12/30/2011
By: C. Kent, aka (Superman)


Today was the last Friday ride for 2011 and it was just about a perfect day. It was a cool 45 when I walked out to get the paper and hardly a cloud in the sky. I still put on arm and knee warmers and long finger gloves but it didn’t feel all that cold as I headed down Palm to Florida and the parking lot where I expected to meet our cycling group. I was just a little late getting started so I got a call from Centaur to make sure we were riding today. By 8:35 there were seven of us pulling out of the parking lot onto Gilmore and down to Acacia in an attempt to work our way south on Kirby.


Ruby Tuesday decided to join us today even though T-3 was still out with a sore shoulder. Rocket was back and looked like he was going to try to stay for the whole ride. Gambler, Centaur, Hornet and Vortex rounded out the group as we moved to Cypress and out towards Johnston and finally onto Sanderson. We had to wait at the light on Sanderson and then made the dash past Stetson trying to make sure we caught the light green. Once everyone was past the driveway for Wal-Mart we settled into a steady pace towards Domenigoni.

After the initial pull on Domenigoni some of the big dogs decided to open it up a bit I decided to let them go. Ruby Tuesday stayed with me and we traded leads a few time as we continued to catch all of the lights red. Finally we rolled past Winchester and keep the pace to a reasonable cruise of between 20 and 22 all the way to Leon. Finally Ruby cracked the whip and forced me to pick it up a bit as we ran up the saddle and regrouped with the A riders and Bandit with his brother.

Once we got ready to start out again I took the time to explain the route we would be taking and telling the A group that they were free to go at their own pace because at least two of us wouldn’t be chasing them. Everyone seemed to understand and we pushed off to head down the back side of the saddle towards Lindenburger. We would be turning at the next light and heading past the Dairy and chicken ranch on Briggs.

Ruby Tuesday and I stayed with them till we turned onto Briggs and then watched the whole group start to pull away and shrink in the distance headed for Garboni. After turning west towards Antelope Ruby and I noticed two riders had broken off from the lead group. It took all the way back to Newport for Ruby and I to close with them and it turned out to be Vortex and Hornet. We rode as a group back to Lindenburger and finally to Simpson. Vortex and Hornet did most of the pulling to Winchester and we all pulled into Chris’s for coffee about 20 minutes after we formed up. As we had coffee Full Throttle stopped by to see how we were doing and a few minutes later the A group pulled up after taking a detour over the back side of Antelope to McCall.

Finally we got ready to head for home and pulled back out onto Winchester and headed north to Stowe. The group stayed together in a pace line all the way up Winchester and made the turn east on Stowe in just a few minutes. Bandit and his brother had already headed for home and Hornet left early so we were down to six riders but everyone seemed well rested and ready for the ride home.

Ruby Tuesday lead us for a while till Gambler got ready for his had pull to California and back to the east end of town. Vortex and Centaur decided to follow him and Rocket joined them while Ruby and I maintained our own pace all the way to California.

We followed at a distance till the group split up at the airport. Ruby and I followed Rocket on Stetson and I managed to catch him before he got to Sonic so we could talk till I broke off at Sanderson and Ruby and I took Johnston towards home. I stopped to check on T-3 and got home with 36 miles on the computer giving me just under 6500 miles for the year. I can only hope next year is even better for all my friends.

12/28/2011
By: C. Kent, aka (Superman)


Looking outside this morning all I could see was a baby blue sky and no wind. If it warmed up just a bit the day would be close to perfect. Still I put on arm warmers, leg warmers and a jacket to ride to the parking lot and meet up with the group. I got there and noticed Highlander was already unloading his bike and Blood Hound was sitting by the paper stand in the morning sun. Several other cars and bikes rolled up and I knew it would be a good group for a nice ride to Lake Paris. 8:35 and we were off past Pep Boys and out onto Latham.


We were joined by some friends that had been missing for a while. Cossack has been busy for months and Rocket was back again. Sue isn’t able to ride with us unless school is out. Torpedo was back with us and Vortex was back after missing Monday. Still it looked like we would have a good A and B group.

We managed to make to Lyon and head north towards Ramona. I took the lead and pulled us last Devonshire, Menlo and kept the lead as we got to Esplanade. For some reason I felt pretty good and everyone else seemed more than happy to follow at my pace.

Things stayed pretty much the same all the way to Ramona Road and then to Sanderson. We managed to catch the light on Ramona Expressway with two cars tripping the light in front of us. I told the A group that they would be going straight to the front gate at Lake Paris and the B group with hit the back gate. I figured they would make a hard push somewhere before Warren and just as I signaled that I wanted to give up the lead that is just what happened. Rocket, Highlander, Sue and I kept the pace at about 20 or 21 while the A group faded into the distance. By Bridge Street it looked like the A were shedding people. We continued on towards Lake Paris and Rocket left us at Lakeview.

Highlander, Sue and I met up with Hornet, Blood Hound and Vortex at the back gate where Hornet called for a ride because of a broken chain. We continued on around the back side of the lake trail enjoying the beautiful day.


It took us a little longer than we planned but we met up with the A group at the Marina where we decided to take a short break and visit for a while before getting ready to head back to Hemet. The wind had pretty much died off and the lake was as smooth as glass. We could see ducks way out in the lake in what looked like a swimming race leaving long wakes behind them that were undisturbed by any breeze. Still as nice as the view was we had to get back so we pulled away from the marina and headed back on the bike trail to work our way back to Ramona Expressway.

The group more or less cruised through the first part of the trail until we got through the picnic area. We were still talking as we made it to the fields on the east end of the lake and I got a chance to visit with Cossack for a short period of time till Blood Hound started to extend the pace and pull away from the rest of us. Cossack finally decided to give chase and by the time we rounded onto the south side of the lake we had closed to within a few yards of Blood Hound. It looked like we were dropping some riders so Highlander and I slowed down and regrouped with the rest of the group at the top of the hill leading out of the back gate to the park.

We made it out onto Ramona Expressway and soon Torpedo pulled to the front and started to make a run. I closed onto his back wheel and contemplated trying a surprise pass but traffic was not co-operating when I hit something in the road. I don’t know what it was but I flatted in the next few feet and everyone stopped while I replaced the tube. Once back on the way we split into two groups and again the A group faded into the distance. About halfway back to Bridge we caught Blood Hound and he seemed a bit off the pace. I finally pulled in front of him and pulled back to Sanderson and down towards Cottonwood. Highlander help pull part way and I took over again till we turned on Kirby and headed for home. We got back and Blood Hound was feeling a bit under the weather so we called to get him a ride and once we knew he was safe headed for home. It was a good ride with good friends and I can’t think of a better way to spend the end of this year.

12/26/2011
By: C. Kent, aka (Superman)


The weatherman told us it was supposed to warm up today and even though it was the day after Christmas we believed him. However when I looked outside this morning it was below freezing. But it was colder Friday so I put on a base layer and headed for Burger King to see how many wanted to work off Christmas dinner.

All in all it wasn’t a bad turn out with about ten riders and a chance to pick up to more along the way. The only problem was there were eight A riders and only two B riders. It looked like it could be a long hard day for the B riders. Still I was feeling good as we moved down Gilmore to Acacia and then south on Kirby. Behind me were Highlander, Donovan, (Torpedo), Goliath, Rocket, Blood Hound, Full Throttle, Gambler, and D’Artagnon. We were going to pick up Hornet and Bandit at Walmart.


Everyone tends to use the ride to Domenigoni as a warm up and after a quick stop at Walmart today was no different. Somewhere I could expect Blood Hound to take the lead and slowly but surely pick the pace up as we passed Mustang. I decided it was best to let him pull because I had a feeling Domenigoni to the saddle was going to turn into a drag race and if I had any hope of hanging on I was going to need all the energy a Christmas feast could provide. Not to mention the extra drag from pie and candy.

Blood Hound started us off rather nicely and slowly got us up to 20 plus as we headed for Warren. To be honest I was dreading my turn at the front but before I got there Torpedo moved to the front and kicked it up a notch. We stayed with him and Blood Hound for a while until I looked back and noticed the pace line was straining a bit. I tried to back it down and let the two go but soon Full Throttle, Hornet and Goliath had moved around me and gave chase. I decided to try and stay with them and sat up as much as I could to create a better draft but by Wincheter we were hauling in Blood Hound and Torpedo was fading into the distance. We had to slow at Winchester and I noticed Gambler, D’Artagnon and Bandit weren’t with us. I took a call from Gambler and promised to wait at the saddle because they had to fix a dropped chain. I struggled to reengage the pace line but noticed Rocket and Highlander didn’t catch the jump at Winchester. For a few minutes I was suspended between the two groups but decided the Saddle wasn’t that far so I closed on the lead group, minus Torpedo, and caught a back wheel just before Leon. Goliath was pushing the pace hard as we headed for the saddle.

I happened to be in the number four spot when Goliath pulled off and then Hornet gave way to Full Throttle. As we hit the bottom of the hill I found myself on Blood Hounds wheel and I stuck there as if my life depended on it till he down shifted and I made my jump. Even if my heart rate was at 90 percent my legs felt good and I could only hope I had enough in the tank to hold the sprint to the top. Much to my dismay Goliath was right behind me and I wasn’t sure I could hold him off. Still I rolled to the top of the saddle to join Torpedo and wait for everyone to regroup.


We waited for Gambler, Bandit and D’Artagnon toarrived and tossed the gauntlet down on the A group giving them and extra mile uphill after Haun while the B group stayed on Haun all the way to Newport and headed for the Chevron. We took off for Menifee and the B group stayed with the A group all the way to Holland. We thought we were doing pretty well till we caught the light at Newport where we picked up Piranha and rode as quickly as we could to Murrieta. It didn’t work because the A group was already there when we pulled up. We took a quick break before pulling back out onto Murrieta and heading for McCall.

The group spread out a lot from Newport to McCall and the stop lights spread us out even more. We hit McCall’s Hospital hill and did a mini regroup before going down the back side and into the Housing track on the other side of Menifee. We could see the A group waiting for us at Heritage.

We rolled by and the group cruised along Heritage just enjoying the warming sun and the perfect windless day that we were having up to this point. I think everyone was also anticipating the run down Simpson because they know it can turn into a pretty fast pace line.

Somehow I got in the front on Lindenburger and made the turn east on Simpson. I started the lead out and built the line into a 21 MPH cruise. That didn’t last all that long and well before we were in sight of Leon Hornet started the hard run followed by just about everyone by Highlander, Piranha and me. Soon we noticed someone fell off the back of the group and we were closing hard on then as we rolled past Leon and Piranha took over pulling our little group. Well before we were halfway through the Eucalyptus trees we noticed some cars stopping and some of our riders were circling back towards us. Turns out one of our group had gone down hard and was still on his back in the middle of the street. I swear everyone was off of their bikes trying to render aid and comfort. When I Pulled up I noticed it was Full Throttle and he didn’t look happy.

I am not quite sure what happened but it seems like he may have touched a rear wheel and as we all know that is a sure sign of disaster. He was being checked out by one of the other riders and one of the men that had stopped to help direct traffic around the riders offered to give Full Throttle and hi bike a ride to Chris’s where we planned on getting him a ride home. I know he is sore but he seemed more disappointed at ripping his new gloves and tearing his foot warmers and leggings than how sore his arm was. But not to make a commercial for helmets looking at the scrap and damage to his helmet we were glad he had a helmet on.

The helmet is toast by the way but that is what they are designed to do. They take a blow one time like the one today and they are replaced. But it is easier to replace a helmet than a skull.

The rest of us rode to Chris’s and waited while Full Throttle’s wife came to pick him up. We had coffee and conversation for a few minutes after he left and gave thanks that he seems to not have suffered and serious injury. The main group left early while Highlander, Goliath, Blood Hound and I finished our coffee before following them back to Stowe.


It was a quick and easy ride back to California and Stetson and even past the airport. We broke off at Sanderson with Blood Hound and Goliath going south and Highlander and I going north. We got back to the parking lot with very little in the tank as far as energy but the satisfaction of having a good ride and good friends. I am sure everyone is with me in praying for Full Throttles speedy healing and a return to the group.

12/23/2011
By: C. Kent, aka (Superman)

Forgetting to turn on the heat


There is a rule that some riders must have forgotten today and that was the riders living the farthest east have to remember to to flip on the heat switch as the sun passes over their house. Today it seems as if Gambler and D’Artagnon were falling down on their job. I got up and it was 27 degrees downtown. I knew someone was going to ride west to catch the sun and flip the switch. So I got up, put on a medium base layer, long sleeve jersey, toe covers, and long finger gloves and headed for the Burger King parking lot. Every puddle I past had a thin layer of ice on it and I did my best to avoid any wet spots on the road. I got to the parking lot and I was all alone.

After getting a cup of coffee Barracuda walked up dressed like a lumber jack to see who would be foolish enough to ride today. As we talked Full Throttle and Hornet pulled up making a grand total of three riders ready to go turn the heat on and save our city. We left the parking about 8:35 heading for the Hemet Airport and the west side of our normal training rides. That is where the heat switch would be. We picked up Vortex before we got to the airport and quickly rode down Stetson to California. Vortex took us to Stowe and Full Throttle pulled us to Winchester.


I got out in front and started the pull down Winchester. It was still cold and in fact Vortex commented that it seemed to be getting colder. I have to admit I didn’t feel much like taking off my wind breaker and I sure wasn’t about to give up my gloves. I wasn’t ready to curse the name of Gambler for missing the heat switch but I wasn’t happy about it either. Still with the groups help maybe we could catch the trailing string the sun was dragging along behind it. What Gambler must have forgotten was the string to turn on the sun is a two part switch a bit like a ceiling fan. One pull turns on the light and a second pull turns on the fan. One pull turned on the light of the sun but someone forgot the second pull.

Once we got to McCall and headed for the hill Hornet jumped to the front and attacked. I followed a few yards behind and Vortex and Full Throttle were behind me. We topped the hill and quickly headed down the other side heading for Bradley. We had all regrouped by the light at Bradley and we paced ourselves up to Murrieta where I spotted the string dragging along McCall. I sprinted to the end of the road and pulled the switch just before we made the turn south towards Cherry Hill. The warming sun must have flipped a switch in Full Throttle because he seemed to get tired of the pace Hornet was setting and he took off on a hard run all the way to Newport. I hooked onto his wheel like a trailer and we made the turn towards Antelope and Jack in the Box. We stopped for coffee and conversation and to see if the switch worked.

We came out about 15 or 20 minutes later and it was already warming up. In fact Full Throttle had to remove his jacket. We pulled out onto Newport and headed for the saddle with Hornet in the lead. Before we got back to Lindenburger I noticed a lone rider making the turn and heading for the saddle himself. I pulled out of the pack and closed as quickly as I could and met a man named Alex who has been looking for a group to ride with and both Sherpa and Warden had mentioned our group. He decided to ride with us back down Domenigoni and we asked him t join our pace line. But by Winchester Hornet began to show signs of wear and tear and we decided to back down so he could stay with the group. We stayed pretty much together till we got to Sanderson.


Vortex, Hornet and I headed north while Full Throttle and Alex rode to State Street. It did feel warmer and we lost Hornet at Mustang when he turned for home. I followed Vortex to Stetson and then we went our separate was home at Johnston. When I got home it was 60 degrees and much warmer than when I left home. I just hope the riders living east of us do a better job of managing the heat next time. But if they don’t at least you will know who to blame.

12/19/2011
By: C. Kent, aka (Superman)


One thing about winter riding is we never know what size of group we are going to have. Looking outside at the sky first thing in the morning can make staying inside and having another cup of coffee an option you might not think of on a warm summer morning. I pretty much knew this was going to be one of those mornings. When I got to Burger King only Blood Hound was waiting and for the longest time it looked like just the two of us were going on a ride. Soon however Highlander and Rocket showed up followed by Vortex so at least we would be starting with 5 riders.

We pulled out onto Latham and turned north on Lyon but before we got two blocks north we were joined by D’Artagnon. Rocket, Highlander and I rode easily along talking with D’Artagnon as Vortex and Blood Hound pulled slowly ahead.


Once we turned onto Ramona Road we started to gain on Blood Hound and Vortex but before we could close the gap D’Artagnon dropped his phone and we turned back to see if everything was OK. By the time we got to Sanderson Blood Hound and Vortex were already heading west on the expressway. We caught the light and after we rode through D’Artagnon caught the light. We didn’t see Blood Hound and Vortex till we got to Nuevo. D’Artagnon pulled us all the way to Nuevo at about 22 MPH and it didn’t look like he had to work at all. We regrouped at Lakeview and then took off for Menifee. Once on Menifee D’Artagnon and Blood Hound took off and decided to stretch their legs. They waited for us at Mapes and then chased us to the Am/Pm before moving on to McCall.

Blood Hound and D’Artagnon pulled ahead of us and moved onto Heritage first while the rest of us lined up and formed a pace line before turning onto Heritage ourselves. It wasn’t all that warm but I had decided to take off my wind breaker. Even without the windbreaker I still ad on a thick jersey and a medium base layer. I wouldn’t say I was toasty but I wasn’t freezing cold either.

I pulled once we got to Simpson all the way to Leon and then Vortex took over till we got close to Winchester and somehow we managed to catch the turn light green and headed to Chris’s for coffee and conversation. This time we sat inside out of the cold. We didn’t stay as long as we do sometimes and we were back on the road where I pulled up to Stowe before heading east towards California.

For a while we stayed pretty much together but that was sure not to last as some of us seem to have a case of the horse and the barn syndrome. As we started to split up I reflected on how lucky we were even to be able to go out for a ride on a winter’s day. It may have been over cast but it wasn’t raining and at least for today it wasn’t windy.

Again Blood Hound and D’Artagnon started to pull away and once we onto Stetson Rocket gave chase. Highlander, Vortex and I kept them in sight and I ended up following the lead three at the airport while Vortex and Highlander headed back to Burger King. I caught the lead group at Sanderson where I turned and took Johnston home and they went straight. I pulled up to the house with just over 36 miles on the computer and a feeling of accomplishment. I am glad I know these riders and can call them friends.

12/16/2011
By: C. Kent, aka (Superman)

The Fantastic Four

I don’t know that anyone knew a crime had been committed except the kind hearted shop keeper at Chris’s. It was his misfortune that the crime happened on a day when few brave cyclists would be out because of the weather. Who would the shop keeper tell his troubles to? His only hope was if some brave men from D V V would decide to brave the elements and just maybe stop by for coffee and relieve him of his concerns. By 8:35 this morning there were four such riders with Full Throttle, Highlander, Gambler, Bandit and I as record keeper of their mighty deeds.


We started out going south thinking we could fight the wind and cold on the way to Cypress then to Johnston and finally to Sanderson. Full Throttle was energetic as always and once on Sanderson he started to pick up the pace to see if he could ride the rest of us into the ground. The man believes anything worth doing if worth giving 100 percent effort to and he did pretty much just that as we turned onto Domenigoni. The wind slammed me in the face as I struggled to keep pace and finally I had to watch as Gambler, Bandit and Full Throttle forced their way past the head wind on off into the distance past Warren road and the dry wash. I had some luck when Highlander decided to pull me to the saddle to regroup with the other three.

We didn’t wait long till we were off down the back side of the saddle and heading for Lindenburger and then the Freeway. We got caught at the light and once again the tree A riders pulled away from us but for some reason we weren’t dropped and by Antelope Highlander had us on their back wheel. We lost two of them again fighting the wind and cold all the way to Murrieta. We didn’t catch then till we got to the park on LaLadera. We regrouped and headed north once more it seemed like we were directly into the wind.

Once we got a chance to turn east by the owl sanctuary it seemed like as last we had the wind to our back and we started to feel like we would accomplish our goal of getting to Chris’s and satisfy the pull we seemed to have to get there. Highlander was still helping me keep pace with some of the A group and we ended up chasing Full Throttle all the way to McCall.

It was here that life got difficult for me. I caught the light at Murrieta red just after the rest of the group went through. I had to work hard to catch Highlander by the next light and we caught Full Throttle, Gambler and Bandit at Bradley. The tree speedsters took off after Bradley and Highlander had to pull me up to Full Throttle at the light starting up the McCall hospital hill. Full Throttle was trying to temp me into attacking the hill and giving up on my plan to stay in the aerobic range for the whole ride. But I was determined I wouldn’t be tempted. I was made of stone until I caught the light green and decided to give chase. To paraphrase an old idiom darn the torpedoes full speed ahead. I attacked and closed on Full Throttle like a heat seeking missile but I had to expend enough energy to go well into the Anaerobic range so I knew he would make me pay later.

The payback I had feared came on Simpson as Full Throttle forced the pace all the way to Winchester. I held on behind Highlander well past Leon. In truth I was feeling almost like part of this fantastic group when Full Throttle indicated we needed a lead change and I attempted to move to the front. Gambler knew better and passed me before I could get to the front and the group broke apart shortly after we entered the trees. I think Gambler and Bandit were in a hurry to get to Chris’s and save the day. We stopped for coffee and conversation and heard the poor merchant’s problem of someone steeling his paper stand. Gambler and Bandit were so full of compassion they ordered a breakfast burrito just to make him feel better. Shortly after that they let me pull all the way to Stowe so I could pretend to be part of this fantastic group of heroes.


We stayed together talking all the way to California before Gambler, Bandit and Full Throttle decided to drop the hammer and leave me in the dust and they headed for Stetson. Highlander pulled me up to Full Throttle again and we drafted him all the way to Warren where he left us. I fell in behind Highlander once more as he pulled us to Gambler and Bandit and finally we stopped at Sanderson. I left the group there and headed for home and managed to get in a respectable 37 miles for the day. I felt good about being able to ride with the Fantastic Four and make a merchants life a bit easier. Good job men.

12/14/2011
By: C. Kent, aka (Superman)


It was still cold but we had been rained out Monday so we needed a good ride for today to help make up for missing a day on the bikes. It seemed like a perfect time to try a new ride that I had mapped that would give us a half century. I didn’t know how many would show up because the winter months thin out the group quite a bit. Even though I left a bit late I got to the parking lot first which I took as a bad sign. But by 8:30 we had a reasonable group with Blood Hound, Huntress, Highlander, Vortex, Donovan, Rocket and I heading for Acacia and then Kirby to begin the ride and meet up Piranha and the Snake.


I felt pretty good going south on Kirby and thought this might be a good ride personally as well as for the group. It was colder than I like but with the sun was going to come out I could hope it would get warmer. I fell in behind Blood Hound and stayed in his draft all the way to Cypress before turning west to ride through the housing track and make our way to Johnston and finally to Sanderson. Once we made the turn Blood Hound kept the pace up a bit and pulled us to Mustang where we caught the light and I took over the lead to Domenigoni.

Once on Domenigoni I pulled for about a ¼ mile before falling to the back and following everyone to Warren were we saw Piranha and had to chase him to the dry wash. Once we caught up to him he fell in line and we quickly moved on to Winchester where Donovan took over and pulled us to the Saddle and I had just enough steam to get into the sprint to the top. We picked up the Snake at Lindenburger and lost Rocket one light later. We turned onto Menifee and regrouped letting the A group go at their own pace while the rest of us followed to turn on Holland and again on Antelope. The last we saw of them was at Scott Road. We regrouped just before White Wood park and the B group rode to Murrieta Hot Springs and then over to Winchester before regrouping again at east Benson.

We left the gas station on Benson and headed up to Thompson and left to Leon. Up to this point I was still feeling pretty good and cruising along easily. As we headed north on Leon I was thinking about what a beautiful day it had been so far. It was still cooler than I like but my legs seemed warm and I didn’t feel tired. But just as all of these good thoughts were going through my head I ran over some road debris and within 20 feet I had a flat. I took a little time fixing it and decided to use one of my super light tubes thinking a new tube was a new tube. I would regret that choice later.

Once the tire was fixed we took off again heading for Scott. I got back to the frount and pulled us along as we took each of the rollers between Thompson and Scott in stride. By the time we got close to the last rolling rise I felt like the wind was starting to turn against us and it was time to down shift to save my legs.

Once we turned onto Scott I pulled to the top of the hill and then Vortex pulled in front to pull for a while. We turned onto Menifee and just before the downhill Huntress jumped out and took the lead. By the time we re-passed Holland I had at least 100 yards to recover the gap and Highlander and I pulled onto their back wheel just before Domenigoni. We made a left onto Lindenburger and headed towards Simpson and my sinuses decided to open up and flow so I could only breathe through my mouth. Not only did I suddenly have trouble breathing when we turned east I started to feel like I was riding through mud. Highlander fell back to pull me to Winchester and to Chris’s for coffee and I discovered my tire was about half flat again. The flat looked like a pinch flat and I changed it while Huntress, Piranha and Vortex headed for home in time for some appointments they had. Actually Highlander fixed the flat while I drank coffee.

I got home with 54 miles on my computer and a running nose. I was tired from pushing a half flat tire in pursuit of the B group and developed a cough later in the day. I may have put in the miles but it looks like I will have to recover a bit if I plan on riding Friday.

12/09/2011
By: C. Kent, aka (Superman)


Some of our riders will be doing the Tinsel Triathlon Sunday so I wanted t make the Friday ride a rather easy ride. However to be honest I try to make most Friday rides easier rides but it doesn’t always work out that way. All it takes is for three A riders to feel just a bit aggressive and any hope of a easy ride can go out the window. All I could do was hope the A group wanted to save some energy for the race on the weekend. After we pulled out onto Gilmore and then took Acacia I was hopeful with the A group trailing us easily.


We were setting a pretty good pace even for the warm up to Kirby and it wasn’t much slower heading south towards the Railroad tracks. I could tell I wasn’t going to get much of a chance to warm up slowly so I might as well just fall in line and hope I could hold on till we turned to Cypress and headed for Johnston.

Fortunately we tend to slow down a bit as we pass through the housing tract heading for Johnston. Today was no different and I got a chance to catch my breath as we moved west towards Sanderson. Spartacus and Highlander trailed Vortex and Wolf with D’Artagnon, Gambler and Bandit pacing themselves in the back. So far it looked like everyone was going to play nice at least that is what I thought as we moved out onto Sanderson and then made the turn towards the airport.

Vortex took us out onto Stetson and we quickly formed a pace line heading for Warren. I was surprised at how well we were rolling as we got to Warren and then rolled on towards California. Vortex took us on a pretty good lead out as we rounded the corner onto Stowe and got ready for the run to the Barn just before Winchester. Our speed kept creeping up and I kept looking back to see if the A group was about to make a break when Spartacus flatted. The time spent fixing the flat was just long enough for my legs to cool down and I was rather slow getting back up to speed. That didn’t stop the A group from sprinting to Winchester. We got to the stop sign right behind them and we all turned together towards Domenigoni.

The A group decided to light the after burners about halfway back to Warren and the rest of us worked together to follow them to the Marina entrance. It was a 4 and 4 split at that point with Wolf joining Gambler, Bandit and D’Artagnon in the lead group and Highlander, Spartacus, Vortex and I in the other. We regrouped at the bottom of Seven Dollar hill and got ready to head for McSweeney before continuing east to Fairview


After cruising through McSweeney we pulled back out onto State Street and began to position ourselves for the sprint after Domenigoni. I was in a good position till we caught the light on Domenigoni and State red. Then somehow I ended up in the lead heading for the rise preceding Chambers. This was no place to be with the whole A group behind me and ready to spring out into a sprint any moment. I kept looking behind me and could see Wolf teasing me with a wave saying he was simply waiting to see if I tried to make a break. But it was D’Artagnon who broke out first and came by me like he had been shot from cannon. Bandit and Gambler went after him and I got a late jump to follow. Wolf stuck to my back wheel like glue and I had to work my fanny off to catch Gambler. Once past him I got in D’Artagnon’s draft and closed on him about the same time as Bandit. It took all the effort I had so Bandit and I just looked at each other as we passed and more or less agreed the sprint was over.


After soft pedaling till everyone was back in line and worked our way to Thornton and then Santa Fe before coming back out onto Stetson and heading east. We were a bit tired I think so we took some time to talk and cruise past Girard and onto Columbia to ride through the old houses along Crest.

We worked our way over to Lake and then back out onto Stetson to Fairview. Once again some of the riders picked it up a bit and we spread out in a very long three part line. We regrouped on Fairview and got ready for the sprint over the bridge before making our way to Florida and then up to the ranger station.


We took a rather long break at the ranger station before taking off again for the run down to Carl’s. Vortex got out of the parking lot first followed closely by Highlander. Wolf and I dropped in on their back wheel and held on as they picked up speed heading for the trees. I knew the sprint was coming and as soon as Highlander started to pull out to pass Vortex. The A group closed on us but I got a good jump on the group and pulled through the trees in front. I still felt good but decided to hold up to make sure we all got to Carl’s together.

We had some coffee and conversation before splitting up and heading for home. I followed Highlander, Spartacus and Vortex back to Burger King before heading home with about 45 miles on the computer door to door. It was a great ride and a great day. Let’s hope the weather holds for next week.

12/07/2011
By: C. Kent, aka (Superman)


In 1941 today may have been a day in infamy but today was a day of clear skies and a long ride planned. It turns out that it was freezing last night but at least the sun was out and we had a hope of it getting warmer. I got to the parking lot to see Wolf was already there and unloading his bike. D’Artagnon, Huntress, Blood Hound, Spartacus, Donovan, Highlander and I were the only ones starting at Burger King. We expected more riders but they were meeting us along the way.


As we made our way down to Acacia I was glad I had my base layer on and a jacket. It may still be fall but it sure felt like winter. We may not have any snow on the ground but I suspect that if it had rained we would have had ice. When we got to Kirby it was almost a relief to stop and avoid the self generated wind. Blood Hound was the only one not in tights but he is only 21 so he can take it. The rest of us were bundled up and I was just short of wearing my Balaclava.

We made the typical turn onto Cypress off of Kirby and moved through the housing track heading to Johnston. I was feeling a bit stronger today than I had been Friday. I had already decided I wouldn’t try to pull as much today and save some of my energy for the ride around Lake Elsinore. We managed to stay pretty much together once we turned onto Sanderson even if we caught the light red at Stetson. As soon as we were rolling again I fell back to let Blood Hound and Highlander lead the way past the High School and onto Domenigoni.

We didn’t get that far before D’Artagnon dropped the hammer with his new TT bike and flew past us with Donovan hot on his back wheel. As we got close to Warren we noticed Vortex and Piranha in the distance and D’Artagnon and Donovan were gaining on them pretty quickly. The rest of us stayed together for a while till Huntress broke off to give chase and Blood Hound went with her. Wolf, Highlander, Spartacus and I took turn pulling till we got to the saddle and regrouped with the two additional riders. D’Artagnon and Donovan continued on to Meet up with Gambler, The Snake, Bandit and the A group.

As out group got to where the A group was waiting we rode on by knowing they could catch us before we got to Carl’s to refuel and take a nature break. The plan from there was pretty simple. We knew the B group would spread out going through Railroad canyon. The A group knew the route so they could wait a few minutes where we would make the left turn past Micky Ds. They could leave before we got there and I would regroup the B group and follow them to Jack In the Box on the north side of the lake. Before I got started through the Canyon I noticed D’Artagnon and Blood Hound standing on the side of the road with a flat. Wolf and I stopped to assist with the tire change. D’Artagnon and Blood Hound turned around when Huntress was coming back and Wolf and I regrouped with the Bs and chased the A group around the Lake.

We did manage to catch the A group at Jack in the Box before they had time to leave. We had coffee with them and some of us went outside to talk with some locals admiring out rides. After about 15 minutes we got ready to leave and as everyone got their helmets and gloves on someone noticed Bandit had a flat. We knew they were a lot faster than we were so the B group left while they were changing a tire. We got to the corner light and turned towards Down Town Elsinore along the east side of the lake with Spartacus pulling most of the way to Main.

Once headed back towards Railroad canyon Wolf took the lead and soon Vortex was on his back wheel. They caught the second light green and we didn’t. The A group pulled up next to us and were prepared to run then down on the climb out of the canyon. We had agreed to regroup at the top of the first hill and Wolf was waiting for us when we got there. He helped pull until we were all together on Newport and heading for Murrieta. The four of us worked together all the way down Domenigoni and finally back to Sanderson. We decided it was too close to the heavy lunch traffic time to stay on Sanderson so we turned on Johnston and back on Cypress to head for home.

It still wasn’t toasty warm but at least it seemed better than when we first started the ride this morning. The street was quiet and so we could ride four across and talk all the way back to Kirby. Once heading north on Kirby and heading for Acacia Highlander started to kick it into high gear and run for the barn as they say. He sprinted around the corner onto Acacia and all the way to Gilmore. We all caught the light red at Florida and finished the ride together. We only talked for a few minutes before I headed home. I took a bit of a roundabout way to get home so that I would have a full metric ride in for the day. It was a great ride and relatively trouble free if you don’t count two flat tires.