Only the strong survive

By: C. Kent, aka (Superman) It was only one day after our successful Century on Saturday and I had a rather simply recovery ride planned. Nothing challenging for most riders and after the turn out Saturday I more or less expected some of the same riders would show up for a short Lake Perris ride today. Digger was there and as I walked in to get my coffee Highlander pulled up. The only other rider to join us was Bloodhound and we waited till 9am just to make sure it was just the four of us. At least with such a small group we could realistically make this a recovery ride so we pulled out onto Latham and headed north on Lyon for a little cruise to Lake Perris.

We didn’t really press it heading to Ramona and I was pretty impressed with how well Digger was doing. If he is anything like me after my first good century my cycling improved and my pedal stroke was much better the very next ride. Maybe it is muscle memory or just knowing you can make 100 miles in a day and still have some juice left. Whatever it is it improved my riding and it seemed to improve Digger’s. Bloodhound pulled all the way to Ramona and then to Sanderson and started us west on the expressway. The only problem was Bloodhound couldn’t read Diggers pace requirements and keep pressing it till Digger fell out of the draft. Finally Highlander and I let Bloodhound go and we slowed to about 21 and held it there all the way to Lakeview. We took a break at the Valero Station before heading back out to Ramona and heading towards the hill at the back gate to Lake Perris. Bloodhound took off at the first sign of the hill and I tried to hold a pace that would allow both Highlander and Digger to hold on to my wheel but we still dropped Digger and had to wait for him at the crest.

Bloodhound was long gone by the time we hit the bike path and went through the posts at the beginning of it. This time Highlander and I keep the pace smooth and we were soon over the little hill and rounded the east end of the lake. For some reason it seemed rather deserted till we came upon another cyclist or two and a runner. But the over cast day made it seem quiet and peaceful. The three of us stayed on our little pack all the way to the Marina for a snack and a break. It turned out that both Bloodhound and Digger had to get home early so we headed back out the same way we came in and headed towards the east end of the lake. Once again Bloodhound took off while the three of us tried to stay together and we did pretty well till we got back to the exit of the park and Bloodhound had to leave.

Because digger had an appointment Highlander and I took turns pulling back past Lakeview. Once the wind kicked up a bit I took over and started the pull to Bridge. By the time we were going past the dairy on Bridge I was feeling pretty good about my spin so I kept going to Warren. We caught the light at Warren and the wind more or less stopped so we continued on to Sanderson and Made the jog over to Ramona Boulevard and towards Lyon.

As we turned south on Lyon it looked like we would get Digger back to his street in time for his appointment and Highlander and I would ride to Latham before I took off for home. I was looking forward to a hot shower and lunch. My legs were still a bit sore but they felt better than I did when I started this morning. I will be looking forward to Wednesday as well.