Tuesday the 14th
The official last ride of 08....
There may be a few guys out next week. But the weather will have to be exceptionally good.
There were only a handful out today....They were:
Gregg F
Chris B
Chris C
Tri guy Trek
Rich on a Giant
Eric M
Hunter P
Rondo
Guido
Dillon P
Joe K
Guido was drilling it early on. Eric M and Hunter P were not letting him go. Chris C kept it going till Mountain rd. Hunter P went up the hill fast, a couple of riders popped off the back after the second group of risers...
Joe K jumped and had a nice solo ride for the second half of Mountain rd. The trio of Eric M, Chris C and Guido slowly brought him back.... Credit Guido for doing the lions share of work.
Rondo was in "spin" mode, so he simply kept the group together. Chris C led everyone up the hill after the chicane, Hunter P stepped in after the corner and went off alone, but that was short lived and he was caught be the industrial park. Gregg F, Chris C and Joe K were working the group up thru the industrial park and up to Rienhard.
Eric M jumped for the sprint first. Hunter P came around him but started his celebration too early, cause Joe K was pulling himself inside and out to catch him by the corner, which he did. Great job Joe! Everyone was together for the ride to Route 10. Joe K peeled off at Sandbank, Hunter P pulled up the hill by Cheshire Park. Chris C led everyone up to the stop n shop sprint. Hunter P got that one ahead of Eric M. Everyone had a chance to work during the run in back to Hamden. Eric M got to the end first.
Great year everyone!!!
.What was your best memory of the 2008 Sleeping Giant Ride? Maybe next week ( or at some point ) we will do a year in review blog.
There may be a few guys out next week. But the weather will have to be exceptionally good.
There were only a handful out today....They were:
Gregg F
Chris B
Chris C
Tri guy Trek
Rich on a Giant
Eric M
Hunter P
Rondo
Guido
Dillon P
Joe K
Guido was drilling it early on. Eric M and Hunter P were not letting him go. Chris C kept it going till Mountain rd. Hunter P went up the hill fast, a couple of riders popped off the back after the second group of risers...
Joe K jumped and had a nice solo ride for the second half of Mountain rd. The trio of Eric M, Chris C and Guido slowly brought him back.... Credit Guido for doing the lions share of work.
Rondo was in "spin" mode, so he simply kept the group together. Chris C led everyone up the hill after the chicane, Hunter P stepped in after the corner and went off alone, but that was short lived and he was caught be the industrial park. Gregg F, Chris C and Joe K were working the group up thru the industrial park and up to Rienhard.
Eric M jumped for the sprint first. Hunter P came around him but started his celebration too early, cause Joe K was pulling himself inside and out to catch him by the corner, which he did. Great job Joe! Everyone was together for the ride to Route 10. Joe K peeled off at Sandbank, Hunter P pulled up the hill by Cheshire Park. Chris C led everyone up to the stop n shop sprint. Hunter P got that one ahead of Eric M. Everyone had a chance to work during the run in back to Hamden. Eric M got to the end first.
Great year everyone!!!
.What was your best memory of the 2008 Sleeping Giant Ride? Maybe next week ( or at some point ) we will do a year in review blog.
Tuesday the 7th
"Brrrrrr" & "Where's my lights?"
Only about 25 guys out tonight as the season of TWC dwindles to a close. But there is still some good riding to be had...
Le Casey lead everyone down Route 10 and into the back roads at a brisk pace. Chris C was the 1st to have a dig on Mount Sanford. But slow corners brought him back. After that the tempo was being set happily by a few guys. Mike McG, Dillon P, Todd H, Brian Koski, etc...Then it was Keltic at the front... Eric M and O'Shea. Coming up to Mountain Rd, Kyle Foley moved up to the front and sure enough, jumped right away on the hill. Hunter P and Steve G went straight away with him and the 3 worked up a good gap right away. It was short lived tho as Eric M put did a great job of closing the gap for everyone on his wheel. Up the second set of risers, Steve G was at it again, but couldnt work up any gap as the speed was higher.
Onto Moss Farms... Nothing out of the ordinary there. No attacks. No chases... Stage 1 was setting a good tempo as Little T made his way thru the chicane first with Todd H and Chris C in pursuit. Hunter P attacked halfway up the climb to Marion and kept it going fast up and thru the corner. Steve G was with him and the two punched it enough after the hill to get a good gap. Then Ken, A.k.a certainly not as slow as a turtle, came up and after a long bridging effort, made contact with the 2.
3 up the road, looking dangerous as they went charged into the industrial park. But then a turning jeep with a trailer attached slowed them to a near stop. Then into the industrial park a turning tractor trailer killed any remaining gap they had as the peleton, led by Rondo and Mike McG, caught and killed the escapees. Mike, Ron, and the Richard Sachs crew continued setting a good pace as guys shifted two and fro turning onto and up West Johnson. The pace was good leading up to Reinhard, when Little T attacked thru the corner. He went off alone but an attentive Steve G saw the opportunity and jumped on his wheel. The 2 had a 50 meter gap when Hunter P started sprinting from the usual spot. Then Mike McG, sporting a new recession-busting haircut, went by him in a flash. Mike would get close, but Little T succeeded in getting to the corner first, with Steve right there. The rest of the field, led by Eric M would trickle thru the corner and down the hill.
On the way to Rte 10, Hunter P and Chris B drove it up Peck lane, with Koski killing it at the very end. Towards the end of Sandbank, Chris C, Todd H and Gregg F would sneak off the front and with a 7 second gap thru the corner, start killing it up the hill. The 3 worked hard going past Cheshire Park ( site of CheshireCross 08, nov 22nd registration is open now! ) as the rest of the field slowed a bit and took their time getting up it. Once at the top, things got going again as Rondo, O'Shea and others set tempo. The 3 leaders were working well together and while they were being caught, it looked they had a good chance to make it to the sprint point. Mike McG jumped for the hill way early, leading out Hunter P. Hunter P jumped off with quite a ways to go as well, this time with Little T right on his wheel. T had little problem going around Hunter near the top. But it wasnt enough to catch Chris C, who had jumped from Todd H and Gregg F in a last ditch effort to get to the top of the hill first. Great job to the 3, pulling off the rare attack\sprint win.
The rest of the way into Hamden was standard issue. A good job by all was done to keep it safe and fast. Koski was up there again, Le Casey, Little T went hard and pulled off with a kilo to go, Gregg F and the Sommerville boys too. At the end Casey powered off and got to the light first.
Up the hill, it was too dark to see what happened... Hunter P, Chris B and Gregg F blah blah blah
Just a couple of more weeks to the off season....
The current poll on the side is for 08MVP of the TWC... It will run til the end of the month. Winner gets something very nice from the CCR prize pantry... to be awarded at some random point over the winter. Please vote honorably.... Based on speed, power, cunning, and marksmanship.
Only about 25 guys out tonight as the season of TWC dwindles to a close. But there is still some good riding to be had...
Le Casey lead everyone down Route 10 and into the back roads at a brisk pace. Chris C was the 1st to have a dig on Mount Sanford. But slow corners brought him back. After that the tempo was being set happily by a few guys. Mike McG, Dillon P, Todd H, Brian Koski, etc...Then it was Keltic at the front... Eric M and O'Shea. Coming up to Mountain Rd, Kyle Foley moved up to the front and sure enough, jumped right away on the hill. Hunter P and Steve G went straight away with him and the 3 worked up a good gap right away. It was short lived tho as Eric M put did a great job of closing the gap for everyone on his wheel. Up the second set of risers, Steve G was at it again, but couldnt work up any gap as the speed was higher.
Onto Moss Farms... Nothing out of the ordinary there. No attacks. No chases... Stage 1 was setting a good tempo as Little T made his way thru the chicane first with Todd H and Chris C in pursuit. Hunter P attacked halfway up the climb to Marion and kept it going fast up and thru the corner. Steve G was with him and the two punched it enough after the hill to get a good gap. Then Ken, A.k.a certainly not as slow as a turtle, came up and after a long bridging effort, made contact with the 2.
3 up the road, looking dangerous as they went charged into the industrial park. But then a turning jeep with a trailer attached slowed them to a near stop. Then into the industrial park a turning tractor trailer killed any remaining gap they had as the peleton, led by Rondo and Mike McG, caught and killed the escapees. Mike, Ron, and the Richard Sachs crew continued setting a good pace as guys shifted two and fro turning onto and up West Johnson. The pace was good leading up to Reinhard, when Little T attacked thru the corner. He went off alone but an attentive Steve G saw the opportunity and jumped on his wheel. The 2 had a 50 meter gap when Hunter P started sprinting from the usual spot. Then Mike McG, sporting a new recession-busting haircut, went by him in a flash. Mike would get close, but Little T succeeded in getting to the corner first, with Steve right there. The rest of the field, led by Eric M would trickle thru the corner and down the hill.
On the way to Rte 10, Hunter P and Chris B drove it up Peck lane, with Koski killing it at the very end. Towards the end of Sandbank, Chris C, Todd H and Gregg F would sneak off the front and with a 7 second gap thru the corner, start killing it up the hill. The 3 worked hard going past Cheshire Park ( site of CheshireCross 08, nov 22nd registration is open now! ) as the rest of the field slowed a bit and took their time getting up it. Once at the top, things got going again as Rondo, O'Shea and others set tempo. The 3 leaders were working well together and while they were being caught, it looked they had a good chance to make it to the sprint point. Mike McG jumped for the hill way early, leading out Hunter P. Hunter P jumped off with quite a ways to go as well, this time with Little T right on his wheel. T had little problem going around Hunter near the top. But it wasnt enough to catch Chris C, who had jumped from Todd H and Gregg F in a last ditch effort to get to the top of the hill first. Great job to the 3, pulling off the rare attack\sprint win.
The rest of the way into Hamden was standard issue. A good job by all was done to keep it safe and fast. Koski was up there again, Le Casey, Little T went hard and pulled off with a kilo to go, Gregg F and the Sommerville boys too. At the end Casey powered off and got to the light first.
Up the hill, it was too dark to see what happened... Hunter P, Chris B and Gregg F blah blah blah
Just a couple of more weeks to the off season....
The current poll on the side is for 08MVP of the TWC... It will run til the end of the month. Winner gets something very nice from the CCR prize pantry... to be awarded at some random point over the winter. Please vote honorably.... Based on speed, power, cunning, and marksmanship.
Tuesday the 30th
The ride rolled out peacefully with everyone happy with the 5:30 start. A couple of late riders joined up and we had about 35 out tonight. The ride started out calm but Guido was soon at it again, moving off the front, taunting a healthy Craig Luekens… Craig responded and soon closed the gap. Then it was Luekens, Guido and Brian (aka: anon) Koski riding off. Chris C drove the gap closed on that one with an assist from Dillon P. Moving onto South Brooksvale saw Peter P and Steve Grey moving up to the front.
On the initial riser up Mountain Rd. Hunter P attacked and got a gap but that was short lived as he was caught by Todd H, Petrillo and others. Moving onto the second set of risers Hunter P went again, but this time guys like Joe K were thinking the same thing and again he was brought back pretty quickly.
Toward the end of Mountain, there was a brief gap enjoyed by Peter P, Guido and a 3rd rider ( prolly ‘ol Cheesehead ), but it all would come together for the light. Onto Moss Farms where the pace wasn’t anything to write home about. Keltic riders Thompson and O’Shea where up there. Luekens too. Going into the chicane, Steve Grey, doing what he does so well, attacked on the descent and led everyone up the climb. From there it was all Luekens as he drilled it up and thru the corner. Moving into the industrial park Grey was still active in the front and Luekens as well. The 2 along with Mike McG and Hunter P were looking dangerous as the ride turned onto West Johnson ave.
Shortly after and a little farther up the road, Mike McG lept out with ambitions to grab the sprint point. Peter P was on his wheel. It looked like they had gotten a good jump on the rest, Grey and Todd H had moved to the front for the 1st riser on Reinhard. Sure enough though the drag race started, Little T on the left and Hunter P on the right. T ripped thru the front with the jumping bean Julio glued to his wheel. Hunter slotted in 3rd as the 3 passed Mike and Peter Peter pumpkin eater. Little T was not to be beaten, as he needed to keep the sprint going all the way up to the top to stay off of Hunter “Ullrich” P who had gotten back some momentum and gone over the top of Julio. But it wasn’t enough. Back a little bit Joe K was leading the rest of the field up and thru the corner.
Down the backside, the 3 sprinters along with Chris C and a couple of guys who jumped the gap quickly were looking like they could be enjoying a gap for Peck Ln. Chris Butler tho had other thoughts as he drilled that door shut on the way to Peck Ln, using 4 inch deck nails just to be on the safe side.
Onto Route 10 where some traffic at the corner slowed everyone down for the trip up the hill past Cheshire Park. The ride made the 3 next lights and things got rolling toward the Stop n Shop hill. Once again, despite a high pace coming into it, Little T jumped out in front of Peter P and Hunter P and snagged his 59,000th sprint in a row. Keep it up T and you will be given 2 bye weeks at Bethel next spring.
During the charge back into Hamden, Luekens stepped it up, Guido, Peter P, Chris C, an unknown rider atop a Ciocc, and a couple of others too. No one was able to stay with Little T for the unofficial-official finish. Going up the hill, Chris B jumped first and bestest, going convincingly over the top of Hunter P and not-so-Tri-today Doug
That’s all the time we have for today.
OFFICIAL’s COMMUNIQUE,
Riders DSQd (rule31aMMcG) :
Al Coholic
Oliver Clothesoff
Jacques Strap
Bea O'Problem
Ivana Tinkle
Maya Buttreeks
Ahmed Adoodie
Peter Petrillo
On the initial riser up Mountain Rd. Hunter P attacked and got a gap but that was short lived as he was caught by Todd H, Petrillo and others. Moving onto the second set of risers Hunter P went again, but this time guys like Joe K were thinking the same thing and again he was brought back pretty quickly.
Toward the end of Mountain, there was a brief gap enjoyed by Peter P, Guido and a 3rd rider ( prolly ‘ol Cheesehead ), but it all would come together for the light. Onto Moss Farms where the pace wasn’t anything to write home about. Keltic riders Thompson and O’Shea where up there. Luekens too. Going into the chicane, Steve Grey, doing what he does so well, attacked on the descent and led everyone up the climb. From there it was all Luekens as he drilled it up and thru the corner. Moving into the industrial park Grey was still active in the front and Luekens as well. The 2 along with Mike McG and Hunter P were looking dangerous as the ride turned onto West Johnson ave.
Shortly after and a little farther up the road, Mike McG lept out with ambitions to grab the sprint point. Peter P was on his wheel. It looked like they had gotten a good jump on the rest, Grey and Todd H had moved to the front for the 1st riser on Reinhard. Sure enough though the drag race started, Little T on the left and Hunter P on the right. T ripped thru the front with the jumping bean Julio glued to his wheel. Hunter slotted in 3rd as the 3 passed Mike and Peter Peter pumpkin eater. Little T was not to be beaten, as he needed to keep the sprint going all the way up to the top to stay off of Hunter “Ullrich” P who had gotten back some momentum and gone over the top of Julio. But it wasn’t enough. Back a little bit Joe K was leading the rest of the field up and thru the corner.
Down the backside, the 3 sprinters along with Chris C and a couple of guys who jumped the gap quickly were looking like they could be enjoying a gap for Peck Ln. Chris Butler tho had other thoughts as he drilled that door shut on the way to Peck Ln, using 4 inch deck nails just to be on the safe side.
Onto Route 10 where some traffic at the corner slowed everyone down for the trip up the hill past Cheshire Park. The ride made the 3 next lights and things got rolling toward the Stop n Shop hill. Once again, despite a high pace coming into it, Little T jumped out in front of Peter P and Hunter P and snagged his 59,000th sprint in a row. Keep it up T and you will be given 2 bye weeks at Bethel next spring.
During the charge back into Hamden, Luekens stepped it up, Guido, Peter P, Chris C, an unknown rider atop a Ciocc, and a couple of others too. No one was able to stay with Little T for the unofficial-official finish. Going up the hill, Chris B jumped first and bestest, going convincingly over the top of Hunter P and not-so-Tri-today Doug
That’s all the time we have for today.
OFFICIAL’s COMMUNIQUE,
Riders DSQd (rule31aMMcG) :
Al Coholic
Oliver Clothesoff
Jacques Strap
Bea O'Problem
Ivana Tinkle
Maya Buttreeks
Ahmed Adoodie
Peter Petrillo
Tuesday the 23rd
Chris the Cheese Cake Crowell and Tri Doug were so excited about tonight’s ride they both left the lot ahead of the group. Cheese Cake thought it would be nice to stop at Wentworths for a cone but the Tri Doug told him he is lactate intolerant and wanted nothing to do with the stop. After a quick stop Cheese toured the back roads of Cheshire alone, while enjoying his cookies and cream with rainbow sprinkles cone. Eric M and his Irish gang set off on N. Brooksvale to see if they could catch Cheese Cake and see if he would share some of that delicious cone. Upon their arrival they would realize that they were too late only to find his ice cream stained jersey. Once on to Mt. Rd. the pace was steady with the resident German, Gui-go Pullman doing his signature jump/grind away from the group. A lot of guys except for the sprinters were doing their fair share of the pace setting leading up to the Notch where we were all back together. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think I overheard Angry Rontoni giving mechanical advice to another rider…could this be? Off onto Moss Farms Rd Steve Gray AKA (The Pin Ball Wizard) rang everyone’s bell on his way through the whole peleton to fly solo through the chicane with reckless abandonment. The pace up the hill was slow tonight with the absence of Hunter P. Into the Industrial Park the pace was high as always with Pete P showing some late season form. That CCS seams to be working nicely for him or could it just be that goatee on, goatee off, goatee on, goatee off system (GOGOS). Le Casey also is starting to show some signs of good fitness and plans to peak for the CWC Sunday winter series, which runs from January 1st through February…LOOK OUT!
Leading up to Reinhard, Le Casey and Pete p. were still pushing the pace with all your favorite sprinters saving themselves for the assault on Mr. Little “t” - our seasons sprint points leader. This ride ends the sprint points race for the summer series…Little “t” wins with 130 points …at 129.9 points 2nd place goes to Hunter P. and with 129 points 3rd place goes to??? A steady pace was held all the way to Rt.10 and the streetlights were on. More sprint points were up for grabs and everyone was planning their attack.
This sprint is where Little T grabbed the .1 point he needed to over take Hunter P. for the championship. Congratulations! The Pin Ball wizard hit the flippers and topped the S&S hill solo. Mad Mike couldn’t hold the wheel in front of him and blamed it on the red light; the faster riders blew through ahead of him. He said it was too dark and the cars couldn’t see us…if they can’t see us how are they going to hit us? Cheese Cake claims the victory but I didn’t see him …did anybody?
Leading up to Reinhard, Le Casey and Pete p. were still pushing the pace with all your favorite sprinters saving themselves for the assault on Mr. Little “t” - our seasons sprint points leader. This ride ends the sprint points race for the summer series…Little “t” wins with 130 points …at 129.9 points 2nd place goes to Hunter P. and with 129 points 3rd place goes to??? A steady pace was held all the way to Rt.10 and the streetlights were on. More sprint points were up for grabs and everyone was planning their attack.
This sprint is where Little T grabbed the .1 point he needed to over take Hunter P. for the championship. Congratulations! The Pin Ball wizard hit the flippers and topped the S&S hill solo. Mad Mike couldn’t hold the wheel in front of him and blamed it on the red light; the faster riders blew through ahead of him. He said it was too dark and the cars couldn’t see us…if they can’t see us how are they going to hit us? Cheese Cake claims the victory but I didn’t see him …did anybody?
Tuesday the 16th
Another good ride tonight, even though the turnout was less than last week and it was a bit chilly.
Still plenty of pep in everyone's step as the best year for the TWC slowly comes to a close.
Right from the gun, Chris C had some ants in his pants and was off the front on Mount Sanford Rd. Hunter P jumped up to meet him and the two were away. Very quickly tho a new face on an older trek (orange jersey) flew up to bridge the gap. Older Trek kept right on going thru the two and teamwork was bad, so the 3 were caught pretty soon after. After the catch Guido came up and off the front, joining older trek. Hunter P closed that gap soon after. Coming up to North Brooksvale, Older Trek had again jumped off the front and then Eric M, sporting a new KNOG light, made the leap across with Steve Grey, and Tall John. The 4 looked dangerous up the road. Chris C wound up the legs and closed a fast moving gap with some help from Joe K and Hunter P.
Turning onto Mountain Rd, Steve G was by no means done and drilled it up the first riser. Things settled down a bit after that and a few guys were having a hand in the action. Just before the light, a small gap was ticking off with Chris C, Eric M, Jesse K and Thompson from keltic (?). But Peter P and Todd H were up at the front to bring it back together.
Onto Moss Farms, were it was calm for the most part. Eric M, despite being on a new and pretty Bianchi Cyclocross bike, was killing it up front. Getting toward the corner, the Turtle came up and jumped off the front. He was soon jioned by Tall John as the rest of the field was coming to order and getting ready for the chicane. Joe K was in the front chase for the hill after the chicane, he was followed by Hunter P as Tall john and the Turtle were passed and then Peter P came thru.
Into the industrial park where Steve G was at it again. Eric M too. older Trek again tried to go on the offensive, but Chris C shut it down. Mike McG also made his way up to the front along with Little T. Coming up to the intersection of Peck ln, Tri rider on a Trek and Guido were slipping off the front, perhaps in a bid to spoil the sprint. As guys settled in behind them Guido was actually making his way up the climbs and looking like he had an outside shot at it. Mike McG and Chris C were making their own gap behind Guido. Things all kinda evened out by the crest of the first section of Rienhard, tho Mike and Guido were still up the road. Lots of guys behind with a shot at it..... Joe K, Peter P, Steve G, Tall John.... All had to watch as Little T lit it up from the usual spot. Hunter P had a good look at his wheel and stayed with him as the two passed Guido. Mike had gone into sprint mode, as his initial plan of leading T out didnt really happen. T got the better of the 2 as he made it to the corner first followed close by Hunter P and Mike.
It was all together for the way back to route 10. Nothing really out of the ordinary happened coming up to the Stop n Shop sprint. Eric M was still killing it on his CX bike. Peter P too.
Another batch of sprinters came up for the run-in to the Stop n Shop. Jesse K and Steve G foremost amoug them. But again, Little T jumped out in front, again with Hunter P only able to keep up and not come around him. tourdealessio -2 \ the rest of us - 0
Heading into the finale, a late surge by a bunch of guys... Casey, Peter P, Steve G, Crazy Chris (?) and others almost got away with a steal... But Little T was there again to power thru at the right moment. Crazy Chris was able to on his wheel, and the two galloped off convincingly. It was quite dark, and it was hard to tell who got to the end first.... ummm Crazy Chris....perhaps....?
Up the hill, Hunter P was able to salvage some dignity by getting the very fast uphill sprint ahead of Chris Butler, Doug the Shark and Greg F.
Next week the CCR crew will be in Vegas for Interbike. Stay tuned for a guest editorial Sleeping Giant write-up from a very special Bubblicious kind of guy.......... And if you haven't noticed yet, we have added a survey box on the side over there... Check it out! We will come out with a fresh one every week.
ALSO -
Daily updates from our advertures at Interbike will be posted at cyclistsarenotrockstars.blogspot.com . So go there to check out all the things that Velonews.com to too primm and proper to post.
Still plenty of pep in everyone's step as the best year for the TWC slowly comes to a close.
Right from the gun, Chris C had some ants in his pants and was off the front on Mount Sanford Rd. Hunter P jumped up to meet him and the two were away. Very quickly tho a new face on an older trek (orange jersey) flew up to bridge the gap. Older Trek kept right on going thru the two and teamwork was bad, so the 3 were caught pretty soon after. After the catch Guido came up and off the front, joining older trek. Hunter P closed that gap soon after. Coming up to North Brooksvale, Older Trek had again jumped off the front and then Eric M, sporting a new KNOG light, made the leap across with Steve Grey, and Tall John. The 4 looked dangerous up the road. Chris C wound up the legs and closed a fast moving gap with some help from Joe K and Hunter P.
Turning onto Mountain Rd, Steve G was by no means done and drilled it up the first riser. Things settled down a bit after that and a few guys were having a hand in the action. Just before the light, a small gap was ticking off with Chris C, Eric M, Jesse K and Thompson from keltic (?). But Peter P and Todd H were up at the front to bring it back together.
Onto Moss Farms, were it was calm for the most part. Eric M, despite being on a new and pretty Bianchi Cyclocross bike, was killing it up front. Getting toward the corner, the Turtle came up and jumped off the front. He was soon jioned by Tall John as the rest of the field was coming to order and getting ready for the chicane. Joe K was in the front chase for the hill after the chicane, he was followed by Hunter P as Tall john and the Turtle were passed and then Peter P came thru.
Into the industrial park where Steve G was at it again. Eric M too. older Trek again tried to go on the offensive, but Chris C shut it down. Mike McG also made his way up to the front along with Little T. Coming up to the intersection of Peck ln, Tri rider on a Trek and Guido were slipping off the front, perhaps in a bid to spoil the sprint. As guys settled in behind them Guido was actually making his way up the climbs and looking like he had an outside shot at it. Mike McG and Chris C were making their own gap behind Guido. Things all kinda evened out by the crest of the first section of Rienhard, tho Mike and Guido were still up the road. Lots of guys behind with a shot at it..... Joe K, Peter P, Steve G, Tall John.... All had to watch as Little T lit it up from the usual spot. Hunter P had a good look at his wheel and stayed with him as the two passed Guido. Mike had gone into sprint mode, as his initial plan of leading T out didnt really happen. T got the better of the 2 as he made it to the corner first followed close by Hunter P and Mike.
It was all together for the way back to route 10. Nothing really out of the ordinary happened coming up to the Stop n Shop sprint. Eric M was still killing it on his CX bike. Peter P too.
Another batch of sprinters came up for the run-in to the Stop n Shop. Jesse K and Steve G foremost amoug them. But again, Little T jumped out in front, again with Hunter P only able to keep up and not come around him. tourdealessio -2 \ the rest of us - 0
Heading into the finale, a late surge by a bunch of guys... Casey, Peter P, Steve G, Crazy Chris (?) and others almost got away with a steal... But Little T was there again to power thru at the right moment. Crazy Chris was able to on his wheel, and the two galloped off convincingly. It was quite dark, and it was hard to tell who got to the end first.... ummm Crazy Chris....perhaps....?
Up the hill, Hunter P was able to salvage some dignity by getting the very fast uphill sprint ahead of Chris Butler, Doug the Shark and Greg F.
Next week the CCR crew will be in Vegas for Interbike. Stay tuned for a guest editorial Sleeping Giant write-up from a very special Bubblicious kind of guy.......... And if you haven't noticed yet, we have added a survey box on the side over there... Check it out! We will come out with a fresh one every week.
ALSO -
Daily updates from our advertures at Interbike will be posted at cyclistsarenotrockstars.blogspot.com . So go there to check out all the things that Velonews.com to too primm and proper to post.
Tuesday the 9th
Not much time for a post today guys... Working on some other top secret computer type stuff......
But for now lets focus on the fact that the rain clouds cleared in enough time to mercifully give us another week of the WTC... A few faces were missing.... But it was still a good, fast, tense ride as the squids worked hard at keeping the strong men close.
Right off Route 10, there was some efforts laid out that put the hairs up on the back of a few necks.
Eric M, Chris C and Hunter P all coming up to the front and were laying down a good tempo. Peter P and the Cog Wild, black-bike rider were keeping it fast as well. Ed Angeli came up right before the turn onto Mountain rd and hit it hard up the hill. That was covered soon and then Guido came thru with Dillon P attached to his wheel. The two were allowed to scamper off and they worked up a bit of a gap as they hit the risers by Higgans. It was short lived and all was together for the rest of the trip down Mountain.
Onto Moss Farms, where right away, the sight of Eric M, Hunter P, and Kyle F up front got the pace up high again. A little ways down the road, Hutner P attacked off the front, but no dice... Guys responded pretty quick to that. Coming into the chicane, Kyle F was off the front a bit with Tall John (?...Julio?...). But that was brought back on the hill up to the corner by Guido, French Casey, and others. From there to the industrial park was on the sedate side.
In the park, there was a trio of riders who kicked it, and were allowed to ride off... Kyle F again, and 2 Stage 1 riders (?)... Hunter P jumped hard to bridge before the corner of west johnson but that again got some guys all hot and bothered. Peter P and Mike McG picked up the slack and it was all together as the front group was breaking up anyway. On the way up to Reinhard there was plenty of movement...
Little T was not out tonight so guys were busy getting in a good spot as everyone musta felt like the pros do when Mark Cavendish doesn't show up to race. The pace onto Reinhard was slower than usual as rocket boosters were starting to mix fuel. Guido came up first with a strong pull on the left. Eric M and Juilo on the right side. Mike McG jumped next along side the PanAm champ. Hunter P was directly on mike's wheel but was quick to pop out and start the really long drag race to the top. Hunter was able to keep in front of Mike and the fast foreigner from Argentina. On the backside Mike had to stop cause his tire had a slow leak...
All together for the ride back to Route 10. Peter P and the PanAm champ were up there killing it on the hill past Cheshire Park. Moving along to the Stop n Shop sprint, Tall John was again, driving hard off the front for whoever wanted a good draft. The light was red at the top of the hill but that didnt stop Eric M from jumping hard to take it over Chris C, Todd H, and a couple others who put up a weak fight.
Moving along thru Cheshire was all normal... PanAm and Stage 1 up there drilling it home. Coming into the home stretch, there was a lot of action, a lot of guys thinking they could send it. Casey, Guido, Cog Wild, Peter P all up there... Julio jumped at the very end to get the strong finish.
Going up the hill was only Hunter P, Chris Butler, and Gregg F... Hunter P needed to start sprinting from 11teen hundred meters away to keep from letting Chris come by him and he was able to hold it till the top.
But for now lets focus on the fact that the rain clouds cleared in enough time to mercifully give us another week of the WTC... A few faces were missing.... But it was still a good, fast, tense ride as the squids worked hard at keeping the strong men close.
Right off Route 10, there was some efforts laid out that put the hairs up on the back of a few necks.
Eric M, Chris C and Hunter P all coming up to the front and were laying down a good tempo. Peter P and the Cog Wild, black-bike rider were keeping it fast as well. Ed Angeli came up right before the turn onto Mountain rd and hit it hard up the hill. That was covered soon and then Guido came thru with Dillon P attached to his wheel. The two were allowed to scamper off and they worked up a bit of a gap as they hit the risers by Higgans. It was short lived and all was together for the rest of the trip down Mountain.
Onto Moss Farms, where right away, the sight of Eric M, Hunter P, and Kyle F up front got the pace up high again. A little ways down the road, Hutner P attacked off the front, but no dice... Guys responded pretty quick to that. Coming into the chicane, Kyle F was off the front a bit with Tall John (?...Julio?...). But that was brought back on the hill up to the corner by Guido, French Casey, and others. From there to the industrial park was on the sedate side.
In the park, there was a trio of riders who kicked it, and were allowed to ride off... Kyle F again, and 2 Stage 1 riders (?)... Hunter P jumped hard to bridge before the corner of west johnson but that again got some guys all hot and bothered. Peter P and Mike McG picked up the slack and it was all together as the front group was breaking up anyway. On the way up to Reinhard there was plenty of movement...
Little T was not out tonight so guys were busy getting in a good spot as everyone musta felt like the pros do when Mark Cavendish doesn't show up to race. The pace onto Reinhard was slower than usual as rocket boosters were starting to mix fuel. Guido came up first with a strong pull on the left. Eric M and Juilo on the right side. Mike McG jumped next along side the PanAm champ. Hunter P was directly on mike's wheel but was quick to pop out and start the really long drag race to the top. Hunter was able to keep in front of Mike and the fast foreigner from Argentina. On the backside Mike had to stop cause his tire had a slow leak...
All together for the ride back to Route 10. Peter P and the PanAm champ were up there killing it on the hill past Cheshire Park. Moving along to the Stop n Shop sprint, Tall John was again, driving hard off the front for whoever wanted a good draft. The light was red at the top of the hill but that didnt stop Eric M from jumping hard to take it over Chris C, Todd H, and a couple others who put up a weak fight.
Moving along thru Cheshire was all normal... PanAm and Stage 1 up there drilling it home. Coming into the home stretch, there was a lot of action, a lot of guys thinking they could send it. Casey, Guido, Cog Wild, Peter P all up there... Julio jumped at the very end to get the strong finish.
Going up the hill was only Hunter P, Chris Butler, and Gregg F... Hunter P needed to start sprinting from 11teen hundred meters away to keep from letting Chris come by him and he was able to hold it till the top.
Tuesday the 2nd
Was is fast? Was it slow? We cant make up our minds....
Fun ride tonight as there are some factors that would make it interesting...
As this may be the last 6 pm ride, there was def a sense of urgency and finality... Chris Jones was back in town. This time with a Team Type 1 teammate to back him up no doubt... The TWC has gotten faster since he left.... And Peter Petrillo was sporting a new goatee that was sure to add at least 3-4 mph to the night's average.
Pretty much right off Route 10, things got interesting with Mike McG coming up to the front and setting above average tempo. He had Eric M and Stage 1 up there to help. Things calmed down a bit and riding onto Mount Sanford, Tall John and Guido jetted off the front as the front of the ride decided what next to do. Hunter P responded shortly thereafter with a hard jump up to the 2, tugging Mike McG along with a few others. The quick bridge up, coupled with some traffic thru the S. Brooksvale corner for the peleton meant that a group formed off the front for the trip down to Mountain Rd.
Mike McG, tall John, Guido, Hunter P, Little T, VQ Rob, Peter P, Brian Wirtz, Supa Dave ?... Probably a couple others... all with a decent and semi scary gap on the field.
Back in the peleton, Eric M and other Stage 1 riders were working to close the gap and by the turn onto Mountain there was some splintering of the front group and it all came back together as everyone rode tempo up the first riser on Mountain Rd. For the rest of Mountain Rd everyone was together, and the work load at the front was spread around.
Onto Moss Farms where off the front rode VQ Rob, Pete on a Scott, (Seven rider too?). The trio hovered just out of reach for the front of the peleton for a few seconds and then riders started popping off the front to join up... Eric M, O'Shea, Guido, etc. This only served to bring everything back together and heading into the chicane it was all a-bunch. On the hill up to Marion, French Casey, proving that last week was not a fluke, freight trained up to the front and led the ride thru the corner. From there it was a combination of riders keeping it going.
Into the industrial park where again Casey was at it along with another new rider atop an all black bike (?) but things were pretty sedate as everyone turned their attention to the sprint.
The pace was solid heading up to Reinhard. There were a couple of guys that used the West Johnson hill to get into position. Steve Grey, Fuji Chris, Julio L, a ex-Pan Am Champion in a pink&green jersey, O'Shea and others. Julio jumped hard first along with Hunter P, but Little T jumped harder and later and got the sprint while Hunter P put up a decent\but losing fight. Down the backside where O'shea went hard and off the front for a quick bit, but it was together for the trip onto Peck Ln.
Moving towards Route 10, Tall John, the Turtle, and VQ Rob took off in pursuit of glory but Stage 1 riders Todd H and Supa Dave did a good job of covering the gap going up the hill past Cheshire Park ( site of CheshireCross 08.... Nov 22nd... ) Mike McG jumped hard to pull the ride up the crest of the hill to make sure that no one was skirting off the front.
Coming up to the Stop n Shop sprint, there was a trio of riders off the front trying to catch the favorites off guard. Tall John and ??? and ??? (Kyle F?) Anyway, they were caught just as the fireworks started... Again, a lot of guys in position, but this time Chris C was faster and laughing all the way to the bank as Little T had his hands full with fighting off the PanAm champ. Good job Chris!
Past Cheshire and heading into Hamden, Casey was again at it, getting in a solid effort off the front. For the very end it got proper fast, with the Type 1 boys up in the hizzous. Rondo drilled it hard with 2k to go, that was followed by Mike McG going all out for 500 meters. In the end Little T was able to out last the others.... and Peter P's facial hair.... But just barely... Another day racking up the euros for Alessio..
up the hill, Mason from Darmouth got a good start, he was joined halfway up by Tri-Doug and then Hunter P. All of them were caught by Chris Butler and Chris had no problem sprinting away from Doug and then Mason...
Fun ride tonight as there are some factors that would make it interesting...
As this may be the last 6 pm ride, there was def a sense of urgency and finality... Chris Jones was back in town. This time with a Team Type 1 teammate to back him up no doubt... The TWC has gotten faster since he left.... And Peter Petrillo was sporting a new goatee that was sure to add at least 3-4 mph to the night's average.
Pretty much right off Route 10, things got interesting with Mike McG coming up to the front and setting above average tempo. He had Eric M and Stage 1 up there to help. Things calmed down a bit and riding onto Mount Sanford, Tall John and Guido jetted off the front as the front of the ride decided what next to do. Hunter P responded shortly thereafter with a hard jump up to the 2, tugging Mike McG along with a few others. The quick bridge up, coupled with some traffic thru the S. Brooksvale corner for the peleton meant that a group formed off the front for the trip down to Mountain Rd.
Mike McG, tall John, Guido, Hunter P, Little T, VQ Rob, Peter P, Brian Wirtz, Supa Dave ?... Probably a couple others... all with a decent and semi scary gap on the field.
Back in the peleton, Eric M and other Stage 1 riders were working to close the gap and by the turn onto Mountain there was some splintering of the front group and it all came back together as everyone rode tempo up the first riser on Mountain Rd. For the rest of Mountain Rd everyone was together, and the work load at the front was spread around.
Onto Moss Farms where off the front rode VQ Rob, Pete on a Scott, (Seven rider too?). The trio hovered just out of reach for the front of the peleton for a few seconds and then riders started popping off the front to join up... Eric M, O'Shea, Guido, etc. This only served to bring everything back together and heading into the chicane it was all a-bunch. On the hill up to Marion, French Casey, proving that last week was not a fluke, freight trained up to the front and led the ride thru the corner. From there it was a combination of riders keeping it going.
Into the industrial park where again Casey was at it along with another new rider atop an all black bike (?) but things were pretty sedate as everyone turned their attention to the sprint.
The pace was solid heading up to Reinhard. There were a couple of guys that used the West Johnson hill to get into position. Steve Grey, Fuji Chris, Julio L, a ex-Pan Am Champion in a pink&green jersey, O'Shea and others. Julio jumped hard first along with Hunter P, but Little T jumped harder and later and got the sprint while Hunter P put up a decent\but losing fight. Down the backside where O'shea went hard and off the front for a quick bit, but it was together for the trip onto Peck Ln.
Moving towards Route 10, Tall John, the Turtle, and VQ Rob took off in pursuit of glory but Stage 1 riders Todd H and Supa Dave did a good job of covering the gap going up the hill past Cheshire Park ( site of CheshireCross 08.... Nov 22nd... ) Mike McG jumped hard to pull the ride up the crest of the hill to make sure that no one was skirting off the front.
Coming up to the Stop n Shop sprint, there was a trio of riders off the front trying to catch the favorites off guard. Tall John and ??? and ??? (Kyle F?) Anyway, they were caught just as the fireworks started... Again, a lot of guys in position, but this time Chris C was faster and laughing all the way to the bank as Little T had his hands full with fighting off the PanAm champ. Good job Chris!
Past Cheshire and heading into Hamden, Casey was again at it, getting in a solid effort off the front. For the very end it got proper fast, with the Type 1 boys up in the hizzous. Rondo drilled it hard with 2k to go, that was followed by Mike McG going all out for 500 meters. In the end Little T was able to out last the others.... and Peter P's facial hair.... But just barely... Another day racking up the euros for Alessio..
up the hill, Mason from Darmouth got a good start, he was joined halfway up by Tri-Doug and then Hunter P. All of them were caught by Chris Butler and Chris had no problem sprinting away from Doug and then Mason...
Tuesday the 26th
Summer winding down......Ride is still hot hot hot though
Big group out tonight as some guys are left feeling they need to make a point or two before the season is up... Pretty much right away the ride was under pressure from Stage 1 riders Chris C and Todd H. Through the cobbles there was some partial gaps that were developing, but everybody got the point pretty quick. Tonight would be on the brisk side.
VQ Rob did his part as well, jumping off before Mountain road... Again, brief gaps then recollecting then further accelerations...
After the first climb of Mountain Rd, Chris C and Mason from Dartmouth hit "play" on the remote and were away... VQ Rob jumped next to catch them just as they were hitting the small steps after Higgans Rd. Then Hunter P launched up to bridge. Joe K was on his wheel like flys to stink...
Joe kept on, riding thru the group, now the front of the Peleton as everyone had cought up. Fuji Chris was riding hard and off the front to catch Joe. The Rider on the Seven as well. There were a couple of newish faces up there driving the pace, and several had a hand in keeping up the tempo, But Joe was doing an impressive job of staying 7-10 seconds away from everyone's germs. Coming up to the stop light on route 68\70, Joe made it thru cleanly, while the peleton missed it by 2 seconds. There was some speculation as to whether Joe would wait, but that was dashed to pieces when there was no sight of him on Moss Farms. Bookie Rondo started putting odds on his chances \ when he would be caught \ who would be taking credit for the chase.
Cruising down Moss Farms, Kyle F, VQ Rob, & Seven had jumped off the front and were working together to create a gap. Coming into the chicane tho, everyone was together under the pressure from Eric M, Peter P, and Tall John. As the feild turned into the Industrial Park, Joe could be seen up the road. 20 seconds is all he had after the light now.
In the park, Mike McG as near the front, spurning riders along. Eric M as well. Empire Matt came up towards the end and that got everyone's attention as well. As the front of the peleton came up to the 4-way intersection of Peck ln, Joe was valiantly fighing the catch off. As the group came up to the corner of Reinhard, a small elite group had formed just off the front in anticipation of the catch and sprint. Empire Matt, Julio L, Greg C, Hunter P, Mike McG, Seven, Thompson from Keltic, Supa Dave(?) from Stage 1, Chris C(?) maybe a couple others. Joe was caught before the sprint started and Mike had little problem taking it to the top of the hill. Hats off to Joe for the strong solo effort. Just goes to show the speed of the ride, erasing 45-60 seconds on a strong dude like Joe K.
Onto Peck Ln, Where VQ Rob, Eric M, Thompson from Keltic, Hunter P and couple others all had a hand in keeping the speed high. Coming up to Rt 10, Chris C and Rob had jumped a bit off the front. Hunter P bridged up and the 3 had a small but no-joking-around gap heading up the hill past the park. (site of CheshireCross 08! Get your CX bikes out!) By the top of the hill it was down to just Chris & Hunter and soon they would get swallowed up by the juggernaut.
Fast forwarding to the Stop&Shop sprint, Tall John was again flexing might and leading out what seemed like too many riders. In the end Little T, coming off injury, out kicked Mike McG to the top.
Reds lights-a-plenty in through town, and as the ride made its way back, it became pretty gnarly at the front. Riders spread 6 across the road at some points, and a couple of heavy brakes making things interesting... Perhaps the season is winding down just in the knick of time...
In the end Peter P dug China-deep to overtake Little T for the last man standing award... Good job Pete.
On the hill, Mason had a bit of a headstart, but was tracked down by a whipped Hunter P, Greg F from CCR took over, going up and past, but towing Chris B who was lurking in the shadows all ride. Chris jumped hard and last to take the top, with Greg, Mason, VQ Rob on cool down mode, hunter and a couple others all in the back. Good to see more guys braving it out to the high point of the TWC.
Big group out tonight as some guys are left feeling they need to make a point or two before the season is up... Pretty much right away the ride was under pressure from Stage 1 riders Chris C and Todd H. Through the cobbles there was some partial gaps that were developing, but everybody got the point pretty quick. Tonight would be on the brisk side.
VQ Rob did his part as well, jumping off before Mountain road... Again, brief gaps then recollecting then further accelerations...
After the first climb of Mountain Rd, Chris C and Mason from Dartmouth hit "play" on the remote and were away... VQ Rob jumped next to catch them just as they were hitting the small steps after Higgans Rd. Then Hunter P launched up to bridge. Joe K was on his wheel like flys to stink...
Joe kept on, riding thru the group, now the front of the Peleton as everyone had cought up. Fuji Chris was riding hard and off the front to catch Joe. The Rider on the Seven as well. There were a couple of newish faces up there driving the pace, and several had a hand in keeping up the tempo, But Joe was doing an impressive job of staying 7-10 seconds away from everyone's germs. Coming up to the stop light on route 68\70, Joe made it thru cleanly, while the peleton missed it by 2 seconds. There was some speculation as to whether Joe would wait, but that was dashed to pieces when there was no sight of him on Moss Farms. Bookie Rondo started putting odds on his chances \ when he would be caught \ who would be taking credit for the chase.
Cruising down Moss Farms, Kyle F, VQ Rob, & Seven had jumped off the front and were working together to create a gap. Coming into the chicane tho, everyone was together under the pressure from Eric M, Peter P, and Tall John. As the feild turned into the Industrial Park, Joe could be seen up the road. 20 seconds is all he had after the light now.
In the park, Mike McG as near the front, spurning riders along. Eric M as well. Empire Matt came up towards the end and that got everyone's attention as well. As the front of the peleton came up to the 4-way intersection of Peck ln, Joe was valiantly fighing the catch off. As the group came up to the corner of Reinhard, a small elite group had formed just off the front in anticipation of the catch and sprint. Empire Matt, Julio L, Greg C, Hunter P, Mike McG, Seven, Thompson from Keltic, Supa Dave(?) from Stage 1, Chris C(?) maybe a couple others. Joe was caught before the sprint started and Mike had little problem taking it to the top of the hill. Hats off to Joe for the strong solo effort. Just goes to show the speed of the ride, erasing 45-60 seconds on a strong dude like Joe K.
Onto Peck Ln, Where VQ Rob, Eric M, Thompson from Keltic, Hunter P and couple others all had a hand in keeping the speed high. Coming up to Rt 10, Chris C and Rob had jumped a bit off the front. Hunter P bridged up and the 3 had a small but no-joking-around gap heading up the hill past the park. (site of CheshireCross 08! Get your CX bikes out!) By the top of the hill it was down to just Chris & Hunter and soon they would get swallowed up by the juggernaut.
Fast forwarding to the Stop&Shop sprint, Tall John was again flexing might and leading out what seemed like too many riders. In the end Little T, coming off injury, out kicked Mike McG to the top.
Reds lights-a-plenty in through town, and as the ride made its way back, it became pretty gnarly at the front. Riders spread 6 across the road at some points, and a couple of heavy brakes making things interesting... Perhaps the season is winding down just in the knick of time...
In the end Peter P dug China-deep to overtake Little T for the last man standing award... Good job Pete.
On the hill, Mason had a bit of a headstart, but was tracked down by a whipped Hunter P, Greg F from CCR took over, going up and past, but towing Chris B who was lurking in the shadows all ride. Chris jumped hard and last to take the top, with Greg, Mason, VQ Rob on cool down mode, hunter and a couple others all in the back. Good to see more guys braving it out to the high point of the TWC.
Tuesday the 19th
First off.... If you haven't seen it:
the video
We have a copy of the article at the shop, in case anyone would like to see it. It indeed shows off the ride honestly and is "pro racer".
Onto the ride....
Today was a bit slower than usual. Maybe the cooler air was reminding people that summer is coming to a close.
There was no action until Mount Sanford Rd when Guido and Tall John took control and sped things up at the front. Moving onto Mountain rd where Chris C went first up the hill, charging off with Todd H in tow. Things got moving after that and a few different faces were up front for the rest of Mountain Rd. Rondo and a new rider in a full Fuji kit (one of the McCormick bros perhaps?) took off near the end of Mountain, but were brought back in time for the light.
Moss Farms is where Guido, a new rider in a black helmet, and the Seven Cycles rider took off, but they were given little room to roam and soon it was Stage 1 at the front again with Chris C and Super Dave at the helm. Things shuffled around a bit before the chicane and it was Eric M, joe K, and Tall John, all trying to sneak off the front. Eric got the hill before Marion first but he was caught by the rest of them halfway up. The usual suspects were back to driving the pace up and past the corner; Foremost was Joe K.... Also Little T, Mike McG, Hunter P and the mystery Fuji rider again. Joe K and Rondo ended up working the front as the ride moved into the industrial park. Still the pace was under control.
Speeds came down a bit up till the run into Reinhard. That hill took its usual toll and filtered out the front to a select group. There was a bit of a gap as the ride turned right onto Reinhard. Chris C, Julio L from Stage 1, O'Shea from Keltic, Mike McG, Little T, Fuji, Joe K, Eric M, Yahor Buben (?!) from CCB as well. There may have been a couple more... Hunter P was late in getting up to the group, but was there for Mike's jump at the base of the climb... Little T rocketed up and away, taking only the CCB rider with him. Nearly 200 meters is what Little T had to hold it for and still CCB wouldnt ( couldnt? ) come around. Great job T.
CCB charged on on the downhill whereas Little T sat up. Behind them, Hunter P led O'Shea and Julio L up thru the corner right behind the 2 in front. Hunter P and O'Shea drilled it on the descent and soon caught the CCB rider. Then Ed Angeli from Benidorm ( good to see him out on the ride ) rode up to the group after bridging on the descent. That would set up a break of 5 that certainly would have plenty of horsies. The 5 worked well for the rest of Peck Ln as the peleton chased behind. Several contributed to the chase, Mike McG up Peck, Chris C, Guido and others. As the front group turned onto RT 10 some sat up, which left just Hunter P and O'Shea to charge up past Cheshire Park. But they too would be caught by the top.
As the ride neared Stop n Shop, Tall John, always playing the rebel to conventional wisdom, jumped out in front with Rondo in tow. Hunter P jumped hard to close the gap to the 2 just as they hit the base of the hill. The leadout was for naught, as Rondo and Hunter sat up just in time for Eric M to come flying by at take the sprint point.
The rest of the ride was normal... O'Shea, Eric M, Stage 1, and Tall John were back to drilling it in the lead-in to Hamden. On cue, with 1k to go, a train lead by Mike McG came barreling by which set up Little T nicely. Again, he had company as CCB was velcroed to his wheel. Little T was still able to finish in front, even with CCB out of saddle cheating to get around....
wow to that...
Next week we will strap a power meter to T's wheel and see if we cant melt some expensive electronics.
the video
We have a copy of the article at the shop, in case anyone would like to see it. It indeed shows off the ride honestly and is "pro racer".
Onto the ride....
Today was a bit slower than usual. Maybe the cooler air was reminding people that summer is coming to a close.
There was no action until Mount Sanford Rd when Guido and Tall John took control and sped things up at the front. Moving onto Mountain rd where Chris C went first up the hill, charging off with Todd H in tow. Things got moving after that and a few different faces were up front for the rest of Mountain Rd. Rondo and a new rider in a full Fuji kit (one of the McCormick bros perhaps?) took off near the end of Mountain, but were brought back in time for the light.
Moss Farms is where Guido, a new rider in a black helmet, and the Seven Cycles rider took off, but they were given little room to roam and soon it was Stage 1 at the front again with Chris C and Super Dave at the helm. Things shuffled around a bit before the chicane and it was Eric M, joe K, and Tall John, all trying to sneak off the front. Eric got the hill before Marion first but he was caught by the rest of them halfway up. The usual suspects were back to driving the pace up and past the corner; Foremost was Joe K.... Also Little T, Mike McG, Hunter P and the mystery Fuji rider again. Joe K and Rondo ended up working the front as the ride moved into the industrial park. Still the pace was under control.
Speeds came down a bit up till the run into Reinhard. That hill took its usual toll and filtered out the front to a select group. There was a bit of a gap as the ride turned right onto Reinhard. Chris C, Julio L from Stage 1, O'Shea from Keltic, Mike McG, Little T, Fuji, Joe K, Eric M, Yahor Buben (?!) from CCB as well. There may have been a couple more... Hunter P was late in getting up to the group, but was there for Mike's jump at the base of the climb... Little T rocketed up and away, taking only the CCB rider with him. Nearly 200 meters is what Little T had to hold it for and still CCB wouldnt ( couldnt? ) come around. Great job T.
CCB charged on on the downhill whereas Little T sat up. Behind them, Hunter P led O'Shea and Julio L up thru the corner right behind the 2 in front. Hunter P and O'Shea drilled it on the descent and soon caught the CCB rider. Then Ed Angeli from Benidorm ( good to see him out on the ride ) rode up to the group after bridging on the descent. That would set up a break of 5 that certainly would have plenty of horsies. The 5 worked well for the rest of Peck Ln as the peleton chased behind. Several contributed to the chase, Mike McG up Peck, Chris C, Guido and others. As the front group turned onto RT 10 some sat up, which left just Hunter P and O'Shea to charge up past Cheshire Park. But they too would be caught by the top.
As the ride neared Stop n Shop, Tall John, always playing the rebel to conventional wisdom, jumped out in front with Rondo in tow. Hunter P jumped hard to close the gap to the 2 just as they hit the base of the hill. The leadout was for naught, as Rondo and Hunter sat up just in time for Eric M to come flying by at take the sprint point.
The rest of the ride was normal... O'Shea, Eric M, Stage 1, and Tall John were back to drilling it in the lead-in to Hamden. On cue, with 1k to go, a train lead by Mike McG came barreling by which set up Little T nicely. Again, he had company as CCB was velcroed to his wheel. Little T was still able to finish in front, even with CCB out of saddle cheating to get around....
wow to that...
Next week we will strap a power meter to T's wheel and see if we cant melt some expensive electronics.
Tuesday the 12th
First off. VOTE FOR CHESHIRE CYCLE in the Readers Choice Awards!
If you enjoy reading the blog, surely you have reason to cast a few votes and get the shop recognized. Thanks for your support. Make sure you vote for at least 24 other categories.
(and while you are at it, Pop's Pizza is hands down the best in Cheshire, vote for them too.)
Ok on tonight's action.... vacations perhaps thinned the ride out a little today. Only around 45 guys out.
Heading out of the start house and into Cheshire, John Gregory and Jesse from Keltic were lighting it up. Also Rick on a C-Dale and a couple of others. On Brooksvale a small gap was briefly opened under the efforts of a very aerodynamic Tall John. But it didnt last long and the whole ride was together to Mountain Rd. Eric M and Chris C led everyone up the first riser on Mountain.
Tall John again fired off some bullets by jumping on Mountain road. The ride was humming along at this point. There was gapping being done by the end of Mountain Rd. Chris C, Rondo, Jesse K, Tall John, a yale rider, and a couple of others had a bit a of gap with 1k to go on Mountain. But Eric M and Hunter P closed it down before the light came up.
Onto Moss Farms where Stage 1 riders Dave Hartmann ( ?!) and one other (George D?!) came up and started going hard. By the Chicane, the two Stage 1 guys had been at the front for 3\4 mile. Impressive... Up the hill to Marion was quick and there was a group again beginning to form up the road a bit. Chris C, Julio, Dave, tall John, Todd H, Rider on a Storck and a couple of others were just out there, dangling at 30 yards. It took efforts by Eric M, a now regular Rider in a Yellow&Blck kit, and Hunter P to bring them back by the industrial park.
Crazy Chris and Chris C were all about the Industrial Park tonight, leading at least two separate charges when no one else would step up. Onto West Johnson where Eric M & the Rider on the Storck were trying to sneak away off the front. Hunter P then jumped hard after the intersection for Peck ln, no doubt trying to spoil the Little T sprinting tutorial that was soon to come on Rienhart. Joe K jumped even harder after a few seconds and the two looked dangerous charging up the hill. This got this into alert mode in the field. Mike McG ( looking serious with his racing set of wheels on for the day ) came up and did the lions share of the chase. Joe and Hunter would be caught pretty early on Reinhard, but the acceleration certainly would change things up for the sprint. There was no killer Mike McG jump\leadout this time and there actually was a rider who snuck away on his own ( name, I.D. ? ). But Julio from Stage 1 had been riding the wave well and jumped hard at the right moment, and was able to collect the prize at the top o the hill.
It all came back together on the descent but Mike McG had a huge tech failure on the "cobbles" down the backside. At 30+ mph his steerer tube broke, leaving him with out handlebars. In a move that would make Ned Overend wonder how, Mike was able to no-hands it for a couple of crucial seconds till Dillon P ( Vote for his shop! See above link, seems only fair, help save Mike... get a couple of votes ) got hold of Mike's shoulder to steady him. Mike had the wherewithal to reach to his left and grab hold of Dave from Stage 1 and the 3 slowly came to a stop. Dave, doing the majority of the braking, got caught up in Mike's bike when Mike had to skip-stop out of the pedals to come to full stop. ( apparently coming to full rest on a bike is hard when there is no handlebar.... go figure )... In the end, no one got badly hurt despite it being pretty much the worst thing that can happen on a bumpy descent.
The whole ride, tho in front of this, held up and waited for while... Soft pedaling to Route 10. Buy the time Rt 10 came, there was a smaller group of about 15-20 that were content to keep going.
Reporting on the rest of the ride is sort of needless, as the rest of the night, riders were coming back to Hamden in small groups. The head group continued along at full speed once on RT 10. Jesse from Keltic nearly got the Stop n Shop sprint... Joe K was able to pass him just in the nick of time on the top of th hill, bearing down hard on a red light.... So it was close. The front group did have the pleasure of seeing Greg C from Keltic, at Dairy Queen in Cheshire, enjoying a blizzard with his new girlfriend... Ah, budding romance.....
Coming in to the finale, Jesse was giving Hunter P a good fight, along with a new rider atop a red Giant. Hunter P got it in the end.
The rest of the ride cruised in.... Mike was able to re-set his steerer tube and nurse it back home...
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Ok on tonight's action.... vacations perhaps thinned the ride out a little today. Only around 45 guys out.
Heading out of the start house and into Cheshire, John Gregory and Jesse from Keltic were lighting it up. Also Rick on a C-Dale and a couple of others. On Brooksvale a small gap was briefly opened under the efforts of a very aerodynamic Tall John. But it didnt last long and the whole ride was together to Mountain Rd. Eric M and Chris C led everyone up the first riser on Mountain.
Tall John again fired off some bullets by jumping on Mountain road. The ride was humming along at this point. There was gapping being done by the end of Mountain Rd. Chris C, Rondo, Jesse K, Tall John, a yale rider, and a couple of others had a bit a of gap with 1k to go on Mountain. But Eric M and Hunter P closed it down before the light came up.
Onto Moss Farms where Stage 1 riders Dave Hartmann ( ?!) and one other (George D?!) came up and started going hard. By the Chicane, the two Stage 1 guys had been at the front for 3\4 mile. Impressive... Up the hill to Marion was quick and there was a group again beginning to form up the road a bit. Chris C, Julio, Dave, tall John, Todd H, Rider on a Storck and a couple of others were just out there, dangling at 30 yards. It took efforts by Eric M, a now regular Rider in a Yellow&Blck kit, and Hunter P to bring them back by the industrial park.
Crazy Chris and Chris C were all about the Industrial Park tonight, leading at least two separate charges when no one else would step up. Onto West Johnson where Eric M & the Rider on the Storck were trying to sneak away off the front. Hunter P then jumped hard after the intersection for Peck ln, no doubt trying to spoil the Little T sprinting tutorial that was soon to come on Rienhart. Joe K jumped even harder after a few seconds and the two looked dangerous charging up the hill. This got this into alert mode in the field. Mike McG ( looking serious with his racing set of wheels on for the day ) came up and did the lions share of the chase. Joe and Hunter would be caught pretty early on Reinhard, but the acceleration certainly would change things up for the sprint. There was no killer Mike McG jump\leadout this time and there actually was a rider who snuck away on his own ( name, I.D. ? ). But Julio from Stage 1 had been riding the wave well and jumped hard at the right moment, and was able to collect the prize at the top o the hill.
It all came back together on the descent but Mike McG had a huge tech failure on the "cobbles" down the backside. At 30+ mph his steerer tube broke, leaving him with out handlebars. In a move that would make Ned Overend wonder how, Mike was able to no-hands it for a couple of crucial seconds till Dillon P ( Vote for his shop! See above link, seems only fair, help save Mike... get a couple of votes ) got hold of Mike's shoulder to steady him. Mike had the wherewithal to reach to his left and grab hold of Dave from Stage 1 and the 3 slowly came to a stop. Dave, doing the majority of the braking, got caught up in Mike's bike when Mike had to skip-stop out of the pedals to come to full stop. ( apparently coming to full rest on a bike is hard when there is no handlebar.... go figure )... In the end, no one got badly hurt despite it being pretty much the worst thing that can happen on a bumpy descent.
The whole ride, tho in front of this, held up and waited for while... Soft pedaling to Route 10. Buy the time Rt 10 came, there was a smaller group of about 15-20 that were content to keep going.
Reporting on the rest of the ride is sort of needless, as the rest of the night, riders were coming back to Hamden in small groups. The head group continued along at full speed once on RT 10. Jesse from Keltic nearly got the Stop n Shop sprint... Joe K was able to pass him just in the nick of time on the top of th hill, bearing down hard on a red light.... So it was close. The front group did have the pleasure of seeing Greg C from Keltic, at Dairy Queen in Cheshire, enjoying a blizzard with his new girlfriend... Ah, budding romance.....
Coming in to the finale, Jesse was giving Hunter P a good fight, along with a new rider atop a red Giant. Hunter P got it in the end.
The rest of the ride cruised in.... Mike was able to re-set his steerer tube and nurse it back home...
Tuesday the 5th
Extra Extra read all about it. Sleeping Giant Ride is finally considered news worthy. Local networks are rushing for TV rights. We will all be rich!
Dillon P here at Cheshire Cycle suggested to a reporter that he come out and do a quick story about the champion-like efforts that are put on display every week for the WTCs. Jamison was a nice fellow, along with his cute video-grapher. Hopefully we will have some news soon about the result of his visit to the launchpad.
Onto the ride where there was a lower than usual turnout. Maybe 45-50 guys, probably less. A few notables were missing.
Turning off RT 10 saw Eric M, Rich on a C-dale and Hunter P setting early tempo. Peter P was out and also drilling it. Kyle F, back from a bit of a hiatus, got things going on Mount Sanford, riding off alone. The front of the ride was content to let him dangle out there. Guido jumped up to bridge but was stuck in between for the length of Brooksvale but eventually caught him going onto Mountain Rd.
Eric M and Peter P were going hard on Mountain and the two were brought back pretty quick on the first riser. VQ Rob was also up there and kept it motoring after the catch was made. Up the second riser Hunter P and Rondo were setting a good pace and there were a couple of small gaps but nothing really developed for the rest of the way down Mountain Rd. Good pace making was seen by Stage 1 riders Todd H and Julio L.
Onto Moss Farms were the real fireworks started. VQ Rob snuck off the light at Rt 68 quickly and was making a solo effort. Eric M jumped right away on Moss Farms and took Hunter P along with him. The 2 went by Rob and kept it up. Back in the field, high pace was set by Peter P and Chris C and a couple of others. Just when Eric and Hunter were turning the attack off a group of riders came up, sporting a respectable gap behind them. The front of the ride quickly got organized and there was a break. Textbook peleton sifting!
The break, (not all listed, if we missed you let us know, we will correct it):
VQ Rob
Eric M
Hunter P
Peter P
Julio L
Todd H
Gregg F
Assos kit on a Seven
Chris C
Rich B (sachs)
Guido
The group was strong and got to work quickly. By the Chicane they had maybe 10 seconds. Going up the hill toward Marion was a controlled effort, and no one fell off the pace. Hunter P and Eric M doing a good job keeping it tight and together. Behind them, Mike McG, not one to be left out, had attacked and was taking along Little T. There were a couple of other guys who were also trying to make up the gap. By the turn onto Knotter Mike, Little T, and Crazy Chris from Stage 1 had made the lead group. Others made it too... Going into the industrial park, the group had grown to maybe 20.
No one was in a hurry to attack from here and the lead grew over the peleton that was now being powered by Kyle F, John Gregory, Rondo, Morgan from Keltic and only a couple others. Team work was not great and there was little chance of catching so much muscle up the road.
Up front, heading to the Reinhard Sprint, Mike McG started it off for no one in particular, others followed. Little T jumped next, but still with a long way to go. Hunter P was on his wheel a bit late and had to settle for second as there was no beating "The T" this time. It all came back together on the descent. Though Rich B lost a bottle on the cobbles and was out of the break. There was damage done to others as well. The group lost a few but also picked up a few short-cutters. From there to RT 10 it was pretty solid as the break dealt with a headwind. There was a brief split as pressure from Mike McG, Eric M and Julio L created a gap as the break made it to the high poing on Peck ln. Credit Chris C with closing a pretty stubborn gap there. Still the break was riding away from the peleton, but not by much.
Going up to the Stop n Shop sprint, more guys again trying to beat Little T to it, but he was able to let loose that signature sprint with more than enough room to spare.
Back in the Peleton, Kyle F flew up the hill by Cheshire Park. His efforts were followed by Pete on a Scott, and the rider on the Felt ( yellow and black jersey ). The peleton was fortunate with traffic lights whereas the break was getting caught at nearly everyone of them. By the light at the intersection of 10 and 68\70 the break was caught and back in with the peleton.
Chris Butler had snuck thru one of the lights with VQ Rob. Rob decided to wait, Chris did not. He was powering ahead alone and would have a hard time of staying away once the peleton got out of town. But not before one more chance to have our picture taken at the Green in the center of Cheshire (say "CHAMOIS" everyone!)
Chris got caught halfway into the H'den. From there it was the usual "i think i can, i think i can" effort from more than a few guys jostling for a crack at the end. When the dust settled, Little T was last to go, riding off with Hunter P firmly glued to his wheel. Both guys kept it fair by staying in the saddle and in the end, Hunter got around him with less than 75 meters to go. It was very tight and we are probably calling it like this just to keep the hat trick out of T's hands.
If there was a points jersey to give out, Little T would own it by about 5000 points over the next guy.
Dillon P here at Cheshire Cycle suggested to a reporter that he come out and do a quick story about the champion-like efforts that are put on display every week for the WTCs. Jamison was a nice fellow, along with his cute video-grapher. Hopefully we will have some news soon about the result of his visit to the launchpad.
Onto the ride where there was a lower than usual turnout. Maybe 45-50 guys, probably less. A few notables were missing.
Turning off RT 10 saw Eric M, Rich on a C-dale and Hunter P setting early tempo. Peter P was out and also drilling it. Kyle F, back from a bit of a hiatus, got things going on Mount Sanford, riding off alone. The front of the ride was content to let him dangle out there. Guido jumped up to bridge but was stuck in between for the length of Brooksvale but eventually caught him going onto Mountain Rd.
Eric M and Peter P were going hard on Mountain and the two were brought back pretty quick on the first riser. VQ Rob was also up there and kept it motoring after the catch was made. Up the second riser Hunter P and Rondo were setting a good pace and there were a couple of small gaps but nothing really developed for the rest of the way down Mountain Rd. Good pace making was seen by Stage 1 riders Todd H and Julio L.
Onto Moss Farms were the real fireworks started. VQ Rob snuck off the light at Rt 68 quickly and was making a solo effort. Eric M jumped right away on Moss Farms and took Hunter P along with him. The 2 went by Rob and kept it up. Back in the field, high pace was set by Peter P and Chris C and a couple of others. Just when Eric and Hunter were turning the attack off a group of riders came up, sporting a respectable gap behind them. The front of the ride quickly got organized and there was a break. Textbook peleton sifting!
The break, (not all listed, if we missed you let us know, we will correct it):
VQ Rob
Eric M
Hunter P
Peter P
Julio L
Todd H
Gregg F
Assos kit on a Seven
Chris C
Rich B (sachs)
Guido
The group was strong and got to work quickly. By the Chicane they had maybe 10 seconds. Going up the hill toward Marion was a controlled effort, and no one fell off the pace. Hunter P and Eric M doing a good job keeping it tight and together. Behind them, Mike McG, not one to be left out, had attacked and was taking along Little T. There were a couple of other guys who were also trying to make up the gap. By the turn onto Knotter Mike, Little T, and Crazy Chris from Stage 1 had made the lead group. Others made it too... Going into the industrial park, the group had grown to maybe 20.
No one was in a hurry to attack from here and the lead grew over the peleton that was now being powered by Kyle F, John Gregory, Rondo, Morgan from Keltic and only a couple others. Team work was not great and there was little chance of catching so much muscle up the road.
Up front, heading to the Reinhard Sprint, Mike McG started it off for no one in particular, others followed. Little T jumped next, but still with a long way to go. Hunter P was on his wheel a bit late and had to settle for second as there was no beating "The T" this time. It all came back together on the descent. Though Rich B lost a bottle on the cobbles and was out of the break. There was damage done to others as well. The group lost a few but also picked up a few short-cutters. From there to RT 10 it was pretty solid as the break dealt with a headwind. There was a brief split as pressure from Mike McG, Eric M and Julio L created a gap as the break made it to the high poing on Peck ln. Credit Chris C with closing a pretty stubborn gap there. Still the break was riding away from the peleton, but not by much.
Going up to the Stop n Shop sprint, more guys again trying to beat Little T to it, but he was able to let loose that signature sprint with more than enough room to spare.
Back in the Peleton, Kyle F flew up the hill by Cheshire Park. His efforts were followed by Pete on a Scott, and the rider on the Felt ( yellow and black jersey ). The peleton was fortunate with traffic lights whereas the break was getting caught at nearly everyone of them. By the light at the intersection of 10 and 68\70 the break was caught and back in with the peleton.
Chris Butler had snuck thru one of the lights with VQ Rob. Rob decided to wait, Chris did not. He was powering ahead alone and would have a hard time of staying away once the peleton got out of town. But not before one more chance to have our picture taken at the Green in the center of Cheshire (say "CHAMOIS" everyone!)
Chris got caught halfway into the H'den. From there it was the usual "i think i can, i think i can" effort from more than a few guys jostling for a crack at the end. When the dust settled, Little T was last to go, riding off with Hunter P firmly glued to his wheel. Both guys kept it fair by staying in the saddle and in the end, Hunter got around him with less than 75 meters to go. It was very tight and we are probably calling it like this just to keep the hat trick out of T's hands.
If there was a points jersey to give out, Little T would own it by about 5000 points over the next guy.
Tuesday the 29th
Big crowd today for the ride. Probably over 60 riders.
Enough chit chat…. To the action….
Right away off route 10 we had two riders pulling away. Jesse K from Keltic and another rider (Mason?) got to work and had a gap of 100 meters quickly. There was some chasing at first, Rich on a C-dale, Richard Sachs rider (name?) and Gregg F from CCR leading the chase. Morgan from Keltic as well. When the ride hit the cobbles section of Brooksvale the chase slowed. Shortly thereafter Empire Matt came flying by alone. Matt is on the most-wanted list, so that got things going briskly. The 2 leaders were caught just as the Target Training rider (name?) was jumping up and riding straight thru the front of the field. The pace went up at this point with riders spread out and there being no real front end of the peleton. Going down South brooksvale Empire Matt jumped hard again on the wheel of Vision Quest Rob. Dillon P went as well and by the corner for Mountain Rd there was a gap to a strong group in the front. Some traffic going thru the corner slowed the peleton. Up the first ramp of Mountain, Mike McG, not wanting the bus to leave without him, came up and went hard to close the gap. That put a group of around 10 or so, up the road, looking very dangerous…..
VQ Rob, Eric M, Target Training, Guido, Dillon P, Mike McG, a ride from CT Coast Cycling, Empire Matt, Jesse K, Mason, Julio from Stage one, another rider from Yale, etc…. Certainly enough horsepower to really make things interesting but the group didn’t have the greatest team work. So with some hard chasing by Little T, Shawn Forsythe ( He dropped in from R.I. to go for a ride, good to see him back ), Chris C and Hunter P, the group was brought back by Cornwall ave. From there it was all together to RT 68.
Onto Moss Farms where Target Training, in familiar fashion, went up the road alone. There was some chasing at first, but he rolled off and going into the Chicane, he was still up the road by 30 meters or so. Back in the chase, Mike McG lead everyone thru with a Tri-rider on a Trek, CT Coast, Hunter P and others waiting to go. On the hill Mike jumped hard, and everyone was able to follow. Target Training was finally reeled in on the hill. Mike is still churning out the pace though and its him and Hunter P that get the pace going on Marion. The 2 had a bit of gap that held to the industrial park.
Moving thru the park the speed wasn’t crazy fast. Shawn F drilled it up the first hill turning onto West Johnson Ave. That got things going again and rolling thru the intersection of Peck ln, tension was rising for the hills and sprint up ahead. The rises in the road and lack of traffic certainly make this spot a good one to “race” for….
200 meters before the corner of Reinhard and a lead-out train was forming. Mike McG again with Little T in tow, Chris C in there for good measure. Target Training was up the road just a tad with another rider but not far enough to take it to the top of the hill. Mike jumped hard of course, with lots of riders in his wake, Gregg F, Shawn, Guido etc. Little T easily jumped out and got a gap but was tracked down with only a few meters to the corner by Hunter P who had jumped from 10 bikes back when Empire Matt came screaming by. Matt cut the engines halfway up the hill but the late, FAST jump was enough of a leadout for Hunter.
Things came back together on the descent. Onto Peck ln where Chris Butler from Cheshire Cycle had made his way to the front and was drilling it. Matt came up too and was going hard again. Things stayed tight up to RT 10. Heading into the Stop n Shop hill, again, there was more battling up front. Keltic riders looking after Kelts, CCR riders getting Dillon P up to the front. No one seemed to care about the police car sitting and watching, as we came barreling by 4 across in the road in spots….. Empire Matt started the sprint off, Little T got his revenge and jumped off Chris C’s (?) wheel and beat everyone to the line. It was a fast one!
Heading back into Hamden….. ho hum…. Nothing exciting….. Little T was able to get the best of Shawn (?) back to Shepard Ave. But it was very close and both guys were going hard and had ridden away from the rest of us.
On the hill, Chris Butler and Hunter P again dueled it out….. We are calling that one a tie…
----official's notes: The following riders were fined 25 euro’s for yellow line infractions:
Gregg F
Hunter P
Jesse K and what the hell, Greg C too
VQ Rob
Chris B
Target Training
Guido
Look Kit rider
Joe K
Enough chit chat…. To the action….
Right away off route 10 we had two riders pulling away. Jesse K from Keltic and another rider (Mason?) got to work and had a gap of 100 meters quickly. There was some chasing at first, Rich on a C-dale, Richard Sachs rider (name?) and Gregg F from CCR leading the chase. Morgan from Keltic as well. When the ride hit the cobbles section of Brooksvale the chase slowed. Shortly thereafter Empire Matt came flying by alone. Matt is on the most-wanted list, so that got things going briskly. The 2 leaders were caught just as the Target Training rider (name?) was jumping up and riding straight thru the front of the field. The pace went up at this point with riders spread out and there being no real front end of the peleton. Going down South brooksvale Empire Matt jumped hard again on the wheel of Vision Quest Rob. Dillon P went as well and by the corner for Mountain Rd there was a gap to a strong group in the front. Some traffic going thru the corner slowed the peleton. Up the first ramp of Mountain, Mike McG, not wanting the bus to leave without him, came up and went hard to close the gap. That put a group of around 10 or so, up the road, looking very dangerous…..
VQ Rob, Eric M, Target Training, Guido, Dillon P, Mike McG, a ride from CT Coast Cycling, Empire Matt, Jesse K, Mason, Julio from Stage one, another rider from Yale, etc…. Certainly enough horsepower to really make things interesting but the group didn’t have the greatest team work. So with some hard chasing by Little T, Shawn Forsythe ( He dropped in from R.I. to go for a ride, good to see him back ), Chris C and Hunter P, the group was brought back by Cornwall ave. From there it was all together to RT 68.
Onto Moss Farms where Target Training, in familiar fashion, went up the road alone. There was some chasing at first, but he rolled off and going into the Chicane, he was still up the road by 30 meters or so. Back in the chase, Mike McG lead everyone thru with a Tri-rider on a Trek, CT Coast, Hunter P and others waiting to go. On the hill Mike jumped hard, and everyone was able to follow. Target Training was finally reeled in on the hill. Mike is still churning out the pace though and its him and Hunter P that get the pace going on Marion. The 2 had a bit of gap that held to the industrial park.
Moving thru the park the speed wasn’t crazy fast. Shawn F drilled it up the first hill turning onto West Johnson Ave. That got things going again and rolling thru the intersection of Peck ln, tension was rising for the hills and sprint up ahead. The rises in the road and lack of traffic certainly make this spot a good one to “race” for….
200 meters before the corner of Reinhard and a lead-out train was forming. Mike McG again with Little T in tow, Chris C in there for good measure. Target Training was up the road just a tad with another rider but not far enough to take it to the top of the hill. Mike jumped hard of course, with lots of riders in his wake, Gregg F, Shawn, Guido etc. Little T easily jumped out and got a gap but was tracked down with only a few meters to the corner by Hunter P who had jumped from 10 bikes back when Empire Matt came screaming by. Matt cut the engines halfway up the hill but the late, FAST jump was enough of a leadout for Hunter.
Things came back together on the descent. Onto Peck ln where Chris Butler from Cheshire Cycle had made his way to the front and was drilling it. Matt came up too and was going hard again. Things stayed tight up to RT 10. Heading into the Stop n Shop hill, again, there was more battling up front. Keltic riders looking after Kelts, CCR riders getting Dillon P up to the front. No one seemed to care about the police car sitting and watching, as we came barreling by 4 across in the road in spots….. Empire Matt started the sprint off, Little T got his revenge and jumped off Chris C’s (?) wheel and beat everyone to the line. It was a fast one!
Heading back into Hamden….. ho hum…. Nothing exciting….. Little T was able to get the best of Shawn (?) back to Shepard Ave. But it was very close and both guys were going hard and had ridden away from the rest of us.
On the hill, Chris Butler and Hunter P again dueled it out….. We are calling that one a tie…
----official's notes: The following riders were fined 25 euro’s for yellow line infractions:
Gregg F
Hunter P
Jesse K and what the hell, Greg C too
VQ Rob
Chris B
Target Training
Guido
Look Kit rider
Joe K
Tuesday the 22nd
The ride got underway with a hearty group of around 50 riders tonight. There continues to be a weekly new face or two.
Turning onto Brooksvale saw Dillon P riding off the front as the rest of the field slowly got things going. Dillon never got farther than 40 yards and by the time the turn to Mount Sanford was made, he was caught by a field led by Eric M and other Keltic riders. Plowing down South Brooksvale was quicker than normal as Target Training came up and drilled it. He had help from Tall John, Larry Lounge and a rider in an Alpe Du Heuz jersey. Just as the ride was nearing Mountain rd, Empire Matt came breezing thru on his TT rig. So that of course means that the yard sticks were gonna be out for this ride. He punched it right away on Mountain, with Eric M and a Stage one rider in tow (Todd H?). The pace was high but everyone stayed together. Going down the road past Higgans a small gap started to open under the pressure from Matt, Tall John, John Gregory, and Trek TT rider (?!). Hunter P jumped up late which brought pressure from the front of the chase and that closed things up for the rest of the way down Mountain.
Onto Moss Farms where Target Training again went straight at it. He created a good gap for himself pretty quickly. The chase wasnt being done by any one person but going into the Chicane we had Eric M and Greg from Keltic. Morgan may have been up there too. And there was a couple of Stage One riders up there as well. Chris C and Brian Girard (?!). Good to see Brian back in the ride if that was him. Coming up to the base of the quick climb to Marion, Target Training was caught, and that let the pace ease a bit right away. Turning onto Marion was a lot slower than normal. Once thru Tall John, complete with the spirit of Fiordafruitta in his skinsuit, started TTing away from everyone else. There wasnt a ton of pressure to catch him as everyone was preparing for the industrial park hill section.
Turning onto West Johnson, Empire Matt was back up there going hard, Mike McG was moving up as well. Girard jumped early on the hill up to Reinhard and following him was a bunch of riders, Chris C, Hunter P, Little T, Target Training and a couple of others. Target Training rode thru Girard and was the first to jump up the sprint hill. Chris C and Hunter were giving a slow chase. Then, in probably-calculated fashion, Mike McG came by at full speed with Little T in tow. That kinda leadout was more than enough to send Little T easily past Target Training to pick up the points. Coming down the backside saw everyone get back together.
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Back to the action on Peck Ln where Chris Butler from Cheshire Cycle Racing was moving up with Gregg F and Hunter P. The 3 punched it hard but no one was really having it. Target Training closed a gap and everything was fast and attack free till Route 10.
The usual suspects were keeping it respectable into the headwind on 10. Chris B was still up there trying to get free. Morgan from Keltic and Stage 1 riders too. Coming up to the Stop & Shop Sprint, Little T was again slotted in under Mike's care. There was some more jockeying for position as other guys would be shooting for this one. Tall John took off early in an unselfish move & when it was said and done Little T had a line of bikes about 30 yards long to follow and took prize number 2 on the night.
Nothing unusual about the run into Hamden. There was a small split at the front briefly as Guido and others were turning the knob to high. Credit Gregg F for shutting a small but tough gap as the ride came into Hamden. For the final K, Mike McG was again at the front going hard, this time with Hunter P ready to go. Hunter jumped hard off Mike's wheel, but a little too early as a few select riders were picking up speed for the last 400 meters. Target Training and Little T most notably. In the end, we are giving Little T credit for getting there first.
Well done on the hat trick for Mr Alessio. Its been a while, if ever, one guy getting all the bragging rights on the night. Though admittingly, he had help.
Going up Shepard Ave. Chris B was untouched in the final assault on his heart rate and got to the top easily over Gregg F.
Turning onto Brooksvale saw Dillon P riding off the front as the rest of the field slowly got things going. Dillon never got farther than 40 yards and by the time the turn to Mount Sanford was made, he was caught by a field led by Eric M and other Keltic riders. Plowing down South Brooksvale was quicker than normal as Target Training came up and drilled it. He had help from Tall John, Larry Lounge and a rider in an Alpe Du Heuz jersey. Just as the ride was nearing Mountain rd, Empire Matt came breezing thru on his TT rig. So that of course means that the yard sticks were gonna be out for this ride. He punched it right away on Mountain, with Eric M and a Stage one rider in tow (Todd H?). The pace was high but everyone stayed together. Going down the road past Higgans a small gap started to open under the pressure from Matt, Tall John, John Gregory, and Trek TT rider (?!). Hunter P jumped up late which brought pressure from the front of the chase and that closed things up for the rest of the way down Mountain.
Onto Moss Farms where Target Training again went straight at it. He created a good gap for himself pretty quickly. The chase wasnt being done by any one person but going into the Chicane we had Eric M and Greg from Keltic. Morgan may have been up there too. And there was a couple of Stage One riders up there as well. Chris C and Brian Girard (?!). Good to see Brian back in the ride if that was him. Coming up to the base of the quick climb to Marion, Target Training was caught, and that let the pace ease a bit right away. Turning onto Marion was a lot slower than normal. Once thru Tall John, complete with the spirit of Fiordafruitta in his skinsuit, started TTing away from everyone else. There wasnt a ton of pressure to catch him as everyone was preparing for the industrial park hill section.
Turning onto West Johnson, Empire Matt was back up there going hard, Mike McG was moving up as well. Girard jumped early on the hill up to Reinhard and following him was a bunch of riders, Chris C, Hunter P, Little T, Target Training and a couple of others. Target Training rode thru Girard and was the first to jump up the sprint hill. Chris C and Hunter were giving a slow chase. Then, in probably-calculated fashion, Mike McG came by at full speed with Little T in tow. That kinda leadout was more than enough to send Little T easily past Target Training to pick up the points. Coming down the backside saw everyone get back together.
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Back to the action on Peck Ln where Chris Butler from Cheshire Cycle Racing was moving up with Gregg F and Hunter P. The 3 punched it hard but no one was really having it. Target Training closed a gap and everything was fast and attack free till Route 10.
The usual suspects were keeping it respectable into the headwind on 10. Chris B was still up there trying to get free. Morgan from Keltic and Stage 1 riders too. Coming up to the Stop & Shop Sprint, Little T was again slotted in under Mike's care. There was some more jockeying for position as other guys would be shooting for this one. Tall John took off early in an unselfish move & when it was said and done Little T had a line of bikes about 30 yards long to follow and took prize number 2 on the night.
Nothing unusual about the run into Hamden. There was a small split at the front briefly as Guido and others were turning the knob to high. Credit Gregg F for shutting a small but tough gap as the ride came into Hamden. For the final K, Mike McG was again at the front going hard, this time with Hunter P ready to go. Hunter jumped hard off Mike's wheel, but a little too early as a few select riders were picking up speed for the last 400 meters. Target Training and Little T most notably. In the end, we are giving Little T credit for getting there first.
Well done on the hat trick for Mr Alessio. Its been a while, if ever, one guy getting all the bragging rights on the night. Though admittingly, he had help.
Going up Shepard Ave. Chris B was untouched in the final assault on his heart rate and got to the top easily over Gregg F.
Tuesday the 15th
First off, a big 'ol thanks to Craig from Bonk Breaker for dropping by the parking lot and giving out full Bonk bar samples. Not just little ones! The whole thing! Go out and buy some Bonk Breaker bars kids!
So after our little tea party was over the ride commenced with around 45-55 guys. The Keltic boys, along with Dillon P and a couple of others were eager and they rolled off a little gap right away. By the turn onto Brooksvale a gap had opened up. A few had joined the Keltic charge and there was a split. But with some traffic while turning onto Mount Sanford, the peleton, led by Dartmouth Mason and Stage 1, brought it back.
The ride resumed normal pace. an effort by a new Target Training rider (?!) on South Brooksvale got things going quicker than normal. Then heavy traffic while turning onto Mountain Rd meant everyone had to (gasp!) stop... and start from a standstill... Target Training right away jumped back into attack mode and made everyone chase up the opening hill. Going down the rest of Mountain was pretty much standard stuff. Hunter P attacked while going by Cornwall Ave, that set off a reaction that almost led to another split in the field at the light as the front 15 got the green. But everyone else was close enought to scamper thru the intersection.
Once on Moss Farms, Target Training again went off the front. He wasnt given too much room as Stage 1 was pretty much controlling the ride at this piont. As the ride came down to the chicane, there was four Stage 1 riders at the front. Even still, for the second week in a row, Pete (on a Scott) was the first thru in the Chicane. He let off though, just as Hunter P was jumping hard and early on the hill torward Marion. He went thru the corner alone, but He was soon caught by the field, led by Chris C, Crazy Chris, Jesse and Greg from Keltic and others.
That brought us into the industrial park where Tall John opened it up and put in a good effort. Eric M, Rondo, Joe K, Thompson from Keltic, Guido, all were up there driving the bus. Onto West Johnson where the Keltic \ Stage 1 battle for Best Team raged on. The ride paused for a bit at the Peck Ln intersection for traffic ( again ). But that didnt stop Mike McG from getting to the front and drilling it up to Reinhard. The ride was very much together here and it was a tense free for all heading to the sprint point. Big guns Little T, Target Training, Peter Petrillo, and Chris B were all making their way to the front. Mike McG jumped first in regular fashion but attached at his hip was Jesse from Keltic. Jesse was able to use the final meters to come around and he gets credit for the sprint ahead of Mike and Target Training.
Once onto Peck, Chris B used the chance to drill it. The pace was high as Hunter P and Thompson kept it moving along. Onto Route 10 where Stage 1 and Keltic set it off again. The field was screaming up the hill past Cheshire Park. Chris B jumped off a red light at Maple Ave fair and square and headed to the Stop & Shop sprint alone. Little T was making his way up, with Dillon P in tow, along with Mike McG, Greg from Keltic and others. The light was red though which pretty much voided the sprint. Hard to say if Chris woulda held off the charge from Little T. Our money is on the teacher.
Flying into Hamden....Peter P, Rondo, Eric M, Thompson, Tall John, Mike McG and a couple of others all had a hand in ramping in up. Mike McG and Little T faded back toward the end to get a good look at the last kilo, and sure enough they lit the rockets as the front of the ride slowed about 750 meters from the Shepard ave. Little T stuck with it to the very end. But there were others right there as well.
And ho-hum, a side point, Chris B and Hunter P continued to the top of Shepard. Mason and an unknown rider from Iowa U (!?) as well came up for the icing on the cake.
Great ride!
So after our little tea party was over the ride commenced with around 45-55 guys. The Keltic boys, along with Dillon P and a couple of others were eager and they rolled off a little gap right away. By the turn onto Brooksvale a gap had opened up. A few had joined the Keltic charge and there was a split. But with some traffic while turning onto Mount Sanford, the peleton, led by Dartmouth Mason and Stage 1, brought it back.
The ride resumed normal pace. an effort by a new Target Training rider (?!) on South Brooksvale got things going quicker than normal. Then heavy traffic while turning onto Mountain Rd meant everyone had to (gasp!) stop... and start from a standstill... Target Training right away jumped back into attack mode and made everyone chase up the opening hill. Going down the rest of Mountain was pretty much standard stuff. Hunter P attacked while going by Cornwall Ave, that set off a reaction that almost led to another split in the field at the light as the front 15 got the green. But everyone else was close enought to scamper thru the intersection.
Once on Moss Farms, Target Training again went off the front. He wasnt given too much room as Stage 1 was pretty much controlling the ride at this piont. As the ride came down to the chicane, there was four Stage 1 riders at the front. Even still, for the second week in a row, Pete (on a Scott) was the first thru in the Chicane. He let off though, just as Hunter P was jumping hard and early on the hill torward Marion. He went thru the corner alone, but He was soon caught by the field, led by Chris C, Crazy Chris, Jesse and Greg from Keltic and others.
That brought us into the industrial park where Tall John opened it up and put in a good effort. Eric M, Rondo, Joe K, Thompson from Keltic, Guido, all were up there driving the bus. Onto West Johnson where the Keltic \ Stage 1 battle for Best Team raged on. The ride paused for a bit at the Peck Ln intersection for traffic ( again ). But that didnt stop Mike McG from getting to the front and drilling it up to Reinhard. The ride was very much together here and it was a tense free for all heading to the sprint point. Big guns Little T, Target Training, Peter Petrillo, and Chris B were all making their way to the front. Mike McG jumped first in regular fashion but attached at his hip was Jesse from Keltic. Jesse was able to use the final meters to come around and he gets credit for the sprint ahead of Mike and Target Training.
Once onto Peck, Chris B used the chance to drill it. The pace was high as Hunter P and Thompson kept it moving along. Onto Route 10 where Stage 1 and Keltic set it off again. The field was screaming up the hill past Cheshire Park. Chris B jumped off a red light at Maple Ave fair and square and headed to the Stop & Shop sprint alone. Little T was making his way up, with Dillon P in tow, along with Mike McG, Greg from Keltic and others. The light was red though which pretty much voided the sprint. Hard to say if Chris woulda held off the charge from Little T. Our money is on the teacher.
Flying into Hamden....Peter P, Rondo, Eric M, Thompson, Tall John, Mike McG and a couple of others all had a hand in ramping in up. Mike McG and Little T faded back toward the end to get a good look at the last kilo, and sure enough they lit the rockets as the front of the ride slowed about 750 meters from the Shepard ave. Little T stuck with it to the very end. But there were others right there as well.
And ho-hum, a side point, Chris B and Hunter P continued to the top of Shepard. Mason and an unknown rider from Iowa U (!?) as well came up for the icing on the cake.
Great ride!
Tuesday the 8th
Where did all the breakaways go
The attendance was low for this weeks WTC. Maybe around 35. With the heat and humididty being up there, no one was too eager to get off to a flying start.
Guido got things started on Brooksvale and we were off and running. He quickly got a good gap of 12 seconds, as it was just tempo at the front. As we turned onto Mount Sanford a trio of riders, Dave from CCR, a rider with a White bike (bianchi) and Saturn jersey and a Yale rider set off to bridge. They never quite made it up to Guido but by the initial parts of Mountain Rd, all was back together again. Joe K from CCR took a flyer going thru the intersection of Higgans on Mountain Rd. He had a small gap as the wind was changing its mind a lot. Hunter P jumped hard going up the slight incline a little further down Mountain Rd. He made it up to Joe K and the 2 got to work. The peleton was getting going too, with Empire Matt near the front along with bianchi Saturn. Joe & Hunter nearly made it to the end of Mountain, but Matt killed the move with help from Rondo.
Onto Moss Farms where our own Joe K wasnt even close to done yet. He took off again right away, this time with Pete-on-a-Scott. The two worked up a good gap quicksmart as the field was only slightly chasing. But it was nt slow by any means. Eric M and Jesse from Keltic were up there. Yale rider and Stage 1 ( Crazy Chris and??? ). Turning onto the chicane Joe and Pete had still had a gap going into the hill before Marion. A problem with cars turning\stopped right before the hill meant that the rest of us had to pause and re-start going into the hill. This no doubt assisted Joe, who had ridden away from Pete and was making ground on his own. Who knows if he would have been caught without the car problems... Probably though...
Tall John, Chris C, Peter Petrillo, and Guido were all up there for the ride into the industrial park. Joe showed no sign of slowing tho and still held his gap into the park and up West Johnson Ave a bit. A big tip-o-the-hat to Joe. Its been a LONG time since we have seen a solo effort like that on the throwdown. While on W. Johnson, going thru the intersection for Peck Ln, a small group started to ride off the front. Mike McG, Saturn Jersey, Chris Butler from CCR, and Tall John had a bit of a gap turning onto Reinhard. Hunter P jumped late to get up to them and Saturn jersey held up, which made it four charging to the sprint point. Tall John lead em up the hill for a 100 meters, then Mike jumped hard. Chris was a tad late in responding and Hunter too. Mike easily held off Hunter till the corner. Behind them Eric M was leading the rest of the ride up the hill. It all came back together for a bit on the backside. Though Chris B wasnt finished and took off on Peck Ln. He took Mike with him and one other (Peter Petrillo?). But it was all together once on rt 10.
The headwinds were rough going back home, and it was slow leading up to the stop n shop sprint. Little T jumped from 7 bikes back and dragged with him Empire Matt and Jesse from keltic(?). Little T held it though and gets the sprint.
From there it was the usual catch a couple of lights, go fast ride back into Hamden. For the finale, Little T jumped from way out, nearly a kilo. He drove it hard to the end but Mike McG slowly reeled him in and passed him with a hundred meters to spare. Up the hill it was a slow, painful-to-watch end for Hunter P and Chris B. Neither gets style points but Hunter attacked last and got to the mail box first.
The attendance was low for this weeks WTC. Maybe around 35. With the heat and humididty being up there, no one was too eager to get off to a flying start.
Guido got things started on Brooksvale and we were off and running. He quickly got a good gap of 12 seconds, as it was just tempo at the front. As we turned onto Mount Sanford a trio of riders, Dave from CCR, a rider with a White bike (bianchi) and Saturn jersey and a Yale rider set off to bridge. They never quite made it up to Guido but by the initial parts of Mountain Rd, all was back together again. Joe K from CCR took a flyer going thru the intersection of Higgans on Mountain Rd. He had a small gap as the wind was changing its mind a lot. Hunter P jumped hard going up the slight incline a little further down Mountain Rd. He made it up to Joe K and the 2 got to work. The peleton was getting going too, with Empire Matt near the front along with bianchi Saturn. Joe & Hunter nearly made it to the end of Mountain, but Matt killed the move with help from Rondo.
Onto Moss Farms where our own Joe K wasnt even close to done yet. He took off again right away, this time with Pete-on-a-Scott. The two worked up a good gap quicksmart as the field was only slightly chasing. But it was nt slow by any means. Eric M and Jesse from Keltic were up there. Yale rider and Stage 1 ( Crazy Chris and??? ). Turning onto the chicane Joe and Pete had still had a gap going into the hill before Marion. A problem with cars turning\stopped right before the hill meant that the rest of us had to pause and re-start going into the hill. This no doubt assisted Joe, who had ridden away from Pete and was making ground on his own. Who knows if he would have been caught without the car problems... Probably though...
Tall John, Chris C, Peter Petrillo, and Guido were all up there for the ride into the industrial park. Joe showed no sign of slowing tho and still held his gap into the park and up West Johnson Ave a bit. A big tip-o-the-hat to Joe. Its been a LONG time since we have seen a solo effort like that on the throwdown. While on W. Johnson, going thru the intersection for Peck Ln, a small group started to ride off the front. Mike McG, Saturn Jersey, Chris Butler from CCR, and Tall John had a bit of a gap turning onto Reinhard. Hunter P jumped late to get up to them and Saturn jersey held up, which made it four charging to the sprint point. Tall John lead em up the hill for a 100 meters, then Mike jumped hard. Chris was a tad late in responding and Hunter too. Mike easily held off Hunter till the corner. Behind them Eric M was leading the rest of the ride up the hill. It all came back together for a bit on the backside. Though Chris B wasnt finished and took off on Peck Ln. He took Mike with him and one other (Peter Petrillo?). But it was all together once on rt 10.
The headwinds were rough going back home, and it was slow leading up to the stop n shop sprint. Little T jumped from 7 bikes back and dragged with him Empire Matt and Jesse from keltic(?). Little T held it though and gets the sprint.
From there it was the usual catch a couple of lights, go fast ride back into Hamden. For the finale, Little T jumped from way out, nearly a kilo. He drove it hard to the end but Mike McG slowly reeled him in and passed him with a hundred meters to spare. Up the hill it was a slow, painful-to-watch end for Hunter P and Chris B. Neither gets style points but Hunter attacked last and got to the mail box first.
Tuesday the 1st
"We won't get rained on"..."The rain will miss us"
The sun was shining nicely as the ride got underway with a relatively slow pace turning off rt 10. The pace picked up near Brooksvale, as it usually does. Then on Mt Sanford Guido (on a straight up TT bike, 650 wheels, the whole nine!) put in a hard pull and all the guys on regular bikes did OK keeping up. VQ Rob, Eric M and Tall John were all working hard. Todd H as well. Then on Mountain rd the rain came! And oh boy did it ever pour! It came so hard the helicopter we use to write this review was grounded and we lost all track of who was up or down. Only a few guys were willing to work in the torrential downpour. Eric M, Julio, Hunter P, Joe K, Jesse from Keltic, a couple of others... The light at Rt68 gave everyone a chance to rub their eyes clean and spit out the road dirt. Everyone was in a bit of shock as the bad conditions came so quickly. The Powertap crew all nervously hoped that the penetrating power of water is overrated.
For some unresolved reason, a group of 20 or so riders decided to run the red light with cars barreling down on them?! Maybe they were playing by "rain rules" or something, but at that point they were no long on the "TWC"....
The Peleton resumed the ride at the GREEN light and there was talk of scrambling to any conceivable overhang to escape the rain and lightning. The delay no doubt let the rest of the ride get a bit of a gap. Dillon and tri-Doug pulled up Moss farms rd barly able to see anything! What the guys could see by Jarvis was Angry Ron, Mike McG and Joe K power away from the group with roster tails of water spraying all those who had couldn't keep up! Up the road, Eric M, Hunter P, and Jesse and the rest of the front group were slow in getting it going. High winds came and fianlly Eric M decided there was some good training to be had still. He took off and had a bit of a gap as Todd H, Chris C and others chased.
Back in the "real" group, Mike McG, Ron, Joe K, Tall John and Chris B had all jumped the gap.
The rest of the guys, trying to give chase, kept the pace high up the hills of north Cheshire.
Coming into the industrial park, Chris C came up screaming about there being guys left behind. He pulled his main man, Todd H off the attack. Chris was looking to re-group. Just then Tall John came barreling thru, pulling the rest of the chase group. The reformed front group went back to riding as usual, as the rain seemed to be letting up. Chris C (with shorts foaming at the "mouth"), Mike McG, and Hunter P all left for the sprint point, but Little T trumped em all by getting the better of Mike right before the corner.
Back in the second group, Thompson from Keltic pulled hard up Peck. The front group was in sight pulling on to rt10 but then the red lights came. The peleton was held up by at least 4 or 5 red lights and that let the front group quickly disappear. Coming out of the lights on rt10 near Hamden the pace quickened again so as to not loose to much time to the break. What Keltic guys were left and Guido on his new fancy pants bike kept the machine switched to "drill" back to the finish.
Up ahead, everyone had taken there turn on the front, Mike McG went hard for the finale with Eric M and Hunter P.
Back in the respectable, law abiding group, Guido got the Gentlemen's field win behind the break...
Crazy weather, crazy ride...
The sun was shining nicely as the ride got underway with a relatively slow pace turning off rt 10. The pace picked up near Brooksvale, as it usually does. Then on Mt Sanford Guido (on a straight up TT bike, 650 wheels, the whole nine!) put in a hard pull and all the guys on regular bikes did OK keeping up. VQ Rob, Eric M and Tall John were all working hard. Todd H as well. Then on Mountain rd the rain came! And oh boy did it ever pour! It came so hard the helicopter we use to write this review was grounded and we lost all track of who was up or down. Only a few guys were willing to work in the torrential downpour. Eric M, Julio, Hunter P, Joe K, Jesse from Keltic, a couple of others... The light at Rt68 gave everyone a chance to rub their eyes clean and spit out the road dirt. Everyone was in a bit of shock as the bad conditions came so quickly. The Powertap crew all nervously hoped that the penetrating power of water is overrated.
For some unresolved reason, a group of 20 or so riders decided to run the red light with cars barreling down on them?! Maybe they were playing by "rain rules" or something, but at that point they were no long on the "TWC"....
The Peleton resumed the ride at the GREEN light and there was talk of scrambling to any conceivable overhang to escape the rain and lightning. The delay no doubt let the rest of the ride get a bit of a gap. Dillon and tri-Doug pulled up Moss farms rd barly able to see anything! What the guys could see by Jarvis was Angry Ron, Mike McG and Joe K power away from the group with roster tails of water spraying all those who had couldn't keep up! Up the road, Eric M, Hunter P, and Jesse and the rest of the front group were slow in getting it going. High winds came and fianlly Eric M decided there was some good training to be had still. He took off and had a bit of a gap as Todd H, Chris C and others chased.
Back in the "real" group, Mike McG, Ron, Joe K, Tall John and Chris B had all jumped the gap.
The rest of the guys, trying to give chase, kept the pace high up the hills of north Cheshire.
Coming into the industrial park, Chris C came up screaming about there being guys left behind. He pulled his main man, Todd H off the attack. Chris was looking to re-group. Just then Tall John came barreling thru, pulling the rest of the chase group. The reformed front group went back to riding as usual, as the rain seemed to be letting up. Chris C (with shorts foaming at the "mouth"), Mike McG, and Hunter P all left for the sprint point, but Little T trumped em all by getting the better of Mike right before the corner.
Back in the second group, Thompson from Keltic pulled hard up Peck. The front group was in sight pulling on to rt10 but then the red lights came. The peleton was held up by at least 4 or 5 red lights and that let the front group quickly disappear. Coming out of the lights on rt10 near Hamden the pace quickened again so as to not loose to much time to the break. What Keltic guys were left and Guido on his new fancy pants bike kept the machine switched to "drill" back to the finish.
Up ahead, everyone had taken there turn on the front, Mike McG went hard for the finale with Eric M and Hunter P.
Back in the respectable, law abiding group, Guido got the Gentlemen's field win behind the break...
Crazy weather, crazy ride...
Tuesday the 24th
The Sleeping Giant Ride....Where NRC pros & lowly CatV's ride in (relative) peace.
We had a thinned out crowd of around 40 on this, nearly the longest day of the year. The mood was calm. Maybe everyone is getting ready for New England's own, new "Superweek" of racing that starts with Cox on Saturday.
Turning off RT10, we had a couple of new faces driving it early. Vision Quest Training rider (Rob Ehrman?)and a new rider in blue\yellow kit atop a cyclecross bike with road tires (cx rider). They kept it lively for a couple of minutes till Guido came thru and gunned it. That led to a small group off the front, but that didnt last long as Chris Jones, Chris C and Keltic baddies, Eric M and Greg C brought everyone back. Turning onto Brooksvale, Jones rode off the front. That brought a tizzy to the whole New Haven crew and soon there was a solid lead group. The 2 new guys, Chris C, Jones, a couple of Keltic riders, a Bespeckled Litespeed(?) rider, Hacker and a couple of others for good measure.
Guido tried to jump across as the ride went by Bethany MT Rd. Hunter P was next to jump across and covered the gap going up the hill on Mountain rd. But Rondo, Tall John, and a couple of others had dug in and dragged everyone up. Good to see Peter Petrillo up there (you guys remember him right?). It was all together for the rest of Mountain rd. Jones continued to tempo-wedgie everyone, VQ Rob as well, keeping it real. Cant go without mentioning Stage 1 and Keltic as well, still battling it out for TWC dominance.
Turning onto Moss Farms saw VQ Rob and Hunter P have a go at it. They stayed off the front for an allowable amount of time and by the turn onto Jarvis, it was all back together. Jones, Hacker, and a young dude with a Fuji kit(?) were drilling it uphill toward the corner of Marion. Hunter P snuck on with Tall John and others. This kept things fast into the industrial park as a trio of Stage 1 guys were up front.
Nothing really exciting until the turn onto West Johnson. The presence of Jones keeping everyone alert and ready to go. Hacker jumped on the reinhard hill with Peter P. Pete, who has been hiding in the safety and ease of the East Hartford training Crit, admitted in the press conference tonight that every week he logs on and reads with much delight, what he has been missing here in Hamden\Cheshire. Anyway, its good to have him back. He and Hacker were going for the sprint point no doubt, but Mike McG, who only needs half the hill to catch em, spoiled the fun with a late jump and got to the corner first.
Coming back on Rt 10, Rondo, Keltic, and Jones were all active up front. Hacker was able to get his revenge at the Stop & Shop sprint. A split happened thru the lights of Cheshire's center and about 20 guys got caught back.
At the front, it was VQ Rob, CX rider, Rondo and Stage 1 \Keltic. Jones slid back with a couple of k to go so as to not get mixed up in the amateur carnage. everybody seemed to wind it up a little too soon tho and at the very end it was all Sommerville. Mike McG starting things off with a late jump and Rondo chased him down even later. Peter P tried to get in the action and those 3 round out our podium. On the hill, VQ Rob was pretty much soft pedaling up, Hunter P got up first and a couple of Keltic guys (Morgan and Thompson) came up moments after.
If you count the TWC as a "race", starting with Saturday there's 8 races in the next 9 days. Should be an interesting week.
We had a thinned out crowd of around 40 on this, nearly the longest day of the year. The mood was calm. Maybe everyone is getting ready for New England's own, new "Superweek" of racing that starts with Cox on Saturday.
Turning off RT10, we had a couple of new faces driving it early. Vision Quest Training rider (Rob Ehrman?)and a new rider in blue\yellow kit atop a cyclecross bike with road tires (cx rider). They kept it lively for a couple of minutes till Guido came thru and gunned it. That led to a small group off the front, but that didnt last long as Chris Jones, Chris C and Keltic baddies, Eric M and Greg C brought everyone back. Turning onto Brooksvale, Jones rode off the front. That brought a tizzy to the whole New Haven crew and soon there was a solid lead group. The 2 new guys, Chris C, Jones, a couple of Keltic riders, a Bespeckled Litespeed(?) rider, Hacker and a couple of others for good measure.
Guido tried to jump across as the ride went by Bethany MT Rd. Hunter P was next to jump across and covered the gap going up the hill on Mountain rd. But Rondo, Tall John, and a couple of others had dug in and dragged everyone up. Good to see Peter Petrillo up there (you guys remember him right?). It was all together for the rest of Mountain rd. Jones continued to tempo-wedgie everyone, VQ Rob as well, keeping it real. Cant go without mentioning Stage 1 and Keltic as well, still battling it out for TWC dominance.
Turning onto Moss Farms saw VQ Rob and Hunter P have a go at it. They stayed off the front for an allowable amount of time and by the turn onto Jarvis, it was all back together. Jones, Hacker, and a young dude with a Fuji kit(?) were drilling it uphill toward the corner of Marion. Hunter P snuck on with Tall John and others. This kept things fast into the industrial park as a trio of Stage 1 guys were up front.
Nothing really exciting until the turn onto West Johnson. The presence of Jones keeping everyone alert and ready to go. Hacker jumped on the reinhard hill with Peter P. Pete, who has been hiding in the safety and ease of the East Hartford training Crit, admitted in the press conference tonight that every week he logs on and reads with much delight, what he has been missing here in Hamden\Cheshire. Anyway, its good to have him back. He and Hacker were going for the sprint point no doubt, but Mike McG, who only needs half the hill to catch em, spoiled the fun with a late jump and got to the corner first.
Coming back on Rt 10, Rondo, Keltic, and Jones were all active up front. Hacker was able to get his revenge at the Stop & Shop sprint. A split happened thru the lights of Cheshire's center and about 20 guys got caught back.
At the front, it was VQ Rob, CX rider, Rondo and Stage 1 \Keltic. Jones slid back with a couple of k to go so as to not get mixed up in the amateur carnage. everybody seemed to wind it up a little too soon tho and at the very end it was all Sommerville. Mike McG starting things off with a late jump and Rondo chased him down even later. Peter P tried to get in the action and those 3 round out our podium. On the hill, VQ Rob was pretty much soft pedaling up, Hunter P got up first and a couple of Keltic guys (Morgan and Thompson) came up moments after.
If you count the TWC as a "race", starting with Saturday there's 8 races in the next 9 days. Should be an interesting week.
Tuesday the 17th
Ride starts with a fashion show, ends with dignified leg-tearing-off...
Great ride tonight as some new pieces of clothing were put on display. Congrats to Eric M on his new winners jersey and his upset in the 30+field in Harlem. And everyone s favorite team, Sommerville Sports, were riding with the new "post-Memorial day, summer-white version" of the ol big globe jersey. Both look great on their respective owners.
On to the ride were we had a few new faces. Could it be that news of the TWC is spreading?
Turning off route 10, everybody was feeling a little chatty. And so no one was in a hurry to get on with the antics. Hunter P started things off on Mount Sanford rd. He was quickly joined by Mason from Dartmouth and the ride was on. The two worked up a small gap but by the time Mountain Rd was in sight, they had been caught. The field being led by Chris C, Morgan from Keltic(?), Hacker and others. Hacker continued the drilling up the first riser on Mountain. He had help at the front from Eric M and the Vision Quest rider.
The pace was high all the way on Mtn rd tonight. Going by Higgans, Matt from Empire, who it is now known, works as a wind tunnel test dummy during the day, came plowing thru on his new TT ride. This caused all sorts of crap to happen as guys were already stretched thin, and Matt was turning a "healthy" gear over. He rode off the front with an attentive Jesse from Keltic, and a Stage 1 rider (todd?Julio?). The trio pulled away and in its wake, nearly split the field in two. Guys like Chris C, Crazy Chris, Tall John, Hunter P, Mason?, New rider on a raw carbon Bianchi, and a CCB rider were all scrambling to chase. By the end of MTN rd. The trio waited at the light, the chase group, up to about ten guys, and the rest of the ride, all came together, but not before some were cursing the fact that Matt chose to ride the TT bike tonight.
Onto Moss Farms where Matt continued to roll. Guys were attentive to it tho & it meant the pace was high. Rolling into the Chicane, Todd H & hunter P lead things up the hill to Marion. Little T, Hacker, and Eric M busted out some phat beats and laid it down nice the rest of the way thru the corner. A little delay behind a slow car (stupid internal combustion engines) slowed things a tad and this let Tall John roll away. He kept his gap into the industrial park. Guido had a go at closing the gap by himself, but stayed in no man's land as the strong men behind were trying to decide how to play the rest of the ride out.
Lots of faces up at the front going thru the industrial park, Rondo, Eric M, Matt.... All going hard. Both CCB riders ( Bieliakowski and Buben ) made their way to the front by the end and that put everyone's ears back and tails low. They drilled it up the first sections of West Johnson, the pace was quite fast, faster than normal thru this section. They eased up going thru the insection of Peck ln and that gave Mike McG a chance to jump off the front, same as last week. After a pause, Hunter P gave chase, dragging Jesse from Keltic and Julio?. Maybe not him, but by the corner for Reinhard, Mike had two guys with him and a small but meaningful gap. Going up Reinhard, things got a little crazy, guys jumping across, guys sliding backwards. Credit Mike with the sprint (?!), but it was all together going back towards Peck Ln, albeit very fast and together.
Moving onto Peck, CCR strong men, Joe K and Chris B came up and led the charge to the Rt 10. Again, the speed was very respectable, and no one was motivated to attack. Onto Rt 10 where Chris B kept it redlined and was rolling away from the field by the top of the climb past Cheshire Park. But this week, guys were there to cover and make up the gap. A stop at the intersection of Rt10 and Maple let everyone catch their breath. Matt and Chris B rolled off the light fast and they had an acceptable head start toward the Stop & Shop hill. Little T jumped late in pursuit, but brought along with him, Hacker, Chris C, and a couple of others. The light was red though so we really cant declare a winner. Chris B and Matt would have gotten there first though.
The peleton caught every light red thru the first half of Cheshire. Things picked up on the south side and we were rolling along at a good clip as the Keltic and Sommerville boys kept it gentlemanly. A crazy run into the finish saw a DQ 'd CCB rider (no standing in the last kilo boys), and guys skillfully fighting for a bit of position. Everybody seemed to sit up a bit at the very end which gave Guido a chance to blitzkrieg to the end by himself. Good job!
On the hill, an early attack from a rider in red(?!) made Hunter chase with Little T sitting in third, Chris B fourth. With 300 meters to go, Little T was easily able to pop around all of them for the win. Chris getting 2nd.
Great ride tonight as some new pieces of clothing were put on display. Congrats to Eric M on his new winners jersey and his upset in the 30+field in Harlem. And everyone s favorite team, Sommerville Sports, were riding with the new "post-Memorial day, summer-white version" of the ol big globe jersey. Both look great on their respective owners.
On to the ride were we had a few new faces. Could it be that news of the TWC is spreading?
Turning off route 10, everybody was feeling a little chatty. And so no one was in a hurry to get on with the antics. Hunter P started things off on Mount Sanford rd. He was quickly joined by Mason from Dartmouth and the ride was on. The two worked up a small gap but by the time Mountain Rd was in sight, they had been caught. The field being led by Chris C, Morgan from Keltic(?), Hacker and others. Hacker continued the drilling up the first riser on Mountain. He had help at the front from Eric M and the Vision Quest rider.
The pace was high all the way on Mtn rd tonight. Going by Higgans, Matt from Empire, who it is now known, works as a wind tunnel test dummy during the day, came plowing thru on his new TT ride. This caused all sorts of crap to happen as guys were already stretched thin, and Matt was turning a "healthy" gear over. He rode off the front with an attentive Jesse from Keltic, and a Stage 1 rider (todd?Julio?). The trio pulled away and in its wake, nearly split the field in two. Guys like Chris C, Crazy Chris, Tall John, Hunter P, Mason?, New rider on a raw carbon Bianchi, and a CCB rider were all scrambling to chase. By the end of MTN rd. The trio waited at the light, the chase group, up to about ten guys, and the rest of the ride, all came together, but not before some were cursing the fact that Matt chose to ride the TT bike tonight.
Onto Moss Farms where Matt continued to roll. Guys were attentive to it tho & it meant the pace was high. Rolling into the Chicane, Todd H & hunter P lead things up the hill to Marion. Little T, Hacker, and Eric M busted out some phat beats and laid it down nice the rest of the way thru the corner. A little delay behind a slow car (stupid internal combustion engines) slowed things a tad and this let Tall John roll away. He kept his gap into the industrial park. Guido had a go at closing the gap by himself, but stayed in no man's land as the strong men behind were trying to decide how to play the rest of the ride out.
Lots of faces up at the front going thru the industrial park, Rondo, Eric M, Matt.... All going hard. Both CCB riders ( Bieliakowski and Buben ) made their way to the front by the end and that put everyone's ears back and tails low. They drilled it up the first sections of West Johnson, the pace was quite fast, faster than normal thru this section. They eased up going thru the insection of Peck ln and that gave Mike McG a chance to jump off the front, same as last week. After a pause, Hunter P gave chase, dragging Jesse from Keltic and Julio?. Maybe not him, but by the corner for Reinhard, Mike had two guys with him and a small but meaningful gap. Going up Reinhard, things got a little crazy, guys jumping across, guys sliding backwards. Credit Mike with the sprint (?!), but it was all together going back towards Peck Ln, albeit very fast and together.
Moving onto Peck, CCR strong men, Joe K and Chris B came up and led the charge to the Rt 10. Again, the speed was very respectable, and no one was motivated to attack. Onto Rt 10 where Chris B kept it redlined and was rolling away from the field by the top of the climb past Cheshire Park. But this week, guys were there to cover and make up the gap. A stop at the intersection of Rt10 and Maple let everyone catch their breath. Matt and Chris B rolled off the light fast and they had an acceptable head start toward the Stop & Shop hill. Little T jumped late in pursuit, but brought along with him, Hacker, Chris C, and a couple of others. The light was red though so we really cant declare a winner. Chris B and Matt would have gotten there first though.
The peleton caught every light red thru the first half of Cheshire. Things picked up on the south side and we were rolling along at a good clip as the Keltic and Sommerville boys kept it gentlemanly. A crazy run into the finish saw a DQ 'd CCB rider (no standing in the last kilo boys), and guys skillfully fighting for a bit of position. Everybody seemed to sit up a bit at the very end which gave Guido a chance to blitzkrieg to the end by himself. Good job!
On the hill, an early attack from a rider in red(?!) made Hunter chase with Little T sitting in third, Chris B fourth. With 300 meters to go, Little T was easily able to pop around all of them for the win. Chris getting 2nd.
Tuesday the 10th
Too Hot to Ride. Let's play Shuffleboard Instead
Today was a scorcher. High humidity and air temps in the low to mid 90's meant it was a tough day. The type of day where you better keep your max heart rate 5 beats less than normal, or else you're probably going to explode. The type of day where you have to find the right balance between drinking too much and too little. Its in heat like this where you dont get hot, you end up getting chills from the onset of heatstroke. Some guys like it, and for some its like riding with their brakes on.
We had a decent field, 50-60 guys. There was little activity off the front in the opening miles. Keltic was up front keeping a respectable pace. Some delays in a corner let Greg, Eric from Keltic and Hunter P and a fourth(?!) escape . They had a small gap going down the start of Brooksvale. But things picked up in the field and they were caught by the corner of Mountain road again, just like last week. From there, the field was led by Chris C, Hacker, a new Vision Quest Training rider, and a couple of others. The pace was good, but nothing crazy.
There was little pause at the light on West Main st, and going thru it, Hacker immediatly pedaled off the front. Probably thinking the peleton was too lazy today to chase. He was almost right. A couple of keltic riders came up to ride chase, a couple of Stage 1 guys ( good to see Brian Girard back ).Things strung out a bit as riders decided who would be sitting in and who would contribute, but coming up to the turn for Jarvis it was pretty much together. A group of 4 Stage one riders ( Chris C, Todd H, Tall John & Brian? ) managed to get off the front with some slippery conrnering and were drilling it team style up the hill to Marion. Behind them there was a touch of hesitation. Then strongman Joe K simply decided to catch them himself. He tore up the hill with Hacker and Hunter P in direct tow. The rest of the field was scrambling, but catching, behind them. Joe needed no help and thru the corner any guys off the front were caught. This led to what probably was the evening's most serious break. The group ( Joe K, Hunter P, Chris C, Crazy Chris? 2 more ? ) had a small gap that they kept into the indutrial park. But halfway thru Knotter they were caught by a strung out field led by Mike McG and Vision Quest.
Turning onto West Johnson, the pace was back to not-so-crazy, even perhaps lazy. Coming up to and thru Peck ln, Mike McG picked it up and eveyone sat back, too scared because of the little hill coming up. Mike tore it up onto Reinhard, where finally a couple took notice to match his efforts. Little T, Hacker, Greg from Keltic, and a stage one rider (Brian), all jumped and with Mike, they had a small gap that they took to the base of the sprint climb. Coming up to Schoolhouse, Greg jumped around the efforts of Little T and Hacker and took the corner first. The rest of the field was closing in and all was together going down to Peck.
Riding on Peck, up the slight uphill there, Mike McG again came up and gave the rivet a hurtful twist. Credit him for going fast on the spots were everyone else was hurting today. Chris B, Joe K and others dug deep to keep him close. At the top as the road becomes Sandbank, it was back together. This is where insanely Strong man, Chris B, took off on his own. He simply pedaled off the front as we watched. Brian Girard gave chase, and by the turn onto RT 10, Chris was 15 seconds up, Brian about 8 or 9 off the front of the field. The Peleton paused a bit for the 2 first lights on 10, but Chris was riding away anyway.
Coming up to the Stop and Shop sprint, with Chris still up the road, Little T, Eric M and Hacker went for the points. Hacker stayed on the wheel of Little T, who dragged them to the top. A red light at the intersection Rt 68 ended Chris's run at the front. He probably would have stayed away had he gotten thru that light. He is dubbed tonight's master of pain.
Coming back into Hamden was status quo, but a few guys slipped thru the last light were as the peleton stopped. Chris B snuck up the road with V.Q.T. and Julio (!?). Hacker and Little T paused to re-join. Mike McG had another chance to inflict pain as he drove it the final mile, but in the end there was too many guys all over the place. On the hill, Chris used his 10 second advantage to easily hold off Hunter P, Gregg F, and Morgan* from Keltic.
*corrected from prior post
Today was a scorcher. High humidity and air temps in the low to mid 90's meant it was a tough day. The type of day where you better keep your max heart rate 5 beats less than normal, or else you're probably going to explode. The type of day where you have to find the right balance between drinking too much and too little. Its in heat like this where you dont get hot, you end up getting chills from the onset of heatstroke. Some guys like it, and for some its like riding with their brakes on.
We had a decent field, 50-60 guys. There was little activity off the front in the opening miles. Keltic was up front keeping a respectable pace. Some delays in a corner let Greg, Eric from Keltic and Hunter P and a fourth(?!) escape . They had a small gap going down the start of Brooksvale. But things picked up in the field and they were caught by the corner of Mountain road again, just like last week. From there, the field was led by Chris C, Hacker, a new Vision Quest Training rider, and a couple of others. The pace was good, but nothing crazy.
There was little pause at the light on West Main st, and going thru it, Hacker immediatly pedaled off the front. Probably thinking the peleton was too lazy today to chase. He was almost right. A couple of keltic riders came up to ride chase, a couple of Stage 1 guys ( good to see Brian Girard back ).Things strung out a bit as riders decided who would be sitting in and who would contribute, but coming up to the turn for Jarvis it was pretty much together. A group of 4 Stage one riders ( Chris C, Todd H, Tall John & Brian? ) managed to get off the front with some slippery conrnering and were drilling it team style up the hill to Marion. Behind them there was a touch of hesitation. Then strongman Joe K simply decided to catch them himself. He tore up the hill with Hacker and Hunter P in direct tow. The rest of the field was scrambling, but catching, behind them. Joe needed no help and thru the corner any guys off the front were caught. This led to what probably was the evening's most serious break. The group ( Joe K, Hunter P, Chris C, Crazy Chris? 2 more ? ) had a small gap that they kept into the indutrial park. But halfway thru Knotter they were caught by a strung out field led by Mike McG and Vision Quest.
Turning onto West Johnson, the pace was back to not-so-crazy, even perhaps lazy. Coming up to and thru Peck ln, Mike McG picked it up and eveyone sat back, too scared because of the little hill coming up. Mike tore it up onto Reinhard, where finally a couple took notice to match his efforts. Little T, Hacker, Greg from Keltic, and a stage one rider (Brian), all jumped and with Mike, they had a small gap that they took to the base of the sprint climb. Coming up to Schoolhouse, Greg jumped around the efforts of Little T and Hacker and took the corner first. The rest of the field was closing in and all was together going down to Peck.
Riding on Peck, up the slight uphill there, Mike McG again came up and gave the rivet a hurtful twist. Credit him for going fast on the spots were everyone else was hurting today. Chris B, Joe K and others dug deep to keep him close. At the top as the road becomes Sandbank, it was back together. This is where insanely Strong man, Chris B, took off on his own. He simply pedaled off the front as we watched. Brian Girard gave chase, and by the turn onto RT 10, Chris was 15 seconds up, Brian about 8 or 9 off the front of the field. The Peleton paused a bit for the 2 first lights on 10, but Chris was riding away anyway.
Coming up to the Stop and Shop sprint, with Chris still up the road, Little T, Eric M and Hacker went for the points. Hacker stayed on the wheel of Little T, who dragged them to the top. A red light at the intersection Rt 68 ended Chris's run at the front. He probably would have stayed away had he gotten thru that light. He is dubbed tonight's master of pain.
Coming back into Hamden was status quo, but a few guys slipped thru the last light were as the peleton stopped. Chris B snuck up the road with V.Q.T. and Julio (!?). Hacker and Little T paused to re-join. Mike McG had another chance to inflict pain as he drove it the final mile, but in the end there was too many guys all over the place. On the hill, Chris used his 10 second advantage to easily hold off Hunter P, Gregg F, and Morgan* from Keltic.
*corrected from prior post
Tuesday the 3rd
Ride gets disorderly - S.W.A.T. team is called in
It happens every year... Sometimes twice... Our welcome in the fair village of Cheshire wears thin and the PoPo steps up to the civic plate... But more on that later....
There was about 45-50 guys or so on the ride tonight. Turning off RT10, Guido went straight to work by distancing himself from the others... Chris C and Hunter P kept tempo on his 50 yard gap. then Eric M came rifling by & both Chris C & Hunter P jumped on.
Eric caught Guido pretty quickly and by the turn onto Mount Sanford the 4 went to work together. The pace was pretty decent in the break and back in the field. Other Stage 1 riders, Joe K, Tall John.... All were keeping it close but the gap went up to about 7 seconds. Coming up to the turn onto Mountain, the field had gone turbo and single file, lead by Hacker and Tall John... The catch happened just as the corner came up. There was oncoming traffic that slowed all but the front group which was made up of the break and the strong men chasing.
Hacker and Hunter P took advantage of the split on the opening hill of Mountain Rd and the others latched on. By the time the ride came thru the stop sign for Higgans there was a pretty massive split in the field. Lets see if can name all the guys up front... Tho it was pretty much the crew you'd expect.
Guido \ Todd H \ Chris C \ Mike McG \ Hunter P \ Eric M \ Jesse from Keltic \ Tall John \ Mason \ Hacker \ Joe K \ Chris B \ Julio? \ Kyle F \ a CCB rider who we think is Yahor Buben .... Who else??? Probably missing some guys from that list. Sorry for that. The light at West Main was of course red and it all came together.
Onto Moss farms where Kyle K went off on his own. He held a 7 or 8 second gap as Hacker & others gave a slight chase... Nothing too crazy though. Kyle kept the gap until the turn onto jarvis where some traffic issues let Hacker and someone else (!?) slide up to to him. Todd H and Little T led the charge to bring them back on the ramp up to Marion and by the corner all was together. A couple of guys were able to use the cover to roll off the front, Tall John, Hunter P and Greg from Keltic. Those 3 covered the length of Marion together but as they entered the industrial park, the field was all sewed up.
The CCB rider, Hacker and a couple of others went to work with the pace and nearly split the field again thru the industrial park, but it stayed together all the way up to Reinhart. Mike McG was keeping it ticking along when Little T jumped out on the hill toward Schoolhouse. Hunter P jumped on and used the lead out to get to the sprint points corner first. That had strung things out a bit but going down towards Peck Ln the ride was together again. Nothing unusual for the next few miles. The ride was hit with a stiff headwind on RT10 that kept the pace at an elderly 18 mph.
Here is where Kyle had another go off the front but as and the field was coming up to the Cheshire Police department building, an officer was there to stop traffic and "pull over" the ride... Seems there was some complaints about bad pace line etiquette and down&dirty drafting tricks.... Either that or we were hogging the road... Regardless, the officer, as always, was pretty nice about it and simply requested we keep it to 2 abreast or else bikes would start to get impounded and sold off at government auction. After a background check on everyone showed that the fugitive, Anthony Parent, was not among us, we were released.
That kinda negated the Stop n Shop sprint, which Dillon P was squarely favored to take....
Nothing too exciting going back into Hamden... The finish was a bleak affair with someone getting to Shepard ave first. We arent really sure who. CCB was up there, Eric M and Rondo too. The real party was up on top of Shepard where Hunter P waited out all of Chris B's attacks and took the top o the hill sprint, with Gregg F from CCR coming in 3rd.
Great, classic ride... We will all have to concentrate on being a little more orderly it seems...
It happens every year... Sometimes twice... Our welcome in the fair village of Cheshire wears thin and the PoPo steps up to the civic plate... But more on that later....
There was about 45-50 guys or so on the ride tonight. Turning off RT10, Guido went straight to work by distancing himself from the others... Chris C and Hunter P kept tempo on his 50 yard gap. then Eric M came rifling by & both Chris C & Hunter P jumped on.
Eric caught Guido pretty quickly and by the turn onto Mount Sanford the 4 went to work together. The pace was pretty decent in the break and back in the field. Other Stage 1 riders, Joe K, Tall John.... All were keeping it close but the gap went up to about 7 seconds. Coming up to the turn onto Mountain, the field had gone turbo and single file, lead by Hacker and Tall John... The catch happened just as the corner came up. There was oncoming traffic that slowed all but the front group which was made up of the break and the strong men chasing.
Hacker and Hunter P took advantage of the split on the opening hill of Mountain Rd and the others latched on. By the time the ride came thru the stop sign for Higgans there was a pretty massive split in the field. Lets see if can name all the guys up front... Tho it was pretty much the crew you'd expect.
Guido \ Todd H \ Chris C \ Mike McG \ Hunter P \ Eric M \ Jesse from Keltic \ Tall John \ Mason \ Hacker \ Joe K \ Chris B \ Julio? \ Kyle F \ a CCB rider who we think is Yahor Buben .... Who else??? Probably missing some guys from that list. Sorry for that. The light at West Main was of course red and it all came together.
Onto Moss farms where Kyle K went off on his own. He held a 7 or 8 second gap as Hacker & others gave a slight chase... Nothing too crazy though. Kyle kept the gap until the turn onto jarvis where some traffic issues let Hacker and someone else (!?) slide up to to him. Todd H and Little T led the charge to bring them back on the ramp up to Marion and by the corner all was together. A couple of guys were able to use the cover to roll off the front, Tall John, Hunter P and Greg from Keltic. Those 3 covered the length of Marion together but as they entered the industrial park, the field was all sewed up.
The CCB rider, Hacker and a couple of others went to work with the pace and nearly split the field again thru the industrial park, but it stayed together all the way up to Reinhart. Mike McG was keeping it ticking along when Little T jumped out on the hill toward Schoolhouse. Hunter P jumped on and used the lead out to get to the sprint points corner first. That had strung things out a bit but going down towards Peck Ln the ride was together again. Nothing unusual for the next few miles. The ride was hit with a stiff headwind on RT10 that kept the pace at an elderly 18 mph.
Here is where Kyle had another go off the front but as and the field was coming up to the Cheshire Police department building, an officer was there to stop traffic and "pull over" the ride... Seems there was some complaints about bad pace line etiquette and down&dirty drafting tricks.... Either that or we were hogging the road... Regardless, the officer, as always, was pretty nice about it and simply requested we keep it to 2 abreast or else bikes would start to get impounded and sold off at government auction. After a background check on everyone showed that the fugitive, Anthony Parent, was not among us, we were released.
That kinda negated the Stop n Shop sprint, which Dillon P was squarely favored to take....
Nothing too exciting going back into Hamden... The finish was a bleak affair with someone getting to Shepard ave first. We arent really sure who. CCB was up there, Eric M and Rondo too. The real party was up on top of Shepard where Hunter P waited out all of Chris B's attacks and took the top o the hill sprint, with Gregg F from CCR coming in 3rd.
Great, classic ride... We will all have to concentrate on being a little more orderly it seems...
Tuesday the 27th
Riders Look for Back-up, it's not there...
On and off rain kept todays ride to a group of about 22 or 23. Some strong faces were missing from the ride. Mike McG, Empire Matt, Peter P, Eric M and a couple of others.
Greg from Keltic (or was it Jesse?) and Guido led things off off route 10. They were caught as the field went thru corners and soon it was just Guido up the road with a surgeon Hacker. Chris C, Todd H and Hunter P kept the gap in check. Hunter P then jumped across right before the turn onto Mountain Rd. and that brought enough attention to the front. The trio were caught pretty quickly. Rondo, Chris C, Todd H, and probably Little T closed that shop down quick smart.
Lots of guys going all over the place on Mountain Rd. Guido had another brief go off the front, John Gregory was cruising, Dave M from CCR racing was up there too. Chris B from CCR put in a little dig toward the end too. But nothing developed, as per usual for this section.
If ever we figure out how to get that light green for us, the fireworks will start to go off on this road...
Onto Moss Farms were Chris B and Hunter P went staight to hard tempo mode. That brought Hacker off the front of the feild and Chris C too. The four had a bit of a gap but everyone was moving fast, so the potential was there and the effort was doing some damage. The smaller peleton was stretched to chasing-maximum. The four worked well for about a half mile, then
Hacker surged off the front. Hunter P chased him down and the 4 was down to 2 by the "chicane". The chase was hard behind them tho. The rain started coming down hard at this point.
Going up the hill to Marion, the 2 were caught by a flying Chris C and company. That led to Hacker staying on the gas past the corner, and riding away with Rondo, Little T and Todd H. Again, the usual speed train that picks up the flicked at this point in the ride just wasnt there and that gave advantage to the break. The new quartet had a gap of about 5 seconds as they gingerly turning into the Industrial Park area.
Chris C, Guido, Hunter P and a couple of others dug deep to keep the gap close. Then Chris B, riding his 21 pound rain bike, flew across the gap and made the connection seem easy. That was pretty much all the group needed and the 5 had horsepower to spare up the road as they turned onto West Johson Ave. The guys that were capable of bringing them back were stretched thin and near redline.
Credit Hacker with the Schoolhouse sprint ( i think ). Behind them, Thompson from Keltic, Chris C, John G, Greg from Keltic, all doing their fair share in the workload.
Onto Peck Ln where it seems Little T and Rondo sat up from the break. (reason?). Undeterred and confident they had completely severed the elastic, the trio of Todd H, Chris C and Hacker went on with out them. It was starting to look like kilo 200 of Paris-Roubaix... Guys all over the place going up Peck Ln. Guido had a hard turn off the front with Hunter P chasing him down. Going over the train tracks, it was Todd H's turn to come off the break. He was soon back into the fold and that left just Chris C and Hackattack off the front.
Going back into Cheshire was a little on the sedate side, traffic lights made sure to kill off any hope of brining back the two escapees. There was opportunity though for Guido to get in one more romp off the front... He is one rider who gets away with not knowing the "rules of engagement".
We will have to hear from our two strong men as to who took the finish, but as the remnants of the chase pulled up to Shepard ave, thru the fog and drizzle, the figure of Chris B could be made out driving alone up to the top of the climb.... Maybe the breakaway wasnt enough training for him. And for that, its long overdue that he be added to the cast.
Greg from Keltic (or was it Jesse?) and Guido led things off off route 10. They were caught as the field went thru corners and soon it was just Guido up the road with a surgeon Hacker. Chris C, Todd H and Hunter P kept the gap in check. Hunter P then jumped across right before the turn onto Mountain Rd. and that brought enough attention to the front. The trio were caught pretty quickly. Rondo, Chris C, Todd H, and probably Little T closed that shop down quick smart.
Lots of guys going all over the place on Mountain Rd. Guido had another brief go off the front, John Gregory was cruising, Dave M from CCR racing was up there too. Chris B from CCR put in a little dig toward the end too. But nothing developed, as per usual for this section.
If ever we figure out how to get that light green for us, the fireworks will start to go off on this road...
Onto Moss Farms were Chris B and Hunter P went staight to hard tempo mode. That brought Hacker off the front of the feild and Chris C too. The four had a bit of a gap but everyone was moving fast, so the potential was there and the effort was doing some damage. The smaller peleton was stretched to chasing-maximum. The four worked well for about a half mile, then
Hacker surged off the front. Hunter P chased him down and the 4 was down to 2 by the "chicane". The chase was hard behind them tho. The rain started coming down hard at this point.
Going up the hill to Marion, the 2 were caught by a flying Chris C and company. That led to Hacker staying on the gas past the corner, and riding away with Rondo, Little T and Todd H. Again, the usual speed train that picks up the flicked at this point in the ride just wasnt there and that gave advantage to the break. The new quartet had a gap of about 5 seconds as they gingerly turning into the Industrial Park area.
Chris C, Guido, Hunter P and a couple of others dug deep to keep the gap close. Then Chris B, riding his 21 pound rain bike, flew across the gap and made the connection seem easy. That was pretty much all the group needed and the 5 had horsepower to spare up the road as they turned onto West Johson Ave. The guys that were capable of bringing them back were stretched thin and near redline.
Credit Hacker with the Schoolhouse sprint ( i think ). Behind them, Thompson from Keltic, Chris C, John G, Greg from Keltic, all doing their fair share in the workload.
Onto Peck Ln where it seems Little T and Rondo sat up from the break. (reason?). Undeterred and confident they had completely severed the elastic, the trio of Todd H, Chris C and Hacker went on with out them. It was starting to look like kilo 200 of Paris-Roubaix... Guys all over the place going up Peck Ln. Guido had a hard turn off the front with Hunter P chasing him down. Going over the train tracks, it was Todd H's turn to come off the break. He was soon back into the fold and that left just Chris C and Hackattack off the front.
Going back into Cheshire was a little on the sedate side, traffic lights made sure to kill off any hope of brining back the two escapees. There was opportunity though for Guido to get in one more romp off the front... He is one rider who gets away with not knowing the "rules of engagement".
We will have to hear from our two strong men as to who took the finish, but as the remnants of the chase pulled up to Shepard ave, thru the fog and drizzle, the figure of Chris B could be made out driving alone up to the top of the climb.... Maybe the breakaway wasnt enough training for him. And for that, its long overdue that he be added to the cast.
Tuesday the 21st
Rain rain rain
5 guys showed up - Rondo, Eric M, Mike McG and CCR riders Dillon P and Chris B. and then an unknown rider on a Bianci
Hunter took too long during his pre ride and missed the group by 30 seconds. Probabyy better off cause he was later found near hypo back at the shop. Silly spring May weather.
The small group of fearless riders went about being nicey nice thru out the ride, Bianchi rider was the 1st to go and then Dillon dropped off but caught back on. Into North Cheshire, the pack was going quite fast, trying to keep the body temps up. Dillon lost contact in the hills of North Cheshire as Rondo and Eric M were drilling it.
Everybody finished together, despite some tricky traffic situations on Rt 10. Props to Mike McG for drilling it back together.... Tho we all know that's easier than drilling it all apart.
Dillon P finished off the effort by heading to the new Humprey's in Wallingford with Mechanic Jordan. The two indulged in all-you-can-eat ribs and Dillon ( with his secret: one beer and no frys ) ate 5 racks to Jordan's 4. More yum yums in your tum tum than you no doubt.
Lets hope for better weather and tired legs after lots of crit racing for next Tuesday.
5 guys showed up - Rondo, Eric M, Mike McG and CCR riders Dillon P and Chris B. and then an unknown rider on a Bianci
Hunter took too long during his pre ride and missed the group by 30 seconds. Probabyy better off cause he was later found near hypo back at the shop. Silly spring May weather.
The small group of fearless riders went about being nicey nice thru out the ride, Bianchi rider was the 1st to go and then Dillon dropped off but caught back on. Into North Cheshire, the pack was going quite fast, trying to keep the body temps up. Dillon lost contact in the hills of North Cheshire as Rondo and Eric M were drilling it.
Everybody finished together, despite some tricky traffic situations on Rt 10. Props to Mike McG for drilling it back together.... Tho we all know that's easier than drilling it all apart.
Dillon P finished off the effort by heading to the new Humprey's in Wallingford with Mechanic Jordan. The two indulged in all-you-can-eat ribs and Dillon ( with his secret: one beer and no frys ) ate 5 racks to Jordan's 4. More yum yums in your tum tum than you no doubt.
Lets hope for better weather and tired legs after lots of crit racing for next Tuesday.
Tuesday the 13th
Another day, another Throwdown....Today was a calmer day for the TWC....
This week, the CCR crew nearly got taken out by a tweenage girl driver en route to the ride. No one down but Dillon P suffered a skid flat on the Shop Demo pair of 404's. So he missed the first half of the ride on account of the rim being a tad too deep for the CO2 cartridge.
The rest of us were a little late but none worse for wear.
The Peleton was being led into the roads of Cheshire by Mike McG, Matt from Empire and Eric M. Eric is having a stellar season so far and is quickly charging his way to the Cat2's.
The pace starting out wasnt too bad and everyone was together all the way thru the first third of the ride to West Main st in Cheshire. There was earlier than usual pacing from Mike McG and Rondo, along with the usual swarm of Keltic and Stage 1 riders. Little T busted out some early power as well, charging up the initial riser on Mountain Rd. He took along with him a strong Gregg F from CCR but there was plenty of guys to keep the pace going on past Higgans road and for the rest of Mountain Rd.
Onto Moss farms where Chris B from CCR jumped early but was quickly matched by Chris C and Empire Matt. Going thru the chicane there was some dangerous looking faces up front, (hacker, hunter, Mike McG, Little T, Rondo, Joe K) but they all followed Empire Matt and Eric M up the hill onto Marion. Mike McG, Hunter, and Joe K lit it up a bit going into the industrial park, but nothing too severe.
Into the industrial park where Rondo, Jesse from Keltic, prolly Greg C from Keltic too, Eric M, and Chris C all went to work to single file us all out. The pace was a 6.98 on a 1-1o scale. A brief split opened up but didnt last too long. Turning onto West Johnson saw Mason from Dartmouth attack pretty hard on the hill. There was a good effort to match the speed, Kyle F and Chris C doing a good job here. Hacker countered hard half way up the hill, quickly caught and then passed Mason. He was on his way alone when some heavy traffic at the intersection for Peck lane slowed him and everyone else down. When we all got thru, Hacker still had a bit of a gap to work with going up to Rienhard. Mike McG stamped hard to get up to him and the two were officially free going up the riser on Reinhard. Empire Matt started the bridge and took with him Julio and Crazy Chris(?) from Stage 1. They were able to get to the 2 out front, who seemed to sit up, and Matt gets the prize for being first to the corner.
everyone was together for the ride downhill and onto Peck Ln. Eric M and Gregg F started things off going up the riser, Hunter P, Joe K, Rondo and others finished it fast. Getting back to route 10 it was all together. The ride back was predictable. The Stop and Shop sprint was weirded out by a red light, but it was all Little T and Hack attack.
Coming back into Hamden, the finale was a little crazy. not unsafe, just different. Hacker, Julio, and a couple of others were spotted out of the saddle.
soooooo
Rondo was the first one back who did things by the book.
On a editorial note; we'll be trying to add a name to the "roster" each week.... Preferably based on who had a strong ride that week.
This week, the CCR crew nearly got taken out by a tweenage girl driver en route to the ride. No one down but Dillon P suffered a skid flat on the Shop Demo pair of 404's. So he missed the first half of the ride on account of the rim being a tad too deep for the CO2 cartridge.
The rest of us were a little late but none worse for wear.
The Peleton was being led into the roads of Cheshire by Mike McG, Matt from Empire and Eric M. Eric is having a stellar season so far and is quickly charging his way to the Cat2's.
The pace starting out wasnt too bad and everyone was together all the way thru the first third of the ride to West Main st in Cheshire. There was earlier than usual pacing from Mike McG and Rondo, along with the usual swarm of Keltic and Stage 1 riders. Little T busted out some early power as well, charging up the initial riser on Mountain Rd. He took along with him a strong Gregg F from CCR but there was plenty of guys to keep the pace going on past Higgans road and for the rest of Mountain Rd.
Onto Moss farms where Chris B from CCR jumped early but was quickly matched by Chris C and Empire Matt. Going thru the chicane there was some dangerous looking faces up front, (hacker, hunter, Mike McG, Little T, Rondo, Joe K) but they all followed Empire Matt and Eric M up the hill onto Marion. Mike McG, Hunter, and Joe K lit it up a bit going into the industrial park, but nothing too severe.
Into the industrial park where Rondo, Jesse from Keltic, prolly Greg C from Keltic too, Eric M, and Chris C all went to work to single file us all out. The pace was a 6.98 on a 1-1o scale. A brief split opened up but didnt last too long. Turning onto West Johnson saw Mason from Dartmouth attack pretty hard on the hill. There was a good effort to match the speed, Kyle F and Chris C doing a good job here. Hacker countered hard half way up the hill, quickly caught and then passed Mason. He was on his way alone when some heavy traffic at the intersection for Peck lane slowed him and everyone else down. When we all got thru, Hacker still had a bit of a gap to work with going up to Rienhard. Mike McG stamped hard to get up to him and the two were officially free going up the riser on Reinhard. Empire Matt started the bridge and took with him Julio and Crazy Chris(?) from Stage 1. They were able to get to the 2 out front, who seemed to sit up, and Matt gets the prize for being first to the corner.
everyone was together for the ride downhill and onto Peck Ln. Eric M and Gregg F started things off going up the riser, Hunter P, Joe K, Rondo and others finished it fast. Getting back to route 10 it was all together. The ride back was predictable. The Stop and Shop sprint was weirded out by a red light, but it was all Little T and Hack attack.
Coming back into Hamden, the finale was a little crazy. not unsafe, just different. Hacker, Julio, and a couple of others were spotted out of the saddle.
soooooo
Rondo was the first one back who did things by the book.
On a editorial note; we'll be trying to add a name to the "roster" each week.... Preferably based on who had a strong ride that week.
Tuesday the 6th
The Living Legend; Luigi Delbuono stops by for a beer and a spin
Not much time for a post today guys. Busy week around here....
It was a great ride, really fast. Hunter P clocked in one of his highest average wattage totals for the throwdown. And he wasn't even up front that much.
And it was great to see Luigi and John Elengo on the same mile of road! Rumors abound of a return of Gruppo Sportivo Europeo to the NRC curcuit!
The ride started decently quick. Chris C took off pretty early past route 10 and was joined by Guido. They had a gap coming up to South Brooksvale Rd. They slowed up a bit and let Hunter P, and Eric M, who were chasing, catch on.
The 4 worked well together, and got a decent gap right away. But then things went ballistic in the Peleton with Chris Jones and Mike McG moving up. the gap fell apart in a cocaine blink and by the first riser on Mountain rd, the 4 were done. The front of the peleton didnt stop for nothing and nearly tore a gap into the field. Mike McG, Jones, Rondo, Hacker, Matt (?!) from Stage one, Todd H... All of em drilling it past Higgans Rd. Chris C was good enough to jump across and his efforts, plus, Little T's kept things together. There was a little too much star power in the front group to work it smoothly anyway.
Onto Moss Farms Chris B from CCR drilled it, and with Matt from Empire, Hacker, and other Stage 1 guys keeping it going the pace was fast.
Onto the Chicane where Jones sailed to the front and kept it quick. Past that Tall John was lighting it up and riding strong and it was super fast going into the industrial park area. Some reports have as many as 10-15 guys getting flicked off the back from Moss farms to Rienhard.
So speed was high the entire time and the only effort that led to guys off the front was Mike McG and Hacker going up the hill before the turn onto Rienhard. Little T jumped on the Rienhard hill to bridge the gap. He took Hunter P and Eric M with him. Mike got to the corner first, and everyone was pretty much together going down Schoolhouse.
Turning back onto RT 10, Hacker and Chris C had a gap that they drilled going past Cheshire Park. The tail wind helped em out a bit. But by Norton School, all was together again. There was some jocking for the Stop n Shop sprint. Little T jumped from 7 or 8 bikes back and the only ones that went with him were Hunter P and Hacker. Little T got that one pretty easy.
It was really fast going thru town and into Hamden. No one tried anything tricksy, and coming into the finale, some guys got caught out in the front too early, Tall John, Hunter P and Eric M.
One of the Keltic riders ( greg ? ) was seen out of the saddle with less than a kilo to go and as a result, the entire team must be relegated from any finishes. The strong trio of Hacker, Mike McG, and Little T found themselves in the right place and we are giving Little T the win for this one.
Sorry for the brevity, great ride!
Not much time for a post today guys. Busy week around here....
It was a great ride, really fast. Hunter P clocked in one of his highest average wattage totals for the throwdown. And he wasn't even up front that much.
And it was great to see Luigi and John Elengo on the same mile of road! Rumors abound of a return of Gruppo Sportivo Europeo to the NRC curcuit!
The ride started decently quick. Chris C took off pretty early past route 10 and was joined by Guido. They had a gap coming up to South Brooksvale Rd. They slowed up a bit and let Hunter P, and Eric M, who were chasing, catch on.
The 4 worked well together, and got a decent gap right away. But then things went ballistic in the Peleton with Chris Jones and Mike McG moving up. the gap fell apart in a cocaine blink and by the first riser on Mountain rd, the 4 were done. The front of the peleton didnt stop for nothing and nearly tore a gap into the field. Mike McG, Jones, Rondo, Hacker, Matt (?!) from Stage one, Todd H... All of em drilling it past Higgans Rd. Chris C was good enough to jump across and his efforts, plus, Little T's kept things together. There was a little too much star power in the front group to work it smoothly anyway.
Onto Moss Farms Chris B from CCR drilled it, and with Matt from Empire, Hacker, and other Stage 1 guys keeping it going the pace was fast.
Onto the Chicane where Jones sailed to the front and kept it quick. Past that Tall John was lighting it up and riding strong and it was super fast going into the industrial park area. Some reports have as many as 10-15 guys getting flicked off the back from Moss farms to Rienhard.
So speed was high the entire time and the only effort that led to guys off the front was Mike McG and Hacker going up the hill before the turn onto Rienhard. Little T jumped on the Rienhard hill to bridge the gap. He took Hunter P and Eric M with him. Mike got to the corner first, and everyone was pretty much together going down Schoolhouse.
Turning back onto RT 10, Hacker and Chris C had a gap that they drilled going past Cheshire Park. The tail wind helped em out a bit. But by Norton School, all was together again. There was some jocking for the Stop n Shop sprint. Little T jumped from 7 or 8 bikes back and the only ones that went with him were Hunter P and Hacker. Little T got that one pretty easy.
It was really fast going thru town and into Hamden. No one tried anything tricksy, and coming into the finale, some guys got caught out in the front too early, Tall John, Hunter P and Eric M.
One of the Keltic riders ( greg ? ) was seen out of the saddle with less than a kilo to go and as a result, the entire team must be relegated from any finishes. The strong trio of Hacker, Mike McG, and Little T found themselves in the right place and we are giving Little T the win for this one.
Sorry for the brevity, great ride!
Tuesday the 29th
A slower ride for once as the rain clouds part way for the throwdown.
The rain ended promptly at 3:45 and by 6 the roads were pretty much all dry. A thinned out crowd of perhaps 45 rolled out of the Sleeping Giant parking lot at 6:01 PM
Turning off RT10 saw little action going on up front. Tall John from Stage 1 snuck off the front with Dillon P in tow. Soon after a small group containing Guido, Todd H, Matt the new Empire Cycling rider, and a couple of others was gassing it to get up to the duo. By the end of Brooksvale the group had been established, and even tracked down an "early out of the gate" Rondo. Strong riding from Peter P, Joe K, Mason from Dartmouth and Julio from Stage 1 kept it close.
Turning onto Mountain Rd, Hacker deftly set himself up for a strong bridging effort. But once he did, the whole group seemingly sat up and was soon caught after the crest of the first riser on Mountain Rd. The pace down the rest of Mountain wasn't that exciting. many different guys had a share in driving the pace.
Onto Moss Farms where Chris Butler from CCR shook the dirt from his shoes and rode off the front. He got about 20 yards before a cast of characters woke up and started in after him. By the end of Moss, going down toward Jarvis, we had another small split in the field. Matt, Chris C, "Look" rider, Matt from Stage 1, and others were pushing the tempo. But it all came together for the "chicane".
Once again, Little T drove the pace up the hill toward Marion, but this week, even in this hotspot of asphalt, the pace was controlled and all was together with relative ease going towrads the industrial park and the hills of North Cheshire. The slowdown let Chris C ride off the front the entire length and past the corner of Knotter. But it came back together with some strong riding by Rondo, Peter P and Joe K (pushing a cross bike and 35 mm tires this week!). Guido again tried to jump off befroe the corner of West Johson, but he never got more than a few bikes up.
The pace picked up a bit on West Johnson, Peter P, Hunter P, and Matt from Empire all chipping in. Matt rode strong thru the intersection of Peck and West Johnson. This set up a strong pull by Hacker with Julio in tow. They powered off the front, turning onto Reinhard with seemingly no one around to mark it. They kept up the effort to the Schoolhouse sprint point ( Hacker ). Rondo and Stage 1(Tall John) gave chase down the hill.
Turning onto Peck, Mike McG and Chris C, among others, had a hand in keeping it going into the wind that never made up its mind. It was all over the place today. Turning back onto RT 10, everyone was together and the wind was mostly from the back. Nothing too exciting heading into the center of Cheshire. Everyone had plenty of chance to setup for the jump up to Stop n Shop. And it was Mike McG getting that one with a couple of guys kicking hard to stop him.
Blazing back into Hamden, the usual suspects were pitching in. Rondo, Mike, Matt, The Foley's, Stage 1 as a team, Mason, Peter P, and Andy G from Keltic, (filling in for the missing Eric M) were all present and active. Tall John laid it down pretty good in the final half kilo, letting Peter P power away to the finish, just holding off a yielding Rondo.
The rain ended promptly at 3:45 and by 6 the roads were pretty much all dry. A thinned out crowd of perhaps 45 rolled out of the Sleeping Giant parking lot at 6:01 PM
Turning off RT10 saw little action going on up front. Tall John from Stage 1 snuck off the front with Dillon P in tow. Soon after a small group containing Guido, Todd H, Matt the new Empire Cycling rider, and a couple of others was gassing it to get up to the duo. By the end of Brooksvale the group had been established, and even tracked down an "early out of the gate" Rondo. Strong riding from Peter P, Joe K, Mason from Dartmouth and Julio from Stage 1 kept it close.
Turning onto Mountain Rd, Hacker deftly set himself up for a strong bridging effort. But once he did, the whole group seemingly sat up and was soon caught after the crest of the first riser on Mountain Rd. The pace down the rest of Mountain wasn't that exciting. many different guys had a share in driving the pace.
Onto Moss Farms where Chris Butler from CCR shook the dirt from his shoes and rode off the front. He got about 20 yards before a cast of characters woke up and started in after him. By the end of Moss, going down toward Jarvis, we had another small split in the field. Matt, Chris C, "Look" rider, Matt from Stage 1, and others were pushing the tempo. But it all came together for the "chicane".
Once again, Little T drove the pace up the hill toward Marion, but this week, even in this hotspot of asphalt, the pace was controlled and all was together with relative ease going towrads the industrial park and the hills of North Cheshire. The slowdown let Chris C ride off the front the entire length and past the corner of Knotter. But it came back together with some strong riding by Rondo, Peter P and Joe K (pushing a cross bike and 35 mm tires this week!). Guido again tried to jump off befroe the corner of West Johson, but he never got more than a few bikes up.
The pace picked up a bit on West Johnson, Peter P, Hunter P, and Matt from Empire all chipping in. Matt rode strong thru the intersection of Peck and West Johnson. This set up a strong pull by Hacker with Julio in tow. They powered off the front, turning onto Reinhard with seemingly no one around to mark it. They kept up the effort to the Schoolhouse sprint point ( Hacker ). Rondo and Stage 1(Tall John) gave chase down the hill.
Turning onto Peck, Mike McG and Chris C, among others, had a hand in keeping it going into the wind that never made up its mind. It was all over the place today. Turning back onto RT 10, everyone was together and the wind was mostly from the back. Nothing too exciting heading into the center of Cheshire. Everyone had plenty of chance to setup for the jump up to Stop n Shop. And it was Mike McG getting that one with a couple of guys kicking hard to stop him.
Blazing back into Hamden, the usual suspects were pitching in. Rondo, Mike, Matt, The Foley's, Stage 1 as a team, Mason, Peter P, and Andy G from Keltic, (filling in for the missing Eric M) were all present and active. Tall John laid it down pretty good in the final half kilo, letting Peter P power away to the finish, just holding off a yielding Rondo.
Tuesday the 22nd
Solid ride tonight everyone! the evening of debuts...
Kyle F, Dillon P (sporting a new Scott Addict with “Srampy” - that’s Campy Shifters on a SRAM drive train! Hotness!) and Guido again on the offensive rolling off Route 10. Plenty of legs responded tho, Mason from Dartmouth, Rondo, Hunter P, Gregg F and others. The group of 5 or 6 that jumped hard at first was never far away and by the turn onto Mount Sanford the whole ride was together.
Turning onto North Brookvale saw big jumps from the Empire rider ( still don’t know his name ) and a rider from the Yale Collegiate Team (YCT). The pace again this week for the opening miles was fast fast fast. A couple of flats happened ( we hate flats !). Kyle F and Rondo both hit with em. Peter P slowed to assist.
Coming up to Mountain road, Stage 1, sporting the new yellow and black kit ( The ball bearing boys!? ), were driving the pace. Todd H and Chris C lead the field up the initial riser on MTN rd. After that it was Empire again hitting it hard along with another Yale rider (gerolstiener jersey) and the pace continued to be hot enough so that no one was attacking.
Tall rider from Keltic (?) jumped at the end of mountain road, but the light of course was red and it was all together.
Onto Moss Farms where the Yale riders, along with Chris C and Empire continued to drill it. Dr. Hacker came up briefly to give everyone a shock but then retreated to the I.C.U. A small split actually developed as over the small risers toward the end of Moss Farms. A handful of riders were off the front. Empire, Mason, Jesse from Keltic, and a few others were steam rolling away. Hunter P jumped late to bridge which started a reaction and by the “chicane”, Mike McG, Hacker and Stage 1was stretching things out nicely. All was together for the climb up to Marion rd. A rejuvenated Little T came bounding like a stag past everyone before the turn and kept it motoring along down half the length to Knotter.
Turning onto Knotter - John Gregory came thru going hard and Stage 1 ( Chris C, Julio) kept it up. Again, Empire and the Yalies, doing a great job of making the ride hard. Hopefully they will continue to be regular “throw downers”. Guido again tried to jump off the front, this time with the rider always in the white Look kit (?). But no dice, and by the turn onto West Johnson, Empire and Yale were again at the front doing their best, unfamiliar with the course.
That’s the way it was all the up to Reinhard. Julio was setting a great pace and briefly was riding away but then, on the climb up to Schoolhouse, Little T jumped pretty good. He took Mike McG and Hunter P with him. The 3 had a small gap ( credit Mike McG with the intermediate sprint point ). Going down hill, things came back together tho. Hacker and Chris C had also gassed it on the climb and were stringing things out around the corner.
The ride met up with Peter P & Rondo on Peck ln. Things were fast, nothing exciting happened tho. There was a headwind going down route 10. But that ok when Keltic and Stage 1 are up front setting tempo. Hacker, Mason, Peter P and others contributing. Coming up to Stop n Shop, Little T jumped off the front and collected his 50 sprint points.
Traffic was tough going thru town, a couple of aggressive ( defensive? ) drivers meant that there was some friction. ( lets be nice guys ). But once past all the lights and cars, things opened up. Guido tried once more to jump off the front, but he started from so far back that he was covered nicely once getting to the front.
Everyone rode pretty smoothly into Hamden, Stage 1 (Little T) seemed to be setting up Julio for the finish, but much like highway off-ramps, you always have more room to go than you think. Julio was stuck out front too early (after more unselfish riding from Peter P) and Hunter P jumped second to last. He gets the finish after narrowly holding off the last man to jump, Eric M from Keltic.
Good ride, but too much drama with the traffic and too many flats. Both of which can prolly be attributed to the high speed .
Kyle F, Dillon P (sporting a new Scott Addict with “Srampy” - that’s Campy Shifters on a SRAM drive train! Hotness!) and Guido again on the offensive rolling off Route 10. Plenty of legs responded tho, Mason from Dartmouth, Rondo, Hunter P, Gregg F and others. The group of 5 or 6 that jumped hard at first was never far away and by the turn onto Mount Sanford the whole ride was together.
Turning onto North Brookvale saw big jumps from the Empire rider ( still don’t know his name ) and a rider from the Yale Collegiate Team (YCT). The pace again this week for the opening miles was fast fast fast. A couple of flats happened ( we hate flats !). Kyle F and Rondo both hit with em. Peter P slowed to assist.
Coming up to Mountain road, Stage 1, sporting the new yellow and black kit ( The ball bearing boys!? ), were driving the pace. Todd H and Chris C lead the field up the initial riser on MTN rd. After that it was Empire again hitting it hard along with another Yale rider (gerolstiener jersey) and the pace continued to be hot enough so that no one was attacking.
Tall rider from Keltic (?) jumped at the end of mountain road, but the light of course was red and it was all together.
Onto Moss Farms where the Yale riders, along with Chris C and Empire continued to drill it. Dr. Hacker came up briefly to give everyone a shock but then retreated to the I.C.U. A small split actually developed as over the small risers toward the end of Moss Farms. A handful of riders were off the front. Empire, Mason, Jesse from Keltic, and a few others were steam rolling away. Hunter P jumped late to bridge which started a reaction and by the “chicane”, Mike McG, Hacker and Stage 1was stretching things out nicely. All was together for the climb up to Marion rd. A rejuvenated Little T came bounding like a stag past everyone before the turn and kept it motoring along down half the length to Knotter.
Turning onto Knotter - John Gregory came thru going hard and Stage 1 ( Chris C, Julio) kept it up. Again, Empire and the Yalies, doing a great job of making the ride hard. Hopefully they will continue to be regular “throw downers”. Guido again tried to jump off the front, this time with the rider always in the white Look kit (?). But no dice, and by the turn onto West Johnson, Empire and Yale were again at the front doing their best, unfamiliar with the course.
That’s the way it was all the up to Reinhard. Julio was setting a great pace and briefly was riding away but then, on the climb up to Schoolhouse, Little T jumped pretty good. He took Mike McG and Hunter P with him. The 3 had a small gap ( credit Mike McG with the intermediate sprint point ). Going down hill, things came back together tho. Hacker and Chris C had also gassed it on the climb and were stringing things out around the corner.
The ride met up with Peter P & Rondo on Peck ln. Things were fast, nothing exciting happened tho. There was a headwind going down route 10. But that ok when Keltic and Stage 1 are up front setting tempo. Hacker, Mason, Peter P and others contributing. Coming up to Stop n Shop, Little T jumped off the front and collected his 50 sprint points.
Traffic was tough going thru town, a couple of aggressive ( defensive? ) drivers meant that there was some friction. ( lets be nice guys ). But once past all the lights and cars, things opened up. Guido tried once more to jump off the front, but he started from so far back that he was covered nicely once getting to the front.
Everyone rode pretty smoothly into Hamden, Stage 1 (Little T) seemed to be setting up Julio for the finish, but much like highway off-ramps, you always have more room to go than you think. Julio was stuck out front too early (after more unselfish riding from Peter P) and Hunter P jumped second to last. He gets the finish after narrowly holding off the last man to jump, Eric M from Keltic.
Good ride, but too much drama with the traffic and too many flats. Both of which can prolly be attributed to the high speed .
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