Quicksilver makes a run for it.

By: C. Kent, aka (Superman) 8/5/13 I came back from vacation early and I would like think everyone might believe it was because I missed the group. Good thought but more to the point I had a transmission break down and had to cut my vacation short, and yet I did miss the group. So when I got back I started to think about a good ride that everyone would enjoy. It had been a long time since we did 5 cities which include a climb and a long run with a few sprints tosses in for good measure. I headed to Burger King feeling pretty good about the weather report and a little worried about being off of the bike for the week. By 8 am there were quite a few riders ready to go. There was Surgeon, Quicksilver, Shadow, Gambler, Bulldozer, Bloodhound, Digger, Dura Max, Highlander, Tax man and Alan, (Alligator) as we pulled out of the parking lot and headed for Acacia. Soon we had turned south on Kirby and were well on our way.

As we turned onto Cypress I mentioned that if there were any riders that didn’t want the climb up Goetz they could cut off on Murrieta and meet the rest of the group after we came down off of the hill. At that point however no one mentioned breaking off so I planned on everyone making the whole ride. Bloodhound took us to the light at Sanderson and I got the jump when the light turned green and we headed for Stetson.

As we headed towards Mustang I wondered if Gambler was going to make a hard run west once we made it onto Domenigoni. I felt pretty good and so I pulled us past Mustang and onto Domenigoni. I got us up to speed and gave to lead to the next in line. Most of the A group stayed in the back so I fell in on the back of the pace line and chased the group until people started dropping out of line once Bloodhound took the lead. As I gathered up the stragglers the A group took off after Bloodhound and Highlander. At the base of the Saddle we had reeled in Surgeon but he made it to the top first. We regrouped and had picked up Coyote in our group.

Our next step was to get some hydration in our system and then drop off of the back side of the Saddle and past Lindenburger before continuing west. I got off the hill first and held the lead all the way to Antelope where once again we caught the light red. I made it over the freeway just after Bloodhound and followed him most of the way to Bradley and then fell in behind Highlander, Bloodhound and Surgeon all the way to Carl’s. Once we were regrouped Tax Man, Dura Max and Surgeon decided to take the Murrieta bypass and meet us on Goetz. To be honest with my diet I was considering taking the bypass myself. But I didn’t and followed the rest of the group towards Goetz.

Once we turned onto Goetz Bulldozer took the lead and Highlander grabbed his wheel with me in hot pursuit. Quicksilver was right behind me and that sneaky Coyote was back giving her clues on how to drop me on the long hill. As we started the first climb Highlander fell off of Bulldozer’s wheel and I came around to close and take the position myself. Gambler and the A group came flying by and Bulldozer picked up the pace and I held on for dear life. As we crested the first part of the climb I checked my heart rate and found myself in zone 4. Not good for a low carb diet so I sat up and down shifted. It was here that Quicksilver attacked. She blasted by and pulled away. My first instinct was to give chase but I knew I could spin my heart rate back into zone 3 and Coyote was yelling at me for being in zone 4. Once I got into a spin but before I started to close on Quicksilver Alligator past me and chased Bloodhound. Finally Coyote headed up to support Quicksliver and I went with him. As we started up the last part of the climb near the top of the hill I had caught Quicksilver but Coyote wouldn’t let me pass her. First Quicksilver got up to dance on her pedals and jumped ahead two or three bike lengths and Coyote must have relaxed believing she got away. But it was my turn to dance and I passed back and started to pull away. Coyote being the good friend that he is first grabbed my jersey pocket and when that didn’t slow me down as much as he had hoped he decided to grab his brake just a bit. I went from zone 3 to zone 5 in twenty feet but by then Quicksilver was through giving chase. We all regrouped at the bottom of the hill and I wanted to catch my friend Coyote in a headlock and shorten his breath as much as he had mine. We then started north only to have to stop again as soon as I noticed I had missed my morning snack. Yes I am following this meal plan rather seriously. We then continued on to Perris Boulevard and had to take a detour to get up to Nuevo and head back east.

Things picked up pace a bit as we made our way to Menifee and started back south. I had Bloodhound stop at Central for a quick regroup but it didn’t help much because by the time we topped the ride at the nursery we were spread out again and I had to break off from the lead group and go back to ride sweep. It didn’t work out that well as several seemed to have missed the turn at Mapes. Still Digger, Dura Max and I did turn on Mapes and made our way to Briggs. We could just see the rest of the group fading into the distance as we crossed Florida and the High School. The ride to the dump road was easy enough and soon we were past Leon and then out to Winchester to turn north and meet the rest of the group at the Country market on Stowe. Because the ride is in cool down mode after we stop for coffee we headed for home in shifts and I started with the last shift containing Quicksilver, Digger, Highlander, Tax Man, Alligator and me.

We chatted as we rode down Stowe than north on California to Stetson. We quickly made our way back to Warren and finally I left the group at the airport and headed for home. I made it to Sanderson and then to Johnston before heading for my street and home. It was a nice 51 mile ride for me and I was just about out of juice by the time I got to my door. I was glad to be back and to be honest I am proud about Quicksilver’s improvement in her climbing skills. In fact I have been with this group long enough that I am pretty proud of all of them.