9/16/2011
By: C. Kent, aka (Superman)


One thing about Fridays is you simply can’t predict what they will be like. The weather was cool this morning and attendance was down a bit on Monday and Wednesday so I wondered how many we would have. The answer was 18 but it took a while before everyone arrived. Double Time and Ferret got there just as we were about to pull out onto Gilmore. We waited a few minutes and headed for Acacia.


We had a dangerous looking A group with Barracuda, Gambler, Centaur, Cossack, D’Artagnon in the mix. Blood Hound and Jack Rabbit would have their work cut out in that group but they did have Ferret for help. There were some faster Bs as well with Full Throttle, Sea Lion, Bounty Hunter and Vortex giving close pursuit. But even the Bs had surprising energy today. With Highlander sticking with the leaders like glue it was all I could do to lead Bud, Tax Man, SR-71 and Carlos within striking distance if the pace picked up. All of that ran through my mind as we moved south on Kirby towards Cypress.

We moved quickly through the housing tract on Cypress and just as quickly north on Sanderson before heading west past the airport. Once we got back out onto Stetson I found myself about 5 riders back heading for Warren Road. We crossed Warren and headed for California with Vortex talking to me about the impending sprint that was bound to take place on Stowe. I was determined to stay with Carlos and SR-71 at least till we got to Winchester so I told Vortex that I was simply going to be a spectator.

The sprint developed pretty much as expected but I wasn’t close enough to see the outcome. What was impressive was how well SR-71 and Carlos did. We pulled into the parking lot maybe 50 yards from the end of the line and regrouped before everyone had stopped moving and started to take on some well needed fluids.

Once back underway Blood Hound and Barracuda pulled us to the dump road where I expected us to break into two groups. To my surprise we all got to the light on Briggs and Florida at the same time. In fact we were pretty close when we pulled into the Am/Pm for more water. After a short stop we were back out onto Menifee and headed for Simpson. Blood Hound was in the lead as we made the turn towards Lindenburger. And Cossack Headed for Home.

Once on Lindenburger it was a short trip to Domenigoni and up the back side of the saddle. Carlos had his chain jump the ring and took a bit longer getting over the hill than the fast guys so we had to form a three man pace line and try to catch Tax Man and Double Time. Turns out they waited for us and we were now five strong. We lost Bud early as he had an appointment and Tax Man pulled off at Sanderson. Double time, Carlos, SR-71 and I regrouped with the rest of the riders at the Marina entrance.

Once back on our way we lost Bounty Hunter to a flat and Double Time, Carlos and SR-71 stayed to help him fix it. Carlos and SR-71 broke off on State and the rest of us rode to Carl’s for coffee and conversation. It turned out to be a spirited ride with Full Throttle and Jack Rabbit in the middle of every sprint till we stopped for coffee. We didn’t stay long and when we left most of the group split up to go their separate way home. Double Time and Bandit stayed with my group as we headed for Lincoln.

As always the ride to Park was full of conversation and a retelling of how much fun the ride had been. Part of the fun in this group is the minor victories and game playing goes on. The ride home is usually a casual easy ride as if the ride was truly finished as soon as we stop from coffee. In most cases it is. We past State Street and headed for the Burger King parking lot with both Vortex and Highlander still in good spirits and looking pretty much as they did at the start of the ride. Ferret looked like he was ready to break into a sprint if anyone was inclined to toss down the gauntlet.

Back at the Burger King we talked for a bit and wished each other a good weekend and hoped to see each other Monday. I headed for home through the alley to Lyon and back south towards Johnston. I rolled up to my door with 47 miles on the computer. The ride could have been an easy one if the group wanted. It was just that they didn’t seem to want an easy ride today.