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.
