12/10/2012 By: C. Kent, aka (Superman) The hope was that we could get in a good ride early in the week because we are supposed to get some rain later in the week. The weather men were predicting a cold front and wind for today so I expected a hard ride at least in one direction if not two. So I dressed warm, tossed on a jacket and headed for the parking lot to see how many other brave souls would be joining me. I was not the first one there however, Dragon Slayer was there and Digger pulled up ahead of me. Dura Max was next to pull up followed by Rocky, Highlander, Tax man and Andy, (The Mechanic). Digger and I finished our coffee and we got ready to pull out of the parking lot. Before we could get to Gilmore Dragon Slayer had a flat. While he changed the tire we saw Von Richthofen drive up and T-3 rode up. Von Richthofen was on his way home from Yoga but T-3 was riding with us so as soon as the tire was repaired we were on our way south on Gilmore heading for Acacia.

To be sure my legs are still a bit sore from the extra cross training I am doing at the gym but I know I can work it out over time if I will just stay in the pack and not try to pull too much early on so that was my plan. Still I tend to lead west on Acacia and I pull us down Kirby and again west on Cypress till we get out to the light on Sanderson to head for Domenigoni. We got through the light right after putting a foot down and headed for Stetson where we once again caught the light. But we weren’t there long before we were off heading for Mustang and the High School.

I stayed out front a bit longer than I had planned and took us almost all the way to Warren. Dragon Slayer pulled up to relieve me and I fell back to the back of the pack to accept a tow all the way to Winchester. Shortly after Winchester Rocky took over and to be honest it made me smile. Rocky is a bit stronger than I am and I worried that he would beat me on the Saddle sprint. But with him in the number one slot he was burning matches fast than I was. The Mechanic was right in front of me and I was able to draft right up on his back wheel to lower my heart rate to under 140 BPM. Dragon Slayer was right behind me and I wasn’t sure if he knew where to attack on the saddle so for the first time in a long time I felt I had a good chance to win the saddle sprint. As we came up to Leon I started to act like a shark and kept moving out to see if Rocky was trying to break away. Dragon Slayer got suspicious and decided to make a run for the front. As he passed me I dropped in on his wheel and followed him to the front. By the time Rocky realized what was happening he was blocked in and I got the jump on the sprint and took the lead. For the first time in a long time I took the saddle first.

Just so you know Dragon Slayer is in the front, the next row starting from the left is Tax man, Highlander and Rocky. The Orange Jersey in the next row is The Mechanic and Digger is in the Yellow Vest. Dura Max in Red and T-3 in Green are in the back row. We hydrated and dropped down off of the saddle to Lindenburger and Tax Man took us north towards Simpson. But before we got to Simpson Dragon Slayer had another flat. This time I believe it was a pinch flat and we all took a break while he fixed it. He repaid us by pulling all the way from McCall to the AM/PM. T-3 and Dura Max must have had an appointment because they didn’t stop but the rest of us did and we started north on Menifee a few minutes later. Highlander took us to Mapes and Dragon Slayer started us towards Central. This turned into a speed run and this time they were ready for me. It turned into a drag race to the stop sign with Rocky, Dragon Slayer and I changes places to the very end. Our next stop was Nuevo and then up to Lakeview where Dragon Slayer took over again.

We were in Dragon Slayers neighborhood and he would be leaving us before we got back out onto Ramona. We said our goodbyes at his street and headed for Ramona Expressway wondering is we were going to run into a head wind. We did run into a head wind buy it was a light one. We took turns pulling and finally Rocky took over and pulled almost all the way to Bridge. Tax Man pulled around and kicked it up a bit but by the time he hit 21 the wind picked up and smacked him in the chest. He had to give up the lead and Rocky got it back. Highlander took a pull and The Mechanic took a pull and finally we were at Warren. We rotated till we got to Sanderson and then decided to take it all the way to Devonshire. Rocky started us off and I didn’t move forward till we got to Cottonwood.

We let Digger pull till we got to Menlo and then we turned on Devonshire as The Mechanic stayed on Sanderson heading south. Rocky and I stopped for a minute while Highlander and Tax Man loaded their bikes in the van. I rode with Rocky back down Lyon the Mayberry before we parted ways and I headed for home by myself. By the time I pulled up to my front door I had just over 40 miles and a big smile on my face. Yes it was a good day.