By: C. Kent, aka (Superman) I woke up and realize it was Wednesday and I had planned a ride that would test me for the second time since I got back on the bike. The ride would be longer with more rolling climbs and maybe some wind in the face on the way out. I just wanted to keep the ride under control and get through it to push myself closer to where I used to be. I had a good breakfast and headed for the Bike Shop to have some coffee and wait for others to arrive. Digger was already there and Dragon Slayer was riding up as I rolled through the door. Cutter and Papillion showed up just before Highlander and Anaconda. The last rider was Earth Dog and we were ready to pull out of the parking lot and head for Acacia and west.

For reasons only known to my ego and not to my mind I decided to pull us to Acacia and then to Kirby before heading south. I was still pulling as we got to Cypress and headed west again and for a little while Dragon Slayer pulled up next to me. We rode together all the way to Johnston and Sanderson. I started to pull again and stayed out front all the way past Wally World and didn’t give the lead up till Mustang.

It was my intention to fall in line behind the rest of the group and let them pull me all the way to the saddle. The only problem with my intentions was that Dragon Slayer was doing most of the work. It looked like he was trying to give up the lead at Warren and I was the closest one willing to move forward. I took over at warren and pulled as best as I could over the dry wash before giving up the lead and following the group to Winchester. The pace picked up a bit by the time we got to Leon and I dropped towards the back of the pack as we got close to the Saddle. Dragon Slayer and Papillion started to push the saddle. I stayed with Anaconda till she started to flame out and I took off around her. It was more than likely another example of a weakness in my thought process that allowed me to be chased over the top of the saddle by Earth Dog and stay just in front of him all the way to the Gas station where we regrouped and waited for Digger and Cutter to join us. We took a short break before getting back on the road and headed south towards Holland and the hill called Revive.

I thought the plan was for Digger to leave us at the gas station but he stayed with us as we headed for Holland and turned and left us at the stop sign. Once again the plan was for me to just gear down and spin up the hill but soon Papillion took off on the climb and Dragon Slayer was close behind. Cutter and Earth Dog started pulling some power down as I followed Anaconda and Highlander. I got out of the saddle and headed for the top of the hill managing to get by everyone but Papillion. Dragon Slayer caught me right at the stop sign and we all headed for Scott without taking a break. Cutter pulled up and let me know Digger had turned off and three of us rode to Scott Road where everyone else was waiting. We crossed over Scott and headed for Keller without losing anyone else and once again Dragon Slayer and Anaconda turned west and too us toward Antelope. We caught the light red as well and had to wait to turn south and head for the hospital. We turned onto Baxter and dropped down to Whitewood. We were tightly grouped as we crossed Clinton Keith and got ready for the drop downhill to Los Alamos. It turned into a rather fast pace line all the way to Los Alamos for the turn east and the ride through the canyon. I split us into two groups with Dragon Slayer taking Papillion and Earth Dog while I had Cutter, Highlander and Anaconda. It didn’t take that long for us to crest the top of the canyon and start the drop down through the rollers to Briggs and Leon.

Once we had all regrouped we rode to Winchester and headed north with the wind at our back. I was almost finished as far as my legs went and had to take two electrolyte tabs before heading north with the group. I was stuck at 90 rpm at best and assured Dragon Slayer that while I was sure I could make it home I was just as sure I couldn’t make a speed run back to Domenigoni so he should go on and ride with the lead group and I would follow with whomever I could catch. It turned out that Highlander, Cutter and I rode together back to Domenigoni where we picked up Anaconda and headed for Stowe and Winchester Farms. We found Papillion and Earth dog waiting for us so we joined them for a quick break before pulling back onto Stowe and heading for home.

For a change we all stayed together till we got most of the way to California where Earth Dog headed for the barn. The rest of us rode as a group up to Stetson and headed east past Warren to Cawston so we could work our way over to Sanderson. Highlander pulled us to Lowes and around the parking lot to Acacia. We then headed for Kirby and then to the bike shop to finish the ride and head for home. I had burned all of my matches and was pretty tired. I was also satisfied that I had put out a good effort and I was one step closer to registering for a Metric Century in Redlands at the end of the month.