The Attack of a Huntress

6/27/2012 By: C. Kent, aka (Superman) A confession: Right after I got my new wheels and rear cassette I was guilty of putting together three rides in a row with more climbing than I normally do. So to make up for it this week I put together two simple rides west with a lot less of the offending climbs. What I didn’t know was how fast they might be and who would show up for the easy spin. I managed to get to bed a bit early Tuesday and had plenty of time for breakfast this morning so I was feeling pretty good as I pulled into the parking lot first this morning. The next to arrive was Surgeon followed by Highlander and then Wart. We hadn’t seen wart in months and here he was with a new Masi. Huntress pulled up just before Gambler and that seemed to be about all we were going to have for the ride so we hit the road and headed for Acacia and then over to Kirby.

We made the turn south on Kirby and headed for Cypress with me in the lead. I will admit I was feeling pretty good and didn’t mind pulling in the early stages of the ride. It gave me a chance to warm up my legs and as we got close to the railroad tracks I got a chance to strike up a conversation with Wart and see what he had been up to while he was gone for all those months. Turns out he had ordered the bike months ago but never picked it up and thought it had been sold. Stopping by BSC he saw the bike in the shop and decided it was the right time to pick it up. By the time I had the details all sorted out we were on Cypress heading towards Johnston.

After getting a quick picture I continued on towards Johnston and after making the turn west we stopped at the light on Sanderson. Wart wasn’t sure how long he would stay with us all the way and might leave us when we started our run west on Domenigoni. But he did stay with us as the light turned green and I took off for Stetson in an attempt to catch that light green. We did make it through and headed past Wally World at a reasonable clip. Slowly but surely we started to pick up speed as we closed in on Mustang.

As we turned onto Domanigoni I had every intention on starting a nice easy pace line and holding the whole group together. It was just one of those mornings when 20 mph seemed like cruising and soon we dropped Wart and after the first rise I gave up the lead. Highlander kept the pace at 21 or 22 mph as did Huntress and Gambler but as soon as Surgeon took the lead we were rolling along at 23 mph. On Gamblers next turn we were rolling along at 24 all the way to Winchester. Highlander and Surgeon asked me to drop it back a bit and I did till Surgeon got back in front again and took us back to 23. Everyone was hanging on however but I knew it didn’t bode well for Gamblers next turn in the front. Sure enough just after Leon Gambler got in front and we were off. Gambler is a bit like a Greyhound that has slipped his leash and wants to run off some energy. This time I wasn’t giving up and chased him all the way to the top of the saddle where we regrouped and caught our breath.

After a brief rest we started down the back side of the Saddle and cruised past Lindenburger heading for Menifee. We managed to get behind a car before we could turn south but it wasn’t long before we were heading for the hill just past Holland. Surgeon took off towards the hill well ahead of us while Gambler and I took up a place in the back of the group. Gambler jumped the hill in front of me and I pulled up next to Huntress who was willing to attack ever hill today. We regrouped before heading to the gas station on antelope and Scott and then made our way to Haun and back to Holland and then over to Murrieta and then the detour back to Newport. Huntress was still attacking even the hill on Holland.

We got back out onto Newport and headed back up to Murrieta before turning north. Because we had already stopped at Antelope and it really wasn’t that far to Chris’s. So we headed towards McCall and cruised past the homes on Murrieta and enjoyed the fresh morning air. It seemed unusually easy to make our way to McCall and head back east towards the Hospital hill. I think it was here that Huntress decided to plan her attack. I can’t remember seeing her riding so strong and wondered how the hill climb would work out.

Soon we past Bradley and started over the freeway towards Hospital Hill. I should have expected something as we started for the light past the over pass as we rode past Valero Station. I was rolling along at a pretty good clip and the rest of the group was right on my back wheel. I pulled as hard as I could till we got past the first stop light and Surgeon, Huntress and Gambler flew past me. Surgeon pulled out just past the Highpoint light and Huntress pulled past him with Gambler. Finally Gambler got past Huntress as I watched her pulling away from me over the rise and finished the climb with a QOM, Strava: Queen of the Mountain, faster than my best climb on that same section. Her plan worked and she crushed me on the climb. Highlander and I didn’t catch up with the group till we got to Lindenburger and turned onto Simpson to head for Winchester and Chris’s. I did get even with Huntress by allowing her to pull me to the trees just before Winchester and then out sprinted her to the stop light, just to keep a shred on my male pride after being “Chicked” on Hospital Hill. Gambler left us at Winchester and we stopped at Chris’s for coffee and a little rest before heading for home. We got a chance to ride on the new pavement on Winchester up to Stowe before heading for home.

I stayed with Huntress, Surgeon and Highlander till we got back to the airport and then I continued on Stetson heading for home. I managed to keep my pace going pretty well and rolled up to Sanderson with one of my better averages for the week. I dropped down to Johnston and headed for home with still enough spin left to roll up to my street at about the same pace we had been riding as a group. To be honest I wasn’t all that upset about Huntress dropping the hammer on me, I was pretty proud after watching her improve after each ride over the last few years. Her improvement may end up making me work even harder.