By: C. Kent, aka (Superman) As they say Friday is like a Box of Chocolate, you never know what you are going to get. I have stopped trying to plan an easy recovery ride for Friday and simply post if it will be flat or not. I might add if it will be long or short but I can’t predict attendance or speed and today was proof of that. But what I can say for me it was a day of missed calculation and missed opportunity. As I headed to Burger King I had already decided I was going to try and stay with the A riders once we got to the Expressway. I got to Burger King to have coffee with Digger and think about hitting the road hard to test myself and burn some extra energy. By 9am there were 15 of us ready to hit the road and head over to Lyon off of Latham and get the show on the road.

Things were going according to plan as we moved past Devonshire and then Menlo and I watched Bulldozer take off with no one giving chase. So I fell in on Gambler and Ferret with Bloodhound and Dragon slayer in attendance. Barracuda was with me and as we got close to Esplanade the group was still pretty much together. As we started through the intersection I heard Quicksilver ask Huntress if she was ready to pick it up and heard the affirmative answer just as I saw Quicksticks fall off. I dropped back to pick him up when Rocker told me to go play and he would take care of Quicksticks. Soon I had overhauled Digger and Daniel and not long after that I had Huntress and Quicksilver lined up along with Sasquatch. I then caught Highlander and started the hard pull to close with t fleeing A group. But it wasn’t meant to be and they made the light on Sanderson and the Expressway while we didn’t. I ended up pulling Digger, Daniel, Huntress, Sasquatch, Highlander and Quicksilver all the way to Nuevo with Digger, Rocket and Quicksticks riding sweep. We turned the corner on Hansen and regrouped with a much larger A group on the corner.

At least we had added Bandit and Jay from CAS to the A group and I yearned to leave when they left. When I expressed my wish Huntress said she would take the B group and for me to give it a shot. I rode hard to catch the A group but as I turned onto Lakeview by myself I noticed the pace line was started and pulling away faster than I could close. I did think I would catch them by Nuevo or at least by Central and Menifee but that didn’t happen either. I did gain on the group by the Nursery but as they descended towards Florida and Menifee they simply pulled away and left me to fend for myself. Lucky for me Barracuda and Dragon Slayer stopped at the AM/PM and I stopped to talk with them and wait for the B group. I did get a call from Quicksticks and Rocket saying they had turned back with a mechanical problem so I wasn’t worried about them. Huntress showed up pulling Highlander and Quicksilver followed by Daniel and Sasquatch and finally Digger. As soon as they stopped Huntress said she had to get back so she was going to leave taking Quicksilver with her. Dragon slayer and Barracuda went with them and a few minutes later I started pulling my small group towards Simpson and Menifee. Once we rounded the corner onto Simpson and dropped down the hill to Lindenburger I set in for a pull to Leon and up to the dump road planning on a run at the DVV sprint.

As I turned onto the dump road I realized the wind was going to be in my face and there was no reason to challenge the sprint so I settled into a fast run to Winchester and stopped by Chris’s for a quick coffee and a regroup. When we left we headed down to Donemigoni and I got ready for a long pull east. I got into a steady pace and pulled us at a steady 20 to the dry wash and picked it up a bit to Warren. I was in a bit of a hurry myself because I had to get to a doctor’s appointment with my wife after lunch and I didn’t want to cut it too close. I got us to Sanderson and down to Johnston to make the turn for home. Highlander stayed on Sanderson and Sasquatch turned and headed to Kirby. Daniel stayed with me till Lyon and then he left. I continued on to my house getting home in plenty of time for lunch and a shower before heading back out to the doctor and to run a few errands. It was a great day and my chase wasn’t worthless because at least I learned I can chase for five to ten miles at 80 percent and feel good about the effort.