Jack did great! I had my regular Sunday morning beginners ride that I was responsibe for. When I learned Jack was coming out, I decided if I could find an alternate leader, I would take him on a little more challenging and scenic ride. I secured the aforementioned alternate and decided I would take Jack on a ride known as Greenspot. It's a climbing ride, mostly moderate river grade at the foothills of the mountains. At the top of the climb, it's a fast downhill through Highlands and then we were going to hook up with the beginners at the old Norton Air Force Base in San Bernardino. Best laid plans. As it turned out, the weather was cloudy and overcast, so some of the faster riders decided to head in the same direction as us. They amped up the pace a little bit and splintered the group into several smaller groups. Not knowing any better, Jack hung on their wheels for quite a while, thinking they were part of our group. I was happy to stay with Jack and we continued hammering right along. Not being accustomed to the grade, though, it became apparent that Jack was going to be hating life pretty quick if we continued with the original plan. I didn't want to kill him the first time out here, so, we altered the plan slightly. We changed our route thinking we might get back on with the beginners route before they hit the restaurant. We rode a pretty decent pace, but got to the restaurant just a few minutes behind the main group. We enjoyed a nice breakfast before continuing along our way. We split off from the group and headed back to my house. We were lucky in that we didn't get wet at all. We got a drop here and there, but otherwise, we stayed high and dry.
Jack's a good rider, don't let him kid you. He may not be used to the grades, but he showed me he can ride them. He hung right on the back wheel of some pretty strong guys and gals. It was good to see Jack again and we made plans for future rides. We're hoping to get a SoCal Cruzbike gathering going before the sweltering heat of summer sets in.
Mark
