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.