8/22/2011
By: C. Kent, aka (Superman)



Today seemed like a good day to think outside of the box and try a new and longer ride with the group. I looked for something about 45 to 48 miles with a few rollers and some new things to see. He only question I had was how many people would be interested in stretching it out a bit. That thought was on my mind as I left the house and headed for Florida and Gilmore. I had nothing to worry about because riders started showing up as soon as I got there.


By 8am we had 3 from Team 4 seasons, two of team Full Throttle, and three of the Musketeers. We also had Dura max, Ocelot, Surgeon, T-3, Sea Lion, Blood Hound and me, 15 riders not counting Raptor heading in another direction. About a minute maybe two later we were all sitting at the light on Gilmore and Florida ready for it to change.

We rode down Gilmore to Acacia to Kirby and got caught at the light like we do almost every time we get there. There were enough of us to trip the light so we didn’t have long to wait before we made our way south on Kirby all the way to Cypress. I was surprised with how cool it was today. They were predicting 100 degrees today but up to this point it was just 80. We made it to Sanderson and started towards Domenigoni with T-3 pushing hard for the front.

After the turn onto Domenigoni I pulled for a while before falling back to the back of the line and T-3 started her pull well before Warren and pulled us well past the dry river crossing. Shortly after Gambler got to the front the A group split off and the group split in two with Highlander leading those of us in the B group. Gambler ran the A group hard to the Saddle where we all regrouped to catch our breath and grab some quick hydration and have Goliath join us.

I took the opportunity to explain the rest of the route from the saddle to Menifee then left to Scott and left again to Winchester and over to Washington and then down to Benton. Looking at the group I noticed a blank look on about half of the group’s faces and then a smile as they said they would be more than happy to let me lead them to Scott and maybe even to Winchester. We all laughed and started down the back side of the saddle towards Menifee.

We made it to Scott and regrouped and I led the way towards Winchester. As we past Leon Gambler, D’Artagnon, Blood Hound and Surgeon pulled past me but we caught them at the light on Winchester. Once across Winchester Scott turns into Washington and shortly starts a long downhill run before a few rollers and finally Benton Road. We decided to change the route and stop at the shopping center on Winchester and Benton. Sea Lion and I followed with Dura max and Ocelot till we regrouped at the gas station in the center.

It was a short trip north on Winchester to Thompson and then west towards Leon. I wasn’t sure we would make it into the turn lane on Winchester but traffic cleared and we took the lane and waited for the light to change. The road looked a bit like it went uphill but it was easy to ride and only about two blocks down the road we ran into Leon to make the turn north back towards Scott.

The ride back to Scott was easier than I had thought it was going to be and the group broke into two parts again. The B group stayed within sight of the A group all the way back to Menifee and then followed all the way back to Domenigoni where we regrouped again before hitting the saddle one last time. We were on the run home from there and I know that everyone wouldn’t stop for coffee after this ride. D’Artagnon and Gambler passed by Winchester and Blood Hound went with them. Team Full throttle headed for home as well and Ocelot, Dura max and Sea Lion. Vortex and I set up for the turn at Winchester and watched Dura Max, Ocelot and Sea Lion head for home.

By the time we got to Chris’s we were down to five with Highlander, Tax Man, Surgeon, Vortex and I. We noticed that Vortex had suffered a broken spoke and Surgeon assisted with wrapping it out of the way so he could make it home. Once we were back on the road Surgeon took off for Stowe and it was all we could do to keep him in sight. We finally all made it onto Stowe and headed for California at cruising speed.

We set a good pace all the way to California and Vortex was doing pretty good considering he had a broken spoke and a low rear tire. Highlander pulled us down Stetson and over Warren before surrendering the lead to me and I pulled us to and past the airport. We were still in one group at the Light on Sanderson and ran hard to Lowes and through the parking lot to Acacia. We got back to Burger King with Tax Man almost sprinting over Florida to the parking lot. It had been a good ride and I was impressed with everyone on doing so well on a new ride and a longer one at that

We stood around and talked for a few minutes about how much we enjoyed the ride and things we can do to make the rides better in the future. After about 15 or 20 minutes we headed for our homes and I got home with 50 miles on the computer. I think it was one of the easiest 50 miles I have done in a long time. This ride was a keeper.