By: C. Kent, aka (Superman) Because Monday was such a windy day both going and coming a easier day was requested for today. Well I have found out that calling something easier and flatter may make it flatter but not necessarily easier. Quite often a flat ride turns into a rather fast ride. As I made my way to Burger King to have coffee I could only hope the ride would be as advertised. By 8:30 Dura Max had left to ride with T-3 and the rest of us headed for Acacia on Gilmore.

We had a good social group today and an addition of a CAS rider Ciocc. He was kept company by Gambler and Bulldozer. Girl power was out in force with Huntress and Quicksilver. Centaur had joined us after a long absence and Bloodhound and Shadow was with us as well. Highlander and Digger rounded out the group as we made our way over to Kirby and then to Johnston to head over to the Airport to get back to Stetson.

Highlander took us off of the Airport road and out onto Stetson and headed west towards Warren. We had a little traffic at the corner but soon were picking up speed heading towards California. Bulldozer pulled out front followed by Bloodhound and at first I thought Highlander was going to give chase with Quicksilver and Huntress in tow but he didn’t. I fell in line and kept an eye on the back of the pack. As we rounded the corner onto California everyone but Bloodhound and Bulldozer were pretty much together and I ended up taking up the front position as we got ready to turn onto Stowe.

I settled into a steady pace of about 20 or 21 to makes sure we all stayed together and got in the tuck position to get out of a slight head wind. As I did I heard a mumble coming from Highlander that he had lost his draft so I ended sitting back up and pulling all the way to Winchester and the parking lot for another regroup.

We added Bandit to our group as we got to the corner and after taking a short nature break we were back out onto the road and headed south on Winchester towards the dump road. I started the pull and stayed up front till Simpson where Bloodhound and Bulldozer once again moved off and pulled away from us. Still we all got to Domenigni at the light and waited for the ride east. After making the turn several of the big dogs passed me and I started to go with them. I looked up to see a big gap between me and the rest of the B group so I backed off and worked with them as we headed for the dry wash and Warren. Bloodhound did most of the pulling and I only gave his a brief bit of help twice maybe three times before dropping back to sweep. Our next regroup was at State and Domenigoni.

We had dropped Digger back on Domenigoni well before the dry wash so we had time to shed arm and leg warmers if we wanted to. By the time he pulled up we were ready to go because we had a green light and Highlander was getting antsy.

I decided to fall in behind Bloodhound and get a free ride north on State. I noticed none of the big dogs we pulling up so I figured I could follow Bloodhound almost all the way to the rise before jumping out and making a run to Chambers. I did in fact get away with my plan and made it to Chambers first only to have Bloodhound roll by me and make it to Buena Vista in front. He then took us out onto Stetson and towards Columbia. However he decided to head for home before we got there. Everyone else other than Highlander and Digger turned on Columbia and headed for Thornton to get to Crest.

We made our way to Crest and cruised by the old homes on a quiet street without even one car passing us. We made a quick right and then a left and were now riding past old Horse property. Huntress started pushing the pace a bit as we got to the next right and moved us quickly towards Lake. Quicksilver had been stalking me to out sprint me on anything that even looked like a hill so I was careful to watch her as we got to the turn and rolled over the little bump before she could try and sprint by me. We were all then on our way back to Stetson.

Huntress got out front on Stetson and pulled all the way to Fairview. The group split up at Fairview with half going to Bautista and half going to Cranston on Florida. Highlander, Huntress, Quicksilver, Digger, Centaur and I pulled out onto Florida and made our way to Cranston before turning around and coming back to Carl’s. After some coffee and conversation we headed for home and had to chase Highlander almost all the way. We stayed and visited at the cars for a moment and I headed for home and a hot shower. Yes it was a flat ride and yes it was very social but at times it was a bit faster than I had planned. Still it was a great day to be with friends.