6/08/2011
By: C. Kent, aka (Superman)



It was very overcast looking at the sky this morning. It was cold but it didn’t feel like a warm summer day either. At least there was hardly any wind and we had a rather short 30+ mile ride planned for the day. Once I got to the parking lot to meet the other riders I could see it wasn’t ever going to burn off so I thought we would just have to make the best of it. It looked like we were down a rider or two but by 8:30 we had 14 people ready to go and headed off the Lyon and then north towards Ramona.

Because it was my goal to take it easy and save some energy for the ride Thursday I was pretty sure I was going to be following Surgeon, Highlander, Blood Hound and Wolf all day long. Not to mention that D’Artagnon, Rocket and Gambler were looking strong and Huntress seemed as eager as ever. If CycoBob, Dura-max, Centaur and Ocelot decided to push it I was going to end up pretty tired even on a short day.

Once we got into the Soboba Canyon all bets were off and most of the group took off leaving Cycobob, Huntress, Dura-max, Ocelot and I following in the distance. Once over the first little roller Huntress helped me close the gap to Highlander and Surgeon and then she and Surgeon pulled away and I didn’t catch up again till we go the little rise at the golf course where we all regrouped once again.

We all rode to Washington where once again the A group pulled away and at first I went with them. I soon tired and waited till the B group caught me and we continued on to Cedar where Huntress dropped us and headed for Florida by herself. We were a few minutes behind her as we pulled into the Cranston Station for another break.


We got back out onto Florida and headed west towards the trees in one long pace line. Highlander decided to make an attack and that started a push by the big dogs and the pace towards Carl’s turned into a dash. When the whole group is moving downhill with little or no wind covering the distance to Carl’s takes very little time and we all stopped for coffee and conversation.

We were down to about 9 riders and D’Artagnon left us just as we pulled out of the parking lot and headed for Lincoln. Gambler left us a few blocks later and the rest of us continued on towards Palm.


Dura-max and Ocelot broke off at Palm and the group turned towards Columbia and Devonshire. We quickly headed towards Santa Fe and talked about our ride and future plans for our bikes and equipment. One thing is patently clear we are a social group as much as anything else and we seem to enjoy each other’s company about as much as we enjoy riding. I for one wouldn’t have I any other way.

It didn’t take long before we were passing State Street and getting closer to Burger King. It wasn’t the longest or fastest ride we have had in the last few weeks. But it was just what I needed for a good day.