By: C. Kent, aka (Superman) One of the things Wednesdays are good for is letting both the A and B groups have a little fun. There is normally a bit longer and has some small climbing in it. And the A group is free to run as hard as they want B group and the B group will test themselves at their own pace. It also was the first Wednesday of the D V V jersey every Wednesday change. With all of that in mind I headed for coffee at Burger King. Like most days Digger was already there and Highlander got there shortly after him. Bloodhound arrived. Next to drive up was Quicksilver followed by Gambler and Bulldozer. Scott and Sasquatch arrived as did Huntress. The last one to arrive was Ferret and we were ready to head out onto Gilmore.

It was a simple start to Acacia and finally the turn onto Kirby. Bloodhound was out in front like normal but for a change we weren’t that far behind. For me I chalk it up to what I call the riders had their century legs. Almost all of them had been to Palm Springs Saturday and most of them had put 100 miles on their legs. It may be true or may be bologna but I think for a few weeks after such an event the legs have a muscle memory of how to pedal efficiently using just enough energy to keep up our speed. Looking back I could see absolutely no one was struggling with the pace. We turned on Cypress and quickly made it to Johnston and Sanderson before heading up to Wentworth and heading west to the Airport and Stetson.

As we got to Stetson they let me lead to Warren where the A group pulled up and said they were going to make the ride without stopping and they would see us Friday. Ferret, Gambler, Bulldozer and Bloodhound pulled away and the B group settled into a steady pace as we watched them go. Then team bling, Quicksilver and Huntress, started to pick it up and I followed for a while till I noticed Digger, Sasquatch and Scott were well off of the back. I fell off out and went back to get them while Highlander caught their wheel and left with them. I led Digger at a slower pace till Sasquatch and Scott caught us and we regrouped on Stowe and Winchester. To my surprise the A group was there and they had added Papillon and MacGyver. It seemed as if Bloodhound had a flat and they were changing it.

Because we knew they weren’t planning on riding at our pace anyway I took the group down Winchester towards the dump road knowing that they would catch us sooner or later. As I turned onto 9th the group formed behind me and we traveled west towards the Wild West coral and Leon.

We didn’t get that far before Huntress pulled up on my right and Quicksilver moved up on my left. Despite Quicksilver’s assurances otherwise I was sure they were up to something and as we got close to the little rise I thought a sprint might be forthcoming. As we started up the rise Quicksilver spun up quickly and took the lead briefly but fell off just before the top and had to fall in behind me as we moved towards Leon. Things settled down a bit as we turned to Simpson and then towards Lindenburger. I knew we had another rise coming and I knew Quicksilver would take off again and sure enough she did but I beat her to the corner and headed to McCall not so much to stay ahead of her but knowing the A group would be coming like gangbusters I I wanted to get over McCall before the caught us. We turned at the light on McCall and I got to the top just before Ferret, Gambler, Bulldozer, Bloodhound, MacGyver and Papillon got bu me. The rest of us regrouped at the gas station just past Bradley before heading to the end of McCall and turning to Hunnyrun. Scott took us to LaLadera and Huntress got us to the Park where Quicksilver pulled us to Goetz on Normandy before we made our way to Newport and Railroad canyon for the climb to Canyon Hills road for a short regroup. It was here that Highlander did some light hearted smack talking about beating Huntress to Canyon Hills. The Bling team took up the gauntlet and chased Highlander as he left to head towards Holland and Murrieta. After the second light the Girls dropped the Hammer, a B group Hammer but a hammer none the less and made quite a gap. There was no way they were going to be caught before Murrieta and even the stop lights seemed to be working with them. We made it to Murrieta but got split up when some of us made the quick turn on Murrieta and then Holland again and some went all the way to Newport. Quicksilver, Highland, and I made the Holland turn and I waited for Digger at the top of the little rise. Highlander and Quicksilver went on to Haun to meet Huntress and the rest on Newport while Digger and I followed until we turned onto Haun ourselves and I got a flat. Once my tire was changed I met the rest of the group at Jack In the box for coffee. We headed back out onto Newport with the intention of going all the way to Sanderson to make it home.

We were moving towards the Saddle with Sasquatch and Highlander in front and Huntress and Quicksilver right behind them. I promised to wait at the top but I followed Quicksilver closely so she wouldn’t just drop me on the climb. I did wait at the top for Digger and we collected Highlander on the downhill heading for Leon. We caught Huntress about halfway to Winchester and regrouped with the rest at the light. Once it changed Quicksilver pulled us towards the dry wash for quite a while till I realized we had a tailwind and pulled around to pick up the pace a bit. I had Huntress, Highlander, and Quicksilver on my wheel and finally got in the drops and slowly moved us up a bit faster. At about 25 mph it was just Quicksilver and me. But I couldn’t shake her. We slowed for the dry river crossing. I thought Huntress and Highlander were back on as we started down the grade towards Warren but soon it was Quicksilver and me once more. No matter how fast I went she just held on and smiled. We turned onto Sanderson and headed north back to Lowes where Highlander, Huntress and Sasquatch all caught us and followed us around the building to Acacia.

All we had left was to turn onto Acacia and cross Kirby to Gilmore and back to Burger King. We talked for a few minutes and I headed for home myself to have lunch and a hot shower. It was a great ride for a Wednesday and we had a chance to get a great workout at the same time. It sure beats freezing on the east coast.