we were riding a bit like that as we pulled out of the parking lot and headed down Gilmore. We didn’t even have to stop at the light on Florida as we quickly made it to Acacia and turned towards Kirby. The pack behind me looked a bit like hungry dogs pacing a rabbit before starting an attack.


I was still feeling pretty good as we started down Kirby even if it was pretty cold. It was one of those mornings where I had on a base layer but I could have used long fingered gloves as well. The light breeze during the night kept the clouds away and that allowed the temperature to drop to 40 or so and it was staying there as we rode over the railroad tracks and made the turn onto Cypress. I had already planned on slowing down the pace a bit just in case we had to fight the wind on the way home but I wasn’t sure how long that would last with the A group.

We managed to make it to Sanderson in one group and made the turn towards the airport and past the one of our favorite coffee shops without being forced to stop to see if the owner had baked anything. The owner of Hanger 1 is a class baker and if she has made peach cobbler or Blueberry bread pudding it is hard to resist so it was better that we didn’t stop. Still looking behind me I could see everyone was pacing themselves and I was expecting a push to come on Stetson. Wolf and Highlander followed closely as I turned onto Stetson and we headed to warren Road.

We managed to cruise past Warren Road and got into a bit of a pace line. It was nothing hurried because I think we were too cold to press the pace much. I pulled all the way to California and then up to Stowe. I was in no mood to participate in the traditional sprint on Stowe and much to my surprise no one seemed to be willing to take the lead at first to start the run either. Nick led us halfway down Stowe before Bandit picked up the pace and made the run for Winchester. Just as the rest of us were picking up the pace Gambler slowed down to check a noise that sounded a bit like a spoke breaking. Turns out it wasn’t but it gave the rest of us a break from the sprint.
We split up after leaving Stowe and Winchester and agreed to regroup on top of McCall. I stayed with Highlander and Cycobob and we watched as the rest of the group took off first on Leon and then on Simpson. We weren’t that far behind as they were just climbing the hill on McCall as we got to the bottom of it. The strange part was when we were sitting at the light and I was talking to Highlander my HR monitor acted like I was already climbing the hill. I felt fine so I just started up the hill and my Heart rate actually dropped. We regrouped at the top of the hill and I explained the route through the Housing track and onto Antelope.

It took us a few minutes to get everyone over the hill and running down towards the Jack in the Box on Newport but we did it. The only thing that slowed Highlander and I down was Highlanders tossed chain. Still the ride down the back side made the climb worth it and we all regrouped once more at Jack in the Box. We had some quick refreshments and a brief rest before heading back out onto Newport and east towards home. Up to this point we had been sheltered from the wind and it had been blowing from the west so in theory it should be at our back or at worst a side wind as we headed back on Dominigoni. I decided to get a quick picture of the group, we still had 11 riders, before they hit the bottom of the hill because I was pretty sure it was the last we would see of the fast guys before we got back to Sanderson.
Once over the hill I joined up with Cycobob and Highlander and we cruised back towards Winchester. No matter what the wind felt like, and it was still light, I knew that Winchester would be the true test. I had been on Dominigoni when it seemed like we had a wind at our back only to have it turn and hit us head on from Winchester all the way to State Street. We pulled up to Winchester and the wind did shift a bit to our side buy at least it wasn’t on the nose and it was what we call when sailing cat paws, slight puffs without a lot of power. Cycobob pulled away a bit and we fell behind a bit when we caught the light at Warren but we caught back up at Sanderson and rode together back to the parking lot.

It turned out to be a pretty good day with a slightly different route. It wasn’t as long as some of our rides but when faced with the possibility of a Santa Ana it is better safe than sorry. So we pulled into the parking lot and stopped to talk for a few minutes to express how great it is to live where we can ride 12 months of the year and how nice it is to belong to a great group of riders. It wasn’t the fasted 30 miles I have ever done but we had a bit of climbing and finally some sun by the time we got home. It was something I would gladly do again.