11/30/2012 By: C. Kent, aka (Superman) They were predicting rain so I put in a short ride just in case it didn’t rain and went to bed having no idea what the morning would bring. I was also pretty tired last night so I slept well. It was easy enough to get out of bed this morning but one look outside told me if I did get in a ride the attendance would be low. I had breakfast and got all bundled up and headed for Burger King. It wasn’t raining but the street was wet so I took my back up bike and ran just a little low in pressure so the tires had a better chance to hold on the pavement. I got there early but only a few minutes before Dura Max. Just as I thought only Huntress joined us by 9am. We took the hint and headed out to Lyon to start a short ride just to get the legs working. It was a smooth if somewhat damp ride all the way down Lyon and at times Huntress had us huffing and puffing as we warmed up on our way to Ramona. Once we were heading east towards State Street the sun started to try come out from behind the clouds. We pulled up to the light and waited till it turned green before rolling along towards the college and Soboba.

Huntress was riding strong and my legs were complaining from the workout the day before. But it didn’t matter much because we had all been working together to make the ride as easy as possible. I gave up the lead to Dura Max as we turned onto Soboba and he gave it to Huntress after the first roller. Huntress pulled us to the last hill by the golf course and we stopped to take off some jackets because it was getting warmer. Once we were ready we were on our way to the riverbed crossing and the turn on Washington/Ramona. To be honest there some light sprinkles on Soboba but nothing that would melt us so it was good that it was dry all the way to Florida and up to Cranston Station.

Once we got to Cranston we laughed about being the only ones willing to chance a ride on a day like today and how lucky we are that we can get in a quick 30 miles before the weekend. We don’t expect other to ride in the rain we were just glad that we decided to test our luck and got a good ride in no matter how it looked when we started.

We got rolling back down Florida and soon were in a three rider pace line heading back to the trees at the bottom of the hill. I took us into the tree line and Huntress brought us out. We took turns pulling till we came back to Fairview and Huntress said she was going to turn off at Ramona and head for home. Dura Max and I stopped at Carl’s and were sitting there when Digger stopped by on his way to Casino. A few minutes later we were back on the road and headed for home. I got home looking forward to a hot shower and lunch. It had turned out to be a good day and I am sorry so many missed it.

11/28/2012 By: C. Kent, aka (Superman) My first thought as I looked outside was, “bummer it is cold and foggy.” The problem with cold and foggy is it tend to keep people home and with the possibility of rain on Friday I thought I would need every day I could get to stay on track for my monthly miles for November. So I had breakfast, put on a base layer and my kit plus a windbreaker and headed out of the door to meet up with what I expected to be the hard core riders. I got to the parking lot just in time to see Dura Max talking with Highlander by his van and Digger was riding up. For a while it looked like we were it till Dragon Slayer arrived. A new rider Andy pulled in shortly after that and I noticed Red Rabbit was unloading his car. Huntress got there before D’Artagnon and T-3 got there before Gambler and Rocky. Rocky had to run back and get his water bottle but we agreed to meet at the airport so we started south on Gilmore just after 9am.

They allowed me to lead everyone out onto Acacia and then to Kirby. We had one car in front of us at the light and as soon as the light tripped we headed for Cypress with just a touch of wind and clearing skies. I had looked at the weather report early and all they were predicting was very light winds in the 3mph area from the South east. As I turned onto cypress however it seemed that the wind was pretty much right in my face and it felt like a very heavy 3 mph wind if 3 mph as indeed all it was. It didn’t get any better after we dropped down to Wentworth off of Sanderson. Still it was blowing away the fog so at that point I wasn’t very upset.

As we headed west towards the airport road I was thinking I didn’t want to pull much more because the wind in the face was slowing me down and burning a lot more energy than I wanted to expend. We turned onto Cawston and again onto the airport road to meet up with Rocky. He fell into the group as we headed for Stetson and west towards Warren.

Once out onto Stetson it was obvious there was a lot more wind coming out of the west than these was coming out of the south but I managed to drag us to Warren. We had to wait for traffic at Warren but were soon rolling again and I was still in front fighting a cold and heavy wind that seemed to be bouncing right off of my chest. I managed to hold on till we got to California Street when Gambler came up to give me a break. It was like someone had decided to tow me it felt so good.

I stayed on Gambler’s back wheel as we rounded the corner on Stowe and was prepared to stay there as we headed west again towards Winchester. As I looked up I could see some of the riders were falling off of the back so I pulled out of line so Highlander and Digger could close in on Gambler, D’Artagnon and Huntress. They were joined by Rocky and I finally fell back to pull several riders up to Highlander and Digger. Finally the wind was getting to both Digger and Highlander so I pulled around and took them to regroup with everyone else at Winchester. We had Rabbit head for the old dump road first and then gave chase knowing we should catch him before he got to Leon and Grand. Once again Gambler saved me because now the wind seemed to be coming directly out of the south and once again into our face. We broke into three groups heading for Leon and turned down to Simpson and headed west toward Lindenburger and the park on Heritage. Huntress and Rabbit continued on to McCall and the rest of us followed a few minutes later

It didn’t take us too long to get to McCall ourselves and soon we made the turn west again and sure enough there was the wind waiting to slap us in the face. I was sitting at the light talking about it with Highlander while the rest of the group pulled up behind us. As the light changed the back side of Hospital hill was looking at us and Gambler, D’Artagnon and Dragon Slayer took off to attack it. Rocky and Andy passed me and I stayed ahead of Highlander, Dura Max, T-3 and Digger till we got to the top of the hill where I stopped to wait for the ones behind me. Highlander asked about the climb to Antelope and took off without me. We saw him with Rabbit as we got to Sumner and followed them till we regrouped on Antelope just on the other side of Newport.

We next rode down to Garboni and headed east and guess what? We hit more wind on the nose. Still it wasn’t too bad and soon we were following Dragon Slayer over Menifee and towards Briggs. I pulled in behind Rocky and was surprised to see T-3 power past me. I fell off at first and then ended up chasing her almost all the way to Briggs where Gambler and D’Artagnon went flying by. Now came the run north on Briggs and I fell into the drops for a steady run down to Newport and a regroup before we headed east on Domenigoni.

We were heading back towards the saddle and I was looking forward to a tail wind. It simply wasn’t going to happen today and once again I felt the wind in my face. I started joking with Huntress and Highlander that the weather reports needed to add some different letters in their weather reports. They may have reports saying winds coming from the S SW or N NE but they should add wind for cyclists coming ITF for in the face. We stopped for coffee at Chris’s and took a short break before heading for home on Winchester with the winds once again in our face. Things didn’t get easier as we turned on Stowe.

We more or less stayed together on California and on Stetson and some of the riders stayed on Stetson while other took the airport road back to Sanderson. Several of us stopped back at Burger King and talked before I headed for home and a shower. I decided to take my wife to Hamby’s for lunch after stopping at Casino for some Christmas shopping. What started out as a cold foggy day turned into a pretty good day for a 40 mile ride.

11/26/2012 By: C. Kent, aka (Superman) There was a movie not long ago called Groundhog Day. The concept was that a Weatherman covering Groundhog Day in Punxsutawney Pennsylvania ended up getting inn a time loop where he had to live the same day over and over again. In the movie it was a bad thing. So when I got up today and looked outside to see what kind of day we were going to have you might think the same old clear blue skies and no wind would have reminded me of how that weatherman felt. But it did not because rather than dreading another day of the same thing I was overjoyed that we would be out in perfect weather and on a ride most of the group seems to love. It only remained to be seen as to just how many other people would be out to enjoy this opportunity with me. I had breakfast, got dressed and left the house without a jacket. It was my first act of faith for the day. Dura Max was pulling up to Burger King just as I rolled into the parking lot. Digger wasn’t far behind nor was Centaur. Highlander pulled in with Tax Man followed by Gerry, Blood Hound and Rocky. So far it looked like we were going to have a normal Monday group when Blain, (Magic Man) and George, (Dragon Slayer) from Nuevo pulled up. T-3 got there just before Red Rabbit and D’Artagnon. Now we were ready to head south on Gilmore.

I didn’t see any reason to start out quickly today but that didn’t slow many down. There were two different groups out today, or at least two different attitudes and that would demonstrate itself as we moved onto Kirby and then up to Cypress as we tried to work our way over to Sanderson and Johnston. I don’t know where the energy came from but it was hard to hold the group together as we rolled through the housing tract and turned South on Sanderson. I tried to get the group to soft pedal till we were all back in one group but that simply wasn’t happening today so I came up with a new plan and decided to fall to the back and make sure the B group followed the route and let the A group take care of itself.

Still we managed to all get to the light on Domenigoni about the same time. It would be one of the few times the whole group was together for most of the day. Once we were headed east the main group more or less took off and four of us followed at our own pace till we got to State Street and headed for McSweeney. I noticed the main group had lost two and we were slowly but surely gaining on them. But they were out on State Street before we got of the McSweeney housing tract so it was going to be hard to catch them.

We didn’t stop in McSweeney like we normally do but came out onto State and made a run north. I tried to keep us in a steady pace line and think I did pretty good as we rolled through the intersection at Domenigoni. The pace was steady all the way to Chambers and with Dura Max helping we managed make it out onto Stetson not far behind Digger. It was also our luck that the rest of the group was waiting for us at Columbia. Well all but Highlander and Tax Man so we followed them to Fairview and regrouped once more. Once we were on our way Highlander took the lead out and pulled us to the bridge just as a Sherriff’s car pulled out of the dirt road by the orange grove. I have to admit with a Sherriff right behind us it was one of the safest stops our group had ever made at Mayberry. Still we stayed together all the way to Florida and headed for Ramona/Washington to start our way to Soboba. Just before I got to the fire station D’Artagnon came flying by me followed shortly by Magic Man, Blood Hound, Dragon Slayer Centaur. Turned out there was a Strava Segment there and we had to follow everyone to the turn on Ramona at Cedar.

Things started to spread out as we got close to the river bridge and headed over to the golf course. I lost Rabbit but it wasn’t the first time that has ever happened to me. Rabbit has been at this a lot longer than me and he knows his way around pretty well. So sometimes he simply takes another road to get to where he wants to go. And sometimes he simply goes home so I have learned that once I have waited a reasonable time that we might as well go on without him. While we waited at the golf course for the Rabbit the rest of the group headed for the end of Soboba and State for another regroup. It would be here that Magic Man and Dragon Slayer left us and here that we started back towards Carl’s for coffee and conversation.

I took us south on State but lost some of the riders when traffic cut them off as we crossed the street. I had to let D’Artagnon and the rest of the group go as I waited at Ramona and finally we were on our way following them back to Carl’s. Dura Max and I took turns pulling till we got back to New Chicago and got to Carl’s in time to join everyone but The Rabbit; I figured he must have gone home. We didn’t stay all that long before we were ready to head home. Dura Max and T-3 would be heading back to Stetson and we would be heading to Lincoln. Just as I was getting ready to pull out onto New Chicago Digger told me someone had fallen coming out of Carl’s and I went back to see Rocky picking himself up off of the pavement. Seems he had a flat front tire and didn’t notice till he tried to turn. I stayed to help him and we rode back with Centaur to Palm where I headed for home. It wasn’t our fastest 40 miles but I had a good time. A better time than the Weatherman in Groundhog Day.

11/23/2012 By: C. Kent, aka (Superman) This week was beginning to look like one of the best weeks we have had for cycling all year. The weather has been great and the attendance has been strong. With that in mind I had no problem getting myself out of bed and into my kit first thing this morning. I had my breakfast, watched some news and headed for the parking lot to see how many were giving up a chance to shop on black Friday just to ride a few little hills with us. It turned out quite a few were interested and showed up at 9am.

I was a bit surprised to see Blood Hound and even more surprised to see Surgeon. Then two riders we met in Nuevo Monday showed up, George and Blain. Dura Max, Digger and I watched them pull up just before Highlander and Rocky. We picked up T-3 on the way to Acacia. Nine of us made it to Kirby and headed towards Cypress to start the ride west. We turned on Cypress and headed for Johnston when we caught the light at Sanderson. We lost two riders at the light but waited to regroup at Wally World before heading for Domenigoni and the long run to the Saddle.

We started west on Domenigoni and after just a few minutes Blood Hound started us with a long lead out even over the dry wash. I pulled for a while and then gave up the lead to Surgeon. We took turns all the way to Winchester and then to Leon where we jammed up a bit and Blood Hound took over again and pulled half of us to the top of the saddle to regroup.

Our next stop would be Carl’s out on Newport and Murrieta so we dropped down the backside of the saddle to give it try. It wasn’t long before we were rolling past Menifee and Bloodhound was moving away with Surgeon and George in tow. Highlander and Rocky were between the lead three and Dura Max, T-3, Blain and I were following to Antelope. We caught up to Highlander and Rocky at Haun then chased the last three all the way to Carl’s for a nature break.

While we stood around and talked at Carl’s a change of plans happened and Blain took off to get home in time for work. Dura Max, Highlander, T-3 and Surgeon decided not to go all the way to Goetz but rather take La Ladera over to McCall. That left Blood Hound, George, Rocky, Digger and I to head over the three climbs that make up Goetz. We figured that once we split up it would be the last time we saw the other group till Monday. It didn’t take long for us to make it to Goetz and start the climb.

I was impressed with how easy the Goetz climb felt today. I expected that my sore arms would make the climb a pain but it wasn’t and we all made it to the top and down the back side to Ethanic to head back east. We were going to have to split again once we got back to Murrieta because George would have to head for home so it was down to four after the split.

We moved south on Murrieta and ended up taking the Short Cut that Full Throttle had shown us that headed to the frontage road after passing the little area with the Emus. We got to the frontage road and headed over to McCall and east again to Hospital Hill. I ended up chasing Rocky to the top of the hill but we were all that spread out anyway so we only paused before dropping down the back side and heading to Heritage and working our way towards Lindenburger and Simpson.

We lined up for a run east on Simpson and I gave to lead to Digger by Briggs. He pulled us all the way to Leon at just about 19 or 20 mph before Rocky pulled around and picked it up to 21 or 22. I settled in on Blood Hound’s rear wheel and waited to see if a sprint was going to take place. Rocky led us out of the first stand of Eucalyptus and into the second one at about 22 Mph and then started to pick up the pace. Blood Hound made his move and I went with him. Just before we ran out of room before Winchester I managed to pull around Blood Hound and get to the turning lane first. We got to Chris’s just as Highlander and his group was leaving and heading home. We had coffee and an energy bar before heading home ourselves. We made short work of Winchester and then Stowe. The wind was with us as long as we were going east so it was easy to kick it up a bit all the way to California and again when we got to Stetson. We crossed Warren and split from Digger at the Airport. Blood Hound, Rocky and I rode to sandeson and then down to Johnston heading for home.

Rocky would be leaving us at Lyon and I would drop off at San Francisco while Blood Hound would ride all the way to Yale before he turned off. I felt pretty good as I pulled up to my front door and stopped the Garmin. As it has been said many times, it is days like this that are the reason we live in Southern California and not where it snows.

11/21/2012 By: C. Kent, aka (Superman) Every so often I question my motives for doing what I do. I have been riding three to four days a week for the last four or five years. For the longest time I thought cycling was all I needed with maybe some swimming in the summer. But this week I joined a gym to add some weight bearing exercise and Tuesday I put in an hour of upper body work with weights. By Tuesday night I could tell you were every mussel group was that I had worked on and still I picked one of our more challenging east rides for Wednesday. At least it was a good looking morning as I headed for Burger King and I had high hopes for another good turnout. There was no worry because one again we had about the same size group as Monday.

We left the parking lot pretty close to 9am and headed down Gilmore and to Acacia. We took a quick turn to Kirby and headed south with 14 riders in a large group. Von Richthofen brought his junior lead out team with him but he was short one rider from the other day. We made up for it with the addition of Jennifer. We had a good A group with Gambler, Centaur, D’Artagnon and Rocky with 501, Zach ready to run a break anytime they wanted. I managed to pull us west on Cypress and back out onto Sanderson and down to Wentworth towards the Airport. I was hoping someone wanted to take the lead out onto Stetson but that didn’t look like it would happen.

So as we got close to Stetson everyone fell in line behind me and allowed me to start the pull towards Warren. There was no reason to drop the hammer and I simply didn’t have the energy to drop it anyway. I set in on a 19 MPH cruise and rolled us up to the warren Stop sign before starting out again after a rather large truck passed in front of us. Still everyone seemed more than willing to save their energy for the turn on California.

The double pace line normally gives the intention of the group away. No one wants to be too far back if or when the Stowe sprint starts. I know I didn’t want to be the lead out rider but I also knew there was no Strava Segment on Stowe so there might not be a sprint. I decided that as soon as I turned onto Stowe I would give up the lead and fall back to see what would happen. Looking back as we got close to the corner it didn’t look like anyone else was eager to be the lead out either.

As soon as we were headed west on Stowe I started to move back in the pack and let Highlander take the lead. I managed to get back behind Digger, Von Richthofen and 501 before I could see Gambler pulling out to move forward. What I didn’t see was D’Artagnon moving with him so I wasn’t sure any sprint would take place. Soon Centaur pulled out and forward as well and we were both just three riders behind Gambler. Highlander started to spur me on to jump on Centaur’s wheel and for at least a few moments I was willing to forget my complaining upper body recovering from the workout Tuesday and fall in on Centaur. When Gambler picked it up Centaur went with him and I stayed on his back wheel. The sprint didn’t start till rather late on Stowe and when Centaur decided to move around Gambler I still had enough left to go with him. Just before the parking lot I got to pull off a double pass. My day was made but I was pretty much finished.

After we regrouped and refreshed a bit it was time to head for Domenigoi and we let Rabbit start. Gambler, and D’Artagnon went after him and Highlander took over for me so I didn’t have to try and close on the A group. Still we all got to Domenigoni about the same time and when the light changed headed east towards Searl and the Marina climb. The lead group took off too fast and I found myself in the back trying to pull the B group up to some stragglers. Soon there were five of us moving together to Warren where I took over and pulled us to Searl so they could rest for Seven Dollar hill. Didn’t matter because I most of the Bs didn’t climb the hill. I was the last one up and the last one down but I did see some of our Cast a Shadow friends looking over the lake on the last corner before the top.

As I got to the bottom of the hill most of the B group had left and Jennifer and part of the A group waited for me. I rode with Jennifer back to State Street and explained that I wasn’t worried because whoever went up to Ramona bowl would wait at the top till I got there. I waited for Rabbit at the turn to Ramona to be sure he would see where we went and followed Jennifer and Centaur the parking lot at the top where only Centaur was waiting. No problem however because everyone else in the A group had ridden back to use the restroom and came back out before we dropped off of the hill and back to Crest where Jennifer and Rabbit left us. I worked my way over to Thornton between six other riders heading towards Lake.

D’Artagnon left us at Stetson and Gambler took one of the young Turks back to Florida and they headed for their respective homes. Centaur, Rocky and I rode together to Fairview and then on Florida heading to the fire station. Before we got there Highlander and the B team passed us going the other way. We turned around in the parking lot and took turns pulling all the way back to Carl’s. There were only half as many of us by the time we got to Carl’s but we had a good time anyway. By the time we started home Dura Max and T-3 headed back towards Acacia and we headed up to Lincoln and west.

Getting around Park and onto Devonshire presented no problems and traffic was very light. It didn’t take long before we were past Yale and getting close to San Jacinto where we managed to catch the light green and moved onto Santa Fe. I don’t know why there is always some water at Santa Fe but there is. We turned south to Latham and headed west again. As we got close to State Street I let everyone know I would be heading for home on Palm and I knew Digger would be heading north on the same road.

When I turned south Rocky went with me and we rode together to the block before Wilshire and he turned for home wishing me a happy Thanksgiving. I slowly made my way home feeling every weight workout I had done the day before and my legs were starting to complain about the three climbs for today. I know that sooner or later working on my core will help my cycling. But today all I can say is it can also make it hard to lift my arms.

11/19/2012 By: C. Kent, aka (Superman) Looking outside I could see that there were the beginnings of a beautiful new day. Yes it was cool but not cold and hardly a cloud in the sky. I had breakfast did some light stretching and got dressed for the day. The plan was to do a big square ride out to Ramona and almost to Perris before heading to Nuevo and down to Winchester. The only thing I didn’t know was how many riders would join me. We had a rather small group Friday even if the day was almost as good. I needn’t have worried because I got to Burger King to find Dura Max, Von Richthofen and 501. The group would swell to 15 by the time we were ready to head out to Latham to start the ride. By the time we were most of the way down Lyon to Ramona I could see Highlander, Digger, Von Richthofen, 501, Noah, Zach, Tax Man, Dura Max, Jerry, Red Rabbit, Gambler, D’Artagnon, T-3 and Rocky. We had two different groups that would ride Ramona at two different speeds.

I fell back to talk with Gambler because I was pretty sure that once we were out on Ramona the A group would drop the hammer and the B group would settle into a steady pace line. I was also pretty sure the young guns would be chasing Gambler and D’Artagnon as they headed for Nuevo. Because Von Richthofen was in charge of the three young Turks, a term of endearment for young riders that simply don’t know how fast they are, I thought he might go with them. Rocky and Jerry would be able the hang with them as well so we would be split into two groups of 8 and 7. I pulled till we got to Warren and we took turns all the way to Lakeview where Von Richthofen had to chase down one of the young pronghorns and bring him back to the Valero after he missed the stop at Lakeview.

We met up with three other riders coming back from Evans and heading to Nuevo and invited them to join us some Monday, Wednesday or Friday. I tried to get one of their phone numbers so I could text them our routes but I haven’t heard back yet. After Red Rabbit pulled in it was time to go so I got us out onto Ramona and headed for the two big rollers. Half way to Burnisconi the Young Turks attacked and D’artagnon, Gambler, Von Richthoven, and Rocky went after them. I pulled the Bs over the two rollers and onto Ryder where we more or less tried to regroup till Rabbit went rolling by and we ended up chasing Dura Max, Jerry, T-3 and Rabbit most of the way to Evans to regroup with the rest of the pack before heading south towards Nuevo.

I managed to lead us to Orange and turned east to Dunlap before turning towards Evans again and catching the light. Sitting at the red Tax man and 501 pulled up next to me waiting to make the turn east once more and head for Menifee. 501 easily pulled up next to be just so I would know how fast he recovers after a hard push. We talked briefly before the call of “car back” came from behind and he fell in behind me. Just as I got close to the top of the rise on Nuevo I heard a loud pop and Tax Man and Highlander yelled “flat”. Turns out 501 had a blowout.

Just as they started working on the tire Bandit drove up and talked to us for a moment. After he started to drive away Rabbit and Jerry rode in my direction and said 501 was through because his tire was split. We tried to get Bandit’s attention but it was too late. So I rode back to see what we could do and Von Richthofen decided to call for a ride. We switched pedals and let 501 take Von Richthofen’s Look while he waited for a ride home.

501, Noah, and Zach took us to Menifee and then Zach dropped the hammer on Menifee and 501 went after them. D'Artagnon took off after them first and caught Zach by Central. Gambler started the chase and Noah and I followed on his wheel. We were slowly but surely gaining on 501 and by Mapes we closed on D’Artagnon and Zach when they started a wrong turn but corrected. We watched as Rabbit was heading down Mapes but kept straight till we got D’Artagon and Zach. I had enough left to pull to Florida and then across the light. We didn’t stop at the AM/PM because no one was there. The 6 of us stayed together to Simpson and made the turn east and found the rest of the group coming off of Lindenburger. We were ready for the run to Winchester and to be honest I was looking forward to it as we past Briggs and I sprinted to the front to get a quick shot.

As we came out of the first set of eucalyptus trees the young bucks started to move to the front. Gambler was limping in on a low tire and I knew D’Artagnon still had plenty of gas left in the tank. Just before the second set of eucalyptus trees 501 took off followed by Zach and I jumped after them, Zach caught 501 and took the lead and I pulled up next to him for the spin sprint. The kid had the gear and must have been turning 110 but I came out of the draft and pulled ahead just before we entered the construction zone where D’Artagnon caught and passed me. I say up and geared down knowing the light would be red when we got there as Highlander and some others rolled past. We all rolled into Chris’s for coffee and conversation, except for the young guns that needed fuel. We took off for Stowe while Gambler and D’Artagnon took the three juniors to Domenigoni for a speed run. Dura Max and T-3 had already headed home so that left Highlander, Tax Man, Rocky, digger and I to chase Jerry and Rabbit back to Burger King. We passed Rabbit at the airport but did see Jerry even as we rounded Lowes.

I stopped with Highlander and Tax Man as Digger headed for home and we saw Jerry waiting for Rabbit. To my Surprise Noah and 501 pulled up and talked to us before heading for home themselves. Finally I left for home and more or less cruised to cool down from an almost perfect ride.

11/16/2012 By: C. Kent, aka (Superman) We try to make Friday a relaxing day and keep the ride simple. They had predicted rain earlier in the week so we weren’t sure we would get out Friday but when I got up this morning it was cool but dry. The weather map didn’t show any rain to the west and south of us so I was pretty sure we could at least get in 20 or 25 miles as I headed out of the door and down to Burger King. I got there first but a small group formed soon after and six of us started south on Gilmore. It was a quick trip to Acacia then Kirby and finally west on Cypress.

We were cruising through the housing tract and headed for Johnston when Dura Max pulled up and told me that he and T-3 would be modifying the ride. That was fine with everyone because there is no law that says you have take the same route as the rest of the group so we decided to split up after the Saddle and then meet up at Chris’s for coffee at the end of the ride. We got to Johnston and Sanderson just as the light turned green and quickly headed for Stetson. We got stopped there but were soon on our way to Mustang and the Domenigoni turn.

We decided to take turns pulling to make the ride easier on everyone. I took the first pull to the rise about a quarter of a mile past Sanderson. Digger pulled next but he stayed out front way too long and we were well past the dry wash before I could pull up next to him to give up the lead. Huntress, Dura Max, Rocky, (just down from Canada) and T-3 all took turns and I finally took over again just past Briggs. As we got close to the Saddle I felt like a sitting duck. Huntress had moved up on my back wheel and Rocky was pulling up as well. I kept the pace even as we started up the Saddle and about half way up the hill Huntress made a close to perfect attack on my right. She pulled past me but I got on her wheel and back up next to her at the top only to see a big smile on her face as we pulled to a stop just in front of Rocky. We caught our breath and regrouped on top of the Saddle and I was nothing but proud of Huntress’s sprint to be the first to the top.

As we caught our breath T-3 took the time to massage her leg and we could start to strip down from some of the layers and rehydrate a bit. We made a deal with Dura Max that while he took T-3 up to Murrieta was would jump over to Scott and come back on Haun. The plan would be that we would meet at Chris’s. I left my jacket on because it was still cool but Rocky being from Canada seemed warm as toast.

We followed T-3 and Dura Max to Menifee and we headed for Scott Road while they stayed straight. Huntress was still taunting me for her successful attack but we laughed about it as we got to Holland and got ready for the second little climb. As we got to the hill Rocky took off easily and I started to follow. Huntress didn’t give chase this time so I save some energy and down shifted for an easy climb. We didn’t stop to regroup but got back together and made it to Scott. Rocky gave up the lead before Antelope and took it back at the top of the freeway. He let us back by as we turned north heading back towards Holland.

Huntress took over about half way down Haun and Rocky relieved her just before Holland. We were back in line after Holland and heading to Newport. The plan was to stop and the Circle K and remove jackets and any arm or leg warmers we wanted to before heading east on Newport and turning on Bradley. For some reason the run on Bradley seemed extra easy and I should have pushed the Golf cart TT but I didn’t. I pulled us back to Cherry Hill and looked back to see everyone was still smiling or at least not frowning.

We turned east on McCall and headed for Hospital Hill. Digger pulled us all the way ti Hillpoint and then fell back and I took over to the flat spot when we had to watch for an ambulance coming up the hill. We paused briefly at the top of the hill before dropping down to Heritage and coming out onto Lindenburger and Simpson just as Dura Max and T-3 got there. Dura Max pulled us back to Briggs and T-3 took us to Leon and into the first set of trees. Dura Max pulled back out front to keep T-3 from pulling too long. Rocky got out front and I dropped in on his wheel just as Huntress started to attack. As she got out front Rocky attacked again and I dropped on his back wheel a second time only to make my own attack and finish the sprint to Winchester. We got the light and headed for Chris’s for coffee. After a brief stop we were back on Winchester and up to Stowe to head for home.

We moved quickly east on Stowe before turning on California as a group. we held a reasonable double pace line all the way to Stetson and kept the double line all the way back to Warren Road. Huntress pulled up t the airport road where Dura Max and T-3 headed for home. We rolled quickly past Hanger 1 and worked our way back to Sanderson where Digger pulled us to Lowes and around the back to Acacia. I got us down to Kirby and then to Gilmore where Rocky left us and we headed back to Florida.

Digger headed for home while Huntress and I stopped at her car and talked for a few minutes before I headed for home myself. I rode out onto Latham and back to Palm to head south. I got back to my house looking forward to a hot shower and lunch but with 41 good miles on my computer and a feeling of accomplishment. It sure beats couch surfing or watching daytime TV.

11/14/2012 By: C. Kent, aka (Superman) I was a bit tired as I got up this morning but at least I had a short easy ride planned. Well it was a short easy ride by my standards. Monday had been a half century and I only needed 10 or 15 miles to put me over 6000 for the year so 33 miles to Cactus Valley should be just about perfect. For the more energetic we could climb up to the marina on the way out. I dressed warm because they were predicting an overcast cool day and for some reason I believed them. By the time I got to Burger King I could tell I wasn’t going to need a jacket. Right at 9am we started down Gilmore to Acacia with 11 riders. For some reason Coyote seemed to be eager t o get on the road because he led all the way to Kirby and then south to Cypress and started us west towards Johnston

We seemed to be running a bit hot as we passed through the housing tract and Coyote once again move out front and took us to Johnston before pulling up to the light at Sanderson just as Dura Max and T-3 rounded the corner and headed north. I can only assume they had other commitments as we headed south towards Stetson. We caught the light at Stetson red and had to wait for a few minutes before riding past Wally World and moving on towards Mustang. Once again Coyote pulled out front and zeroed in on Mustang while Highlander, Jennifer and Huntress shadowed me.

We all followed Coyote to the light at Domenigoni and waited to turm left and head towards Searl and the Marina. The plan at this point was that the A group could climb to the marina and I could take the B group around the ball field and meet them as they came back down. When we got to the Marina road Coyote was long gone with Gambler and D’Artagnon in hot pursuit. Huntress, Jennifer and Rabbit followed them. Highlander, Digger and I stayed on the road to the ball field. We got back to the Marina road just as Rabbit came back down, seems he turned back at the halfway point. We waited till everyone had regrouped before heading to State Street and rolling on to Cactus Valley for another regroup.

As we started back towards State Street Coyote jumped out front again. As we got close to Sage Street the pace was almost flat out and Coyote had a 75 yard lead down the hill. I took off to close the gap and Highlander was on my wheel. He dropped off as I closed onto Coyote’s wheel and decided to hang on for a free draft. Soon Gambler reeled us in and pulled by but Coyote caught his draft and we followed him all the way back to State. Thank goodness we had Gambler to wear out because D’Artagnon was running at 110 percent trying to close on us as well. We managed to tire out Gambler and beat D’Artagnon to McSweeney. He joined us as we rode around the housing tract there and we regrouped just as we got back out onto State. Highlander decided to call it a day at Domenigoni and Jennifer headed for home on Gibbel Road. The rest of us rode down past the golf course and out onto Stetson before turning onto Columbia and heading through the old homes off of Thornton.

Coyote and Huntress pulled away from the rest of us and Rabbit took a short cut be we all ended up back on Stetson heading for Fairview together. I stayed with Digger till we got to Fairview and he decided to wait till we came back from Wilson Mesa. I took off after Rabbit and caught him just before he started up the hill at Wilson Mesa. We regrouped there and got ready for the run back down to Florida. I assured Coyote that I had no plans of attacking the Fairview Strava Segment because I was getting ready to start my winter slow down to rest my legs for next year. Didn’t matter what I had planned because everyone hit the Fairview run hard. We did get to Florida together and then stopped at Carl’s for coffee and conversation.

Once we were headed back west Huntress got to her street first and then left us. Gambler headed for home as well leaving Coyote, Digger, Rabbit and I to get back to the west end by ourselves. Digger and I went different ways at Palm and Coyote and Rabbit returned to their cars at Burger King. I got home with 36 miles on my computer but I felt pretty good anyway. I can say this group works well together and makes riding fun.