Lake Perris Cruise

By: C. Kent, aka (Superman) 7/12/13 Thursday had been cool and a bit overcast and I was expecting much the same for today. At last I was expecting that for the morning. We had such a short simple ride Wednesday I wanted to see if we could get in a bit longer cruise with some scenery so I planned a ride on Ramona to Lake Perris. I wasn’t sure how big of a group we would have but I looked forward to getting in at least 40 miles today. I got to Burger King only to find Dragon Slayer waiting with digger and Dura Max. I no sooner parked my bike than Highlander arrived followed by Quicksilver. I was glad to see Quicksilver after she had been off sick for two days. Bulldozer and Gambler joined us as did Alan, MacGyver, Hornet and Barracuda. As soon as 8am rolled around we were out onto Latham and headed up to Lyon and north towards Ramona.

To be honest my legs were pretty tight today and I was feeling it as we turned north on Lyon. My conclusion for my sore legs was because I didn’t follow the advice of Joe Friel in his book on cycling past 50. He said if our time is limited then we should use the time to cycle rather than any other exercise because it will give us the most direct benefit for more cycling. The problem is I lack the courage to tell my wife that working in the garden is exercise that doesn’t contribute to my cycling so I should give it up. So I put the thought out of my mind and led us the group to Ramona and headed west towards Sanderson.

As we got ready to head west on the Expressway it was suggested that we all stay together as a group at least till we passed the yard with the Golden Retriever. We all lined up when we got to Warren and I started to pace us to the first driveway when Digger had a flat. We all stopped to supervise the repair.

It was our luck that for once the big dog didn’t come out to chase us. Even better luck because our big dogs were assembled at the back of the pack. One of them was armed with pepper spray just in case but we didn’t need it. Shortly one of the big dogs pulled around me and faded into the distance. Not long afterwards Gambler, Dragon Slayer and Bulldozer left as well and I gave up the lead to Quicksilver. She pulled almost all the way to Lakeview before giving the lead to Highlander and Barracuda pulled around us as well. We turned to stop at the Valero and watched Barracuda head off after the fading A group. Once we were back heading west I pulled almost to the Bridge before MacGyver took over and led us up the hill. I changed the route to the back gate and MacGyver had to double back and follow us to the bike path. Dura Max and Digger entered the park last and I rode with them around the east end of the lake to join the group waiting for us at the Marina.

As we sat there and visited, rehydrated, re-fueled and talked about the Tour de France I noticed Hornet was playing with his front derailleur and several joined him and tried to assist him in the adjustment. Finally they seemed to improve the shifting and we got a chance to finish visiting.

Once we were ready to get back on the road I was pretty sure the big Dogs would take off and leave us in the dust. What I didn’t expect was for Quicksilver to take off so quickly and pull away for the remaining group. Soon I found myself chasing her all the way to the picnic area at the north east end of the lake. Highlander, MacGyver and I followed Quicksilver out of the trees and started around the east end of the lake and the TT there. MacGyver pulled around and I dropped onto his back wheel with Highlander and Quicksilver right behind me. Hornet was the next closest to us with Digger and Dura Max trailing. MacGyver kept kicking it up till finally Quicksilver dropped off and the remaining three of us tried to close in on the fleeing A group in front of us. I didn’t notice the missing Quicksilver till I had pulled in front just before the short hill leading out of the park. I slowed and soft pedaled till Hornet rolled by and Quicksilver finally pulled up the hill. We regrouped with Highlander and Barracuda at the top of the grade leading out of the back gate.

By the time we were back out onto Ramona the A group and MacGyver were long gone and Dragon Slayer was headed for home. We caught up to Highlander at the light on the other side of Lakeview and took turns pulling all the way back to Sanderson and finally to Lyon to make the last turn south towards Burger King. Dura Max and Digger left us at Menlo and Barracuda left us at Latham. I am not sure where we lost Hornet but Highlander, Quicksilver and I stopped by the vehicles at Burger King before I headed home. I got back with 45 miles on the clock and just in time before the sun burned off the last of the marine layer to start adding the heat. The ride felt good and I was happy to spend the morning with friends.