By: C. Kent, aka (Superman)
I haven’t completely gotten over whatever bug hit me last week but I was still looking forward to getting out for a ride. It was cool, verging on cold and just a touch of fog and the group was divided into two parts with a Lake Paris ride and an Idyllwild ride. By 8am there were seven of us ready to head out onto Latham. A quick turn onto Lyon and we were on our way.
Ocelot, Dura Max, Rocket, Spartacus, Highlander, Blood Hound and I more or less cruised down Lyn to Ramona and then jogged over to the expressway. Once we started west I knew something was still wrong with my system because already I was running on empty. I managed to stay with the pack for a while but soon had to downshift and fell off of the back. I pulled up to Rocket waiting at Bridge street and we talked for a minute as he too seemed a bit drained. I don’t know if it was the cold or what but Rocket decided to call it a day and I was determined to at least make it to Lake Paris even if I had to cruise all the way. Finally I caught Spartacus and Highlander when Spartacus flatted. Blood Hound had continued on to Lakeview while Dura Max and Ocelot opted to turn towards Nuevo. Only 4 of us headed to Lake Paris so we decided to go in at the east gate and ride the bike path to the Marina.
It was still a bit foggy as we got to the lake but at least it was warming up. I felt a bit better than when I started but I wasn’t going to set any land speed records getting home. Still we visited for a little while at the observation deck before heading for home. It was still hazy but at least it was much warmer.
Blood Hound and Highlander did a great job of pulling as we got back onto the Expressway. At least we were able to work together and make an easy cruise back to Sanderson. All in all I was feeling pretty good even if I was a lot more tired than normal. Thanks to Highlander and Blood Hound the pace was easy and we made it back to Sanderson to head over to Lyon on Ramona.
I always enjoy the Lake Paris ride and today was no different. It did seem like fall because of the weather but the Lake was a good back drop for coffee and conversation. I had enough in the tank to get back in front to pull to Lyon. I just guess it will be necessary to take it easy for as long as it takes before trying to push myself again. A fact of life is sometimes we need to give our bodies a chance to recover even when our desirers tell us we can do what we have always done. Still riding easy is better than not riding at all and I was still having fun.
Something over 40 miles wasn’t bad for a day like today and it gave me a chance to ride with some friends so it was 100 times better than staying home and watching TV. So I guess I will continue planning rides for the group and modifying some of them till I get over whatever energy sapping bug has a grip on me. I am looking forward to next week and riding with everyone again.
Special report from Gambler:
Friday Idyllwild Report
Hi Everyone,
The ride report for Friday 10/21/2011 is below, no link attached.
I woke up early and eager for this ride, it is a hugely challenging half the time and hugely rewarding the remaining half. When I looked outside, it was cloudy and foggy, I opened the door and it was cold!!! I ate breakfast, watched the news and started to get ready about 7:30, I put leg and arm warmers on, an undershirt and my beanie. When I finally rolled out the door at 8:05, I decided against the arm warmers but kept everything else in tact. Shadow, D’Artagnon and Arron were waiting at Carl's jr and we were still expecting Bandit and Attack cat. They pulled in shortly and we rolled out of the parking lot at 8:45 on the button. Full Throttle and Vortex, were ahead us by about 45 minutes to an hour. It would be next to impossible to catch them.
Attack cat did a good job getting us up to speed and pulled us until the pottery yard on East Florida. I took over and settled into a nice rhythm of about 19 to 20, we kept this average well past the fire station and into the first rollers where the group split up. I brought it back down and tried to regroup. We did and started rolling again, but after about 5 miles into the ride, I was burning up and so was Shadow, so we pulled over and removed all the cold weather gear, the sky had cleared and it was warming up fast! While we did that, Bandit passed us then D’Artagnon and then Aaron, Siegfried was not yet visible so we started again. The first half of the climb before you get to Strawberry Creek seems really painful and it just keeps doing the same thing, no variety, right turn then left and then a steep inclined right turn and it starts over. Shadow and I started catching up and regrouped with Bandit at Strawberry Creek and let him pull us up the hill, it was nice! At the top, the three of us rolled on and could see D’Artagnon and Aaron just a little ways back. When the second passing lane came up we had run straight into a strong headwind coming off the top of the mountain, worse in the canyons. This dropped our speed like an anchor but we pushed on. My favorite part is when you hit the tree line and it starts to look more like a mountain ride rather than a desert ride. Our speed picked up and we hit Mt. Center with an average of 11.6 to that point.
After a few minutes everyone was there and we rolled onto Idyllwild and the Mile High Cafe, legs a little heavy so we spun for a while. Then we carried a decent speed that hovered between 11 & 13 until the Idyllwild sign and the quick downhill to the cafe. I had told my parents who were meeting us there, that I was planning to be there by 10 but with the late start we did not get there until 10:30, time to the top was 1:34:37. We all took the time and ordered some light breakfast, visited and recalled our climb, then the descent.
We took off together and just before the left turn to start downhill, Bandit's bike was making noise so he and I pulled off and tried to solve it but with no luck. Bottom line, he needs a new bike! So, we got a late start and had to play catch up. We were able to catch D’Artagnon and Aaron pretty quickly, D’Artagnon with his deep carbon wheels has a hard time in the wind and it was windy. We pushed our speed into the mid 40's until Mt. Center and staying on the gas until we caught Shadow, he had fallen off the back of Attack cat and Vortex. Shadow does not carry the same amount of mass as the big guys so he really suffers in a decline, gravity is only on his side when the road turns up, not down. We did not catch Attack cat and Vortex until nearly the fire station but they were surprised we caught them given the amount of time we spent on the side. Full Throttle was up ahead at the divided road tree line waiting for us and we regrouped and rode to Carl's together.
Bandit asked me why this ride isn't becoming easier, honestly I didn't know but when I got home and looked at my prior time splits, it made sense. We beat our prior time to the top by over 15 minutes, so it doesn't feel easier because we are going faster; we are working harder and making better times. We can't wait to do it again, and we will see you all in the coming week. Have a great weekend!
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