9/14/2012 By: C. Kent, aka (Superman) We made it through another hectic week and it was time for a simple Friday ride. I was a little worried after my taste of heat exhaustion Wednesday that I might get a bit overheated today. So I took two bottles of electrolytes out of the freezer and put on my Cool Gear hat and got ready to head over to Burger King. I kept it in the small ring and gently spun my way up Palm and west on Florida. I pulled into the parking lot first just ahead of Digger and Dura Max. By 7:30 I was surprised to see we had more than 10 riders ready to head out and start the ride up Lyon to Ramona. We also had Huntress running the route in reverse to meet us somewhere on the way.

It looked like Surgeon was feeling pretty strong as he got out front and started the pull north. Cross traffic seemed a bit sketchy as we got to one stop sign after another. Sometimes it looked like people wanted to split our line and others looked like they would wait all day even if it was their turn to go through the intersection. Still we were making good time when I finally got out front long enough to lead us around the corner onto Ramona heading west.

Up to this point I had been feeling pretty good so I decided to take a pull and head for Sanderson. My goal for the day was to stay in a spin all day and simply not push any big gears or jump my heart rate over 150. So I relaxed and put my hands on the hoods and rolled us up to a bit over 18 and leveled off. Highlander was on my back wheel and I started to drop down and pick up the pace when Barracuda pulled up to say that Mary, (Tinkerbelle) had a flat. So we stopped to wait while Ferret fixed it.

As we waited for the tire repair Dura Max and T-3 rolled by heading for Sanderson. That would be the last we saw of them till the end of the ride. As soon as we noticed D’Artagnon, Gambler, Ferret and Tinkerbelle heading in our direction we were off headed towards Sanderson ourselves. I took us to the expressway and started us towards Warren. Gambler and D’Artagnon pulled around me and offered to pull but as soon as I fell back I ended up getting dropped while trying to pull Digger up to the back of the pack. We ended up chasing the group all the way to Bridge and Gilman.

After a total regroup I took off again and pulled us half way back to Sanderson where Gambler and D’Artagnon once again took over and pulled us till we saw Huntress on the other side of the road. She flipped around and started to lead us the rest of the way to Sanderson but gave up the lead to me on the downhill. I ended up pulling us down Sanderson to the Expressway and then onto Ramona Boulevard to regroup and make the run to State Street. I knew I could never pull all the way to State so I was glad when once again someone took over the pull.

I managed to stay to my plan on pushing easier gears and keeping my pace down a bit. I might not have been as fast as I had been in the past but I was more relaxed and I managed to keep hydrated so the ride felt comfortable. I fell in on D’Artagnon’s back wheel and let the group pull me to State Street for a quick nature stop at Mickey Ds before heading north towards Soboba.

I knew the group would split up when we made the run east on Soboba so I wasn’t surprised to see Surgeon pull away well before the bridge. Barracuda and Huntress went after him and soon they had gapped the rest of us. We turned onto Soboba and Gambler, D’Artagnon, Ferret, and Tinkerbelle formed a pace line to give chase. I held a steady pace till we got to the rollers and Highlander and I pulled away a bit from Digger. Highlander pulled me to the driving range and I pulled him to the regroup point under the Eucalyptus trees.

Our next stop was going to be Carl’s so we headed to Ramona and turned southeast where we picked up the rest of the group waiting for us. We held together as a group pretty well till we got to Hemet Street and then we broke up a bit before regrouping at Carl’s Junior for coffee and conversation. As we sat down to visit T-3 and Dura Max arrived and stayed with us for a few minutes. Surgeon left first and when we got ready to leave D’Artagnon, Dura Max and T-3 headed south while the rest of us headed north to Lincoln and the west towards home.

Huntress left us first to head home followed by Gambler leaving the rest of us to make our way to park. I was still feeling pretty good as we made our way to Devonshire and started towards Santa Fe. When we got to San Jacinto the light started to change and Highlander decided to push it and rolled through while it was pink. The rest of us stopped and waited for the next cycle. Highlander faded into the distance and the rest of us finally made it to Santa Fe and down to Latham. We rounded the corner just about the time Highlander crossed State Street. Barracuda broke off by the time we got to Buena Vista and Digger and I left at Palm.

It didn’t take long for me to get back to Florida where I caught the light and has to wait while it started to get pretty warm. Up to this point it had been reasonable cool but now it was getting hot and I was glad to be going home. I rolled in with about 38 miles on the computer and a reasonable average speed. But the best part was I wasn’t sore or suffering from the ride. I can’t tell you how glad I am to be part of this group.