Farewell Ride with Lyn

I have been totally bummed these past three weeks ( and hence the lack of posting).

Seems I lost ALL of the pictures that I took on Lyn and my last ride in the Southland. Saturday, March 27th, Lyn and I met at the Starbucks in Moreno Valley, CA. my hometown. I wanted to ride some of the roads that I used to ride, oh 15 years ago, so after a bagel and a shot of espresso, we were off.

Early spring in southern California cannot be beat. The sun is warm, the skies are still clear of most of the summer smog and the desert flowers are in bloom. It was a gorgeous day. We headed south around Lake Perris, through Nuevo, up Juniper Flats Rd ( a 600' climb) then towards Lake Skinner and the vineyards. We took a brief fueling stop then began the long, stair step climb up to Sage Rd. ( 1800+ ft) to our high point of the day. Along the way, we passed the Indian Oaks Trailer Park and its grocery store. It was here that a nice ranch woman sold us candy bars and asked if we were lawyers....

Once in Sage, it was just a small climb then a big winding decent into Hemet. Wow has Hemet changed! I could've joined many a Cholo gangster and hung out on the corner, "Que onda, Ese?"
We had a good Mexican lunch there...at 70 miles.

The last 22 miles included blowing sand and dirt from a hard crosswind. I thought I was going to lose Lyn, but then true to his form, he dug deep and kept the pace with me. As the winds turned to a tail, we motored back toward Lake Perris at 30+ mph. Man did that feel good!

Lyn said that he's out of shape, but for a guy that does ZERO riding these days, that guy can still go. I can't wait to ride with him again, especially after he has a few miles under his legs.

Our last climb of the day took us into Lake Perris Rec. Area ( 200' then 300' climbs). The lake hasn't changed other than the whole area has aged. I can still remember going there as a kid and teen, just like it was yesterday!

Back at the cars, we cooled down then headed our separate ways. We covered 92 miles of rollers for about 3800' of total climbing over a stunning course.



Fast forward three weeks and I'm 1500 miles to the north, in Billings, Montana. The weather has been surprisingly warm for Montana, but I'm not complaining. I'm still getting out in shorts, but need a base layer for my upper body. We haven't spent much time in Billings before this, but so far, we are enjoying it. Big race coming up this weekend, Peaks to Prairie. It is an adventure race that includes running, cycling and kayaking. Wish me luck!

E