8/17/2012 By: C. Kent, aka (Superman) I didn’t exactly spring out of bed this morning but rather I slowly rolled out of bed and staggered into the kitchen to start breakfast. Oatmeal, Raisins and a big glass of crystal light didn’t perk me up much and to tell the truth as I got dressed I was feeling just a bit like a slug and could only hope I would perk up after I got to the parking lot and got a chance to talk with the other riders. I cruised down to Acacia and started towards Florida when an electric scooter pulled up behind me. At first I thought I would just let it pass me but then I realized it didn’t take much effort to stay in front of it till I got to the light. The scooter chased me to the Harbor Freight driveway. Now I was warmed up and ready to face the day. It was a small group that pulled out and started the ride on Gilmore but we have learned we can have a great ride no matter how many people are with us.

Surgeon told me he would be leaving early so it was no surprise that he started us moving over to Kirby and south to Cypress a bit faster than normal. It didn’t bother me because I was perfectly happy to draft off of his wheel as long as he wanted to stay out front. So we followed him out to Sanderson and Johnston and the again past Stetson and onto Mustang. Before long we were turning west on Domenigoni and starting to get into a pace line. I was cruising along in fourth place with Surgeon, Dura Max and Highlander in front of me and only Richard following.

Slowly we worked our way to Warren and then over the dry wash before Dura Max and then Highlander took their turn at pilling and before I knew it we were at Winchester. When the light changed it was my turn to pull and by then I was feeling ok so I slowly brought things up to about 19 and set my cadence to maintain that pace all the way to Leon. But as soon as I pulled off and let Surgeon pass I noticed we were all by ourselves. We soft pedaled till everyone was back in line and then moved on to the saddle where we picked up Bandit who would only be with us for a short distance, being a new dad limits his time a bit.

Once we were back on our way we dropped down the back side of the saddle and lost Surgeon at Lindenburger. I continued to pull till we got to antelope and Highlander took off over the freeway overpass and headed towards Carl’s where we planned on regrouping. Bandit left us at Bradley and I tried to close on Highlander but never made it till he stopped at Carl’s so we could refill out water bottles. By now it was Just Richard, Highlander, Dura Max and I as we moved on to Laladera and the ride to the Owl Sanctuary.

The pace up to this point had been reasonable and no one seemed to want to push it as we worked our way north to join up with McCall and head back east. We enjoyed the downhill back to Murrieta and were once again chatting as we moved towards the golf course and the light at Bradley.

Once the light changed we raced over the freeway and down the hill to the Valero Station to start the run at Hospital Hill and a regroup at the top. As we crossed the light I started to make the run at the hill with Highlander on my wheel. When I attempted to increase my pace Highlander let me know he intended on staying with me all the way to the top and as I kept checking behind me it was clear he didn’t want to get dropped. We stayed together over the steep part of the climb and onto the false flat and he followed me all the way to the top where we waited to regroup. We dropped down Hospital Hill and onto Heritage to work our way to Simpson and Lindenburger. I set the pace at an east cruise of 17 and got us back to Leon where Highlander pulled up next to me and told me if I was getting tired he would ba happy to take over for me and pull us to Winchester.

My pride allowed me to keep things going till I got us to Chris’s where we took a break for cold drinks and conversation. As soon as we were refreshed and hydrated we were back on our way up Winchester and onto Stowe where at first it looked like we were going to get a tailwind. But as we all know tailwinds never last and before we got to California it had changed. It was never at our back again as we turned on Stetson and finally rode past the Airport and back to Sanderson. I decided to ride back to Burger King with everyone so we turned north to Lowes and around the back to Acacia.

Once on Acacia Highlander seemed to get a second wind and he motored back down to Kirby and then to Gilmore for the final turn. We dropped Highlander off at his van and Richard and I rode back to Palm together and as he turned north I turned south and headed for home. I got back before it got too hot and realized I had 38 miles on the computer. Not bad for an easy Friday.