By: C. Kent, aka (Superman) After looking at all of the gloom and doom of my friends that cycle on the east coast I almost felt guilty when I looked at the weather prediction for today. I didn’t feel so guilty that I didn’t plan a good ride and in fact planned a Half Century ride to Murrieta. I knew it would be cool by Southern California standards but it wasn’t one that would require a wind breaker or jacket, at least not for me. So I headed to Burger King in our new jersey and waited to see who would be there for coffee. Digger was already there and looked ready for whatever the day tossed at him. Bloodhound got there while I was inside getting coffee and Highlander pulled up as I took my first sip of coffee. Next I noticed MacGyver and Dragon Slayer arrived followed by Quicksilver and Phil. Bulldozer pulled up with his new Cannondale and Gambler stopped by on his way to work just to talk. Huntress and Daredevil were the last to drive up and we were ready to go a few minutes later. However we got split up at Florida and only half of the group made it to Acacia.

Somehow we all made it through the light on Kirby and headed t the railroad tracks. I decided to pull over on Cypress and wait for the A riders. I didn’t have long to wait long as they came roaring around the corner and headed for Johnston as we sat there and tried to get restarted. We didn’t catch them till they got caught at the light on Wentworth. Once we turned west towards the Airport I got a chance to pull the group out onto Stetson and over to Warren. Not long after we crossed Warren the group split into the A and B group. At that point I took over pulling the B group to California and we watched the A group pull away. We had just started to head south on California when the A group was heading west on Stowe.

When it was our turn to head west on Stowe I took the lead and pulled Highlander, Quicksilver, Huntress, Digger and Phil. To tell the truth I was feeling pretty strong anyway so I didn’t mind pulling for as long as my legs and lungs would hold up. In fact I held up well enough to pull all the way to the old metal barn and then to regroup at the parking lot at Winchester.

For a change we all got out onto Winchester together and I took the lead again till everyone was lined up in a single pace line. Then we slowly built us speed till we were gently cruising at 21 mph without straining. Up until we got to the Dump road it seemed like the whole group was content to stay together and there was no hint that soon we would be broken into two groups again.

I was moving along easily until Quicksilver pulled past me and then the A group started to line up for the run to Leon. This time I decided to play and when Dragon Slayer rolled by I grabbed a wheel and ended up in a rotating pace line heading west towards the rise. We didn’t miss a beat and were quickly outdistancing the B group. When we turned onto Leon I thought about breaking off and going back for the B group but I was having so much fun that I stayed with the A group all the way to Lindenburger for the regroup and run south to Newport.

Once we were headed for Menifee Bloodhound informed me that he needed to make a quick stop at the park before heading to Scott Road. The stop was the end of the single large group. When we got ready to leave the park I waited for Phil and Bloodhound. As I got Phil over the Revive hill I noticed the B group was waiting for me but the A group was long gone. It didn’t matter because I was sure they knew where they were going so I led the Bs to Scott and then to Leon to head south to Max Gillis and then to Briggs and Los Alamos. I took off on Los Alamos at a pretty good clip and decided to pull over just before the summit to see who was chasing me. The first one to make it up the hill behind me was Quicksilver. I know she will be a great climber one day and today she was proving that she was getting better with every ride.

Highlander had been close behind me when I made the turn and I sort of expected him to hand on longer than he did. However Huntress was breathing down his neck and once she saw me she decided to try to close the gap to Quicksilver.

After Huntress and Highlander were by me Digger and Phil came into view and slowly worked their way by me as well.

I put the camera away and took off after the fleeing B group. I caught Digger and Phil after about 50 yards and then closed on Highlander 50 yards later. I had to push a bit harder to catch Huntress and then the chase was on when I tried to catch Quicksilver. She managed to crest the hill just before I caught her and I pulled her the rest of the way to Whitewood. We regrouped on the corner and were sitting there as Highlander continued on not wanting to stop and cool down before the next climb. As soon as Digger and Phil had a chance to catch their breath we headed north on Whitewood. Somehow I got into the perfect gear for me and had a good spin going as I started up Whitewood. I caught Highlander before the first stop light and settled into a steady cadence heading for the top of the hill. But it wasn’t time to relax because looking behind me I could see Quicksilver closing at about 1 to 2 mph faster than I was going. So I had to pick it back up or risk getting chicked by one of the fearsome twosome of Quicksilver or Huntress. We regrouped at Clinton Keith and got ready to head to the Hospital and over to Antelope. We then made our way to Keller and over to Menifee before heading to Newport/Domenigoni. We decided to avoid the construction on Domenigoni and so we took Lindenburger to Simpson.

We stayed together most of the way to Leon before Phil started to have a problem with his bike and had to back down a bit. Huntress and Quicksilver were pulling up front while I was back with Phil but soon I jumped up to their group and helped pull them to Winchester. Highlander chastised us for setting a fast pace and so he led as we headed north towards Stowe. After rounding the curve so we could see Winchester farms he dropped the hammer and we had to chase him all the way to the parking lot. Phil continued on to Burger King while we had coffee. After a few more minutes we followed on Stowe.

We didn’t hit it very hard to California and at first I thought we were just go cruise home. But once we turned north towards Stetson the pace picked up and it was all I could do to stay in front of Highlander. I knew the real challenge would be once we got to the airport road. If Highlander caught a whiff of the barn the race would be on and no one knows how much energy it might take to stay with him all the way to Sanderson. However I had enough matches left to stay with him and team estrogen wasn’t far behind. In fact they were still smiling as if this ride hadn’t taken anything out of them. They were right with Highlander as we turned into the Lowes driveway and headed for the back of the building and Acacia.

As Highlander pulled onto Acacia I stayed right on his wheel and got ready for the slow down at Kirby. I was still clipped in as the light turned green and managed to blast through the intersection as soon as the light turned green. I got to Gilmore first and started to Florida. Before I got there Quicksilver jumped past me to see if I had any sprint left and we sprinted to the light on Florida. I followed the group into the parking lot and said goodbye before heading home myself. It was just another beautiful day here in southern California.