On this date in 1821, the Mexican Ejército de las Tres Garantías (Army of the Three Guarantees) triumphantly entered Mexico City, led by Agustín de Iturbide, bringing news of Mexico's independence from Spain. The army was created in February of 1821 by the unification of the Spanish troops led by Iturbide and the Mexican insurgent troops of Vicente Guerrero, consolidating Mexico's independence from Spain. The decree creating the army stated the three guarantees: Religion, Independence, and Unity. The army battled Spanish royalist forces, which refused to accept Mexican independence. On August 19, the army was decisive in victory at the Battle of Azcapotzalco, clearing the way to Mexico City. Five days later, Iturbide and Spanish Viceroy Juan de O'Donojú signed the Treaty of Córdoba. A month later, when the army reached Mexico City, the Declaration of Independence of the Mexican Empire became widely known. Credits: https://w.wiki/FTw2 I enjoyed today's club ride even more than I expected. The club route was relatively easy, on very familiar roads, but I was surprised how much fun I had riding Day Valley, Valencia, and Trout Gulch westbound, the opposite direction to usual. Yes, we still had to take boring Freedom to get there, and the road surface isn't always the greatest, but there are some fun, smooth, descending curves. Paula did a good job of encouraging several regroups, so everybody was together at the finish. I enjoyed riding and with Wendy, a relatively new member, enthusiastic, already with good technique, and riding with the club to get stronger. Welcome! I was torn between today's club ride and restocking my granola stash from Beckmann's Bakery at the Cabrillo Farmers Market. So I did both. I left early to get to the Farmers Market and back to the start in Soquel in plenty of time. And I rode back to my van parked at Maryann's on the west side after a big hot dog at Beer Thirty! That bumped my mileage from 26 to 42, and 600 extra feet ascending. For the whole ride, I carried the granola in a light backpack. That worked fine, but I really don't like wearing a backpack. Still, worth it, because granola.