Proud Mary ride

By: C. Kent, aka (Superman) Normally I plan a ride for Friday that is nice and easy. It doesn’t always turn out that way but I plan for it anyway. With that in mind I started getting text messages asking for something more challenging. Daredevil was planning on bringing some friends from the Marines and suddenly all I could think of was the introduction Tina Turner gave to the song “Proud Mary”. She said they were going to start out the song, “Nice and easy”, but then they were going to pick it up because the group never does nothing, “Nice and easy”. And of course heard her do “Proud Mary”, you know it is true. So I planned a 50 mile ride with sprints, climbs, rollers and twists that I hoped would entertain everyone. “Da-doot-doot-doot, da- doot-doot-doot. Left a good job in the city.” That was going through my head as I rode to the parking lot to meet Digger and have coffee. As I had coffee with Digger and Dura Max the group started to assemble, Dragon Slayer, Surgeon, Daredevil and his friends Jet, and Paul. Bloodhound, Bulldozer, Gambler and Highlander got there just before Rick and MacGyver. Quicksilver pulled up along with RCMP. A rather large group for a Friday and a half century at that. We headed for Gilmore right at 8 am. We got stalled at the light on Florida and then headed towards Acacia, nice and easy, (Left a good job in the city.)

Bulldozer rolled by much like a base player switching from quarter notes to eighths followed by Bloodhound hitting a double count on the hat. The rest of us were still taking it nice and easy like Tina in the beginning of the song. As we moved from Kirby onto Cypress and headed towards Johnston Daredevil and his friends moved up towards the front. When we turned south onto Sanderson Bulldozer and Bloodhound started to pick up the beat but before they could get fully on the back beat the rest of the A group took off after them. The B group formed in the back to become the audience as we watched them all turn onto Domenigoni while we were still coming to Mustang.

I could almost picture Tina and her girls starting their dance and the A took Domenigoni like they owned it. “Roll in, roll in, roll in, on the river” and they were gone. It wasn’t like the Bs were dragging their feet, we were hitting 20 and 21 consistently but had the addition of Ferret catching up to the back and upon discovering there was a monster A group took off after them in pursuit. We held steady to Warren and then to Winchester before a short regroup on the Saddle only to discover the A group had moved on. Quicksilver did chase me to the top of the saddle but was gracious enough not to pass before we stopped. We dropped off of the saddle and made our way to Menifee before turning south again and heading towards Holland.

Just before we got to Holland and the little hill I saw the A group pulling out of the Park and gaining on us. I wanted to make a charge at the hill but was almost in zone 4 just as I got stated. Quicksilver wasn’t so gracious this time and past me as soon as I backed off. I could hear Tina loud and clear as some of the A rolled by. (Working for the man every night and day) Some of us regrouped at the top and headed for Scott just as the A group was heading east through the light. RCMP and Surgeon turned around on Scott and I led the group to Winchester and then onto Washington. Quicksilver took over just before Benton and Highlander caught her wheel as they pulled away from Digger, Dura Max and Me. (Cue the backup singers, “Rolling on the river”. We made it to the gas station to regroup with the big dogs.

It was hot and humid and most of us had been going through water and electrolytes. Soe refueling was taking place as well as conversation.

Once our break was over it seemed much like an encore and the song began again as I led us out of the gas station and north on Winchester.

We caught the light and got ready to make the turn on Max Gillis and head west. The next part of the ride was going to be new for many and in my opinion a lot of fun and very interesting. I knew the As were going to hit Los Altos like Tina would hit the song Proud Mary so I got in front as soon as I could to catch them before the faded into the distance leaving only the song in my head. Picture 90

As soon as the As turned onto Los Altos Quicksilver left us and tagged onto the back of the A group. I tried to pull the rest of the B group through the rollers and twisters but we managed to get strung out over a quarter of a mile. We finally caught Quicksilver at the intersection where Los Altos changes names and all of us pulled out onto Whitewood and headed back North. Before we topped the hill Rick came back to join us and we rode to the Hospital together before moving over to Antelope and then back to Menifee. Once back to Newport we headed to Lindenburger and then over to Simpson before rolling down to Winchester to head for Winchester Market.

I managed to pull us to the Market on Winchester and Stowe where we stopped for coffee and a time of reflection on today’s ride. We were talking about the Patriot Ride in October that is being put on by the Tour De Palm Springs people and trying to figure out how many of us were going to give it a try. After cooling down a bit and refilling out bottles we headed for home on Stowe. About half way to California I had a blowout on my rear tire that sounded like a gun shot? It split the tire so that even a boot only made it bulge like a bee sting does someone’s arm. The words of Tina came back to me, “We never do anything completely nice and easy. So after contacting Dragon Slayer to get a ride home and sending the other riders on I limped at about half way down California and met Dragon Slayer after I had my 50 miles in. I guess I can be just as Proud as Mary ever was.

By: C. Kent, aka (Superman) 8/28/13 As I headed for the meeting place of our group ride today I thought about why we rode together as DVV? It has to be more than the love of bicycling because we could still love to ride by ourselves. It must be the spirit of friendship we have developed and the challenge we experience together. That may also be the hard part for me. What is a challenge for me may not be for many of our better riders. And if the ride is a challenge for the better riders is it too much for the rest of us? Today was going to be a challenge for me and an old nemesis, Gibbel road. It would be the first time I faced this climb in more than a year and the first time in a year I planned on going all the way to the top without stopping. Digger was waiting for me and said that Dura Max had gone to pick up T-3 to go on a different ride. Bloodhound and Bulldozer showed up as did Surgeon, Red Rabbit and Highlander. Dragon Slayer was burning up the road from Nuevo after going back to get his shoes and Huntress arrived just before Hawk and Gambler. Shadow sent me a text saying he would join us on the road and MacGyver pulled for up sporting some new wheels on his bike. Not a bad turn out for a ride Gambler had warned me about using the word Gibbel in the description. We headed down Gilmore just after 8am.

To be honest I felt pretty good as we turned onto Acacia and rolled down to the light on Kirby. We turned south and Bloodhound took off. he didn’t get far before Bulldozer flashed by and headed for Cypress. It was way too early in the ride for me to expend that much energy giving chase so I led the rest of the group to cypress and started west towars Johnston and Sanderson. We turned back north to Wentworth and then west again to get to the airport road.

I was still in the front as we pulled out onto Stetson and stayed there all the way to Warren. Once we were headed for California street Surgeon took the lead only to watch Bloodhound fade into the distance chasing Bulldozer. As we rounded the corner on California and headed for Stowe Dragon slayer pulled out front and at first I grabbed onto his wheel. But my focus wasn’t on chasing anyone it was saving my legs for Gibbel. We rounded onto Stowe with Surgeon in the front of our group until Huntress pulled around and created a gap. I went after her with Highlander and soon she had us moving at a pretty good clip towards the old metal barn and the Winchester Market parking lot for a regroup.

I could almost see Gibbel in my mind as we turned south on Winchester and headed for Domenigoni. We were in two separate pace lines till we got to the dump road and then made it to Domenigoni as one. At the light I was pretty sure we would break into two groups once the A group got wound up and I had every intention of keeping my pace steady so I could hit Gibbel relatively fresh with relaxed legs. When the A did go by I told Dragon Slayer I would take the B group with me and let him go, The Bs worked as a team and rotated through a pace line till we got to Warren and then we broke apart after we got to Searl. I told Huntress to go after Hawk and Surgeon and I would pull Highlander and Digger to State Street. Highlander decided not to take the climb and Surgeon pulled over at the bottom of the very first grade. At this point I blocked out everyone else’s effort and concentrated on my conquering Gibbel. Digger followed me to the first of the big climbs and I saw Several riders coming back down. Bulldozer was really cooking as he went by. Soon several other rides went by and I lost sight of Digger as I made the first summit sitting down and spinning about 70 rpm. I saw Hawk coming back down the second climb just as I had to downshift into 34x28. This was getting a little harder to spin and I had to mash and shift into 34x32 to crest the next summit. I saw MacGyver on the last climb just before I started up and heard him say something about it being a hard climb. I started out in 34x28 but soon was back in32 and thinking about dropping into granny when I crested again with a heart rate still in zone 2. I had beaten the hill and once I reached the end of the pavement turned to rejoin the group at the bottom of the hill. We headed back to state and started to work our way over to Thornton.

We got out onto Stetson and headed for Columbia and then over to Crest. Highlander and Digger didn’t turn with us and we didn’t see them when we came back out off of Lake onto Stetson. We regrouped on Fairview and then made a quick run north to Florida and finally to Carl’s for coffee. There was only about half of us left to ride back to Burger King and both Digger and I left the group at Palm. I got home with 38 miles on my computer and the satisfaction of knowing I had accomplished a good climb, for me anyway. The best part however may have been sharing this moment with friends, because they are among the few who care when something positive happens in our life. It is good to ride and better to ride with friends.

By: C. Kent, aka (Superman) 8/26/13 We wanted and needed a longer ride for Monday. The problem was the weather wizards were predicting rain. That normally doesn’t mean much but Sunday it rained hard in Palm Springs and they are just on the other side of the mountain from us. The rain was supposed to be moving north east so it should miss us but the last time we had this chance of rain only three of us finished even a short ride. The A group were either captured by the local Indian rain gods or space aliens but whatever the case they didn’t finish the ride. So today I had low expectations for a large group, especially after getting a hit with a light rain while taking my dog for his morning walk. But by 7am it was clear to the west so I loaded up the bike and put my shoes on before heading to Burger King for coffee. Digger, Dura Max, Bloodhound and I stood around talking till Dragon slayer and Quicksilver arrived. Just before we decided Matt and Kendra,( Hawk) pulled up as Matt was heading for work. It looked like we had all the riders we were going to get do we took off for Latham and up to Lyon to head north to Ramona.

Everything went pretty smoothly as we moved north and then onto Ramona Boulevard. Things seemed rather effortless as we rode west towards Sanderson and talked about our plan of attack to avoid the dog at the second dairy after Warren. I decided to pull and Dragon Slayer took up the back as we headed west and made the light at Warren. Everything was going smoothly till just before we got to the driveway in question and I ran head long into the biggest glass field I believe I have ever seen on the road. It looked like someone had dropped a plate glass window and just took off. Naturally I got flat and a cut tire. We booted the tire and decided to try to make it to Dragon Slayer’s house to use one of his spare tires.

It took a few minutes to dismount and then remount another tire and as soon as we were done we headed back to Lakeview and over to Nuevo changing the route to save time. Dura Max and Hawn left for home on Menifee and the rest of us headed for Perris Boulevard on Nuevo. Bloodhound couldn’t wait for us and like an eager puppy took off for Evans ahead of us. We stopped for a moment to refuel and rehydrate and Bloodhound kept going till he got to Perris Boulevard. We remembered the construction on Perris so we took an alternate route down to Case and then onto Goetz. It was there I realized we had lost Bloodhound. He must have tracked the wrong rabbit because he ended up back on Ramona rather than Goetz where we were. After discovering his mistake he headed for home. The rest of us headed for the back side of Goetz and I decided to behave myself and take the hill in zone 2 or three. I was doing real well till I noticed Quicksilver was struggling towards the top of the hill in front of me. Like a dog chasing a pork chop I started a spin and noticed Quicksilver was in striking distance without going into zone 4. (So far so good.) As I caught up to her she indicated she was having a problem with leg cramps. Being the kind man that I am I slowed down to let her beat me to the top, (hahahahah, like that was going to happen.) But I did stop at the top and rendered her my drug stash of Vitamin I and Endurolyte. We then continued down the hill to Newport and east to the gas Station on Murrieta. A quick splash of energy drink and we were headed for McCall on Murrieta.

Once on McCall Dragon Slayer and Quicksilver got away from Digger and I and made it through the light at the Valero when we didn’t. In fact they made all of the light green to our reds and we waiting at the top of McCall minute ahead of Digger and me. We dropped down the pack side and decided to ride through the little park before making it to Simpson and heading east. Dragon Slayer, Quicksilver and I practiced a three rider pace line all the way to Winchester and then we all made a dash for the Winchester market because it had started to rain. Not a hard rain or a cold rain but rain none the less. We made it without getting very wet and had coffee while the brief rain passed over us. I just had time to chug down a cup before we were on the road again and heading down Stowe to California.

Quicksilver must have fully recovered because she tagged onto Dragon Slayer’s wheel and left Digger and I in the dust. In fact they were almost at Warren before Digger and I turned onto Stetson. Digger and I watched them turn onto the Airport road and by the time we got to the road ourselves Digger left me and I rode to Sanderson and then Johnson by myself. I got home without getting any more rain on me and pulled up to my door with 52 plus miles on my computer. And a note to the A riders, we didn’t get abducted nor did we get struck by lightning. We just had a great ride.

By: C. Kent, aka (Superman) 8/23/13 Friday seemed to rush up on us today. The week has been filled with good rides and from my perspective I have felt better than I have in a long time. The good part of that is I feel like I am getting back into form. The bad part is it makes it hard for me to stay in zone 3 or less. However I was determined to behave myself today so I brought out Klein and planned of spending the day in cruise mode so I broke out the Klein and headed for Burger King. The group was a bit slow in forming but we had at least a baker’s dozen by 8 am and headed for Gilmore and Acacia.

I sort of had a feeling the group was feeling a bit frisky this morning because I had to sprint almost from the beginning to get in front of Bloodhound to get a picture. In fact we were well ahead of most of the pack as we made the light on Kirby. In fact there were only three or four of us that made it through the light and headed south towards Cypress. Once we got there I had our small group stop and wait for the rest of the group. It only took a minute or two before they came rolling around the corner and headed west towards Johnston.

When I was sitting at the light on Sanderson I realized if I wanted to cruise today I would have to turn the group over to Gambler or Bulldozer in case the A group wanted to head for seven dollar hill. Sure enough the A group with Gambler, Bulldozer, Bloodhound, MacGyver, Dragon Slayer and Barracuda headed or the hill followed by Surgeon, Quicksilver, Kendra and Digger. I stopped on Searl to wait for Dura Max only to watch him and Sea Lion head for State Street. I was setting the time and date on my camera and took off after them when they were at least a quarter of a mile ahead. Sea Lion turned at McSweeney before I got there and Dura Max was crossing Newport before I got to the housing tract. I pulled up to Dura Max at the golf course and continued on to the end of Cactus road. Dura Max only took a short break and left while I waited for the group.

Once everyone was ready to go and Rick from Beaumont started back west I knew the fun would begin. I started out towards the back of the group stationed in Quicksilver’s draft as we headed up the rise and towards the Baptist Church. I could see Bloodhound getting ready to drop down the hill followed by Surgeon So I kicked it up a bit and dropped off as well and soon caught Bloodhound and followed him for a moment before pulling around to give him a rest. Surgeon went around both of us and Bloodhound pulled us back up to him. Once we were on the flat I pulled around again and took off for State Street. As we neared the corner where Sherpa used to live Bloodhound dropped the hammer and it was all I could do to get back on his wheel for a breather before pulling around again and running hard for the Housing tract. I didn’t have much left when Gambler, Bulldozer, Barracuda past me with Bloodhound now affixed to their freight train. Dragon Slayer and MacGyver weren’t far behind as we all turned the corner.

We talked and joked as we waited for a major regroup as we headed back out towards State. I knew I had spent too much time in zone 4 and would have to answer to my health coach or delete my ride from my Heart Rate monitor but it seemed worth it at the time I was doing it. Surgeon was waiting on State as we got there and once again we regrouped.

Once we were back on the road Quicksilver, Rick, Bloodhound, Surgeon and I made it through the light on Domenigoni first and the rest of the A group caught the light red. Bloodhound and Surgeon created a gap and Rick had to come around to help me get on their wheel. I was more than happy to sit in forth with the Klein and pulled around to the front just as we started up the rise. Rick caught me just before Chambers and we rolled on towards the golf course and Santa Fe. After turning on Stetson we could see Digger off in the distance and we could tell he didn’t turn on Columbia. Most of the rest of us did except Surgeon and we headed through the old homes to work our way to Lake.

We finally made our way to Lake and Stetson before heading towards Fairview. I decided to actually cruise like I had planned after Rick and Dragon Slayer had me back in zone 4 just keeping pace on Stetson. I ended up following Quicksilver. Surgeon and Barracuda parked on Stetson and Fairview while the ones that remained headed for Wilson Mesa. On the way back Bloodhound and Gambler headed up Bautista, Dragon Slayer and Bulldozer headed for Carl’s so Dragon Slayer could catch a ride home. I dropped off the Mesa first and made a reasonable run to Florida before turning towards Carl’s with the reassembled group. Once we had something cool to drink and relived parts of the ride we headed for home dropping one ride after another as we got further west.

By the time we got back to State Street there were only five or six of us. When we crossed Lyon there were only 4 and I could tell Quicksilver was setting me up for a last sprint to the parking lot. However, having Chicked by her before, I managed to get the jump first and held her off till I got to the driveway. Rick blew by me just as we got to the end but at least Quicksilver didn’t get by me this time. Yes I know time is on her side, but for now I can mark one on my chalk board.

By: C. Kent, aka (Superman) 8/21/13 When I got up this morning I was really looking forward to today’s ride. Monday had been one of the first days in long time that I started to feel like I had some energy to run hard in a pace line and I felt I was almost ready to try a sprint. I put together a plan for a bit shorter ride with some nice short little climbs in it and thought I might get a chance to play just a bit if I didn’t blow up early. So I fixed myself a high protein breakfast and got dressed for what looked like a beautiful day. Digger and I had a chance to get coffee well before Dura Max arrived and the three of us were talking when Highlander drove up. Bloodhound was the next to arrive followed by Gambler without Bulldozer. As we stood around talking Quicksilver pulled up and it was quiet for a while. Surgeon, Alligator, Kendra and MacGyver got there just before Huntress and Dragon Slayer. Because everyone seemed ready to go we pulled out onto Gilmore and headed south to Acacia before moving over to Kirby and south again.

Quicksilver forgot her sun glasses and went back to get them and Dragon Slayer went with her. Highlander told me about her returning to the car and I knew they would get caught at the light on Florida. I pulled everyone over on Cypress and soon the missing rides were back with us and headed west towards Johnston and Sanderson.

Bloodhound took us north on Sanderson to the light and Wentworth and then west to the Airport road and out onto Stetson. Bloodhound was still in front as we continued west to Warren and slowly but surely he inched the pace up as we closed in on California and I was tempted to fall back to ride sweep. But what the heck I was feeling good so I decided to hook onto Bloodhounds freight train and head for Stowe.

We had passed Bandit on Stetson and he turned around to join us. Looked like a healthy A group and a frisky B group for today’s ride. I rounder the corner in the back of a small pace line and after about a quarter of a mile Alligator steamed by us and pulled away pretty quickly. When he sat up and let Bloodhound catch him I had him fall in line as we moved towards Winchester. About 100 yards before we got to the barn I pulled out and headed for the front. I didn’t know if I had enough steam to make it to the parking lot but I was going to give it a shot. I did reasonably well but Gambler ran me down and I didn’t have enough left to jump on his back wheel. Still it was one of the better runs I have had in a few months so I felt good about it. Once we were back on our way things got interesting. We headed south towards the dump road and the front three had to soft pedal a bit to let the group catch us at the corner. Once again Alligator took off but this time he let Bloodhound and a small group catch him. I had him fall into the pace line if front of me as we rolled by the Wild West Club. As we got to the rise I jumped out and made it to the crest first. But that only seemed to spur the rest of the group on as they past me and headed for Leon. We quickly made it to Simpson and headed west. I was in the second group that rounded the corner and had to work hard to catch the leader to get them to stop for a regroup at Briggs. Huntress pulled up and told me to keep the group moving because she would be riding sweep today. So off we went and started up the little ride past Heritage. As soon as I settled into a lower gear to spin up the hill Quicksilver jumped on it and beat me to the corner. I had been chicked again and this time by Quicksilver. I chased her to Menifee and McCall and headed around the corner for the back side of Hospital Hill. This time I was the first over the top and beat her to Hillpointe where we regrouped.

None of the ones being swept forward by Huntress seemed to be on their on their way and Surgeon and Bloodhound didn’t wait. We moved through the housing tract and moved to Sumner to climb the next set of hills. Once again Quicksilver jumped out and made me chase her to the first stop sign. I just said to myself that I might as well forget staying out of zone 4 or 5 as long as Quicksilver was drawing a breath. She backed of a bit trying to catch her breath before the second climb and admitted she had burned her matches. That was my cue to take off and crest the hill before her. When we got to Newport and Antelope for a small regroup Quicksilver was smiling like a cat that ate tweedy bird. By then I discovered the Digger was heading back and Huntress had Highlander in tow. Quicksilver started us towards the ride after Holland and exceeded Highlanders climb rate so I pulled him over the ride and to Garboni. Once we were heading east he set me free but I couldn’t catch the fleeing group before they made it to Briggs and headed to the Dairy farm. I was the last one to get to Newport and Laguna Vista. We regrouped and headed for the saddle. Highlander wanted us to wait at the top of the saddle and I had planned to pull over the top but this was the last hill on the way home and Quicksilver kept making noises like the theme from Jaws. Part way up the hill she tossed the gauntlet down and we jumped on it together. She almost got me but with a second effort I pulled away and she gave up. I backed down to wait at the top and she rolled by and stopped close to the front side of the Saddle. When I picked up Highlander and Huntress we dropped down the face of the Saddle and headed for Leon. We had pulled away quite a distance while Quicksilver was waiting on the top of the saddle so I fell back to get her. But I am no fool I let her pull us back to Highlander and Huntress. We turned onto Winchester and Had picked up Kendra and once again I followed Quicksilver north towards Winchester Market. We stopped for a break at the market and had a chance to talk to Digger about his chain jumping. After some cold drinks and some sweet watermelon we started for home east on Stowe. We were moving along quickly to California before heading north to Stetson and east again.

I was still feeling pretty good and my energy level was higher than I expected. We set one of our better paces on Stetson and then watch MacGyver leave us and Warren. All we had to do now was make it to the airport road and then to Sanderson. Dragon Slayer still have a lot of juice left at we headed north to Acacia and I managed to hold his wheel till we got to Lowes. We made it back to Acacia and then to Gilmore and back to Burger King where I collected ICE numbers from our small group. Quicksilver offered me a ride home so I tossed my bike in her Slade and got home in air conditioned comfort. I had a lot of fun today and I credit a lot of that to Huntress and her offering to ride sweep for me. It was a good day.

By: C. Kent, aka (Superman) 8/19/13 Another Monday and I happened to be planning on a cooler longer ride. The normal French Valley ride was out because Leon was closed. I wanted to ride up to Washington and Scott on Winchester but they had closed all but one lane between Pouroy and Washington. So we were going to have to change the ride on the fly and re-planned on taking Benton to Washington and back to Scott. I think we had about 13 or 14 riders with us today but only 12 of them started with us on Gilmore. We had a new rider with us Kendra from Casino but she couldn’t stay for the whole ride. Highlander and Tax man couldn’t make the whole ride either. But they planned on being with us at least till we got to Holland and Antelope. So it was with that in mind we headed south on Kirby and quickly moved through the housing tract on Cypress. We got the light on Sanderson and some of the A group headed rapidly to Stetson and past Wally World with Quicksilver and Kendra hot on their wheel.

My plan was to wait till the groups split and then fall to the back to ride with the B group. As we turned onto Domenigoni Bloodhound started us off and slowly built up the speed till Bulldozer pulled by and pulled. He fell off giving Bloodhound the lead again and by Warren I got a turn to pull and wonder of wonders I felt pretty strong. Maybe my body was finally getting used to my diet but I pulled us over the dry wash and most of the way down the back side till giving the lead over to the next guy. Bulldozer and several other must have caught the light at Warren because when Bloodhound took the lead back we were pretty far ahead as we rolled by Winchester. Quicksilver got the lead but she pulled too long and was dropped when she pulled off. Kendra dropped the draft and I rolled by her. Tax Man pulled out and I closed again. I was on Goliath’s back wheel and had a great draft when Bloodhound pulled over giving the lead to MacGyver. But after letting MacGyver pull for a while Bloodhound rolled back to the front just as MacGyver was ready to pull off and picked the pace up again. Highlander had enough and that left just Bloodhound, Goliath and me rolling past Leon. I was already in zone 4 but what the heck I was in a great draft with only the saddle climb left. We started up the saddle and for a brief moment I thought about sprinting to the top. That however would have put me in zone 5 and I would rather not explain my lack of self control to my doctor. We regrouped at the top and I noticed we had Shadow and Coyote with us.

We dropped off of the saddle and had to look for a park so someone could take a nature break. I told the faster guys to go ahead without us but they waited and soon we were on our way to Holland and aver to Antelope where Kendra headed for home. We were over the rise and headed for Scott road with MacGyver and Bloodhound setting the pace trying to keep Bulldozer in sight.

As we crossed Scott Tax Man and Highlander turned for home and Quicksilver stopped with me so I could eat my meal replacement. The rest of the group continued on and Quicksilver and I followed a few minutes later. I have no idea how far behind we were when we got to Whitewood but Quicksilver was pulling as much as I was. We made it to Murrieta Hot Springs and then back to Winchester and headed north. We climbed the little hill and discovered Coyote and Dura Max waiting on Digger to fix a flat. We headed for Benton and Digger got another flat, a pinch flat this time so I gave his another tube and Coyote changed the tube while Dura Max pumped it up. Coyote said he knew another way other than Washington to get back home s we followed him back up to Max Gillis and made a left to get over to Los Alamos and back west towards Whitewood.

I had never been on Los Alamos and it turned out to be a nice quiet road made up of plenty of curves and some big rollers. Coyote led us over some gradual climbs and after the last one we pulled over to regroup with Digger who seems to be a bit sluggish today. Once over the last climb he told us it was going to be downhill all the way to Whitewood. Still it was a nice ride and pretty scenic.

Coyote then led us up Whitewood and north even if Digger was dreading the climb back to the Loma Linda Hospital. Highlander, Quicksilver and Dura Max made the climb look almost effortless and soon Digger was off the back again. I fell back but he wasn’t interested in accepting a pull. We regrouped before turning and getting back to Antelope where Coyote and Quicksilver led us to Keller and then back to Menifee to head for Scott road.

We let the light together on Scott and Quicksilver took off for Garboni and over the little rise before the downhill to Holland. As we started down the hill I literally reveled in the hill with the wind to my back. I pulled away and moved quickly to Newport only to wait for the rest of my group. Coyote was right at his housing development so he went home and Dura Max, Quicksilver, Digger and I headed for Lindenburger and then over to Simpson to head east and home.

We got back to Winchester and headed up to Stowe where Dura Max and digger stopped to rehydrate and Quicksilver and I continued on to she could get back home and relieve her baby sitter. We got back to Burger King and I noticed I had 57 miles on my computer. So quicksilver offer me a ride home and I took it because it was much hotter in Hemet than it had been in French Valley. It was a great ride and we discovered a new road for future rides. What more can I ask for?

By: C. Kent, aka (Superman) 8/16/13 It was supposed to be hot o Friday so I had planned a rather flat easy ride, at least on paper, and looked forward to an easy ride. I got up and looked outside first thing in the morning and I was pretty sure this time the weathermen were correct; it was going to be hot. I headed for Burger King looking forward to some coffee with Digger and waiting to see who would show up. By 8am we had about 17 riders ready to head down Gilmore and onto Acacia. We made a quick turn onto Kirby and we were on our way.

It was good to see Rick and Sterling joining us from Beaumont and I was pretty sure they were going to enjoy one of our bigger A group today. I knew Gambler was going to meet us on the way so I figured we would have 19 riders by the time we got to Warren. Sure enough before we got to California the A group started to pick it up and when I looked back as we rounded the corner the group was spread out all the way down California and half way down Stetson. I fell back to gather the stragglers and pulled onto Stowe well behind the fast moving A and B group. We regrouped at Stowe and Winchester and I asked Gambler to take the A group and not wait for the rest of us.

Still after a rather shaky and slinky start south on Winchester I took the lead and pulled us to Simpson. Somewhere in there we picked up Bandit but on the dump road T-3 and Dura Max left us. So for a few blocks I think we had 20 riders. Not bad for a Friday.

I got us around the corner onto Domenigoni and then fell back to pick up Digger. Everyone took off with the A group except Digger, Sterling and me. I pulled the two of them all the way to Searl where the A group had gone up to Seven dollar hill and we picked up Rick and continued on to State. After checking to see if the A group was off of the hill we made a run for Chambers and then back out onto Stetson. They hadn’t caught us by the time we got to Columbia so we rounded the corner and got onto Crest and tried to make our way to Lake.

We got all the way to Lake easily enough and cruised up to Stetson with Digger trailing us over the hill. The three of us had gapped digger by about 150 yards as we turned east towards Fairview and were moving well enough not to disturb the big dogs on the right behind the chain linked fence. We could see the lead part of the A group coming but we made it to Fairview before they caught us and somehow were back to 15 riders.

After we were all gathered back together and ready Quicksilver and Surgeon started us north towards the bridge I followed in fourth place. I already knew Rick and Sterling were going to leave and head home when we got to Florida so as soon as I noticed Quicksilver wasn’t looking I took off and headed for the bridge. The wind was in my face a bit but soon I was up to 28 and well in front of the group. Only Bloodhound really gave chase but I beat him to the end of “Not the Fairview Mile” and he pulled ahead at Mayberry. Surgeon, Rick and Sterling turned left at Florida while the rest of us headed for Cranston Station. Bloodhound picked up the pace and Dragon Slayer pulled in front of me to allow and that worked pretty good till we got to the little Statuary place and I started to exceed zone 3. She ended up pulling me through the trees and I pulled her to the Station for another regroup.

All we had left was the run back to Carl’s and the ride home. Bloodhound and I got out of the parking lot first and I managed to get into the trees again and managed to grab the wheel of Bloodhound after he hooked on to the passing a group freight train. I stayed with them almost all the way to Fairview before they pulled away. Quicksilver needed to Stop at Casino and it was a good time to get her derailleur adjusted and by the time we got to Carl’s everyone had gone home. So we continued on with dragon slayer and headed for home ourselves.

It did get hot like the weather wizards had predicted and by the time we got to Santa Fe and Latham. I decided to ride back to Burger King with Quicksilver and Dragon Slayer and once we got there Dragon Slayer offered to give me a ride home. It wasn’t a real long ride and it was a bit faster than I planned but I enjoyed it none the less. In fact being out with friends is one of the reasons I like cycling so much.

By: C. Kent, aka (Superman) 8/14/13 It was going to be hot I was pretty sure and I wanted to ride the French Valley ride but I was told Leon was still closed south of Scott road. So I decided to toss in the longer Lake Perris ride and see if we could get back before we cooked. I never know how many will be there for a Wednesday ride but I had high hopes for two things. That my legs would feel better and that my energy level was up for a 50 mile ride. I headed for Burger King and coffee with Digger. As we talked in the shade under the trees on the north side of the parking lot I was pleased to see Dura Max, Surgeon and Dragon Slayer ready for a ride. Bloodhound, Gambler and Bulldozer rolled up and made themselves comfortable. Highlander and Quicksilver pulled up looking eager and I felt pretty good about the group split so far. Daredevil drove up and I knew we had a nice A group even before heading out. Gambler assured me that D’Artagnon was going to ride with us but he never showed. At 8am we pulled onto Gilmore and made our way to Acacia. We made a quick turn south on Kirby and we moving along at a good clip as we headed for Cypress.

Bloodhound was riding out front like a frisky puppy just wishing someone would play chase as we turned to ride through the housing tract and heading for Johnston. We caught the light at Sanderson and everyone seemed eager to head south towards Domenigoni. Bloodhound was out front with Surgeon not far behind. I thought we were on a fast cruise as we got close to Mustang where Bloodhound was caught at the light.

After we turned onto Domenigoni Bloodhound seemed to be pulled towards Warren and I fell in behind Surgeon. Surgeon pulled out of line and I closed up on Bloodhound to get him to back it down to an even 20 mph. Looking back it seemed like we had picked up more riders but I wasn’t sure who. I did think I noticed Shadow with the trailing A group but that was about it. I took over and pulled us the rest of the way to Warren and headed for the dry wash. After the wash Bloodhound couldn’t hold back any more and took off for Winchester. Now it looked like maybe MacGyver was in the pack as well and someone else but I wasn’t sure. Anyway we had held the whole group together up to that point and didn’t know what to expect when I gave up to lead to Highlander. He took us to Winchester and a bit beyond before turning things over to Quicksilver. Highlander had fallen back behind me because the A group was giving us room and following as a separate pack. Once Quicksilver turned things over to Surgeon she fell back to the back as well. Surgeon pulled most of the way to the Saddle but dropped off before the climb leaving Dura Max to pull us over the top. I pulled up to take over for Dura Max and Surgeon jumped on it and pulled away. I let him go but Dragon Slayer and Daredevil came flying up from the back and ran him down. I started to settle into an easy pull when Quicksilver seemed to vanish. As I got about ¼ of the way up the saddle I noticed a shadow pulling up behind me rather rapidly only to discover it was Quicksilver breaking out of hiding in the A group. I wasn’t ready and had to work hard to catch her before she reached the top of the saddle and pass just before we leveled off to regroup.

As we talked at the saddle I noticed we had Coyote with us as well. So we had picked up Shadow, MacGyver and Coyote before we got to Lindenburger. Gambler took us down the back side of the saddle and pointed us towards Simpson. Somewhere before we got into Heritage we also picked up Bandit. Now indeed we had a good sized group. I told the A group that we would be stopping at the Am/Pm and then hooked onto Coyote’s wheel as we moved to join then on Menifee. When we stopped Dura Max kept going and some of our group took a nature break.

Once we were on our way north again I started pulling us towards Mapes. To my surprise the A group pulled past me and at first started to pull away. I really don’t know what came over me but I kicked it up and bit and to my amazement my legs didn’t complain. I wasn’t quite fast enough to close on the fleeing group but just then Gambler pulled by me and I got his wheel. We were moving real well as we rolled by Mapes and I made it to the top of the grade on Menifee by the nursery with most of the B group still with me. Gambler jumped out and headed for the front of the group and it took almost all I had to close the gap and catch Daredevil’s wheel. I was doing fine till I missed the acceleration on the second drop past the Nursery and lost the draft. But the rest of the B group didn’t lose me and I ended up pulling much longer than I had planned. Coyote came to me rescue and pulled me and the group to the stop sign, rather quickly as we had to outrun a big German shepherd. The A group continued on trying to catch Dura Max and the B group stopped to regroup at Nuevo while Coyote headed for home. The rest of the B group stayed together till we got to the Marina Hill and then regrouped at the lake side docks.

We took some time to rehydrate and I had to adjust my cleats while Quicksilver tried to get a picture of the little squirrels trying t con us out of food. Bloodhound told me Drua Max had left already. So we rehydrated and re-fueled before we started getting ready to make the run for home.

As we got back on the ride home we more or less dribbled back out onto the bike path and headed for the east end of the Lake. I was about the 6th one out of the marina and the five in front of me looked like they were making a run for it. I could only guess that Bandit, Shadow, Bloodhound, Daredevil and Surgeon were out front. I never saw them again to tell for sure.

As I moved towards the trees the second group closed on Digger and I and I wondered if I dared try and get a picture of them in the trees. One of the last times I turned around to take a picture on this section of the bike trails I managed to run off of the trail and fell over just as I came to a stop, because I forgot to unclip. But this time I simply pointed the camera behind me and edited the frame after I got home.

Shortly after I took the picture Quicksilver pulled up next to me humming the theme song from Jaws and started to push it a bit on the east side of the lake. I was more than happy to follow her till Gambler, Bulldozer, Dragon Slayer and MacGyver pulled out front. Quicksilver caught a wheel and for reasons unknown to me I went with her. I will admit she was doing very well and soon we dropped Highlander and Digger. Next we caught Surgeon and pulled away from him as well. As we got to the hard left at the south side transition to the path Quicksilver overcooked the turn and lost the draft. I pulled up tryig to close the gap only to drop her as well. I backed down and soon Surgeon was back with me while she fell back even more. I crested the little hill and let her catch me as we when through the barriers onto Berniscone and a regroup at the top going out of the park. It took a few minutes for Digger and Highlander to get to us and when they did Highlander was close to bonking. We decided to back it down and take him to the Valero to cool down. As soon as he thought he had recovered quicksilver and I took turn pulling back to Sanderson and then down Lyon to get to Burger King. Highlander looked better after he got into his van and I caught a ride home from Quicksilver rather than ride home in the heat. Still I got in 52 miles and after lunch and some more water when I got on the scales I realized I was two pounds closer to my original goal and 30 pounds lighter than I was during my doctor’s visit in the middle of June. Not a bad day all in all.