On arriving at Civic Center Park in Apple Valley last Saturday for the start, many of us may have yearned for last year’s September start at 8:00 A.M., as opposed to this year’s cold 7:00 A.M. start in the dark. While the sun may technically have been up when the ride started, it was still behind the mountains, and everyone seemed chilled.

Soon after the ride started, though, the cold began to lose its grip and the penumbral roads began to lighten. Being able to ride for 20 minutes or so before the sun finally appeared turned out to be a good thing, as the pack was able to get well into it before having to squint to see the roads stretching eastward from the starting point.

There were other differences, too this year.

One such difference was much better support by the sheriffs. There were volunteers or a squad car at many of the major intersections, giving preference to bike traffic. Another was the additional “SAG” stops along the way.

Perhaps the most dramatic difference was that the powers that be allowed the race organizers to cross Highway 18 for the first time in the history of the ride. It was nice to be able to give the metric century riders a change of scenery for the second half of the ride, even though it meant using roads that had yet to be cleared of sand, dirt, gravel, and other debris from our recent storms.

Thanks to Chuck and Pat Hanson for putting on another great ride. Thanks, too, to each of the volunteers who helped make this ride possible. And finally, thanks to the sponsors — Walmart, Farmer Boys, and Del Taco — for the food, water, and freebies available to the riders.

Here are the results for each group.

Metric Century | Place | No. | First | Last | Time | |—|—|—|—|—| | 1 | 248 | William | Daniels | 02:54:08 | | 2 | 291 | Raul | Ureno | 03:07:38 | | 3 | 273 | Derrick | Wyatt | 03:11:15 | | 4 | 257 | James | Quigg | 03:17:23 | | 5 | 222 | Robert | | 03:18:08 | | 6 | 277 | Richard | Kakes | 03:18:56 | | 7 | 226 | Paul | Nowotney | 03:19:03 | | 8 | 298 | Robert | Viccari | 03:19:50 | | 9 | 278 | Ashley | Ibarra | 03:19:56 | | 10 | 223 | Ryan | | 03:24:11 | | 11 | 287 | David | Rib | 03:27:20 | | 12 | 293 | Tim | Goforth | 03:28:30 | | 13 | 234 | Darrel | Nickolaisen | 03:43:32 | | 14 | 247 | Wyatt | Myers | 03:58:59 | | 15 | 233 | Bill | Mearig | 03:59:32 | | 16 | 290 | Frank | Stooksbury | 04:04:59 | | 17 | 289 | Daniel | Eggleston | 04:07:19 | | 18 | 275 | Kenneth | Martinez | 04:14:12 | | 19 | 242 | Bill | Laferiere | 04:20:34 | | 20 | 280 | Larry | Cwain | 04:24:44 | | 21 | 264 | Steven | Alvarez | 04:24:48 | | 22 | 212 | Richard | Ristow | 04:24:50 | | 23 | 252 | Evan | Tolson | 04:25:17 | | 24 | 231 | Peter | Fahnestock | 04:27:01 | | 25 | 270 | Frank | Davila | 04:28:42 | | 26 | 288 | Clayton | Alexander | 04:53:40 | | 27 | 215 | James | Ball | 04:54:23 | | 28 | 238 | Christopher | Roy | 05:03:54 | | 29 | 300 | Jana | Lingo | 05:03:54 | | 30 | 236 | Ed | Bennson | 05:55:06 | | 31 | 250 | Wayne | Lucas | 05:55:07 | | 32 | 219 | Jay | Cliff | 06:26:46 | | 33 | 220 | Anita | Holmes | 06:26:46 |

Metric Half Century | Place | No. | First | Last | Time | |—|—|—|—|—| | 1 | 271 | Greg | Nowacki | 01:27:50 | | 2 | 284 | Mark | Klasa | 01:27:58 | | 3 | 256 | Corey | Lafever | 01:30:04 | | 4 | 221 | David | Marsh | 01:31:27 | | 5 | 283 | Andrew | Lore | 01:31:27 | | 6 | 237 | Michele | Rivas | 01:37:52 | | 7 | 255 | Greg | Raven | 01:39:04 | | 8 | 294 | Reynaldo | Medero | 01:39:37 | | 9 | 274 | Jim | Fuller | 01:41:36 | | 10 | 267 | Melanie | Burkholder | 01:42:36 | | 11 | 249 | Brian | Kittinger | 01:43:43 | | 12 | 266 | Polly | Putman | 01:43:52 | | 13 | 265 | Chris | Putman | 01:43:54 | | 14 | 253 | Hannah | Putman | 01:45:23 | | 15 | 254 | Rick | Pardue | 01:45:54 | | 16 | 213 | Gary | Toy | 01:45:59 | | 17 | 286 | Elliot | Flied | 01:49:52 | | 18 | 272 | Todd | Ziske | 01:53:38 | | 19 | 269 | Sheri | Badders | 01:53:54 | | 20 | 251 | Brett | Kobold | 01:54:27 | | 21 | 229 | Forrest | Shanks | 01:55:43 | | 22 | 230 | Susan | Shanks | 01:55:44 | | 23 | 232 | Claude | Morris | 02:01:14 | | 24 | 258 | Jeff | Jones | 02:01:20 | | 25 | 279 | Rex | McDaniel | 02:04:25 | | 26 | 261 | Michael | Sipes | 02:04:44 | | 27 | 285 | Burrell | Vernon | 02:05:20 | | 28 | 244 | Dereka | Mejia | 02:05:22 | | 29 | 263 | Tommie | Spiesman | 02:06:29 | | 30 | 281 | Vernette | Hansen | 02:10:16 | | 31 | 282 | Scott | Hansen | 02:10:19 | | 32 | 268 | Robert | Norman | 02:10:22 | | 33 | 240 | MaryAnn | Oliver | 02:11:25 | | 34 | 246 | Rebecca | Myers | 02:15:47 | | 35 | 225 | Crystal | Tolson | 02:18:17 | | 36 | 276 | Kathy | Azzari | 02:20:27 | | 37 | 228 | Pete | Schuster | 02:25:08 | | 38 | 241 | Joel | Oliver | 02:46:20 | | 39 | 260 | Richard | Mathis | 02:48:31 | | 40 | 218 | Cranford | Christine | 02:49:20 | | 41 | 262 | Harry | Pontius | 02:52:54 | | 42 | 297 | Neville | Slade | 03:04:29 | | 43 | 296 | Michael | Hanson | 03:34:03 | | 44 | 295 | Michelle | Hanson | 03:34:18 | | 45 | 292 | Wayne | Wilken | 04:33:00 |