2/24/2012

By: C. Kent, aka (Superman)



Today was supposed to be a Friday light ride I was planning on joining the C group when they said they wanted to do Lake Paris. So I posted the short Lake Paris ride and left the house expecting a casual ride to the lake. As an added bonus it was starting out to be a warm morning as I headed for the parking lot to see who was going to go for a ride. I got there and Traveler was already waiting. Rick showed up next and Chinook rode in right after him. To my surprise I noticed Wart riding in and Sea Lion drove up. Barracuda dropped by heading out for a climb somewhere and we all stayed around talking for a few minutes till Raptor rode up. While Wart went in to use the restroom the rest of the C group loaded up their bikes in Rick’s truck and headed out for a part way ride to Lake Paris. Wart Decided to leave a bit early and we gave him about a 10 minute head start when Ferret arrived. At 8:30 Chinook, Ferret and I gave chase.


We quickly made our way down Lyon with me pulling most of the way. I made the turn onto Ramona and took us to Sanderson and Ramona Expressway. Chinook took over and pulled us along towards Bridge Street. We could see Wart in the distance and caught him about the time he got to Bridge. He told me he would be turning back early so not to wait for him and Ferret took over and pulled us towards Lake View and the back gate to Lake Paris. Ferret must have been feeling his oats because I started the climb to the Lake with an average of 18.2 MPH. It fell off a bit on the climb to the back gate but picked up a bit heading around the lake towards the Marina.

It turns out Chinook isn’t fond of bike paths because he had a bad accident on one once. Still he handled the path well and we quickly made our way around the lake to the boat ramp. Once we got there we pulled into the back of the recreation area and took a break looking at the lake and telling stories. After an energy bar or two and something to drink we noticed the C group wasn’t anywhere in the area. I am not sure where they were but we figured we missed them. So we decided to head back around the lake on the bike path and head for home. The first part of the path heading east was pleasant as we entered the trees before coming out on the east side of the trail.

Turning south the wind decided to come visit. It wasn’t bad but it slowed me down a bit as we worked our way to the back gate and headed back down to Ramona expressway. I know the instant we topped the hill heading out of the park that we had a long ride east into the wind all down Ramona expressway. I pulled as long as I could and soon Chinook then Ferret past me and by Lakeview I dropped off and they had to slow down to pull me back to town. I recovered a bit by Bridge Street and pulled for a little while before Ferret and Chinook took over again. Thank goodness they were there or the ride would have taken me much longer. Chinook to Cottonwood and I turned for home. By the time I got there I had 44 miles on the computer. It was a bit windy for my taste but the company was good and I am glad the group is willing to pull together.