2/1/2013 By: C. Kent, aka (Superman) Today was a good example of why some of us live where we live. While friends and fellow cyclist all over the US are mounting and riding on bikes with studded tires of having to wear rain ware we have some really nice weather. I got up this morning to clear blue skies and no wind. I may have slept a bit fitfully last night but once I got up this morning I was eager for sun up so I could ready to go meet with friends and spend some quality time riding my bike through three or four different towns and looking at that clear blue sky. When I got to the parking lot I was way too early and so I got a chance to watch all of the other riders arrive. Dura Max was first followed by Highlander, Bloodhound, Ferret, Tinker Bell, Bulldozer, Rocky, Punisher, Chinook, and his wife Artemis. We headed for Acacia just after 9am expecting a pretty mellow ride. We made it around the corner and over to Kirby and headed south to Cypress with little or no trouble. Still as we moved through the housing tract it seemed like we were moving a bit faster than normal for the warm up period.

To tell the truth I still didn’t expect much because it was still cool and I tend to be a bit like old Chrysler motors and don’t run very well till warmed up. Still with that in mind I seemed to be able to spin one gear higher than I had either Monday of Wednesday. We turned onto Sanderson and quickly rolled past Wally World and then Mustang before turning west on Donenigoni and heading for the Saddle.

I pulled over the rise and part way to Warren before turning it over to Bloodhound and asked that he keep it at 20 MPH or less to hold the group together. That worked pretty well till we went by Warren and over the dry wash. On the back side of the wash the pace normally picks up and it did this time with Highlander in the lead but the stronger rides were in the back of the pace line so I wasn’t worried. Everything worked just fine till we got by Winchester and then we stretched out a bit. Still we weren’t that far apart as we regrouped on the Saddle without Punisher who went on to Lindenburger.

After removing a few layer of wind breaking material we were ready to head down the back side of the Saddle and head for Menifee. As we got to Lindenburger Punisher fell in on the back of the line and followed us ti the left turn lane at Menifee. Once we were once again headed south I told everyone to get ready to regroup once more at the top of the hill between Garboni and Holland. I had no intention of wasting any energy getting up the hill because I was pretty sure there was a Strava segment from Carboni to Scott.

As soon as we started off again I started to pick up speed to attack Menifee at Carboni and managed to run at 90 percent or better all the way to Scott. Only when I got home did I discover that the run was no longer a segment but at least at the time I felt like my legs were beginning to warm up and my breathing felt good. When we turned west on Scott we moved very quickly to Haun where I stopped to wait for the back half or the group. The front half just kept going and was at least a third of a mile away by the time the rest of us regrouped. We took off slowly but soon Ferret took off with me glued to his back wheel. A quick look back showed Tinker Bell following me like a trailer. It was a great pull by Ferret and we regrouped once more before stopping at the Circle K for a nature break. Once we were back on the road it was west on Newport to Bradley then north to McCall. I didn’t think I pushed very hard on Bradley but for some reason I got a good time on Stava. We got to McCall and Bulldozer and I were riding in the back while I looked for Dura Ace because I thought he was behind us. It turned out he was in front of us and Bulldozer had to pull me up to the back of the pack as we got to the top of Hospital Hill. We dropped off of the back side of Hospital hill and down to Heritage with Highlander, Bloodhound and I first to Simpson. Once through the light we lost two riders off the pack of the pack and I fell back to pick them up. Only Dura Max and I turned onto Leon and took the dump road to Chris’s for coffee and conversation.

I walked in to get some coffee and went back out to enjoy the warming sun and the clear blue sky. Highlander, Artemis, Chinook and rocky were at one table while Bulldozer, Bloodhound, Punisher, Ferret and Tinker Bell were at the other end of the patio.

It was pretty laid back as we took our time talking and talking about how fast the pace seemed to be for a day we planned of taking easy. During out conversation I kept hearing the screeching of some kind of bird of prey but it took me a while to tell where it was coming from. Soon to the north west of us over the freshly plowed field heading back to the dump road Dura Max and I had just come down I spotter two hawks hunting. It is easy to follow them with a camera while the searched but much harder when they drop like a rock to grab a rabbit or ground squirrel.

We watched for a while before we started the get up and start putting on your riding gear dance. One person slips on their gloves and another puts on a helmet and without saying anything soon everyone is up and moving their bikes towards the driveway and the ride home. I took us north on Winchester to Stowe and began the trek east towards California.

The ride to California and then to Stetson was a quick one as was the trip to Warren and the airport road. Punisher, Rocky and I stayed on Stetson to Sanderson and while Punisher continued on at Sanderson Rocky and I moved over to Johnston and headed for Lyon. Bloodhound came up behind me between Lyon and Elk and stayed with me till I turned for home. I felt we had a good ride and I was glad everyone seemed to have a good time. I didn’t discover till I got home they no longer had the segment from Garboni to Scott and that I had a personal best on Bradley called, Golf Cart racing. Come to think of it I believe I can beat a golf cart on Bradley.