3/18/2011
By: C. Kent, aka (Superman)


I had considered not riding today because I wanted to be at my best if I got a chance to race the Bull Dog at Camp Pendleton on Saturday. However riding with the group is more than just about how I feel it is about being with friends and getting out on the bike. So I put together a short recovery/pre-ride and invited the group to join me. Lucky for me 7 other riders decided to take me up on my planned ride.


We took off right at 8:30 am and pulled out onto Gilmore where we promptly caught the light at Florida. Looking at the group I could see Dave, Dura-max, Gambler, Highlander, Raptor, D’Artagnon, and Traveler and we had all decided to keep the pace at a reasonable recovery rate. I was thinking of doing between 16 and 18 and keeping a nice easy spin going. We got in a pace line early and cruised west on Acacia and south on Kirby and through the housing track on Cypress very smoothly. It only took a few minutes before we were out on Wentworth heading for the airport.

It wasn’t long before we turned onto Stetson and made a quick run west to Warren and turned north towards Florida. We crossed Florida and headed for Devonshire and headed east. Everyone stayed in line up to this point because this was a new route and I don’t think anyone wanted to push me so that I might tire my legs out. We crossed Sanderson and made it to Lyon in pretty short order. Raptor and Traveler had already taken a short cut before we even got to the airport so it was just the six of us as we headed north towards Ramona.

Up to this point we kept the pace to a reasonable 16 to 18 and I was still feeling very relaxed. I could see the value of a recovery ride and how much it would help after a hard ride. By keeping the pace to a easy spin your heart gets a bit of a work out and your legs get a bit of a break. While daydreaming a bit I soon found myself at Ramona and State where it was time to head north again. The whole pace line hadn’t changed much since we started and it wasn’t long before we got to Soboba.

Typically the ride down Soboba is a quick one that ends in a sprint up the hills and finally a stop at the golf course. I didn’t plan on following the typical run but I knew it would take all of my self control to hold back if the rest of the group decided to make a run of it. I was lucky however and only D’Artagnon and Gambler took off. I had expected that however because they both had morning meetings and would be breaking off after the golf course anyway.

The rest of us cruised down Soboba and finally saw Raptor and Traveler coming the other way on east Main. We turned onto Hewitt and rode to Park and followed it around to the east and back over to Cornell and then to Devonshire. It didn’t take long before we were back on State Street and stopping at the Bagel Station where we met up with Raptor and Traveler. We took a quick break there before heading back west to Burger King and home. It turned out to be a good relaxing ride and a great time spent with interesting people. It was only 31 miles from door to door but I feel better than when I left home this morning so it couldn’t be a bad thing.