10/15/2012 By: C. Kent, aka (Superman) It was going to be a bit warmer today but having the weekend to recover I felt we were up to a little challenge so I tossed in a ride up Bautista Canyon. Yes I know there is always a lot or grumbling when we head east and even more when we climb and the most when we do Bautista but today seemed right. So I put on my most comfortable kit and thinnest socks and headed for the parking lot. Coyote and Dura Max were already there and so was Von Richthofen. Tax man and Jerry drove up just as Digger pulled up. Surgeon and Red Rabbit pulled up next and it was almost time to go. We pulled out onto Latham and headed down to Lyon but had to stop and wait for Tax Man to go back and get his sun glasses. When he caught us he had T-3 with him as we continued on towards Stetson.

We crossed Stetson and headed for Thornton after the light. That part of Lyon before Thornton is anything but smooth and it made me glad I was running 25s to help smooth things out. Still Tax Man led us to Thornton and the turn east. There was only the slightest hint of soreness in my legs as we got to State Street and crossed at the light. Things we still moving at a pretty good pace as we past Buena Vista and headed for Santa Fe.

As we turned onto Santa Fe and rounded the corner onto Stetson Surgeon took the lead with Von Righthofen and Jerry followed by Tax Man, Digger Red Rabbit and me. Surgeon rode past Columbia but I expected that. I turned and Digger, Tax Man and red Rabbit followed. Dura Max, T-3 and Coyote took off after Surgeon leaving my group to take the longer route back to Lake and Stetson.

We came out behind Dura Max and T-3 and started to close. I pulled till Digger and Tax man were up to speed and fell back to get Red Rabbit. I then pulled the Rabbit up the group once we were on Bautista and picked up the back half of the group till we got to the Dam. After the Dam I found a comfortable gear and took off after a fleeing Tax Man. Then I could see Jerry in the distance and like a dog after a rabbit I chased him as well. I never caught Coyote, Surgeon or Von Righthofen but still felt good about my time climbing the canyon. To my total surprise the Rabbit looked like he was gaining on me the last mile or so.

After a bit of a rest we started looking forward to the fun part of Bautista, the downhill run. We knew we had to be a bit more cautious than in the past with the number of wipeouts our group has had descending Bautista so we started out slowly but soon Surgeon was out front picking things up a bit followed by Jerry. I dropped in on Jerry’s wheel and the pace stepped up again. Now we had Tax Man, Jerry, Surgeon, Von Righthofen, Coyote and I cruising down the hill in a moderately quick pace line. Soon we were down by the white fence and headed for the dry wash. Von Richthofen moved to the front and picked up the pace another notch. Unfortunately for him he was being set up for the sprint at the Dam and he was dropped at the hill. I gave up the lead to Coyote who was stuck to me like my shadow in the sprint and ended up following him in a pace line to Stetson and Fairview. He was still in front at the sprint point before the bridge and I managed to sneak by and get to Mayberry first. Our next stop was Carl’s. Coffee and conversation only took about 20 minutes before we were headed back to Lincoln and home.

We easily rode down to Park were Von Richthofen headed for home leaving Tax Man, Surgeon, Digger, Coyote and I to work our way over to Devonshire and continue west past Yale and to Santa Fe before dropping down to Latham and west again. The easy spin to State had worked most of the lactic acid out of my sore legs so I was starting to feel better as we got closer to Palm where I would be leaving the group and headed for home myself.

Once I made my turn south I thought about how much better I felt about this ride to Bautista than some in the past. I am not a climber and so climbing 8 or 9 miles are never my favorite pastime but today the climb didn’t seem too bad and I never felt a need to really push to get up the hill. So it was a great surprise to me to see I had two personal bests on that ride. When I got home I went inside and finished my Heed before taking a shower and having lunch. Yes it was a good day for riding Bautista Canyon.