The day of the Coyote Poacher

5/30/2012 By: C. Kent, aka (Superman) We have been putting on a lot of miles in the last few days so I decided to go back to a simple little 38 mile ride over the back side of McCall today. I even went to bed early and woke up before my alarm clock. I knew it was going to be clear and warm but I wasn’t sure how many would be joining me this morning. But I put my new wheels on my bike and got dressed for the ride after a quick breakfast and headed for Burger King. Coyote, Highlander, Dura Max and Centaur were already there when I pulled up. We sat and talked for w few minutes before Surgeon and Gambler arrived and Dura Max left early to ride with T-3. About 10 minutes later we headed down Gilmore and started our ride west.

We got out onto Acacia and rode over to Kirby where we caught the light. After it turned green we made the left and headed for Cypress. So far is was still cool and at least at this end of town there was little to no wind. We got to Cypress and turned west towards Johnston while chatting about how nice of a day it was. Highlander and Centaur pulled us to Johnston and Sanderson and I took us up to Wentworth and west again to the airport road. I would be in front all the way to Stetson.

Once we got past Warren Road Gambler pulled in front and pulled us all the way to California and then up to Stowe. Gambler seems to be getting stronger every ride and he started a run on Stowe that was very impressive. I couldn’t hang on all the way to Winchester and Coyote managed to pass at the last minute to get to the parking lot first. We stopped to regroup and hydrate before starting off down Winchester to 9th street.

Somehow I got out front again on Winchester and slowly got us up to speed as we moved to 9th. We turned west and I pulled us to Leon and headed for Briggs. The fields were green with whatever they are planting for a summer crop. The new wheels were rolling well and for some reason I still felt good as we rolled along at about 20 mph. we were not in a pace line but rather riding more in a clump even at that speed. Looking behind me it seems as if Surgeon might even have a smile on his face.

I gave up the lead to Centaur and Surgeon and fell back with Highlander and Gambler as we turned onto Briggs and started for the little housing tract before the high school. Coyote pulled past me and we all worked our way back out onto Briggs and north towards Florida. For a change we caught the light on Florida green and stayed together all the way to Mapes before turning west. Gambler took off and headed for Menifee and I gave chase but never caught him. I got the lead on Menifee and took us all the way to the AM/PM where stopped for a nature break and watched T-3 and Dura Max head off towards McCall. After a short break we were back heading south.

Surgeon and Centaur were out front again and we were covering ground pretty good as we crossed over the railroad tracks and closed in on McCall. As we rounded the corner and started for the hill Gambler started to pull away and Centaur went after him. Coyote began the climb and at first I tried to stay with him. But new wheels or not climbing with him seemed like more work than I wanted to put out today so I downshifted just as Highlander pulled up next to me. Surgeon had some mechanical problem and fell behind so Highlander and I waited at the top for him and we started down past the Hospital towards the freeway. I past the stop light, just before Menifee storage, to see Coyote sitting in the street with his back up against a pickup looking like he was resting.

Turns out the truck had made a left turn right in front of him just as he got to the driveway and he slammed into the passenger door. For me it brought back a bad memory from about 8 weeks ago and I could only hope he wasn’t hurt too bad. Because we had stopped at the top of McCall we were too far behind to see the accident and Centaur and Gambler were too far in front. Still we all got together and waited for the paramedics to come check him out and one of his neighbors stopped by to take his bike home for him. The left side drop bar and shifter looked like it took a hard hit and he had some cuts and scrapes but he was in good spirits as they put him in the ambulance and headed back towards the hospital we had just past.

Once he was on his way some of us talked to the Sherriff and got all the information he would give us. We decided to continue the ride but head directly to Jack in the Box to have some coffee and settle our nerves. It didn’t seem to take us as long to get to the coffee shop as normal and we were still pretty much all together till we got back to the freeway where I caught the light as the last guy in line and was a minute behind everyone getting there. There must have been some pent up energy as we got back on the road as we were moving at pace line speed within a block or two after leaving Antelope. We rolled past Menifee on a green and Gambler started to ramp things up. Three of us hit the hill pretty hard and Gambler and Centaur had to soft pedal till everyone was back in line and then the pace picked up again. 23 or 24 all the way to Winchester and then we were planning on cutting it back from Winchester to Sanderson. But Centaur got out in front and had us back to 23 all the way to the dry wash. We finally backed down just past Warren and Gambler left us at Sanderson. I stayed with the remaining group till we got to Johnston and headed for home myself.

A fast ride for a Wednesday and a sad day when you see a friend get hurt. But after calling him when I got home he seemed fine and I am sure he will recover rather quickly. At least he will get some good pain killers to last for a few days. I will be praying for his full recovery.