By: C. Kent, aka (Superman) It was the last ride before the Tour De Palm Springs and I had high hopes it would be a good one. The only fear I had was it was supposed to be windy. It was going to be warm and with any luck we would have a good group as we headed west on one of my favorite rides. This time I got to Burger King just before Digger and at the same time as Minotaur. Magic man and Dragon Slayer pulled up just before Highlander and Bloodhound. Gambler and Bulldozer were with us as was MacGyver and Surgeon joined the group. Crystal was back with us as was Quicksilver. Rooster and Closer were about the last to join us giving us 14 riders. Digger took a 10 minute head start and we followed onto Gilmore heading to Acacia.

Once again Bloodhound pulled away from us and made it to both Acacia and then Kirby before the rest of us. The rest of the group seemed more than happy to chat away as we rounded the corner and headed to Kirby as a group. The light is a long one and we managed to pull next to Bloodhound as he waited to turn south. We finally made the turn east and headed for Cypress.

We made it over the railroad tracks and could just see Bloodhound fading around the curve going to Johnston but to this point no one was interested in giving chase. Finally we made it to the curve ourselves and could see him turn onto Johnston and head for Sanderson.

Once again we joined Bloodhound at the light and waited to turn south and head for Stetson. After we crossed at the light Dragon Slayer took the lead and got us past Wally World and headed for Mustang. As we closed on Mustang I think most of us expected the light to turn red but it didn’t and Dragon Slayer picked up speed rather quickly. I managed to close on him before we reached the bridge in front of Domanigoni and we turned west only to soft pedal till Bloodhound caught and past us. As he pulled away Dragon Slayer went with him and I held my pace till MacGyver and Gambler relieved me before we got to Warren. Bloodhound and Dragon Slayer left to ride through the red light on Warren just before the people making the left off of Domenigoni started to make their turn freezing the rest of us at the light. Bulldozer roared by us as we headed for the dry wash that Dragon Slayer and Bloodhound had already made it over. Like a heart seeking Missile Bulldozer closed the gap and was on them well before Winchester. The rest of us caught that light red as well. Once on our way we followed Gambler and MacGyver all the way To and on top of the saddle for a regroup.

It was decided to stop at the park for a nature break so we dropped off of the saddle and headed through the light at Lindenburger. Up to this point we still hadn’t caught Digger and I had no idea how far ahead of us he might be. As I waited for everyone at the park Quicksilver and Closer headed for the climb on Revival. They were already crossing Holland as the last of us pulled out onto Menifee. By the time I crested the climb most of the group was waiting for me at the spot where the road gets wide.

Once we were headed south again we headed for Garbani and then to Scott. As we got to Garbani Highlander took the lead and made a run for Scott. It wasn’t long before Bulldozer and the big dogs chased him and soon MacGyver came by me with a new shadow that looked a lot like Quicksilver. It was all I could do to chase the two of them down and I had to wait for the slight rise to get by Quicksilver and steal he place on MacGyver’s wheel. He got us to Scott before taking off in chase of the big dogs heading for Antelope. They were all over the freeway before I had the B group at Antelope. After we crossed the freeway it was time for the long grind up Scott to Murrieta. We lost sight of the A group and finally made the turn onto Murrieta and headed for Holland.

We hustled our way north on Murrieta and I pulled for the first mile before Rooster and Quicksilver pulled for the rest of the way to Holland and west. As we started up the rollers Surgeon and Highlander started out rather quickly taking Quicksilver with them. I started playing on the rollers and soon found myself out front with Rooster. As we started the last long grade I picked a gear I could spin rather easily and started to gain on a small speck that I thought might be another rider in front of me. Rooster was in my blind spot but I knew he was there so that didn’t surprise me at all. What did surprise me was that Quicksilver was on my wheel and it looked like she wanted to pass. I could either gear up or spin faster so I picked the latter and pulled away slightly. Quicgksilver was soon on my wheel and challenging me to go faster. So faster we went and soon that speck was a rider and it looked like Minotaur. No matter how fast I went Quicksilver was with me and finally the three of us caught Minotaur and pulled onto Railroad canyon to regroup. As we sat there Highlander came around the corner and headed down the hill towards the last climb and the long run down to Murrieta again. I got on the a group train and we dropped down the hill and attacked the uphill before the light at the strip mall. Highlander got by us as the light turned green and made it almost to the top of the rise under the Fire station before we caught him. Somewhere we dropped Highlander and Quicksilver as we worked our way past Goetz and up to Brean.

As we crossed Murrieta Surgeon requested a water stop at the Jack in the Box so I took the B group into the driveway and the A group headed for home. We weren’t there long before Highlander and Quicksilver joined us and got water as well. As soon as we were refreshed we headed east towards the freeway and home ourselves. I took us over the freeway just past Haun and through the light at Antelope. It was a quick trip east to Menifee where we turned north and made our way to Simpson before heading east again. Quicksilver had been on my wheel every foot of the way and was right behind me as we got to Lindenburger. The whole group got back together at Briggs and Quicksilver pulled us most of the way to Leon and I took us to Winchester. Quicksilver took over again and got us to Winchester Farms where we stopped for food for Quicksilver. We took a coffee break and conversed for the next 20 minutes there with Digger and Closer who had left us back at Haun. It was time to head for home as we pulled back onto Stowe and headed east.

For a change we held together on Stowe and made the turn onto California. I ended up taking the group down to Stetson and heading east again. There was a point where Highlander took the lead but I got it back at Warren and then kept it all the way back to Sanderson. We just started to feel the wind as we headed north and rolled by Johnston again. We were able to kick the pace up as we got close to Lowes. I am not sure if it was a break in the breeze or the fact that it looked like both Highlander and Surgeon wanted to roll over me. Still I was leading into the driveway at Lowes.

Having seen how aggressive Quicksilver had been all day I was ready for the sprint she started as we rounded the back of Lowes. She made a fine charge and had she picked the correct gear she might have reached Acacia first. As it was she just missed by a bike length? We t get then headed to Kirby and managed to get the light green so we could continue on to Gilmore and back to Burger King. We visited for a little while and then went our separate ways to go home. It was a great day for a ride.