4/29/2011
By: C. Kent, aka (Superman)



If I were going to use a movie to describe today’s ride it would be a Clint Eastwood Movie, “The Good, The Bad, The Ugly.” As I got to the parking lot we got to start with the good.

The Good.

I found Dura-max, Ocelot and Blood Hound waiting for me as I pulled into the parking lot. Once everyone else arrived I presented our first ever arbitrary group awards. On Monday we had a great climbing ride to Bautista Canyon. During that ride there was a two man breakaway that managed to get close to a two mile lead on the rest of the group. Gambler, Rocket, D’Artagnon, Centaur and Wolf took off from a dead stop at the corner of Lake and Stetson and managed to catch and pass the breakaway shortly after they entered Bautista Canyon. Gambler went on to not only pass the breakaway but to pull away and make it to the top of Bautista in first place. For that pursuit and capture Gambler was given the first ever D V V impressive ride award.



On Wednesday we did our second climb for the week and we as a group decided on a ride over Juniper Flats. Centaur was riding a brand new Masi and was in the company of a rather strong A group as we took turns pulling at a steady pace all the way to Hansen and then up to the turn for the Climb of Juniper Flats. In a dead run with a group drafting him Centaur managed to pull ahead of the rest of the A group and get to the top of Juniper Flats first. For riding the group off of his wheel and getting to the top first Centaur received the second ever Group ride trophy.

Because it is totally arbitrary the two riders can keep the trophy till the last week of May. At that time they will pick the next deserving rider for whatever reason they choose. That reason can occur any day during the month and can be for any reason that impresses them. It is all up to them.

After the award ceremony we pulled out onto Gilmore and headed for Acacia before turning towards Kirby. We started out 12 strong.


We pulled up behind a car at the light on Kirby and wondered where the sun had gone. Wednesday was not only a nice day it was almost a hot day and I for one had applied sun screen on my nose and ears just because of the Wednesday ride. As we turned south on Kirby and headed to Cypress I would say it was a bit cool and even a bit windy. It wasn’t so bad we wanted to turn back but it was bad enough that we expressed just a bit of grumbling about the weather. Still I was happy to be out on my bike with my friends.

The Bad.

Once we were through the housing tract we turned onto Johnston and then again on Sanderson. We caught the light where we turn towards the airport and waited to see if it would turn green. Like most often happens we were not able to trip the light so we had to sit there and wait for all of the traffic to stop coming before we made our turn. We made the last turn to pass the airport and were riding on the far right to avoid the speed bumps when suddenly Centaur went down. It seems that they have cut the concrete just past Hanger 1 and his front wheel got caught in the cut.

The Ugly.

We waited to make sure Centaur was permanently damaged and one or two riders inspected his bike while one or two of us inspected him. He was a bit scraped and hurt but seemed to be recovering pretty well. We offered to take him back to his truck but he decided he wanted to get cleaned up before deciding to abandon the ride. One or two of us rode back to Hanger 1 to assist him. (He ended up getting 4 stitches and they said he should live.)



Centaur cleaned off the wounds and got rid of the small pieces of gravel and dirt and we applied some band-aids to help close the cut on his elbow and gave him a chance to rest before deciding if he wanted to continue or go home. Much to my surprise he decided to continue the ride. He must have been in some pain but he stayed right in the group as we headed down Stetson and made the turn onto California.

As we turned onto Stowe we formed a pace line and slowly picked up the pace to the point we were running flat out and started a sprint towards Winchester. I stayed with the group for one rotation and fell off just before the sprint started. While D’Artagnon looked to be pulling away as I fell back I was impressed to see Centaur right with the lead group.

The A group decided to pull away and run up to the Marina while the B group followed at a more moderate pace to State Street. Sea Lion, Highlander, Dura-max, Ocelot, T-3, Ruby Tuesday and I got to the Marina entrance road and continued on to State Street then quickly moved down to Chambers and worked our way over to Thornton where Rocket caught up with us. He left us on Stetson and headed for home and D’Artagnon, Gambler, Blood Hound and Centaur caught us at Columbia and stayed with us through Crest to Lake.


D’Artagnon, Centaur and Gambler left us at Lake and Stetson and Blood Hound pulled away from us and headed for Fairview. Sea Lion, Highlander and I regrouped with Dura-max, Ocelot and T-3 and discovered that Ruby Tuesday had gone home. Highlander and Sea Lion started a hard pull down Fairview and we rode all the way to the Ranger Station where Blood Hound was waiting. About a minute later Dura-max, Ocelot and T-3 joined us and we took a breather.


As always it was a fast run back down to Carl’s. Sea Lion, Highlander, Blood Hound and I pushed it a bit back down to Fairview and then stopped briefly at Casino before heading out onto Florida and back down to Carl’s. Blood Hound decided not to stop but there were still six of us in need of refreshments and conversation so we pulled in for about 30 minutes. We headed for home on Lincoln realizing that what had started out as a cool to cold day had become just about perfect.

After we dropped off Ocelot and Dura-max at Park, Highlander, T-3, Sea Lion and I headed for Columbia and then over to Devonshire. This is often the one of the best parts of our rides. There is no pressure to keep up and we are all ready to head for home. I broke off with T-3 at Lyon while Highlander and Sea Lion continued on to Burger King. T-3 and I split way at Lyon as she headed west and I headed east towards Palm. I got home with just over 40 miles on the computer and still felt great. As the story goes, a good time was had by all.

4/27/2011
By: C. Kent, aka (Superman)




To be honest I didn’t expect a very large group today. We had already had a hard fast climb Monday and then one of our riders asked if we could do Juniper Flats on Wednesday. When I pulled into the parking lot there were just three or four riders waiting for me. However people started pulling in every few minutes after me. Counting Snow Goose we had seventeen riders leaving the parking lot at 8:30am. Snow Goose fell off early.


We rode north on Lyon and quickly past Devonshire and Menlo. Someone once mentioned that ever during the warm up portions of our rides the group has been picking up speed. Today wasn’t any different and I looked down to discover our cruising speed was right at 18mph. I also noticed everyone was talking as we were cruising. It is one of the prime differences between our group and many of the other clubs I have talked to or been part of, we are pretty social. Still the A group was right behind me and we were coming up on Ramona Boulevard pretty fast.

I managed to pull all the way to Ramona Expressway and found myself still in the lead. I was pulling right at 20mph as we got to Warren Road and caught the light red. One of the rules we try to follow in our group is t not bust or run a red light. I am sure there were some that wondered why we stopped at Warren but just as the question came out of their mouth a big truck came flying through the intersection. Had we decided to blow through that light I would have to remove several names from our mailing list because that truck never even thought of slowing down as it blasted through the intersection.

We broke into two groups and headed for Hansen and Ramona. There was a slight head wind but we had a steady pace going as several riders rotated through the pull and we quickly passed Bridge Street. I found myself at the back of the pack and ended up chasing the whole group all the way to Hansen where we regrouped.


We waited for the entire B group to join us and talked about what a beautiful morning it had been so far. One of the topics of discussion was the brand new Masi Carbon Fiber bike that Centaur had just picked up on Monday. This was his first ride on the bike other than testing it in the parking lot and he seemed to be enjoying the ride if the look on his face was any indication.

The true test would be as we headed south on Hansen and got ready to turn on Contour and head for Juniper Flats. For some reason I took off with the A group and stayed with them till the stop sign at Contour. I looked down at my Heart Rate and noticed I was a bit over 150 BPM so I backed off and watched the rest of the pack pull away. I don’t know how far behind I was when I got to the top but I did discover that we had a new King of the Mountain for the day. Centaur was the first to the top in a dead run with some of our better climbers.

Once everyone was regrouped we headed over the top of the hill and dropped down the back side of Juniper Flats Road. We had been joined on the top by Quick-Sticks and he helped pull me down the hill in pursuit of Highlander heading back to Florida. Wolf and I followed a bit behind the A group and watched as Blood Hound and Attack Cat started a bit of a break away. The pack didn’t let them get that far before they formed up into a pursuit pace line and gave chase. Wolf and I joined up with Highlander and we met the rest of the group at Chris’s.


Once we were all regrouped at Chris’s and had our coffee and conversation we more of less broke up and headed for home by going north on Winchester to Stowe. As the lead group pulled away some of us just cruised back to Stetson and then to the airport before heading for Burger King. T-3 broke off for home and Cycobob, Dura-max, Ocelot and I rode to Burger King together. I got home with 40 miles on the computer and a bit of a sun burned nose. But still it was a great day for a ride.

4/25/2011
By: C. Kent, aka (Superman)



Part of the song goes, “Monday, Monday can’t trust that day.” No matter what is planned for Monday the rides are never predictable. Today was a typical Monday. I got to Burger king with 4 riders already waiting for me and two more unloading their vehicles. People kept pulling up till we had 12 ready to ride by 8:30. We pulled out onto Latham and turned on Lyon and started at an easy pace south towards Florida and then Stetson. Our goal was Thornton and east towards Santa Fe.


Blood Hound and Surgeon followed closely as we turned on Thornton and I kept the pace rather easy while everyone chatted away. I was more or less daydreaming about what would happen once we got to Fairview and even more importantly made the run up Bautista Canyon. The challenge is the 9 mile climb to the top that people tent to push the whole way. My expectation was that the speedsters would take off at the base of the Canyon and leave the rest of us to follow as best we could only to regroup at the top. Just as I pictured the run in my mind Attack Cat passed me but rather than pulling in front to assist with the pull he started a mild breakaway taking Blood Hound with him. Looking back at Gambler, Rocket, D’Artagnon and Centaur I could see a look of wanting to give chase. Wolf and Sea Lion seemed content to ride in support and Dura-max, Surgeon and T-3 looked like they were perfectly happy to be on cruise as we got to State Street.

We stayed together all the way to Santa Fe but it felt a bit like holding a pack of hunting dogs on a leash with the command to heel. Attack Cat and Blood Hound we almost out of sight as we pulled out onto Stetson and I could feel the tension in the pack almost pushing me along. I would guess we were about two miles behind Attack Cat and Blood Hound as we headed for Columbia and the turn towards Crest. The group started to stack up behind me and I started to push towards Lake Street. We may have closed to a mile and a quarter as we got to Lake and Stetson where I noticed we had pulled away from T-3 and Dura-max. I called a stop to regroup at Lake and Stetson and made the decision to release the hounds and let them chase Attack Cat and Blood Hound who we could no longer see.

Rocket, Gambler, D’Artagnon, Centaur and Wolf took off as we waited for Dura-max and T-3. I pulled out onto Stetson with Sea Lion and Surgeon in Tow. We caught Raptor about half way to Fairview and made the turn towards Bautista. By now the hounds had closed to within about half a mile of Attack Cat and Blood Hound. They were closing fast and they could see their prey in front of them. Blood Hound was starting to lose steam and Rocket decided to cut back while the three remaining hounds caught their prey somewhere between the 11 and 12 mile mark of the ride. Gambler took off and D’Artagnon followed heading for the top of the canyon. I found Rocket parked next to Blood Hound who seemed in need of some electrolytes. Quick-Sticks joined us and once Dura-max and T-3 pulled up several of us took off to finish the climb. We all made it with Sea Lion and Wolf chasing me like predators looking for a meal.

We made sure Blood Hound was rested before heading back down the canyon with Blood Hound leading. We lost Quick-sticks and T-3 at Stetson and the rest of us held a pace line all the way to Carl’s for coffee. It was good to see Quick-Sticks back with us and to see Surgeon back on the bike after a winter layoff. We were also pretty impressed with the pursuit we had just witnessed. With the determination that was shown I should have called the group Cerberus rather than the Musketeers. There is no reason to worry I am not about to change nicknames this late in the game. After our rest at Carl’s those of us left headed for home on Lincoln. I got back home with 38 miles on the computer. All in all a good day even for a Monday.

4/22/2011
By: C. Kent, aka (Superman)



For the first time in a long time I didn’t feel much like getting up at 6:30 just because it was getting light. I considered pulling the covers over my head and staying in bed a bit longer but finally I dragged myself into the kitchen for my morning coffee and looked out onto another overcast day. I had planned a rather easy ride for Friday but easy days didn’t always end that way. I could only hope this was going to be as easy as I had planned.


Snow Goose was out visiting with us and Bounty Hunter showed up for the ride. Warden got there just before we were ready to leave. Huntress pulled into the parking lot early and Joined Gambler, Centaur, D’Artagnon, Wolf, Dura-max, Blood Hound and I as we watched Warden unload his bike and check the air in his tires. Bounty Hunter had planned on leaving early but wanted to join us for the beginning of the ride. We quickly made it down Gilmore to Acacia and then to Kirby before dashing through the housing tract and over to Sanderson. We started out in a pace line almost from the beginning and soon were past Stetson and heading for Mustang and the High School.

Once up on Domenigoni we started to rotate through the pull till I found myself at the back of the line. Wolf and Huntress joined me and we picked up Casey Jones joined us at Warren Road. We drifted into three groups as we closed in on Winchester but came back together as we regrouped on top of the saddle. After a short rest we headed towards Menifee but dropped Casey Jones before we got to Lindenburger. I went back to see if he needed any help but he decided not to fix his flat and called his wife to pick him up instead. I found Wolf, Dura_max and Warden waiting for me on Menifee and Domenigoni. We headed south on Menifee in pursuit of the rest of the group.

We regrouped at the top of the little hill just past Holland and headed for Scott Road and headed to Hawn for the run back to Newport. The sky was just starting to clear and we picked up speed heading back towards Holland.

It didn’t take us long to work our way over to Bradley and then to McCall. A quick regroup on top of McCall and we dropped down to Heritage and then to Lindenburger. Gambler led us on a long pull almost to Winchester where we turned towards Chris’s where we stopped for coffee. After some coffee and conversation we were back out onto Winchester and headed for Stowe. We held together as a group very well all the way to Stowe as made the turn towards California. It was time to relax and ride side by side so we could talk a bit for the ride home.

We maintained a pretty good pace all the way back to the airport and then to Sanderson. I managed to get the energy to lead us back to the Lowes parking lot as we made the final turn towards Acacia and Kirby and finally left us back t back to Burger King. Blood Hound got us back to Kirby and finally left us at Gilmore. D’Artagnon and Gambler left us at Florida and the rest of us made it back to Burger King to go our separate ways home. I ended up with 41 miles and had a great ride. I can only hope the rest of the group had as much fun as I did.

4/20/2011
By: C. Kent, aka (Superman)



Wednesday looked a whole lot like Monday as I looked outside this morning. It was slightly warmer but there were just about as many clouds in the sky. Still I was looking forward to the ride and headed in the direction of Burger King at 8am. When I got there Wolf and Highlander were already there. Ten of us hit the road at 8:30 heading down Gilmore to Acacia


I planned on having the A group hit the marina hill while the B group would run on past and head for Cactus Valley. Rocket, Gambler, Doug, (P-38) and Attack Cat would have a climb and decent before giving chase in an attempt to overtake Sea Lion, Dura-max, Highlander, Double Time, Wolf and me before we got to the end of the road on cactus Valley. It would be a lot easier for them if they got a jump on the rest of us before we got to Domenigoni and I was thinking about that as we turned off of Kirby and onto Cypress to make the connection to Sanderson on Johnston.

Looking behind me I knew that with P-38 in the group if they held together on the pursuit we might have our work cut out staying ahead of them. The key was not to let them get too far ahead when they turned towards the marina. I felt pretty good and Sea Lion looked comfortable but still we would be quite a bit slower heading towards State Street and then the long run up to Cactus Valley Road.

We got out onto Sanderson and P-38 took the lead to pull us to Domenigoni. Rocket was close behind him and I managed to grab Rockets back wheel. We all made it to the light together and I managed to clip in first and start the pull towards the Marina entrance. I pulled out of the lead and Rocket took over and pulled his group around the corner. Much to my surprise I watched as Wolf followed the A group towards the climb while the rest of the B group headed for State Street. Sea Lion and I took turns pulling as we passed McSweeney and I noticed Wolf was following and closing in on the back of our group. As it turned out we had a big enough lead to make it to Cactus Valley a few minutes before the A group so we got a chance to get some extra rest waiting for the A group to arrive.

The first of the A group pulled up in formation with P-38, Gambler and Cossack in line. Somewhere Cossack had joined the group and it seems as if he did the climb with them. Rocket pulled in a few seconds later and Attack came in a few seconds after that. P-38 and the rest of them must have been running an incredible pace to come as close to catching the B group as they did.

We headed back down the road towards State Street only to get separated by about a mile from front to the pack of the pack. We misconnected at McSweeney when P-38 headed for home and Dura-max, Highlander and I ended up chasing Double time all the way to Wilson Mesa. It was there that we finally regrouped with what was left of the A group and headed for Florida and Carl’s.

We had some coffee and fellowship for a few minutes at Carl’s before Gambler had to leave for home followed shortly by Attack Cat. Double Time, Wolf, Highlander, Sea Lion, Dura-max and I headed for Lincoln. Dura-max left us at Park and Sea Lion left us at State Street while the rest of us headed back to Burger King.


It had turned into a pretty nice day with many of the clouds burning off by the time we were headed for home. I only had 34 miles on my computer as I pulled up to my front door but it had been a pretty nice ride with people I consider friends. What better way could there be to spend a morning? I can’t think of any.

4/18/2011
By: C. Kent, aka (Superman)



The difference between Saturday and Monday is astounding. Saturday was clear, sunny, and even hot. Today it was cloudy, cool and even just a bit of drizzle. None the less I changed my wheels on my bike and headed out of my door about 8am to meet with whoever might be willing to take a slow, short, recovery ride. That group turned out to be Wolf, Blood Hound, Highlander, Tax man, Quick-Sticks and me.


We rode down Gilmore to Acacia then to Kirby with the threat of drizzle hanging in the air. It was easy to keep the pace down because it was cold and my legs were still just a bit tight from the ride on Saturday. As we got to Cypress and turned through the housing tract I chatted with Wolf and explained my intention of just cruising down Domenigoni to Menifee and do the loop around the RV Park and past the dairy and chicken ranch before going back to Hanger 1 for coffee. I looked to the rest of the group to help pull and keep the pace down. Quick-sticks passed and pulled with Blood Hound out to Johnston and Sanderson.

I got back in front and pulled to Domenigoni and started the pull to Warren. I gave the lead to Highlander who pulled to Warren and just over the dry wash. Blood Hound and Wolf took turns till we got to Winchester and Quick-Sticks pulled us to the base of the Saddle. Blood Hound took the lead back only to have Highlander attack the hill and drag the rest of us up after him. It was obvious he had recovered pretty well from his century ride on Saturday. We regrouped at the top of the saddle and then dropped down the back side and made the turn on Menifee.

It didn’t take long for us to get to Holland and then to Briggs before we passed the RV Park and had a chance to smell the clean fresh air of a country dairy farm and chicken ranch. We came back out onto Domenigoni and they turned onto Lindenburger before getting to Simpson and heading back towards Winchester. Blood Hound was out in front of us as we made our way back to Leon and Highlander and Tax man stayed close on my wheel as we headed for home.

We turned onto Winchester and headed for Stowe after making a quick nature stop at Chris’s. Quick-Sticks pulled us to Stowe and we more or less regrouped after the turn. It wasn’t long before once again Blood Hound was way in the lead with Quick-Sticks not far behind. Wolf started to close on the two leaders and I fell back with Highlander and Tax Man.

We were all a lot closer together as we got back to Warren Road and soon found ourselves pulling onto the airport frontage road. The stop at Hanger 1 is always an adventure because we never know if there will be fresh baked pastries, pies, or cakes when we get there. To our delight Bambi was just turning over a fresh backed Pineapple Upside down cake as we walked in. There is no reason to think we were going to pass on some of that cake but just in case we wanted to she also had fresh baked Pumpkin pie from her own pumpkins. The answer you are waiting for is yes we had cake or pie with our coffee.

It was one of those relaxing rides that just helps get the cobwebs out and refreshes rather than wears out your legs. Sometimes it is good to just ride with friends and talk rather than push yourselves. Today was such a day and even though it was only 30 miles it was a great ride and we had a great time.

4/16/2011
By: C. Kent, aka (Superman)

Hemet Century Special


If the truth be told I didn’t know what to expect when I got to the Motel to start my planned ride of the Hemet Century. I didn’t expect 14 riders from our group to show up but I was pleased they did. I was overjoyed to see Shadow and RCMP show up shortly after I arrived. I was even happier when I discovered they were going to ride with the cruising group. Wolf and Blood Hound had promised they would be there and true to their word they were.


I was pretty sure that T-3, Ruby Tuesday, Dura-max and Highlander would be in my group but I didn’t realize till she rode up that Ocelot would be with us as well. I have ridden with all of them so I was pretty sure that with the proper pace we could all finish the ride the only question would be how long would it take.

Once we got started we got separated for the first few miles. Attack Cat and Doug were pushing themselves to try for a sub five hour ride and Metric Man and Blood Hound were hot on their trail. I collected everyone else on Warren and Stetson and planned on catching Metric Man and Blood Hound on Simpson and Winchester. We miss connected and somehow got in front of them so we had to regroup later in the ride. They would have a harder time catching us with ten riders to help pull so we decided to wait for them at Menifee and McCall.
Some of the riders needed a short break so I sent them on to the Arco Station on Menifee and Florida while four of us waited for Metric Man and Blood Hound to catch us. We didn’t have long to wait so I can only assume the two of them were pushing themselves to close the distance. Once regrouped we took off for the Arco Station where Metric Man took Huntress, Wolf and Blood Hound leaving eight riders in my group, four in the six hour group and two in the five hour group.

From this point on we were playing tag with Mark’s group getting to check points and Sag stops as they were leaving. That is much like the way it was as we followed down Menifee and made the turn on Nuevo. We could just make out Blood Hounds bright jersey as we headed for Evans. I was just as surprised at how well our group was doing speed wise because we were well ahead of our average speed from last year. But I was even more surprised when as we got to Evans I noticed the five hour riders turning just in front of us coming from the direction of Paris Boulevard. Once we got onto Evans RCMP was kind enough to pull to the front and help pull up to Florida.

For those who were new to the Hemet Century the ride must have seemed easier than some of our weekday rides up to this point. We had no major up to this point and the weather had been perfect. We turned on Iris and headed towards Heacock Street only to notice that there must have been another cycling event with many TT bikes heading in the other direction from us. We easily made the turn on Heacock and headed for Alessandro. It didn’t take long before we pulled up to the first Sag stop just as Mark and his group was leaving. Highlander’s wife acted as a Sag wagon for us and we deposited all of our extra gear, lights, arm and leg warmers and jackets, into the back of her car. We were about 10 minutes behind when we started down Alessandro towards Central.

Highlander was on my wheel all the way to the downhill heading to Victoria. I have to admit that downhill makes you feel like you can fly and it is nice and long. It is also a great way to rest your legs as we got ready to make the turn onto Victoria. Victoria is one of the best looking rides in Riverside in my opinion. Other than the number of stop signs it is pretty easy to keep up a rather fast pace if you so choose. The problem is you simply get caught up with the view.

Once off of Victoria we were back into part of the urban area of Riverside and headed to Corona. As Highlander pulled up next to me on Sixth Street I mentioned that we would be paying for the fast downhill up South Main Street. It isn’t quite as long as the trip down Alessandro but it is still a climb of about 3 miles till you get to Foothill and turn towards Temescal Canyon. It is the ride up that makes or breaks anyone who rides the first part of the Hemet Century. Any energy you have saved up to the Main Street climb is used up as you have to pace yourself and try to hydrate and recover till you get to Tom’s Farms. T-3 was still smiling as we got to Foothill.

It was about here that the heat and distance start to take their toll. Mark’s group was still far ahead of us and most of our group was still in good spirits but some were beginning to drag just a bit. We were stretched out somewhat as we headed down Temescal and the stronger riders started to pull for the tired ones so we all made it to Tom’s Farms just about the time Mark’s group was ready to leave.

My group was ready for a good long break and plenty of hydration and fuel. Make that something to drink and eat. The sag stop had lots of cookies, fruit and Peanut Butter sand witches plus a restaurant for more serious re-fueling. I was having a problem with a loose cleat and took time to repair it while the rest of the group took the time to rest and yes relax a bit. We just had time to say hello before Mark, Wolf, Blood Hound and Huntress pulled out of the parking lot and headed for Elsinore. I checked in with the registration and grabbed a hand full of grapes and some water.

Relaxation and planning seemed to be the order of the day and while some kicked back and others plotted our mileage I ate some chocolate chip cookies and a hand full of trail-mix. The great thing about century rides is you can eat chocolate and nuts to your heart’s content and not worry about the calories.


After everyone was rested and refreshed it was time to hit the road again and head to Elsinor ourselves. Sometime after 60 miles is when your body starts to complain on a long ride. Distance and heat often add up to cramps, weakness and fatigue. So far our group was looking pretty good with the exception of being just a bit tired. It was shortly after this point last year when I started to bonk and Dura-max had to pull me almost all the way to Railroad Canyon.


We did pretty well till we got to the 70 mile wall. For some reason many riders start feeling very tired at the 70 to 80 mile mark. The group was beginning to look a little ragged and I wasn’t sure we would easily make it to the next Sag area. Dura-max suggested we stop at the first place where we could get some ice and cold drinks so we made an unscheduled Sag stop just before we got to Elsinore. It was a good thing we did because it was turning into a lot warmer ride than some of us had planned

Once rested again and cooled down we headed into Elsinore and worked our way to Railroad Canyon. I could see some very tired eyes on some of our group as we slowly made it up the hill at Railroad Canyon and down the back side towards the last Sag stop. T-3 tossed a chain but some of the other riders helped get her back on her way and we all made the turn to the park together. I wasn’t sure everyone was going to continue on at this point but when it was time to leave everyone remounted their bikes and we headed for the last leg of the ride.

There were times when we were traveling a little slow but once we made it back over the Domenigoni Saddle we could almost feel the finish line. We finally made it past Winchester everyone just put their head down and headed for Warren Road. We took a quick little break just past Warren and then took off for Sanderson. We caught the light and made the run north.

As we got close to Lowes I could hear the high pitched cheers coming from Ocelot and T-3. We all knew there was one last light to make and we would have finished the ride. Nothing mattered more than getting back to the Motel. The cramps were starting to fade the fatigue was decreasing and the attitude was improving. Soon we were pulling into the Motel parking lot and the smiles returned to our faces and the hugs started to be handed out. We were joined by Highlander’s wife who was as much part of our ride as anyone could be. It might not have been the quickest 104 miles we have ever done but it was one that demonstrated more teamwork than any ride we have ever done before. As I have often said, these people were more than just someone I ride with, they are friends.