10/12/2012 By: C. Kent, aka (Superman) It was a good looking day today. The air was clear because of the rain the day before and cool. There was a very light wind but nothing we would have any trouble with. It might have been a day for a base layer and maybe even long fingered gloves but still it wasn’t bad. So I had breakfast and got the Klein out of the shed, pumped up the tires and went back in to but my kit on and got ready to head for Burger King. I got there just after Dura Max and just before Digger. Highlander pulled up followed by Gambler and Barracuda. The plan was for a simple and easy recovery ride. So we headed for Gilmore and Acacia to start the day. We managed to catch the light green and headed south with the sun on our left.

We quickly made our turn west on Cypress and worked our way through the housing tract to Sanderson before going north and then back west again to ride past the airport and out onto Stetson. I took the first pull to Warren and then to California before heading over to Stowe and making the run at Winchester. For a change we didn’t go into a sprint and we stayed together as a group well past the corner of California and Stowe to set our sights on the parking lot in front of the little country market.

After a short regroup we were back on our way south with a new leader pulling. Once the pace line formed behind Highlander were cruised down to the old dump road and past Chris’s. As we cruised past Simpson we came up on the small school about a block later. We stayed in line and let Highlander pull us all the way to the light at Domenigoni. We had to wait about 2 minutes before we could turn east and once we did I took the lead all the way to the dry wash before giving the lead to Dura Max. He pulled us past Warren and started us on the grade or rise just before Sanderson before letting Digger and Highlander have a turn.

Dura Max and I were on the tail of the pack as we got close to the turn to the Marina. We took a moment to regroup at Searl before continuing on to State. Once we were headed north we thought about the traditional State Street sprint but only Highlander took off as I rode next to Barracuda up State and over the rise. No sooner did we level off than I had a blowout flat. I pulled over to replace the tube only to have to let the air back out and reset the bead. After resetting the bead and refilling the tire and had to let the air out again to put a boot over a hole in the sidewall. After three tries I was tempted to ride home but decided to continue on and head east on Stetson.

We decided to stay together and cut the ride a bit short because I was riding with a boot and was worried that it might still flat. We glided past San Jacinto and Columbia before coming up on the High School. Gambler decided to stretch his legs a bit and took off promising to meet us at Carl’s and we watched him pull away over the little hill. We rode to Lake and then turned north to Acacia before cutting over to New Chicago and then to Carl’s. As promised Gambler was there but had to leave as we went inside for coffee and conversation.

Twenty minutes later we were back on the road heading for Lincoln and home. We quickly rode up New Chicago and headed for Lake Street on Lincoln. Traffic was very light today so we rolled past Lake and then did the same at Hemet Street. We were chatting away as we got close to Park knowing Dura Max would leave us there. True to our expectations Dura Max turned right as we turned left on Park and rode past the animal zoo on Park.

We worked our way over to Devonshire and headed west some more for the downhill run past Yale and all the way to Santa Fe where we dropped down to Latham and got ready to split up for home. Barracuda left us before State Street and Digger and I left Highlander at Palm. I got home with an easy 30 miles on my computer and an average heart rate of 119. This was what I call a recovery ride, even if I have to replace a tire to get it.