5/16/2011
By: C. Kent, aka (Superman)



With the strange weather we have been having I didn’t know just what to expect as I got ready to head out to the parking lot to meet the rest of the riders. To tell the truth it was just a bit cold as I put on both arm and leg warmers. Even as cold as it was there were 11 of us ready to leave at 8:30 am.


Because the group has been getting bigger it seemed like a good idea to split the group during the ride so that the A group could get a workout and the B group could be the rabbit. The break would take place when we got to Leon and the old dump road but I didn’t think much about that as we turned off of Acacia onto Kirby heading for Cypress. I was pleased to see the Raptor was still with us as we turned on Cypress and headed for Johnston.

It didn’t take long before we were out onto Sanderson and were working our way over towards the airport. We all now know to keep away from the concrete cut the city has decided to make on the north side drainage edge of the airport road. We turned out onto Stetson and pulled hard for Warren Road with the whole group in one long pace line. I knew the Stowe sprint was ahead of us but up to this point I wasn’t sure if I was up to any sprint let alone involving the cream of the A group.

Blood Hound took the lead on California but gave it over to me with most of the B group in close pursuit. Still I knew that at some point the A group would form up and come around and I wasn’t disappointed. Soon I watched as D’Artagnon, Rocket, Gambler, Wolf and Blood Hound passed me. I felt pretty good at that point as we stayed in a rather fast pace line heading for the Parking lot on Winchester. My big mistake was following Blood Hound as he retook the lead and then trying to pass him. Once I got back in front I found myself pushing into a head wind and the cold air was rushing past my teeth. Fatigue and pain hit me at about the same time as D’Artagnon and the rest of the A group pulled back around and away from me. Still we all pulled into the parking lot within a few feet of each other.

We regrouped and waited for Raptor and Tax Man before deciding to take off for the dump road and the group split. Tax Man left us on Winchester and Raptor stayed with us till Leon. This is where it got interesting as the B group turned south on Leon and the A group continued on to Briggs. The B group would be getting a 2 mile head start to McCall and the A group would have to fly to catch us before we got to Jack in the Box on Newport. Once the B group got to McCall and Heritage I could almost feel the A group heading in our direction. The good part was the whole B group worked together and got over McCall together and quickly headed for the turn past Murrieta and back on Cherry Hill. There were nervous look over our shoulders as we got to Newport and headed east.


The B group did get to Jack in the Box first but by the time I had walked up to get some coffee the A group pulled up and walked into the restaurant. If they would have hit one or two red light green or if we had hit one or two lights red they would have caught us. Still this time they didn’t and it proved satisfying for both groups. We had coffee and conversation before heading home and to prove we were still friends two A group riders and two B group riders were still smiling as we mounted up and got ready to leave.

We rode back towards the saddle and the A group decided to pull away for their final hard run home. The B group didn’t exactly slack off and we kept the A group in sight almost all the way to Winchester. They did disappear into the horizon as we got to Winchester but the B group did work together and we made it easily back to Sanderson where Dura-Max left us and then to Johnston where T-3 left us. Highlander, Wolf and I got back to the parking lot and talked for a few minutes before we also headed for home. It never did get all that warm but it was much better than when we started out. Just over 38 quick miles and time with good friends made it a great day.