Its too early for this.... Wake me up in April....
Smaller than expected crowd for the inaugural TWC... Not more than 20 guys (and Robin) out in the cold. There were a couple of new face in the bunch which always makes for a warm fuzzy feeling.
Soon after turning off route 10, Eric M decided he would be the first of the year to cast a stone in everyone's glass house and bolted up the road. Hunter P quickly joined him and the throwdown was officially afoot.
The rest of the field was pretty much content to let the showboating duo ride away... Normal pace was kept up by the Stage one guys, Chris C and Little T Mike McG and Rondo were up there as well, keeping things going. Once onto Mountain Rd, Chris C decided to try to cross the gap. He made it about halfway before cutting power. Up the road, Eric and Hunter were splitting the work load nicely in half and churning out a respectible pace.
Coming up to the light at Route 70. The lead pair had to pause briefly for the light, while the rest of the riders had to wait for a full cycle. That def helped the break along. Also, the chase got disrupted when Rondo flatted.
Getting back to business on Moss Farms, the speed went up went as the ride hit the Chicane and the hill up to Marion, Chris C, chomping at the bit along with Craig L from CCNS drove a wedge in the peleton that spit off a handfull of struggling guys. The catch would be happening soon.
Up the road, Hunter went up and thru the corner for Schoolhouse first, but no sprint happened.
As the 2 came down the hill, the field was right there and they would sit up on Peck lane.
Nothing too interesting on the way back into Cheshire and into Hamden. A couple of squirley moves from some rookies, some lights caught... So old story. Heading into the finish, maybe everyone forgot the distance to the finish, maybe teamwork was bad, but the pace was disrupted by choking afterburners from some of the strong guys... Rondo ( back with the ride after a fix-a-flat), Mike McG, Hunter P, Little T... all pulled thru strong.... and then sat up when there was no one to follow, the ride then reloads and keeps up the pace, but in the end, it was a bleak finish with Eric M soft pedaling thru the Shepard Ave light first.
All in all, a pretty decent start to the year... Perhaps a 6 pm start for next week? ( comments...? )
