By: C. Kent, aka (Superman) Here it is almost the end of September and the last ride of the month. It was supposed to be cool or at least not as warm as it was last week so I put on some arm and knee warmers and headed for the door to start towards Burger King and coffee. Dura Max and Surgeon were already there and by the time I came out with coffee Highlander and Tax Man arrived. Bloodhound pulled up just before Quicksilver and MacGyver and that was about it as we got ready to head down Gilmore and headed for Acacia.

It wasn’t as cool as I expected and by the time we got to the stop light I had to take my arm warmers off. My legs were still fine and I only had knee warmers on so I was guessing they would be good for much of the ride. We more or less cruised to Cypress and headed west to Johnston only to catch the red once more. As soon as we were free to go we headed south towards Mustang.

As we got out to Domenigoni and headed east and it seems as if somewhere along the line we picked up Shadow. I got a wild hair and pulled around Bloodhound and that just may have picked up the pace too fast as some riders got dropped so I dropped back and pulled them over to State. We then headed for McSweeney and then back to State. I made a run at the state Street mile but I may have shut down early believing the speed sign was the end of the segment. We made our way back to Stetson and headed east to Fairview. No one seemed interested in going through the old homes so we went straight to Fairview and headed north. I happened to acquit myself y well on the “Not the Fairview Mile” and continued on to Ramona with a hard run at the Fire station segment. I followed Bloodhound, MacGyver and Surgeon to the turn on Main and once more we regrouped. As we headed west on Soboba it turned into a drag race. I had enough soup to catch the leaders but in the end I didn’t have enough to get past Bloodhound and Shadow. Still I got to the end and regrouped with everyone before we headed south on state.

Surgeon went home on Ramona while the rest of us headed back east towards Main again. Quicksilver, Highlander, Tax Man and I got caught at a light and ended up riding well behind MacGyver and Shadow.

By the time we had worked our way to Carl’s MacGyver had to leave so we were down to six riders and that is what we headed for home with when we made our way back to Lincoln.

Bloodhound was still wound tighter than a cheap watch and Highlander started to follow him west. But soon he just let him and the rest of us took our time getting to Park where Dura Max headed for home. We zipped over to Devonshire and headed for San Jacinto before making our way back to Burger King. After a short visit at Burger King Shadow and I made our way back to my house where Shadow left for home and I went for a shower and lunch. I got in almost 42 miles so it wasn’t a bad day.

By: C. Kent, aka (Superman) It was going to be a flat Friday ride and I had some new toy to play with. A good friend gave me some Aero Bars and I mounted my old Look carbon pedals on the Klein and got ready to see if I could ride in the tuck position for any period of time. I also needed to know if I could hold a line in a group. I knew the group would be smaller because a few riders had already told me they couldn’t make it because they were sick of had other commitments. It was pretty cool when I left home so I put a base layer under my kit and headed for coffee and a meeting with the group. Dura Max and I got there first followed by Ranger, Highlander, Surgeon, and MacGyver. Before we were ready to leave Gambler, Bulldozer, Ferret and D’Artagnon pulled up. Last but not least Huntress pulled up and we were ready to go.

As always it was a slow start down Gilmore to Acacia before we came to the light at Kirby. I could almost feel the energy behind me as we waited for the light to turn green. It didn’t really materialize heading south on Kirby but slowly the pace started to pick up. There was some conversation as we turned onto Cypress but not as much as on many other days. Still I had a plan and that plan was to stay in the pack and not push the pace as I got used to the new bars and riding position. I kept that in mind as we came up to the light on Sanderson and only Surgeon, Highlander and I made it through before it turned red. I momentarily thought about making a run for Domanigoni but I knew if that happened the A riders would drop the hammer and make any B riders with them suffer until they ran us down. So we pulled over in front of Wally World and waited for everyone to catch up.

Surgeon rounder the corner onto Domenigoni first and I settled into his draft till he gave up the lead just before the little rise where I took over. I got down onto the Aero Bars and soon was rolling along at a comfortable 21 MPH. Just as I was getting into a comfortable rhythm Bulldozer came by me on his TT bike and at first I was going to just let him go. But somehow my brain short circuited and I found myself kicking it up a notch and grabbing his back wheel and holding it all the way to Warren. That however was a bad move because it separated the group and blew some off of the back. I asked if everyone was with us and between huffs and puffs I discovered we had dropped some so I stopped and waited to make sure I picked everyone up. I ended up following both groups to the saddle for a regroup and discovered we had been joined by Coyote.

As we dropped off of the saddle I pulled us down past Lindenburger and on past Menifee to Antelope. Highlander and Surgeon were first over the freeway and once again some got caught at the light on Haun. We decided not to stop at Carl’s but rather to continue on to the park on La Ladera for a regroup. The A group rolled by with most of the B group in tow. By Murrieta there was just Dura Max, Surgeon and me riding sweep. We turned onto La Ladera and into the park just as everyone was rehydrating and talking. As soon as everyone was ready Highlander and I took everyone to Honeyrun and east to get to McCall.

At the end of the street we made a left and started up the long low grade towards Cherry Hill and then up to the corner on McCall. I pulled up to McCall and started us down the hill towards Murrieta. Of course we got the light red there and had to wait so everyone had a chance to catch up. But because of that we were all together heading back to Bradley and the freeway over pass.

We made the light at the freeway and once again at the Valero Station where we got ready to start up Hospital Hill. I was pushing some pretty tall gears up the hill and wanted to try and stay on MacGyver’s wheel if at all possible. The hard part was going to be staying with him and out of Zone 4. I did pretty well till we got to the dark spot just after the new houses and looked to see I was deep in 4. I dropped a gear and slowed my HR just a bit before shrugging my shoulders and heading after MacGyver again. I managed to tag up on him just as we crested the hill but I stopped to wait for the rest of the group before dropping off of the hill and heading for Heritage. We moved quickly on Heritage and up to the park on Lindenburger. Once again I managed to stay in the aero tuck from McCall to Simpson and from Simpson to Leon. However one again I realized the there was a whole group falling off of the back so I fell back to see who was back there. Thank goodness Coyote was with us and he brought the last riders up to me before heading for home when he got to Winchester. I ended up joining the leaders at Chris’s by myself. Coffee and conversation and we were on our way back to Stowe. I didn’t get far however because I must have forgotten to torque the screws down on my new cleats and two of them fell out so I couldn’t get my right foot out or off of the pedal. Thank goodness Ferret remembered seeing a screw on the ground at Chris’s and he went back to get it and we got at least two screws in to get me back on the road and headed for home. I took them up to Stowe and headed east.

We really chatted on the way north on California all the way to Stetson and I pulled to Warren and then to Cawston where the turned and I stayed on Stetson to Sanderson and then over to Johnston to head for home. I felt pretty good about the new bars and was only concerned that I wasn’t able to hold as tight of a line as I am used to but that will come. As for now I am happy with the set up and believe I could easily do a century on the klein if I wanted.

By: C. Kent, aka (Superman) After a rather energetic ride Monday I was a bit reticent about setting up a ride halfway up the hill to Mountain Center. But Huntress suggested it and Quicksilver is always ready for any climbing so I plotted it, posted it and set up an alternative route. Now all I had to do was get up this morning, have breakfast and head to Burger King for coffee. Digger and I were the first to arrive and Dura Max made a short stop before leaving to ride with T-3. By 8 am we had a solid A group and a solid B group as we headed out onto Latham and over to Lyon to head north. It seemed to me the A group might be going to Mountain center or maybe even Idyllwild but I didn’t know for sure. I would figure it out before long.

I don’t believe we made it to Fruitvale before Bulldozer, Bloodhound, Daredevil, Gambler and MacGyver rolled by and started to pull away. I was thinking about going with them but I didn’t know how many matches I had left after our Monday ride so discretion being the better part of valor I decided to be the engine that pulled the B group as far as they wanted to go. I took them down Lyon and then we made the jog over to Ramona to head east.

Once I got on Ramona I figured I could give the lead to someone else but nobody seemed all that interested in going any faster than my pulling speed so I just hunkered down and stayed in front almost all the way to State Street. We needed to make a short stop at Mickey Ds but I didn’t mind because by this time I was thinking the A group was headed to Mountain Center. I pulled again as we moved north on State towards the college.

As we closed in on Soboba I thought I could hold the whole B group together but it simply wasn’t going to work out once we got over the first roller. I fell back and followed Surgeon, Quicksilver and Huntress over the second roller. Highlander managed to tag up on us before we got to the driving range but we did separate a bit going up the last hill to the regroup point. As we left and headed for the bridge over to Ramona Digger sped past us and headed for the bridge. It didn’t work because Surgeon, Quicksilver and Huntress caught and passed him before the light. Our next stop would be after we turned on Cedar and headed for Florida I got a text from Shadow saying he was waiting at Cranston. We turned east and headed for Cranston and I believe Shadow joined the A group before we got there. Turns out they were headed for Idyllwild. Before we got out of the trees I fell off of the bike lane and into that little construction shoulder and flatted. I rejoined the group at Cranston and all of us other than Surgeon continued on to ride Strawberry Shortcake.

Highlander decided to give the climb a try and soon we were moving up the hill towards the big left hand grade at the 9 mile mark. And we all made it and regrouped to celebrate.

The ride back down to Carl’s was what some of us older riders call an E ticket. It comes from a time when Disneyland issued ticket books and all of the big fast rides took am E ticket. Tea cups and trolleys took an A or B ticket. Highlander and I got a jump on Huntress and pulled away at first. But I soon discovered I was running into a head wind. Huntress caught us about a mile before we got back to Cranston where we waited for Quicksilver and Digger and then rode together to Carl’s for a quick break. Once refreshed we headed for home and for a change kept the pace down. That made me feel a lot better because I was still running on a tire with a boot in it.

Highlander and Quicksilver did push it a bit once we past State street and were about half of a block in front of Huntress and I when Digger left at Palm. We all pulled in to Burger King and talked about how nice the ride was today before finally saying good bye and heading for our respective homes. A hot shower and lunch and I became a happy camper kicking back in the recliner looking for pin holes in my eye lids.

By: C. Kent, aka (Superman) Mondays I tend to feel more rested than any other day of the week. More than likely it has something to do will taking two days off and getting a bit more rest. Whatever the reason I was ready for a good ride today and we put together a longer Juniper Flats to celebrate. I got up and got ready to head to Burger King for coffee and to see who would show up for the ride. I had coffee and waited till Dura Max arrived and we watched as several others pulled up but there was no Digger. He arrived as one of the last riders even after Metric Man who came down from Beaumont. We had a good A group with Gambler, Daredevil, Bulldozer, Metric Man, Bloodhound and MacGyver. Surgeon, Highlander, Quicksilver, Digger and I made a good B group with Red Rabbit tossed in for good measure. Dura Max left to go ride with T-3 and the rest of us made it down Gilmore and then over to Kirby to head south.

We worked our way up to Cypress and headed through the houses to Johnston and then out onto Sanderson where we went north to Wentworth and turned towards the Airport. I was moving along quite easily and for once in a long time was looking forward to the Juniper Flats climb. Soon we were on the airport road itself and heading for Stetson with Bloodhound in the lead followed by Surgeon.

As Bloodhound got out onto Stetson and started to pick up the pace Surgeon started to let him go but Highlander quickly zipped around and got on Bloodhounds back wheel. The rest of us decided to let them go feeling we would catch them at Warren. And catch them at Warren we did but as soon as we crossed the street they started to pull away again. I was thinking of closing the gap to then when Bulldozer came flying by with Daredevil on his back wheel followed by MacGyver. I jumped between MacGyver and Daredevil and soon we had caught the two fleeing riders and were pulling away towards California. Just before California I checked my heart rate and noticed I was close to zone 4 so I backed out and watched the group go. They did fragment at Stowe and I managed to recover enough to ride to Winchester with MacGyver. We stopped at Winchester only to discover the big dogs had left. Then when the rest of the B group got to Winchesterwe learned Metric Man had gone back with a broken spoke.

The group was now down to MacGyver, Surgeon, Quicksilver, Highlander, Digger and me. But we did pick up Coyote after we made our way down Winchester to the Dump road. MacGyver and I pulled the group all the way to Leon and then to Briggs. It didn’t take long to get though the houses and then out to Florida. The light at Florida wasn’t about to change for us so we sat there for a long time before making our way to Mapes and then over to Menifee. I managed to pull all the way to Central and then got to Nuevo first. I had to back down again when we got about halfway up Nuevo road after which we stopped to regroup.

Surgeon rode down to Contour when we were regrouping and we rode without him to Contour ourselves where we picked him up before starting up Juniper flats. We past the little school and cruised down the little slope to make the big right turn heading up the hill.

As we started the climb a group of 4 pulled away led by MacGyver with Surgeon, Quicksilver and me following. Quicksilver missed a shift, or pretended to do so, and I ended up pulling around her and following Surgeon. MacGyver was obviously the strongest rider on the climb and so I settled into a steady climbing pace over the first two steps of the climb. Then without any warning Quicksilver sprinted past me just before the top of the last rise and the downhill before the last climb. However there were only a few yards to the top of that rise and I had a good downhill run at the last long climb so I managed to get back past her and to the top of the hill without getting “chicked”, again. But the look on her face told me that maybe she didn’t miss that shift after all and planned on passing me all along.

We dropped down Juniper flats road and made our way to Florida and headed west to Briggs where we had one last regroup before MacGyver and Surgeon left us. Coyote left us at Leon while our small group made our way back to the dump road and then Winchester before deciding to go back to Stowe and have coffee before heading east back to Hemet.

We made good time on Stowe and I got out onto California first only to be chased down by Quicksilver and finally by Highlander and Digger. We crossed warren and made it back to the airport before going to Sanderson and the ride around Lowes. All that was left was Acacia and Gilmore and we were back at Burger king with smiles on our face. I said good bye to Highlander and Quicksilver before riding home for lunch and a shower. I still felt good even when I had to take the dog for a walk.

Another great day

By: C. Kent, aka (Superman)   We had such a good ride Wednesday and the weather was so nice I could only expect the same from today. The weather was about the same when I left home but the cloud layer seemed a bit deeper. It seemed like a good idea t wear arm and knee warmers so as I left the house I put some on and headed to Burger King for coffee. At first it looked like we would have a extremely small group with just Digger, Dura Max, Bloodhound and me. But soon Sea Lion, D'Artagnon, Highlander and Barracuda arrived. Ranger arrived down from Beaumont just as Huntress pulled up. It seemed like a good number for a rather cool Friday. Right at 8am we headed south on Gilmore and west on Acacia and south again on Kirby.

Once again I was a bit concerned about Bloodhound setting an early fast pace. But I was determined not to chase him even if he faded into the distance one we got to Domenigoni. I wanted to hold the group together if at all possible and so as Bloodhound started around the corner onto Cypress I was content to fall back. Then just as we rounded the corner ourselves I noticed Shadow was waiting on the side of the road to join us heading to Johnston and Sanderson. As I expected we got the light red on Sanderson but were soon headed south again after the light changed.

Slowly the pace picked up and I ended up on Bloodhound's wheel as we past Mustang and then turned West on Domenigoni. I backed down a bit and started to set an easy pace when Highlander jumped around me taking most of the group with him. I kept falling back and riders kept passing me so I knew my desire to have a nice easy recovery ride just rode off into the west with me riding sweep. Sea Lion fell back to help me pull my small group and we did manage to catch the larger one at Warren but soon lost them again and watched them fade into the fog that was what we could see of Winchester. We didn't catch them again till we regrouped at the saddle.

A little food and a little water and we were ready to drop off of the saddle and head west again. I followed Bloodhound down to Lindenburger and then past Laguna Vista. For a change traffic was pretty light as we got close to Menifee and we were able to get into the left turn lane with little of no problems. I was a bit surprised to see Highlander and Ranger up front following Bloodhound but there they were and Huntress was right behind me. I didn't see much of a reason to attack the hill after Holland but still I hit it reasonably hard and managed to get to the top just before Barracuda ran me down. Shadow had already crested the hill first and was refilling his front tire with air by the time I got to him. We made a short regroup at the turnout after the top of the hill and then headed for Garboni and then Scott.

Once we to my surprise rather than Bloodhound catching my wheel it was Highlander. Not only did he have my wheel he looked like he wanted to pass. I kept up the pressure till we came to the rise and I pushed again and this time managed to separate myself from him. After about 100 yards I shut it down only to have Shadow and some other ride by me. I let a small group form behind me and then fell in with Highlander, Huntress, Digger, Sea Lion and Dura Max heading to Antelope. Highlander made it to Haun first but Huntress started us north towards Holland. She pulled pretty strong till I took over and then Sea Lion took a turn only giving it back to me for the last quarter mile. We regrouped to only to find Shadow once again filling his tire with air. We decided to ride to the circle K on Newport and get the tire fixed. Once that was taken care of we were out and on our way to Bradley and north again. It was a quick trip on Bradley to McCall and believe it or not it was almost as quick on McCall to the top of Hospital Hill. A quick regroup and we were down off of the hill and onto Heritage heading south.

We got down to Lindenburgr and got ready to head east on Simpson when Bloodhound and Ranger left us to got practice sprints on Domenigoni. Barracuda took the faster part of the remaining group and headed for Winchester. I brought the smaller group with me. Dura Max stayed on Simpson when e turned on Winchester so we said our good byes and headed to Winchester Market for coffee. It never really warmed up as we talked so it was back on the road and east for us again.

We didn't exactly waste any time getting to California nor did we slouch any getting to Stetson. But the clouds were just starting to burn off as we got back to Warren. By the time we were back to the Airport road D'Artagnon left us and headed for home as the rest of us worked our way to Sanderson and then North towards Lowes. Highlander was still riding strong and started us around the building before we came back out onto Acacia.

There wasn't much left after Acacia and we quickly rolled up to the light at Kirby and then to the corner at Gilmore. Highlander was first to the light on Florida but it turned red before he could cross the rest of us caught up with him. We all pulled into the parking lot, except Digger and had a short visit before Huntress and I headed east together. I stayed with her till we got to State Street and then headed for home myself. The clouds finally burned off just as I got to my house. All in all it was a pretty good day.

By: C. Kent, aka (Superman) Today was a special ride day. The Mesa Metric has been a great ride for some and a thorn in the side for others. But today it was going to be a proving day for those of us doing the Patriot Ride in La Quinta in October. If the new riders can do Mesa they can do La Quinta. So I got up and had breakfast only to be greeted by a heavy overcast and rather cool morning. Cool enough that I thought seriously about arm warmers. But knowing how warm it can get back on Rancho California and Benton I elected to tuff it out.

It wasn’t a big group as we got ready to pull out onto Gilmore. But we did have at least two A riders with us and both Huntress and Quicksilver. So the females were well represented. Bloodhound and Daredevil would be doing much of the heavy lifting when it came to leading the group today. So we slipped out onto Gilmore and got started on a 65 mile ride.

I was a bit concerned with Bloodhound setting an early faster pace because I didn’t know how many of the B riders would be willing to burn many matches before we even got to Rancho California let alone Mesa. As for me I was feeling pretty good and the cooler weather made the prospect of the Benton climb a lot more palatable than the last three times I have done it in 100+ weather. So we gave Bloodhound his lead as he turned onto Cypress and headed for Johnston and Sanderson. We headed up to Wentworth and headed towards the airport.

It didn’t take long to make it past the airport and out onto Stetson and once again I worried about the pace. Quite often we roll by Warren only to pick up speed all the way to California and then south. When the leaders started to pull away I held my pace and tried to keep the speed about what I expect a new Century rider would be comfortable with. The plan worked and we all made it to the parking lot on Winchester at about the same time.

When we were ready to head south again on Winchester I took over pulling duty again to make sure we didn’t drop anyone before we got to the dump road. I figured at least three of our riders would leave us when we turned west but everyone was still there heading for the Wild West arena and Leon.

None of us seemed in a real hurry to run down the dump road and with the exception of Bloodhound as we rolled by the Wild West arena in a cruise. Daredevil and MacGyver started to give chase but Daredevil pulled up and then pulled me and the rest of the group to Leon where Bloodhound was waiting.

We made it to Simpson and started west. At least at that time of the morning it was still cool and with no wind to speak of we moved as a group rapidly towards Briggs. Once again I was thinking some of our group would be leaving us at Lindenburger and doing the French Valley ride rather than climbing the steep side of McCall. But as we got to Briggs everyone stayed in the group and headed for the turn towards Heritage. Picture 50

We were still moving well and we worked our way through the houses and headed for McCall. Once we were headed for the hill Daredevil and MacGyver offered to pull the whole group in a pace line over the hill at a reasonable 10 mph. Most of us made it together but we waited for those that didn’t and then continued on towards Murrieta so we could turn south towards Newport.

Once on Newport we decided to head back to Antelope and stop by Jack in the Box for quick restroom break before heading south again towards the College and then to Holland and the rise just past that street. As we crested the ride with Daredevil in the lead I knew Dura Max would be leaving us at Garboni. That still left Highlander and Digger that I thought would be leaving us to ride the French Valley ride. Daredevil took over pulling us towards Scott Road.

It is a fine line between moving a group along at a fast pace at fine line and wearing out some of the slower riders. Daredevil managed to ride that line and moved us towards the Hospital. He kept telling us that one on Whitewood all bets would be off and so we pretty much knew that long downhill would be run more or less flat out. I can’t remember taking that segment as quickly as I did drafting him all the way to Murrieta Hot Springs. Once we were headed towards Winchester Daredevil suggested we stop for water and I mentioned we were going to pull into the Am/Pm on Winchester and Nichols. It was a good thing we did because there really isn’t place to refill water bottles once we get to Rancho California. We took a short break and headed up Nichols.

We started out slowly on Nichols and made our way towards the turn at the end of the road. Well everyone but Bloodhound who was on a mission as if he were tracking and escaped convict. However we were lucky and when he missed the turn at the end of the road we were able to call him back and have him join us going over the hill and through the houses to come out on Butterfield Stage Road.

There was some construction work going on as we moved down Butterfield but finally we made it to Rancho California and picked up Shadow before heading back North east towards all of the wineries. It is a pretty ride back there and it is easy to get lost in thought and realize how lucky we are to live in this valley. We pretty much stayed together as we headed for the turn at Glen Oaks that would lead us to Mesa and the beginning of our climb back home. We stopped as soon as we turned on Mesa for some quick refueling and water before heading out to begin the climb on Mesa.

This was almost a perfect day for the ride because it was at least 20 degrees cooler than the last time we rode it. It may have seemed easier for me personally because I had 40 less pounds to carry up the hills but still Mesa was no struggle. I placed myself between Digger and Highlander so I could make sure they were doing well and fell back to talk to Digger to let him know the long climb would start after we rolled by Portola. I pulled up to Highlander and chatted for a minute before pulling over to wait for Digger at the last false flat before the little downhill leading to Sage. What impressed me was how Digger kept plugging away with a smile on his face..

Some of the group was waiting for us at Sage and some had moved on to the fire station. Highlander just kept going on Sage and Shadow and the others waved Digger and me on as we started the last climb. I soon caught Highlander and passed him to pull into the fire station for a quick regroup. Highlander and Digger continued on to the top of the hill and started down. Daredevil and MacGyver was the next start down the face of Saint John’s and I crested just in front of the rest of the group. But soon the chase was on and after the bumpy portion under the trees I got in the drops and to close with the two speedsters and the early leaders of Highlander and Digger. I caught MacGyver shortly after passing Diamond Valley Market, as much because he didn’t see me coming as any other reason, and regrouped with Daredevil on cactus valley road. After the regroup we gathered ourselves together and headed back to State and Domenigoni.

For some reason once we got close to Sanderson Highlander seemed to get revived and picked up the pace heading for home. Digger was still trailing a bit and I went back to pull him to Sanderson. We just caught the group at Stetson and followed them to Lowes and the Acacia. Everyone made it back to the parking lot at burger king safely and we loaded up what vehicles had to be loaded and headed for home. I am sure that anyone that did the ride today will have no problems with the La Quinta ride in October. I for one had a great time I hope everyone else did as well.

By: C. Kent, aka (Superman) It was Monday and an easy ride had been planned. The problem with planning an easy ride is you never know how the other riders will respond to easy. At times it can be like herding cats because everyone has their own idea of what they want in ride. There is also the problem of not seeing what goes on in the back of the pack. Still a 36 mile ride on a familiar course should be doable. And that was what I was thinking as I headed for Burger King to start the day. I got to Burger King in time to have coffee with Digger and had a talk with Dura Max when Dragon Slayer and Surgeon arrived. Bloodhound and Quicksilver weren’t far behind followed by Highlander, Tax Man and MacGyver. I was thinking it was a manageable group and led them out onto Latham and over to Lyon and South.

I could tell Bloodhound hadn’t looked at the route because by the time we got to Lyon re wanted to turn north. We managed to yell the directions at him and he rounded the corner and headed for Florida. We crossed Florida and caught the light at Acacia. The road from Acacia to Whittier isn’t the best but it smoothes out between there and Johnston. However, there the fun ends because from Stetson the Thornton is like cobble stone. Still we turned onto Thornton and headed East without too many complaints.

All we had to do now was make our way to State Street and head south to Domenigoni. I managed to lead us to Domenigoni before Dragon Slayer and MacGyver pulled by me and asked what pace we should set. I asked for 18-19 and with the exception of Bloodhound we all fell in behind them and headed west for Sanderson. Bloodhound simply increased his lead as we crested the rise at Searl and extended it as we headed for Warren. Dragon Slayer and MacGyver were sill pulling as we crossed Warren and over the dry wash. Looking back I could see we had everyone in tow and were quickly closing on Winchester. It not only looked like they were willing to pull all the way to the Saddle but they did pull all the way to the saddle where we regrouped.

We didn’t have many more challenges left as we dropped down the back side of the Saddle and headed for Laguna Vista. Tax Man took us through the light and Bloodhound started us towards Briggs. I chased him to the corner before realizing that I had made the same mistake last Friday and split the group into pieces. I backed off to get a picture only to have the group roll by me like water rolling around a rock. Fortunately they had a mini regroup on Garboni and then again as we met up with Shadow on Garboni and Menifee.

We made short work out of the rest of Garboni and made it to Antelope and headed back to Newport, stopping for a short restroom break at Le célèbre restaurant français Jack in the Box. We managed to get back on the road and headed for Lindenburger in two groups. Once heading north we waited till Dragon slayer and his group caught up to us and regrouped so we could head to Simpson together. We decided to ride down to Leon and over to the dump road to take a shot at the DVV sprint to the Wild West flag.

As we got to the end of Leon we started to like up like getting ready for a sprint at one of the tours. Shadow and Bloodhound took off first but it didn’t look like they were working together. I knew I would zone out before I got to the flag but I was willing to give it a try. Dragon Slayer was after me like a Cheetah with MacGyver ramping up like a turbine with Quicksilver being pulled along like a leaf in the wind. I made it halfway to the flag before Dragon Slayer came around and then MacGyver dropped the hammer and pulled in front like he was just cruising. It was all I could do to stay in front of Quicksilver and we reformed on the upgrade left sweeper leading to Winchester. We turned north and stopped at Winchester Market for water, coffee and watermelon. After reliving part of the ride and polishing off three small containers of watermelon we got ready to head back east on Stowe. Once again Bloodhound seemed eager to get home and took off first. We headed east and waited till Surgeon took the lead and Quicksilver gave chase.

Soon Shadow and Dragon Slayer took off after Quicksilver and they pulled around and headed for California. For me the ride was over and I was just cruising for home as the rest of us got to California and headed for Stetson. Once on Stetson we headed for Warren where we watched Surgeon turn for home. Everyone turned on the airport road except Dura Max and me. The two of us rode to Sanderson and over to Johnston and rode together till we past Palm and I headed for home myself. It was a nice paced ride and a relaxing one getting ready for a more challenging one on Wednesday.