Tuesday the 11th

The last ride of 2011

There was a stalwart group of about 25 out on the ride tonight. Right off route 10, Hunter P went on the first of a bunch of attacks. Joe K went with him this time and the 2 built up a good gap by the time they went over the crap road section. One street later, it was just Hunter out there alone and he hung on to a gap as the pack seemed content to bring back Joe K and then let the ride run its course. Hunter would eventually come back by the first risers on Mountain Rd. Then it was Special Ed, Little T and Justin Neuman and pushing the pace on the next set of risers. Chris "safety never takes a vacation" Crowle and Hunter P were left to sew up the short gap to that group. After that is was all together to the light on route 68.
    Hunter P and Little T looked ready to rock n roll for Moss Farms, but it ended up just being Hunter peeling off another training interval. This time Justin N bridged up and it was 2 up the road. They worked the short gap up a little more before Justin N packed it in, leaving Hunter out there. He got caught during the run into the chicane but was soon off the front again chasing Dillon P up the hill to Marion. Another interval that lasted a kilo or so and Hunter was caught before the corner to the industrial park.
    Everyone stayed together for a little while but then Special Ed, Gregg F and MoMoney rode off with no one really responding. Little T was late to jump on and got stuck in no mans land before sliding back to the peleton. The trio built up a gap and rolled onto West Johnson with 10 seconds or so. They kept on the hammer and the gap went up for a bit but as the risers dug in, they started to come back. It certainly didn't help that Special Ed had peeled off at some point, going straight instead of turning so that he could head home. Chris C, John Gregory, Eric M were keeping the pack close on the run in to Reinhard. Koski made a push to get across the gap and he was followed immediately by Jacinto and the Amity rider on a Trek. Mike McG was also up there and he ended up playing the familiar role of leadout for Little T. The leaders had fractured by now with only Justin N fighting to get the sprint. Little T got another win, going about 20-5 on the season for the midway point sprints. Eric M and Joe K put in digs but it T was never in danger of losing this one. He rolled down Peck ln and thru the construction zone all alone as the guys who were going to punch it next were sorting themselves out. Little T ended up being chased by Justin N, Joe K, Hunter P and MoMoney. It quickly turned into just Justin and Hunter as they passed Little T, each working hard going the rest of the way up Peck all alone. They would get caught shortly before route 10 as the field was being led by MoMoney, Koski, Chris C and Mike McG.
     It was all together going onto route 10 and with the increased traffic, it was an uneventful and kinda slow ride back to the center of Cheshire. Heading into the Stop n Sprint, Red lights, traffic and a flat tire coming from the front ( Dillon P ) slowed the action down. Jacinto still managed to get into a leading group, although there wasn't much of a gap. Little T jumped, this time with Mike McG trying to come around him. It ended up being a close gallop between Jactino and Little T, but T slid by and stayed there.
     From there the ride back into Hamden was decently quick. Extra traffic made it a but dicey at times. After rolling thru some utility work trucks in Hamden, Hunter P and MoMoney jumped to bring back Justin N, who had snuck off as the pack came up to the blinking lights. That made a trio off the front. They had a long way to go though and the pack brought them back a couple of minutes later. Just in time to square up for the final kick, which was crowded this time. Too dark to call, and no one is talking.

So that's it. 2011 in the books. It was very much a great year for the SG ride. Thanks to all the new faces that came out and made pretty much every week a little interesting. Thanks for reading. Thanks for your ever insightful anonymous comments. Thanks to the drivers of Cheshire who put up with our crappy road manners. We'll be sure to post news from the Sunday morning ride as it comes in. Everyone should try to make it out to Cheshire Cross, Nov 19th. Cheshire Park, route 10. Come have a beer in the woods, just like freshman year of high school. Heckle the dumb racers. Although we hear that Eric M will race, so you know its gotta be pretty cool. And the day will probably end with Little T going shirtless up against Crowle in some yard game duel.

Tuesday the 4th

The rain brings wrecks another week of SG fun

Unless you are the Snoopster... Then its you kicking everyone off the ride because you have deemed them too weak to ride in such conditions. Ratatatat and Jacinto got an invite and so it was just the 3 of them riding tonight.

Let's all hope that next week bring redemption.

Sunday the 2nd

Let's all hope the rain holds off for tomorrow.

5:30 start.

There was only a handful of riders out for the Sunday SG ride. Most Everyone chose to participate in the Petit Foundation Ride for Justice.

Tuesday the 27th

Let's out-run and out-ride the darkness

     A couple of guys were in the lot hoping for a last minute glimmer of common sense fomr the rest of the group, but alas, the ride left at 6 after a congregation's worth of of guys rolled in from Stop n Shop at 5:56. They made everyone else late. Everyone was a little disappointed to not see Rondo's lovable mug up in the group.
     Gregg F and Dillon P got things going quick smart right after route 10. Hunter P was up there too along with Mike McG and John Pescatore, signalling to all that tonight was gonna be brisk. Going thru the crap road section, LIttle T and Koski charged off, but they would be rounded back up after everyone stopped for traffic turning onto North Brooksvale. Kudos to those that were able to whip out their smartphones and click on the SG blog advertisements in those few seconds.
     The rest of the way toward mountain road was quick. Jelle Snoop was setting a good tempo followed by Mike McG. Some traffic turning onto Mountain road slowed most of hte field down so Hacker and Hunter P took advantage of that by immediately stepping on the gas once onto Mountain. Mike McG came along for the ride and by the end of the risers it was Mike and Hunter with a decent gap on everyone else. Tall John crushed the gap shortly after and joined up to make it three up the road. Behind the speed was ramping up with Little T, Snoop, Hacker and Jordan coming up. The 3 stayed out front for kilo or 2 and when they were caught a pause gave a chance for a new group to get up the road. Jordan, Antonio, Hacker, Little T, Special Ed, and Jacinto were working well to try to get to a green light before everyone else. Dillon P, Tall John, and Hunter P were all at different points stuck in no mans land but a red light at route 68 brought it all back together.
       Once the light went green, Hacker went straight off without much response from anyone. He opened up the gap on the initial sections of Moss Farms and it took a little while before anyone would spear-head the chase. A bunch of different guys were up front and Hacker still maintained his lead. He would go into the chicane with about 7 seconds gap. That would finally get erased on the hill up to Marion. After the corner, Tall John was going good enough to get a gap with Jordan, Special Ed and Hunter P. That gap would get closed moments after everyone turned into the industrial park. Snoop hit the front and kept tempo up followed by Special Ed, Jordan and Jacinto.
     Tall John would have antoher go once onto West Johnson and he had Antonio for company but they never made it very far off the front. The peleton barreled along at a reasonable clip toward the risers and Rienhard. MoMoney led all onto Reinhard and there was minimal jockeying for position behind him. Mike McG picked it up from there with Jacinto, Hacker, Little T, Dillon P and Hunter P right there. Mike started the sprint out but wasn't in it to win it. Hunter P went first as Little T had to get around some traffic. Jacinto, Hacker also fired the jets but it was quickly a 2-up with Little T right on Hunter P's wheel and T was able to come around with some room to spare. Hacker and a new guy with a Virgina U kit ( Justin Neuman ) kept it going on the descent and had a gap rolling down thru the cut up roads. They were soon joined by Tall John, Snoop and a new guy in a CVC kit (?). The new lead group was well organized and rolled onto Peck ln with a 6 or 7 second gap. The response was slow behind, with everyone taking it down a notch as the leaders were hammering it up Peck Ln. Back in the field, Hunter P came up on the false flat along with Antonio D and the 2 took a couple of good pulls to close down the gap to 40 meters or so. Up front, Tall John and CVC got disconnected leaving Hacker, Snoop and Justin N up front. Those 3 hit route 10 with a good gap and kept on it enough to stay out front going up the hill ( location of Cheshire CX 2011!!). Koski, Mike McG, Hunter P, Tall John, etc chipped in up front but the trio had the legs to stay out all the way to the base of the sprint. Just like a flat TDF stage the breakaway was sadly eaten up by a well timed kilometer chase from the pack. Within the field, Little T was able to keep aero behind bodies, surfing up to the front just in time to jump easily to get the Stop n Shop Sprint.
    Any efforts to get off the front after the sprint were negated by red lights. It was time to roll the dice with the traffic and head back to Hamden in the dark. Plenty of lights and blinky things kept the peleton out of trouble for the most part... ( who flatted at 32 mph?! Thank you for not crashing). It was an interesting, semi-quick ride back into Hamden and after Dillon P flared out off the front with a couple hundreds meters to go, it was anyone's ballgame. Well, not anyone.... Maybe just 3 or 4 guys. Kudos to Antonio D for getting up there again after a strong ride. 5:30 next week. Don't listen to Mike.


PS - everytime you check out an SG blog advertisement Chris Horner finds another watt in his body.

Tuesday the 20th

Bring yur lights!

      There was a smaller group out tonight. It was decided without much controversy that it was going to be the original short loop, the O.G., the loop that started it all, for the night.

       Things started out fast, even on Route 10. Tall John and Chris “ I do it with my socks on “ Crowle were up and off the front looking to raise trouble. Jelle Snoop took over once on the back roads and Mike McGillicutty was up there too. The speed stayed high for the opening miles. French Casey was also up there chipping along with Guido. Everyone rolled thru a red light at route 68 as a big colorful blob and the speeds stayed high on Moss Farms as well.

       Tall John was one of the first guys to kick it up a notch on Moss Farms and he was allowed some room to roam. Mid-way thru Moss he was hammering out a 6 or 7 second gap. He would hold onto that right till the corner of Marion Ave. French Casey, Chris C and Antonio D bringing the group up. Heading toward the industrial park a small group rode off the front. Richy Sachs Chris, Jelle, Chris "I mean business, see my socks" Crowle and French Casey. Guido bridged up and the gap up before the corner going into the industrial park. They stayed there a bit as Thomaas B chipped away at the gap. Silent Steve did a big push on the front to bring it all back together then handing it off to Mike McG and Snoop to lead the way into the corner for West Johnson. Hunter P attacked hard getting up the road 100 meters or so before the climbing stopped. Antonio D jumped out of the pack hard and that got everyone to respond. Hunter P was caught at the base of the climbs toward Reinhard and right then a small group pushed off the front. Gregg F, Dillon P, Guido, and French Casey again. Builder Pete also briefly went up the road with them. From there things started to split up as the hill dug its nails into everyone's pedaling tempo. By the time everyone got onto Reinhard, Guido was coming off the front, Mike McG and John Pescatore were leading the way, and Hunter P was coming back up with Little T in tow.

       Little T got the front and jumped for the corner with only Hunter P and Jacinto challenging. Everyone survived the treacherous descent down toward Peck ln. Late on Peck lane, Jordan Lynn, Mike McG and Chris C got a gap and they had mates in the field that wouldnt chase it down. Jacinto got across the gap once onto route 10 and that brought it all back together. From there, Mike McG was working hard at the front along with Todd H and Jelle to keep things moving. Those 3, along with Jordan Lynn lead out the sprint to Stop n Shop where Little T jumped again with no one coming around him. Hunter P once again gave futile chase.

     The ride back to Hamden was dark and fast. Late in the game a break from French Casey, Guido and Dillon P looked like it might have a chance with a kilo to go, but they indeed got overhauled. That left Little T duking out the finish with Antonio D. It was too dark to see what happened with those two.

Tuesday the 13th

If anyone wants to do the majority of reporting for the ride next week, let us know. The Cheshire Cycle crew will be attending Interbike. Email us at info - at - cheshirecycle.com

Long loop or short?

Speak up ( intelligently ) everyone or don't complain when someone else decides. The dark ride home matters little to the Cheshire riders heading back on bike trail. New Haveners? What do you think?

Tuesday the 30th

      Long Loop goes out with a bang 

    The cancellation of the last East Hartford Crit meant that four of the CCNS guys rolled on up in the van ready to dispense their weekly allotment of pain. Add in a couple of Bikers Edge guys, a couple of Benidorm guys and the ride had a fast crowd. The SG usuals were ready to oblige. Right off the start, Mike McG was patrolling the front. Perry the new guys was also up there along with Hunter P and the Otto-inator. Everyone followed Perry Thru the crap road section and it got pretty quick. Then one street later it was Hacker taking advantage of te next corner, attacking and getting a small gap. Koski, Rattatatat, one of the CCNS guys and Hunter P were right on that and it didn’t get very far. Then Joshy G hit the front along with Rattatatat. Ratta and one of the CCNS guys (?) kept up the pace all the way to Mountain rd and were able to ride up a little gap for the corner. Back in the peleton once onto Mountain there was some brief sitting in by teammates. That left the chase work to Mike McG and MoMoney and a couple of others. The 2 were brought back on the risers. Some car traffic slowed things down before the next set of risers, with Chris C being the next to go into the deep end of the pool. From there it was single file all the way to the light. The first quarter of the ride was in the books and it was faster then usual.
         Right away on Moss Farms, Otto and Hacker lit it up and rode got a gap. A chase group quickly formed ( Ratta, Mike McG, Little T ) and were making ground on the 2 up front. Then the Teany NY rider went into no man’s land. The group up the road all came together within 750 meters and with some CCR guys choosing not to chase Ratta down, the peleton was briefly on cruise control. Just as Sasha from CCB rode up and onto the front, getting everyone’s attention, the motivation went out of the front group. Maybe too many cooks in the kitchen, and it seemed no one was going to carry them along. That gave the field a change to bring it back and it was all together by the chicane. Ratta, CCB and Mike McG charged up the hill to Marion, getting a gap past the corner. Aiden, Chris C and hunter p would come across the gap shortly after, making it another dangerous group up the road. The field behind wasn't ready to roll over dead yet. Todd H, Eric M, A.Zane, Otto, Tall Dennis and a couple of others headed up the chase efforts and it was back to together by the industrial park. Joe K hit the front and Ratta was still up there. CXCchris and A.Zane also hit it giving that four a gap that they kept to the light on 322.

       Hacker, Otto and A.Zane were pushing it to Mount Vernon after the light and tore off a respectable gap initially. Joshy g was spearheading the efforts in the pack. Chris C drilled it, followed by Hunter P and that was enough to get a chase group clear. Aiden and BigBadBenWolfe rolled thru another CCNSer, Mike McG, and CXCChris. The peleton was in high alert chase mode but there was still enough horsepower up the road to stay clear. Soon the 3 leaders would get swallowed up, making it a cozy 10 up front. The group would rumble along for another couple of minutes and despite some good turns of speed from Mike and Ben, it would get brought back. Perry and Joshy G doing a lot of work to pace the rest up. The speed came down a bit after the catch, leading to an eventful ride up the false flat section.         Things sped up again after the false flat, with CCNS, Mike McG, CCB and Otto drilling it. It was fast enough to create a gap halfway thru the field. When the pace slowed dramatically the entire back end of the ride swapped with the front and a new group of riders set pace for the road remaining to the corner.

        A couple of CCNSers and Otto led the way onto Welch. Jordan Lynn then hit the front and set a solid tempo for nearly the rest of the way, in the process, gobbling up Otto and an attack from Hacker. Mike McG jumped from the base of the hill and went hard all the way to the corner. Hunter p and Joe K were the only ones to respond. After Mike was done, Hunter P hit the front and the trio was clear. Joe K took over as Hunter P fell back. Joe had a decent amount of road to cover but threw in a sprint anyway. Mike was able to sneak past him by half a bike length for the sprint. Joshy G was the only one to try and bridge the gap and he nearly monstered across it in time. The red light district slowed everyone down back to bunch.

        Aiden was off the front again after going over the highway, which led to a record speed down the rest of West St and onto Atwater St. Ratta rode off the front once the group reached Canal St. Hunter P would also make a jump for the 322 crossing but it came back together there at the light. The ride stayed fast after the light and onto Peck lane. Hacker was up there, Chris C was up there, CCB as well as Dillon P. As soon as the ride hit Route 1 again, Aiden, Wolfe and Hutner P jumped off the front, getting a gap up the road by Cheshire Park. Those 3 would stay on the gas for a while, making it hard for the rest of the field to catch up. Hacker, Perry ,Julio L and Joshy G were up there going hard as well. Thanks to the hard pace and little gaps that opened up, Little T got a head start on the stop n sprint with Jacinto. Jacinto would do most of the leading out on this one, letting T come around at with room to spare. Hunter P and Ratta were trying to flying across the gap but had no chance in making it up once Little T got going. Once the stop n shop plaza lights were done with, Aiden and Wolfe jumped on it again, taking along Hunter P, Hacker, and a couple of others. The peleton had to wait at a light that the front group got thru and that was all that was needed to spring em free for the rest of the ride. Little T, Joshy G, Aidan, Hunter P, Wolfe, Hacker, Otto, and Jacinto. That group worked well and stayed away. In the end, Little T escaped very early on, but got swallowed up before the finale, letting Hacker and Jacinto duke out the final bit.

      Back in the peleton, as the peleton barreled thru the Cook Hill rd intersection, there was a some weird braking, some overreaction to it, and a touch of wheels. Down went CXChris (?), Knee High Tri Guy Scott, Gregg F and one or 2 others. Everyone was pretty much ok. Maybe someone will fill in some details regarding the crash.

Other then that, it was a good ride. Fast Fast Fast thanks to the new faces. A good way to perhaps end out the long loop. There is sure to be some discussion as to whether or not do one more week or switch to the short loop. Check back here on Tuesday to find out.

Tuesday the 23rd

The SG ride.... Earthquake edition.

      Perfect day for a bike ride. Quickly after getting off Route 10, Tall John took off in TT mode. Soon after Hunter P jumped up to bridge. That got everyone's attention and by the crap road section the field was pulling the 2 back, led by Chris C, Eric M, VQ Rob and a couple of others. Tall John managed to stay off the front and no one cared to bring the lone rider completely back into the fold. He would hold that slim 30 yard gap till the initial risers on Mountain Rd. VQ Rob, hunter P and Yelle Snoop brought him back. VQ Rob and Snoop would stay off the front a few seconds longer but for the rest of the way down mountain road it was all together. Save for the very end of course, where Mike McG was pulling away off the front. Dillon P put in a good pull to bring him back with Tall John and VQ Rob right there. The light on route 68 was green for an extra long time, giving Tall John just enough time to sneak thru. VQ and Dillon P followed suit and the 3 got thru far and square. The rest of the peleton was technically right there, less then 2 seconds back, but everyone else had to sit and stop.

     The 3 sneaks went right to work building up a gap. When the rest got going onto Moss Farms, they were out of sight. Jacinto, French Casey, and took off right away, dragging Eric M, Hunter P and then the whole field along with them. Chris C had a dig later on down the road, with Hunter P following it but not advancing it with the boss-man up the road. Snoop led everyone into the chicane with Eric M setting initial tempo up the hill to Marion. Chris C took another flyer, this time taking Richy Sachs Chris and Hunter P with him. From there it was all together heading to the route 322 crossing.

     The leading trio had to wait for the light there. They got thru as the peleton approached it turning back to red. So everyone ended up having to wait for the light there. All three in the break were working so there was a small chance it could go the whole way. Back in the field the reaction from the field after the light was swift. Jacinto, CXChris, DeepRimsDennis, and The Mike Sernyak were drilling it. The attacks flamed out as traffic and the rest of the riders behind erased any advantages. Chris C and CxChris kept up the pace after the turn onto Mount Vernon Rd, chased by Hunter P and Joe K. Things got slow for a bit, but then ramped up in anticipation of false flat section. Up ahead, the rise in the road had done Dillon P in, and he would slowly drift back into the pack after the uphill section. VQ Rob and Tall John kept on working together, and they hung onto their gap for another solid couple of miles. They would get caught just as everyone was turning onto Welch road.

     Mike McG jumped early on followed by Hunter P. Yahor from CCB, Little T and CxChris then sped off the front with little response from anyone else. BikeShopBob went after them but got stuck in the middle. CCB and Little T were working out the escape, leaving CXChris behind. Little T would jump up from a ways out, before the corner, but was able to stay way out in front all the way up to the sprint. The hill was again working its magic on everyone, with groups forming and gaps opening up. But it all came back together after red lights. Tall John would again try to ride off the front shortly after, but never got too far.

     Heading back into Cheshire was uneventful. Hunter P attacked on the hill going underneath the highway shortly on Canal St. No one went along and he was caught just before the light going back over 322. On Peck Ln, Mike McQ had a dig after Chris C tried to sneak off the front. Mike's effort drew out some strong guys ( CCB, Hunter P, New guy on a Scott, Chris C, Eric M, Todd H, New Yale Guy, etc. ) and kept the pace fast up to Route 10.

     Route 10 started out confusing as a few guys went thru a red light, making all the rest stop. Mike McG was unhappy with the lack of team work and logic shown and went off the front with a stomach full of pissed-off. Yelle Snoop was along for the ride and for a bit it looked like the 2 could ride off with the Stop n Sprint prize. Behind, the new Yale guy, Tall John and BikeShopBob were bringing it back quickly, with Little T right there. The catch was made just Little T was jumping for the sprint. Hunter P and Jacinto jumped as well but came up way short.

     The ride back into Hamden was boring. It slowed down too much in a couple of spots and in the end, a foursome comprised of Mike McG, Eric M, Little T and Jacinto were left to fight out the end. Up the hill went Hunter P and Joe K ( doing the whole ride tonight as part of his century effort ). Joe jumped too early on the hill giving Hunter the chance to scoop up the prize there. Also there for the leg breaking finish was one of the Bikers Edge guys, Rick on a C Dale, and the ice cream craving Mountain Man.

Tuesday the 16th

Generational gaps? Traffic light adherence? Don't need em.

      The started a little slow this week as Guido had radio'd ahead to let us know he got a flat a mile from the parking lot. Everyone was cool with waiting and that led to a leisurely pace once it got going. Dillon P and Antonio from CCR led everyone thru the initial back road sections and it started to get going once onto MOuntain road. Sorry to see the new rider ( Justin Neuman ) get hit with a flat on North Brooksvale. That section is a widow maker.
     Yahor from CCB and Guido got things going on the second step up on Mountain Rd. Special Ed and Jordan Lynn, the SG ride's newest Cat 3, followed that up and then Chris C and Hunter P had a dig. Hacker VQ Rob and Mike McG were up there as well and the rest of mountain rd was quick with that core group rotating thru. 
      Hacker looked antsy as the light on Route 68 turned green and sure nuff, he, a CVC rider ( Mike Sernyak ) and Hunter P took off right away. The trio worked up a small gap as Larry M and Jelle Snoop were bridging up. The CVC rider dropped back, making it 4 going into the chicane. All four would work up front and Larry had his work cut out for him as he was on his CX bike. Meanwhile the peleton held back at 10 seconds or so. Jordan Lynn and Chris C led the field up and onto Marion and before everyone hit the industrial park, it was back together again. Chris C would attack again going over I84, this time taking Hunter P along. Jordan again responded and caught the 2, in the process bringing everyone up.
      The light on 322 was green, giving Hacker and Jacinto a chance to attack right away. Those 2 held that gap for a solid chunk of road, getting caught shortly after the turn onto Mount Vernon. Mike McG, VQ Rob, and Hacker were putting in solid work to bring it back. Then it was CCB and guido who attacked right after the catch. Jordan jumped on that one as well and the trio had a gap that never got far, but was still a real gap. That break would get caught on the false flat section. Hacker jumped strong from way back in the field as Mike McG was pulling everyone along. Hacker didnt make it out of the peleton's tractor beam and settled back in as Mike would eventually ride off the front by a few meters as no one took advantage of the bone crunching section. From there the rest of the trip down Mount Vernon was uneventful. French Casey took a flyer before the corner of Welch to try and goad some action into things but no one took the bait.
       Onto Welch, Special Ed, Guido, Hacker, Jacinto, Hacker and Jordan Lynn got an early gap and Jacinto buried himself to extend the gap. Guido took over but Snoop, Tri Doug and Hutner P were close and led the peleton back before the hill. A stopped car at the corner made it tough for the peleton to get thru, so only the first 5 or so ( Jordan, Specail Ed, Hunter P, Hacker and Jelle ) made it onto West St with any speed, and even then it wasnt very fast. Special Ed took control of the pacing for the rest of the way to the sprint. Hunter P jumped out and took it over a chasing Mike McG, who was closing in after freeing himself from the mess of the pack. After that a small group of 10 or so had a weird gap of about 40 meters but a red light brought it all back. Going back over I84, were red lights usually slow things down, green lights and a determined Special Ed ( ? ) drilled it on the riser there, putting lots of guys into the hurt. There was a gap to about 15 riders up front but as the road started downhill again, it came back together.
      From there it was quick up to the 322 crossing, with Gregg F, Jordan, BikeShopBob, Tri Doug and Chris C doing a lot of the work. Back onto Route 10 where Hacker led led everyone up the hill by Cheshire Park, followed by strong pulls from Guido, Todd H and Yahor. No real gaps though as the field was attentive. Coming off a green light, Hacker attacked hard. Larry M, Jelle, CXChris, Mike McG, Jacinto and Tri Doug where the only ones to respond. There was enough of a delay in the response so that the lead group would be the only ones with a chance at the sprint. Snoop and Jacinto went toe to toe for the Stop n Sprint, with Jacinto getting to the line first. The 2 kept up the pace as the peleton behind was slowed by 3 red lights in row. Yelle and Jacinto would be out of sight soon and they ended up riding away with it as the rest of the bunch begrudgingly, obeyed the red lights ( sort of ).
     For the final kilos, for the front of the peleton at least, props to Spencer from Yale, BikeShopBob, Dillon P, Tri Doug, French Casey, Hacker, Bikers Edge Owen, and Mike mcG as the ones setting the last good turns of speed. Up the hill Tri Doug took it over Dillon P and one other rider ( ? )

Tuesday the 9th

SG ride in the rain is like being spit on a million times over

It poured on top of the pouring tonight. What started the day as a 40% chance of rain turned into a 6-7pm window of no rain and actually ended up being a deluge for the entire time. There was about 18-20 riders or so in the parking lot ready to go. Chris C got it going on Route 10 and the pace stayed decent thru the back roads. Everyone made in the crap road section on Brooksvale despite it being like a Sarajevo mine field with all the water covering up the holes. Jel!e Snoop tried to sneak away before mountain Rd and hunter p tried to sneak away on the hills starting out on Mountain but both were brought back. Snoop Doggy Dog would be at it all night, applying pressure on all the right spots. Joe K and Snoop tried to get away on Moss Farms initailly but that was brought back by Mike McG and Hacker. Hacker, Chris C and Mike McG had a gap heading into the chicane.It looked like a move that might stick but traffic in front of them slowed it all down just in time for Dillon P to stomp out the hill up to Marion ave. As the ride passed the industrial park, Mike McG hit the front and rode off alone, soon to be joined by Hunter P. The 2 were allowed to ride for a bit and eneded up working the gap to the light on 322. The light was green and the leaders went thru. Behind the whole peleton also was able to sneak thru because Jelle and Guido and Jacinto were bridging up and in no mans land, effectively making the peleton 2oo meters long.
      After everyone calmed down a bit, moving onto Mount Vernon, Luekens rode off the front alone and needed to be chased back by MoMoney, Jel!e, Arlene Zane, Eric M and a couple of others. From there it was quick and most everyone got involved up front. Mike McG was again tempo'ing off the front on the false flat section. Chris C and Hunter P were there as well and the trio got a gap that they held on to for a couple of minutes. After that the pace went back to normal, Guido would come up and set a good example, in the process stretching things out single file among the 15 riders that were left.
      Once onto Welch, a couple of guys looked a little twitchy up front. Arlane Zane, Snoop, Joe K, Eric M, And Hacker not too far behind. MIke McG settled everyone down with a good pull and Hunter P was the first to go right on the hill before the corner. Arlnd Zane followed suit and the 2 had a small gap that was brought back quickly by Mike McG, Jacinto, Hacker and a couple others. The lead group swelled to about 7 or 8 soon after as Chris C, Eric M, Guido, Joe K and one or 2 others joined up. Hacker was the first to jump for the sprint proper but was still a ways out. Mike McG and Eric M where the only ones to answer and then respond with a duke-a-roo that went down to the line and it was awfully close at the mailbox ( Eric? ).
      Everyone recollected after that but soon after it was Hacker and Snoop getting off the front and winding up a goooooood gap that they would hold all the way to the light to back over 322. It was red which brought everyone back or else the two def would have had a chance to go for the full monty. There wasnt much more to report for the rest of the ride. As everyone charged up to the Stop n Sprint, a small pond awaited, taking up the whole of the lane. Despite some swerving and some very quick decelerations in the 6 inches of water everyone made it thru. In the mayhem, the very front of the ride, 3 of 4 guys, were the only ones able to fight for the sprint. Jacinto took advantage of the confusion and attacked hard enough to go alone up the hill with everyone else 20 meters behind. From there a few guys disbanded, headed back to the Stop n Shop parking lot or back to Cheshire Cycle, so perhaps once everyone is done repacking the bearings on their bikes someone can fill in the last parts of the ride.

Tuesday the 2nd

Time to get your Strava on!
 
The usual crowd was out tonight. Everybody dealt well with the new intersection off Route 10. Bummer to see Neil Suto get hit with a flat rolling into Cheshire. Kicking off the rides antics shortly after turning off route 10 was Otto from Team Gaul. He had plenty of guys to directly follow early on, VQ Rob was up there as well chipping in. THe ride rumbled thru the chip sealed section of North Brooksvale with Hunter P up front. Hunter P rolled off a gap and was joined by Otto, MoMoney and a couple of others but the peleton wasn't letting that go as everyone wanted to blast thru the rough stuff at speed and everyone got thru it we think without incident. Heading up to Mountain Rd with Guido, BkeShop Bob and Otto up front, the pace was good. Everyone stayed together initially on mountain rd. On the 2nd set of risers, the speed picked up and there was some good pulls to knock the not-so-strong out of the rotation from Hunter P, Jacinto, Chris C, Little T and Thomas B, but it settled down after that, despite some opened gaps, and everyone got the to the light together.
       Joe K hit Moss Farms first and hardest, working off a small gap despite everyone chasing behind. Bobby German was the next to go down with a flat. Joe K and 4 or 5 others eventually tore off a gap (Luekens, Bike Shop Bob, Otto, Eric M, VQ Rob, ). Jelle Snoop, Hunter P, and Thomas B would bridge across just in time for the group to decide it was going to slow down, so it was all together going into the chicane, despite BSBob and Eric M still working hard up front. Chris C jumped first on the run-up to Marion ave. Hutner P saw that and raised it up some more, taking Tall John along off the front by the corner. The 2 went to work and were able to hold the gap till after the industrial park. Persistent chasing from A few guys, Eric M, Guido, Chris C, eventually bringing them back. Guido, Joe K and one other then tired to sneak off but the new road surface let everyone zip thru there. The green light going over 322 also was a bonus, kept the speed high and no doubt, in the end, put a tenth or 2 on everyone's average speed for the night.
      Initially on Mount Vernon, a small group was a few meters up and trying to sneak away ( Dillon P, Koski, Guido, French Casey, Luekens, Joe K etc )  but they too didn't keep the go button mashed long enough and it was altogether. Things settled down it there were plenty of guys to work the front. The false flat section didn't bring any damage, just some solid tempo from Otto, BSbob, Hunter P, Little T and MoMoney. From there it was all together till the turnaround, although there was plenty of little digs up front from the likes of Sasha from CCB, Yelle, Julio L, etc.
       Onto Welch, where at first, YelleSnoop laid claim to the "just off the front". Hunter P then followed it up with a strong pull, taking along Julio L, Jacinto, Otto and CCB with him. CCB was next to pull, then Jacinto, and the field was still 400 meters from the corner. A couple of others came up and kept the speed up. Just fast enough to let Little T and Mike the-social-assassin McG keep up the launching speed. Little T jumped followed by Mike just before the corner. Attempts to chase from CXChris and Hutner P were futile. The 2 worked well up front, trading off a couple of times before the sprint point, which Little T rolled thru first in. The 2 kept going and had a big gap over the recollecting pack, but a red light brought them back. That was the only red light tho as the rest were all green going thru the I84 zone. So the ride continued faster then usual.
         Business as usual as the ride headed back into Cheshire. Hunter P again jumped on the rise by the overpass, tis time taking Guido along with him. Those 2 were allowed to ride off a solid gap, a dangerous gamble with the traffic light coming up. But it was indeed red, bringing everyone back together. From there the ride went back to fast tempo. Otto stayed up front, looking to get something started. Guido also, despite having a fever, was up there working. French Casey would hit the front once more, sprinting out the front and manically laugh while watching the field follow thru. Hacker attacked strong on the riser up Peck ln, Otto and Hunter P followed suit with Hunter covering the gap to Hacker. Sasha and O'Shea followed it up with a well timed attack of their own, putting the pressure on Hacker to respond. Those 3 would roll onto Route 10 with a small gap, but would eventually come back as a red light early on Route 10 slowed everyone down. Sasha would stay up near the front tho and he, Otto, and Guido had a small gap as the ride approached the sprint. VQ Rob, Jacinto and BikeShopBob would go on the chase, with Little T coming out to finish the gap off just in time to sprint. Hunter P went along but couldn't come around T who racked up number 2 on the night.
        The ride back to Hamden was a touch dramatic, thanks to a group of guys who snuck thru the light at Higgans Rd. They were able to build up a gap but the chase would start soon after and thanks to some good efforts from the likes of Mike McG, O'Shea, Guido, Builder Pete, Hunter P and couple of others, the gap was erased in time for the final kilo. Guido, VQ Rob, Little T and Guido duked out the final meters with Guido sneaking by everyone. Little T had to settle for the uphill on Shepard, where he dispatched Hunter P again to take the crown there. Also heading up the hill were Dillon P, Dennis, MoMoney, C dale Rick, the Bikers Edge MTB crew, and one or 2 others.

Tuesday the 26th

       The storm clouds opened up just in time for the ride this week. It was a fast moving front but the field rolled out of the parking lot in a downpour. The Cheshire Cycle crew used their home field advantage and stayed in the locker room till the heaviest rain stopped. Soon after the ride turned off route 10, Eric M jumped off the front and was joined by Builder Pete, and Monty B from CCR. Also jumping in pursuit was C-Dale Rich and BenGe. The rest of the Cheshire Cycle crew rode up the course and found Eric M driving the break hard with the 2 CCR guys attached. Unsure of who or what was in pursuit, Hunter P, Dillon P, Gregg F and Joe K rounded up the stragglers and reconnected with the break by the middle of Mountain Road. The light at route 68 brought the entire ride back together, as the peleton had started up riding chase on Mountain rd as well with Guido doing a lot of work along with Luekens.

       Onto Moss Farms where it took less then a kilo for Yelle Snoo!P to attack off the front. Time Trial Pete and Perry would chase a bit, then Saul-not-Gaul, in a strong display as he returns to the fold, took over and by then it was all coming back together. Arlene Zane was out tonight on the ride, no doubt a homeless racer seeing as how the Crit at the Rent was canceled. MoMoney led everyone into the Chicane and Dillon P drove the pace up to the corner for Marion. After the riser, everyone rolled back together and it was to slow for Guido. He hit the front hard, taking along Hunter P and BenGe. Perry was also up there and the foursome tore off a small gap just before the industrial park. The chase was on though and as it was coming back together, Guido surged again, taking only Hunter P with him . Those 2 hung on a bit longer but ended the attack after the ride slammed into the unexpected construction section right before 322. Everyone seemed to either go very slow over the gravel or very fast. Joe K, being one of the few SG riders who has competed in Battenkill Roubay, rode off the front, no doubt looking for a green light at route 322. It was red, so gruppo compacto. Surprisingly, no one got a flat thru the rough stuff.

      Onto Mount Vernon where Eric M and a faster then last time Luekens hit the front but everyone took a bit of a breather thru this section. MoMoney, BenGe, Jacinto and Yelle Snoop were early pace setters on Mount Vernon, but the pace remained on the sedate side. Guido would roll up and pitch in along with Bike Shop Bob and Joe K. Robyn was never far from the front as well. YelleSnoop, Joe K and Team Gaul would start things out on the false flat section with Hunter P attacking quickly to build up a solid 50 meter gap by the time the road went level again. No one really responded, leaving Hunter to dangle out front for a close to a kilo before a group of poursuivants led by Guido would bring him back. The bump in speed started to develop small gaps but a pause up front let it all clam down for the run-in to the turnaround.

        Leading up to the corner for Welch rd, a small group had a crack of a gap into the corner. A CCBer ( Yahor? ), Team Gaul, and Tri Doug with Gregg F, YelleSnoop, “Divine Electric” Perry and Hunter P in between but closing in on the leaders. That led to Team Gaul setting a solid tempo followed up by Hunter P who didnt keep up the assault, letting the peleton come back slowly but surely. The next group to go off the front was Luekens, Arlane Zane and Yahor. A dangerous trio in this situation. Perry and Hunter P responded, along with an IRS Medic rider ( Chad? ) . Arland Zane clicked down a couple of gears and rode off the front before the corner, taking along Perry and Hunter P. All 3 would rotate thru the front as the speed was just high enough to keep the chasing peleton 30 yards back. Jacinto, Guido and Bike Shop Bob tried to bridge the gap, but it was too late. Hunter P easily jumped away to collect the prize. Guido would try to summon everyone to keep up the attack but a red light near I84 would get it all back.

       BenGe snuck thru a light and would go into full on attack mode on the descent of West St. The pack was slow to respond but was back to 6 or 7 seconds by the corner of Atwater St. BenGe, in a liberal show of defiance, hung on and drew out the gap, leaving Perry, Thomas B, Eric M, Otto from Team Gaul, Hunter P and Tri Doug working hard to keep it close. The 7 second gap was erased quickly when Hunter P blitzed the hill by the underpass, bringing up Guido, Arland Zane, Mountain man and a couple of others. Guido followed up Hunter P's sruge with one of his own, and BenGe again dug in and went with it. Those 2 got to the light first with Gregg F and YelleSnoop in between pack and Tete de la course.

       There was more gravel on the first sections of Peck lane, so any attacks were held back. Hunter P got hit with a flat. The rest of the way to Route 10 was peaceful with no damage being done up front. Once onto route 10, Keltic O'shea and Eirc M kept the pace high on the riser up past Cheshire Park. Heading into the Stop n Sprint, JelleSnoo!p attacked fast at the last remaining light with Otto Gaul. The field was content to watch it unfold with only 1 or 2 guys responding. One or two single. Jacinto put in a strong dig to close the gap with Bike Shop Bob and Guido on his wheel. Coming up was Dillon P, with Little T lurking in his shadow. Jelle and Otto were caught by the base of the hill, giving everyone a chance at the sprint. Little T gets back in the win column by easily taking this one. A passing truck proved too much temptation for T and he jumped on for some motor pacing with only Guido, BSBOB and Jacinto chasing. A red light by Route 42 ended the chase though and brought the field back together except for Little T who was well off the front by now.

       For the finale, Little T, despite getting dropped by the truck, was well ahead of everyone else. Up the hill. Tri Doug and Mountain Man duked it out after passing Dillon P. The were both snookered by Gregg F who beat them to the line, leaving Perry and MoMoney behind in the process. Mountain Man has vowed revenge.

Tuesday the 19th

New Equipment Day at SG ride.

    The heat index was pegged again tonight. It seemed to slim the crowd down a bit but anyone with half a brain for this type of thing could sense the fireworks coming down the road. The pace started up slow thanks to the rough stones leaving the access road. Everyone waited on route 10 for the most part to make sure the whole group was accounted for. Once on the backroads, Stage one and Guido were up front along with a new rider in a Yale Kit ( Andrew Adare ). Also present was Silent Steve, VQ Rob, sporting a new set of deeeeeeeeeep Zipps. He had along with him BikeShopBob and another CVC rider who was too tall to be CxC ( Mike Sernyak ). There was also new guy in a Amity Kit. Hacker was also up there along with MoMoney, French Casey and Hunter P ( also riding on some "new" wheels ). MaHoney would get hit with a flat and drop out. Everyone stayed together up until the approach for Mountain Road, when Jel!e Snoop took off the front all alone. He hammered out a small gap before the corner onto mounatin and the subsequent climbing.
      His attack drew the fire of some guys on the climb and soon after a small group got spit out the front. Eric M, Chris C, Dillon P and Guido. On the next section of rollers, Hunter P bridged up and that got everyone to pick it up and reconnect with the front. Pace making for the rest of Mountain rd wasn't too smooth and there was another group that rolled off the front late in search of the green light. Yel!e, Eric M, Dillon P and Little T. When Chris C and Hunter P bridged up, again the rest of the field jumped on it, not letting any hard to close gaps open up.
      Once on Moss Farms the deck got reshuffled a bit. Mike McG came up and along with Eric M, Hacker, Gerry O'Shea, and Joe K. When the pace slowed, Joe K attacked and Hacker went with him. The 2 got a gap quickly that they would hold onto past the Chicane. As they worked hard up front, the Cat n Mouse was going on behind as no one seemed to want to be the one to tack it back. Up the hill to Marion, Eric M was going hard, along with CxC, Yelle and Mike McG. The effort shredded riders behind and several were dropped. Hunter P and Chris C bridged up yet again, but this time, Mike McG has rolled off the front alone and caught up with Hacker and Joe K, making it a trio up the road. The pace dropped a bit with Zane's and Cheshire Cycle represented up the road, bringing it back just yet wasn't priority one. Joe K would come back a little ways after that as Guido was faithfully setting a solid tempo up front along with Mountain Man ( on a nice new Bianchi !? Not very woodsman of him ). Hacker and McG would cut the gas before the crossing of 322 and it was gruppo compacto.
       Eric M would jump along with Jacinto, Bike Shop Bob and Guido but that was short lived with VQ Rob, Hunter P and McG closing the gap before the corner on Mount Vernon. Then, once on Mount Vernon proper, pigs decided to sprout wings and fly! Little T attacked and attacked with vengeance. The chase wasn't immediately strong, VQ Rob and Chris C doing some work. LT kept on the gas for a solid mile and a half, and the rest were content to let him roast a little in the heat. Dillon P took it upon himself to bridge the gap quickly and then set out on his own flyer. He gave it up right as the false flat section started but managed to stay up front to usher the pack up along with Bobby German. The speed was way off from weeks past as everyone expected McG to start up an interval, but instead he sat in the pack. He would roll off the front along with Eric M once past the incline and more disorganization in the peleton meant that Guido had to be the one to bring em back.
      Heading onto Welch, Hacker attacked and his frat brother Guido went with him. A strong push that only CVC ( BikeSHopBob, Sernyak ) responded to. The foursome would bang out a decent gap as the field hesitated just long enough. Without anyone to really start the chase, guys like Jacinto, Chris C, an ever faster Robyn and Mountain Man would hit the front. Eric M and Little T showed attack right past the corner but got back into chase mode as it seemed the break would get it. Meanwhile up front the 4 were working well together, and Guido lead out Hacker before the corner, giving him a good jump on the rest. Hacker, not one to let opportunities pass by, was able to hold the gap convincingly and would immediately dedicate the sprint win to the national debt ceiling.
     Gruppo compacto as the usual lights slowed everyone down on West St. At this point the ride was down quite a few guys to maybe 25 total. Going back over 322, Eric M attacked off the quick green light, taking Guido, BikeShopBob, and the Sernyak with him. Hunter P, then jumped up and caught onto the back of the group, again setting off alarms in the pack. Jacob, McG, Yelle, and a few others chasing hard, not wanting to be left out of the fun. That led to a quick run up Peck Lane. Hunter P had a dig at the end but quickly got caught as he had no one to make the run to route 10 with.
      Once on Route 10, speeds went up and that scattered the field quite a bit. When the dust settled it was Hacker off the front with Jacinto chasing him hard. The 2 duked it out for the Stop n Sprint point but Hacker was able to fend off the challenge, making it 2 in row for him. The ride back into Hamden was fast and uneventful, besides Hunter P almost curbing himself, and Eric M nearly yard sale-ing over a dead racoon. VQ Rob, O'Shea, Middlebury Nate,  and the Suto's would do a lot of work up front, keeping the final kilo's quick. For the finale, an small group got a gap after Hacker and Guido had one last attack with half a mile to go. That led to Little T and Eric M fighting it out for the very last meters. Mountain Man used good positioning and a initial gap to take the hill prize over Hunter P.
     Good ride everyone!

Tuesday the 12th

This Year's Breakaway Award goes to.......

     Every year at the Tuesday Worlds there is one week that ends with a break that leads the entire ride and clears the finish alone. Some seasons there are 2, rarely there are 3, but there's always at least one. This week we got it out of the way. The long breakaway took the cake.
      There was a decent crowd for ride at the parking lot. Heat was on but it wasn't overly oppressive. Good too see the resilient Craig Luekens out and not phased by the crash of last week. Rolling down Route 10, Tri Doug would roll off the front alone. Then as soon the ride hit Brooksvale, Hunter P jumped off the front and took along a couple of riders, VQ Rob, Perry ( the new guy, a painter on a C'Dale ) and a young rider with an "I ride with Diabetes" jersey. The foursome would hit the rough road section still with Tri Doug a little up the road. Back in the peleton, the response was sedate, and CCR riders Gregg F and Dillon P would set tempo early on. The break, being driven by VQ Rob and Hunter P, would collect Tri Doug and set off toward Mountain Rd. Soon they were joined by more riders who had taken off the front early on and were chasing. Rob C from Bikers Edge, Yel!e Snoop, Richy Sachs Chris, Nate with a Middlebury Jersey on, Jacinto and one or 2 others who never pulled thru. The group, still being driven along by Hunter P, VQ Rob, and Tri Doug would break up a little on the risers of Mountain Rd, but tempered their efforts and stayed together. The break came up to the light on Route 68 with a solid gap and got a well timed green light. Behind Hacker, Momoney and Guido had attacked hard off the front on Mountain road and were flying across the gap. MoMoney didnt stay attached and it was just Hacker and Guido making it to the light. They missed the green but were able to sneak thru barely red and continued the chase. The peleton had to stop and wait at a red light.
        The break, now encouraged from the green light, set off on Moss Farms with determination. Meanwhile the pace in the Peleton wasn't slow, but it wasn't fast either. Team Zane's was rumored to be on active recovery mode tonight ( whatever that means ). Yel!e apparently didnt get the memo tho cause he was tearing it up. Guido and HackAttack would get up to the break midway down Moss Farms. All of a sudden, with a solid chunk of the ride's horsepower in the break, and the remaining horsies behind lacking organization, it was the break's gap to lose. Guido and Hacker wasted no time in hitting the front, giving the other strong men a little more of break from the front. Despite the big guns, the break stayed mostly together in thru the chicane section and up to Marion avenue. 1 or 2 riders, those who weren't taking pulls were eliminated by the industrial park. The break got another green light at the 322 crossing, and they went thru with just a lite touch of the brakes.
      On mount Vernon, Hacker, Guido, Hunter P, Tri Doug and Yel!e Snoop did most of the work. But credit pretty much everyone with putting in efforts up front. Behind, Mike McG set off on another one of his legendary intervals and pulled the peleton along for nearly the whole length of Mount Vernon. Not enough to close the gap down tho and when the break saw no one coming at the turn for Welch Road, it seemed like they could pull it off. The jockeying started a bit for the sprint, but everyone stayed together till up on West Street. Perry put in a long pull along with Jacinto and Hacker. Hunter P waited and jumped up to take the sprint in front of Jacinto. In the process breaking the iron-fisted rule and the long streak of sprint wins that Little T had been enjoying as He was behind in the peleton. The sprint would trim the break down a bit, most notably losing Ye!le Snoop and VQ Rob. So it was down to: Middlebury Nate, Hacker, Hunter P, Guido, Rob "middlefingers" Carmen, Tri Doug, Perry, and Jacinto. Behind in the Peleton, The ride would get split up once on West St, but the descent would allow everyone a chance to get back together. Watch out for flying french fries everyone..... Dillon P would be targeted by some post pubescent girls out a car window. Nice!
       As the break rolled on back into Cheshire, there were a few comments about heatstroke, being completely done in, and other complaints. Guido, surely going against the Hippocratic Oath he took, was still up their giving no one a chance to cool down. Hacker as well was getting antsy and was not ok with the slackers in the bunch. His chance to thin the herd would come after the incline up Peck lane going towards Route 10. Hunter P would hustle down a couple of gaps along with Jacinto. Again heading up past Cheshire Park, Hacker and Guido would bring out the tag team and put the others in a world of hurt. Hunter P and Rob C got briefly gapped but red lights would give them a chance to claw back. The Stop n Shop sprint was taken by Hacker as he narrowly held off a supa strong Tri Doug. In the center of Cheshire, Guido would drop his chain and had to stop to reload it. No problem, he would just chase back on 2 miles later. Not only that, but he would then TT attack off the front of the group to finish out ahead, Jacinto being the only one who would try to chase him down. It would be a solid 4 minutes before the peleton would come rolling in. Hope everyone enjoyed their beers tonight.

Tuesday the 5th

The “S” in crash is for Sucks

Decent ride tonight, a little on the slow side but hey everyone was probably working off burgers, beer and too much sulfur inhalation. The weather was perfect and a large group was out for it. Everyone stayed together thanks to a good pace on Route 10 from Peter K and VQ Rob. Soon after, Dillon P and Tri Doug moved off the front and got things going. Peter K also was up front drilling it.... No wait, that was from last week's notes... They may get scattered in with this week.... sorry.

       No one attacked through the first few miles of the ride, although Guido found himself off the front as apparently no one else was zee-zocken enough for it. Thomas B came up and bridged the gap and brought it all together mid way thru Brooksvale Ave. On the rough roads, Yel!e Snoop got hit with a flat and so did another unidentified rider. Once onto Mountain Rd the Yellow-shoe-team of Eric M and Rattatatat did a good chunk of work and from then the usual guys came up and helped. Toward the end of Mountain, as the speed dropped down, a small group got off the front ( Eric M, Ratta, Chris C, a new guy on a C'dale and a couple of others ). Guido charged up to the group along with Hunter P and Mahoney but it was a little too late and the red light brought everyone together.

       The start of Moss Farms was also slower then usual. Once it got going a handful of strong guys briefly made it off the front but the peleton was attentive and the group was chased down despite some good turns from Mike McG and CCB Sasha up front in the break. It was all together going into the chicane and the speed went down again briefly before being resuscitated by Ratta, Eric M and Mike McG. That same core group pushed the pace to the industrial park along with help from Tri Doug, Young Suto, and a couple of others.

Once over 322, VQ Rob hit the front and rolled off it but no one responded right away, Guido also got involved but for the most part, it was break time in the peleton until a little ways down Mount Vernon. A lot of guys got involved up front ( nice to see Sean from Berlin Bike\Best Cleaners out on the ride ). The false flat shook things up again as Little T, Tall John and Christian Olympics hit the front hard, giving a couple of guys the chance at riding off the front toward the end of the section. Thomas B, Chris C had a decent gap which Hunter P and SashaCCB closed soon after. From there it was back to the usual for the run-in to Welch Rd turnaround.

       Once on Welch, Mike McG, who has become the Mark Renshaw of the SG ride, was up there setting a solid tempo along with Bike Shop Bob and Guido. The pace making let the sprinters sort things out behind without worrying too much about attacks, and sure enough, everyone went thru the corner for West st all together. CCB, Scott Glenney, Little T, Hunter P, Eric M were up there at the sharp end with Eric M doing a chunk of work before Little T jumped with Hunter P on his wheel. T gets another as neither Hunter P or CCB Sasha could come around. Jacinto and the new guy were up there as well but so long as Little T is channeling his inner Philbert, it will take a different approach to get the best of him. Oh and Matt Sack again scared everyone with his cleat coming un-engaged, which is a feat considering he is in India right now.

     Behind, the rest of the ride was close and in contact on the descent. On the the downhill we all got to enjoy the weird sight of the legendary christmas tree light recumbent rider. But like a nerdy cousin, if you ignore him, he will most likely go away to tinker in solitude. On the ride up West St, Luekens went down when he got squeezed into the curb and hit some sand. Fortunately he was ok and he had a couple of guys hang with him for the ride back.

      Up front, the ride didnt get going again until Peck lane when Hunter P, Mahogany and Tri Doug ramped it up and everyone else was game. This led to a brisk pace ( Sasha, Berlin Sean, Glenney, Etc ) up the false flat section of Peck ln and decent speed in thru the new street surface section. Once onto Route 10, Mike McG came back up front and was drilling it. Yel!e Snoop, who had reconnected after fixing his 2(!) flats, got hit with another. Sux! The soft pedaling new haveners looking after Craig L were able to stop and provide another tube for him.... Cause the animals in the front of the ride certainly weren't going to stop and help. You guys are mean.

       The run-in to Stop n shop was fast fast fast.... As Little T recruited CCB Sasha for a leadout, Chris C, Keltic O'Shea, Koski, Thomas B and the New guys on a C'dale were at a good clip up front. CCB's leadout wasnt the best, but Little T didnt need it anyway as he danced away with another. Eric M got a good chance at beating him but just came up short.

         The ride back into Hamden was uneventful. Eric M, Bike Shop Bob, Neil Suto, Sasha and a couple of others would try to sneak off the front but nothing would have much of a chance. For the finale it was Little T duking it out with Mike McG till the bitter end. And up the hill went Tri Doug, The Mountain Man, Hunter P, Gregg F, the Bikers Edge MTB crew, MoMoney, and one or 2 others. Tri Doug gets this one, coming around Mountain Man at the very end.

Good ride everyone! Now stop yer belly aching....
 

Tuesday the 28th

Recap coming soon ( hopefully )

Its been a busy work and training week. Sit tight everyone and till then, vote the poll, feel free to post a comment about the ride, guys on the ride, girls seen whilst on the ride, bikes on the ride, bad manners from the ride, etc etc etc

here's a brief version:
Eric M, Guido, Tim Ratta, Joshy G all went fast with some help from others, Little T followed up his 5th place at Keith Berger with sprints at the turnaround and Stop n Shop. Matt Sack needs new cleats. No one got off the front for any significant amount of time ( besides Crowle and Tall John cheating at the very beginning.... )

Tuesday the 21st

        The rains came and went just in time for the ride to get going. It seemed to thin the crown a little but the core 30 riders were there. The start this week was a little less mellow then weeks past and as soon as everyone got their legs wet it got going in ernest. Mike McG and Guido were early on up front. Dillon P, Hunter P, Hartmann, Thomas etc etc etc. There wasnt much by way of attacks until Mountain road when Eric M rode the first riser section hard, taking Guido and MaHoney with him. Those 3 looked dangerous up there and it seemed like Koski was playing a bit of defense for his man so the chase got going and the trio was reeled in shortly after. From there a lot more guys got involved in the rotation. Tri Guy Knee High, Yelle!Snoop, Chris C, Richy Sachs Chris, GHC Dennis, Tall Johhny, Elder Foley, etc. At some point the Robyn-ator got hit with a flat and Hubby Hunk Rondo gave up a wheel to let her carry on. So romantic!

         Onto Moss Farms, where Eric M took off asap. Koski and Hunter P were right there and that got the pack going, stringing things out for most of the way down to the chicane. Tall John, looking fit as ever, and Mike McG came up and took over and it stayed fast till the corner. BikeShopBob and Jell!e Got things up the hill but it stayed compact onto Marion and all together heading up to 322. Pescatore, Chris C, Carquest Doug, Joshy G all getting involved up front. Joshy G lifted the pace as he approached the traffic light. It was red and everyone rolled thru together. Little did the peleton realize Joshy would keep on rolling the dice with the traffic lights in the hopes of getting a green.

         Tall John jumped off the front coming up to Mount Vernon but no one was game so it was all together at first, Joshy G and Hunter P got things going leading to the usual mix of guys up front keeping the pace somewhat respectable. Too many faces up front to really get the rivets bent though and it stayed slower then it has been through this section. Guido moved up to get things going but some sloppy pace lining let him instead slip off the front, Yelle!Snoop bridged up shortly after and the break looked determined. BikeShopBob and Mahoney then powered up and as everyone was deciding whether to be concerned or to let it ride, the break moved up the road a decent amount. As the false flat section bit though the steam came out of the break. Eric M, Special Ed, and Mike McG drilling it up front certainly helped as well. The only other movement off the front came when a gap opened to Special Ed, Peter Kenny, Chris “I only have one cycling outfit” Crowle, and Eric M. That was short lived though and it was all together and calm for the turn onto Welch, although Larry M was at the front looking to start a fight.

       Larry M at first on Welch, then Guido took over. Eddy A was near the front the whole time and that probably kept everyone alert. There was brief gap to the leading 5 but that was sewed up by Yell!e and Tri Doug. Once it was all together, the speed dropped for a bit as BSB, Thomas B and Larry M manned the front. Mike McG was the first to jump up and had Joshy G, Eric M and Hunter P right there. Mike shut it down after the corner, leaving Joshy to go it alone. He dug deep and got an immediate gap. Eric M also dug his heels in though and kept the gap to a minimum the entire way to the sprint point. A couple of times Josh would hit it, keeping the gap open, but every time, Eric would buckle down and keep him within 20 feet or so. Eric started the sprint but Hunter P was right there and came around the 2 and was able to hold off Jacinto, who had also tagged onto the leadout train.

       Things slowed down as the ride moved back toward Cheshire. Heading under the underpass on Canal St, a gap opened up to a couple of guys up front. Guido stepped on it up front, taking advantage of the opportunity. Joshy G then attacked hard, thinking green-light-means-go for route 322. Guido and Joshy G had a 30 yard gap and sure enough the light was green-turning-yellow as they hit the intersection. The peleton stopped for the light and with the cycle lasting at least 30-45 seconds, everyone quickly realized it would be tough to bring the 2 back. Eric M,Thomas B, and a CVC rider snuck thru the red light to a chorus of boos from everyone else unclipped from their pedals. The 2 slowed up and waited for the pack while Eric M was turbo-ing up to the not-gonna-slow-break. He would never make it to the leaders though, even though all 3 were out of sight when the pack got onto the long straight of Peck ln.

         When the peleton could,t see the break, it became evident that the catch was unlikely. Mike McG did his best nonetheless to police the chase and coax a solid pace from the front of the ride. MaHoney, Koski, Hunter P, Tri Doug, Tall John, BenGe, Chris C etc, all having a part in the chase. Stomachs full of anger as the peleton was single minded. Hell even Robyn was up there chasing hard, and soon enough Eric M was back in sight. The police led the ride slide thru some one lane road construction on Route 10 super fast ( thanks guys ).

      The stop n shop sprint was negated for everyone, as Joshy G and Guido were working super good up front, despite the headwind and of course the chase behind did not sprint it out. Eric M would hang on, fighting off the front, till nearly the end. But all everyone could think of was the cheeky move thru the red light. Josh and Guido would end up with a 45 second win, despite hitting their fair share of red lights thru Cheshire.

     Up the hill went Mountain Man, Dennis, Gregg F, Mahoney, Christian Olympics, and Hunter P, who got to the top first.

Tuesday the 14th

     With rain coming form the North tonight it was mostly New Haven-ers gathered at the park at ride time. The group picked up several riders on the way up route 10 though. Probably 40 or so all told which is pretty impressive considering the cold, very wet weather. The ride got going with dosed efforts at first as everyone did their best to chat and look comfortable. Yelle!Snoop was the first to have a go and with no one chasing and Jelle still unawares of the ride route, ended up going straight by Mountain Rd and that was the last time he was seen for the night. So technically his breakaway never got caught. Chapeau!

      The pace picked up after the first rizer on mountain and around the second riser it was finally good ol SG ride with a steady fast pace all the way to Rt 68. On Moss farms Jacinto and Chris C took a short flyer to make up for Saturday in New Britain but that got brought back pretty quickly. From there on the Peleton stayed together with good pulls at the front from numerous folks to Rt 322. Most riders opted for long loop, despite the cruddy conditions.
     Once onto Mount Vernon the pace started out slowly. Or at least slower then usual but there was a headwind to deal with. Once past the flase flat the speed picked up and stayed high all the way to the turn. Mike McG, Eric M, VQ Rob, Joshy G, and Guido doing all of the grunt work. Guido went solo off the front at the corner on Welch, and the rest were content to watch for a while. JoshyG went in pursuit shortly after but Guido held the gap to the corner onto West street. Joshy G, by then towing all the other fast guys ( Eric M, Jacinto, Mike McG, Little T ) went up and through Guido and kept the pace all the way up to the sprint point, where ??? took it.

       Nothing out of the ordinary going back toward 322. Everyone pretty much working to get home in good time. On Peck ln, Eric M, VQ Rob, Guido, Joshy G, and Yahor from CCB stepped it up a notch or 2 and got things going.
     Once on Route 10, Guido and Tri Doug got a little gap on the rizer going by Cheshire Park and those 2 were able to keep it for a decent amount. Red Lights before the sprint brought everything back together. It was slow upon resuming, which led to a mess of a sprint by Stop n Shop so hopefully the winner will please come forward to collect his prize. Joshy kept it going after the center of Cheshire and then things got chaotic. Joshy had two or three riders with him (LT, Chris C, Bike Shop Bob??). The peleton behind was suffering from a lack of organization and with lights starting and stopping the chase the lead group had good conditions to make an escape. Eric M, VQ Rob and two or three others started the direct chase. 2nd chase group on the road being anchored by Guido but behind him there were less then 15 riders left. Eric M and that group  were close to making the bridge to the lead group, with a red light not stopping them. Guido jumped off his group and went thru that same red light leaving Rondo, Mike McG, and Yahor to do the chasing once it it turned green.

     With the front 2 groups together and then Guido and Mountain Man also catching on near the Cook Hill Rd intersection, you'd think a group that big would just motor on home right? Wrong.... Joshy G, VQ Rob and Eric M, turned it up and went off the front, getting a gap over the remaining. Guido once again bridged the gap shortly after that, making it 4 up front for the final push, where Guido duked it out with Eric M.

Tuesday the 7th

      Another mello start to the ride this week. VQ Rob took off early and everyone was cool with that. Also left the front and then Weaver left soon after to join him. The group behind moseyed along with Stage 1 up front. Soon enough things got going with Guido taking a bit of a flyer in order to bridge up. He made it across the gap and the trio shot thru a corner or 2 where the pack had to pause. So the gap went up initially. Eric M, and Koski started the rally with help from a bunch of guys. Bobby German, Thomas B, Mahoney, Todd H, and others. The gap was down to a handful of seconds starting on the initial ramps up Mountain Rd but but the trio, anchored by Guido would just not let it die and the gap went back up ever so slightly and in the process Weaver got dislodged. It took some more strong efforts from Eric M, Hunter P, Chris C, Mahoney and JelleSnoop! to finally bring them back. For the rest of the way down Mountain it was status quo. Nothing to report, with some good pacing being done by a few guys.

          Once a ways down Moss Farms it got going again with Sasha from CCB leading the charge. No one was letting that get very far and it stayed together and fast-ish. Eric M took advantage of the tempo pace and charged off the front as it got close to the corner and Chicane. Dillon P, quickly bridged up and it was 2 off the front going up to the corner for Marion. Dillon P. hung on as Eric M twisted the throttle as Larry M, Guido, Chris C, CCB and O'shea let the field up. Things calmed down a little heading towards Route 322. O'shea was ripping it up up front in an effort to summon up 2008 when he was always hitting up the S.G. Ride.

          That brought everyone to Mount Vernon where the Belorussians from CCB were moving ahead and rode some nice pulls. Things got interesting right before the false flat with Eric M taking a long hard pull followed by Hunter P and Mike McG along the shooting range. Good to see Tall John also up there hitting it hard. Heading into the turnaround section, O'Shea was up there again along with Guido and VQ Rob. Oshea briefly was off the front along with Bike Shop Bob which led to BSB getting the jump on the hill on Welch. Everyone else behind him was cuing up \ sitting up \ watching a few select guys. Not too many fireworks thru hill and corner. A group led by Air Jordan moved off the front for most of the run-in but never too far behind was the sprinters, led by Koski. Eric M, hunter P and Little T were all up there and waiting. The front group getting overhauled with 150 meters to go. Little T jumped fast again and took this one over Sasha from CCBer

         Eric M pushed the pace on the backside but it was all everyone was all together to gawk at Mountain Man as he was experiencing some shrinkage issues ( of the seatpost kind ). Once onto Peck it got going again with Guido, Larry M and Sasha leading the charge. On the rizer up to the top of Peck ln Eric M charged off with Bike Shop Bob, Chris C and Hunter P. That group punched it over the top and thru the construction, sending the field into chase mode. The other half of the CCB toss up, Yahor, got hit with a flat on the broken up road.

          Things settled down on route 10 as the field kamikazed to the stop n sprint mark, although Todd H was hit with another flat, 2 weeks in a row. He needs a hug. In a bizarre turn, Jacinto was leading a balls-to-the-wall lead out. With him was Koski and Guido. Koski jumped for the sprint but right there was Little T yet again. Someone pop his tires or something.... Putting up a good fight was Julio L.

         Rolling thru Cheshire, a break of 3 or 4 ( Eric M, Little T , ??? ??? ) slid thru a light and then caught a green when the field had to wait. That let them build up a gap. Initially only Guido and Benge were chasing hard, but by the time it got back into Hamden, others had got involved ( good to see the kids from Bikers Edge, Owen and Alec contributing to the chase ) and the gap was coming down. Kudos the break for staying out there for as long as they did. VQ Rob, Hunter P and Larry M powered thru the final kilo to get the break back and that gave Guido and Jacinto a chance to ride and thru them to duke the finish out. Up the hill, Tri Doug led the way with good position at the corner, holding his gap over Gregg F, Hunter P and Dillon P.

Great ride everyone !

Ride changes flavor this week - Attack & counter-attack

Mellow start to the ride this week as everyone was ok to let Peter P, the National Kit, and Joshy G roll the pack out slowly. Eric M took off once onto North Brooksvale and took along Tri Doug and Bike Shop Bob. 45 seconds later Guido launched hard to get the bridge. The trio up the road were going good, making Guido work for it. Thomaas B also tried to get up there but was stuck in no mans land. There wasn’t much of a response from the pack for a surprisingly amount of time, as everyone seemed ok to let the gap go up. Chris C, Koski, and Mike McG finally kick started the peleton, and by the corner of Mountain Rd, the chase full on. Meanwhile up the road, Guido pulled close to the break but the risers on the first parts of Mountain gave the break a chance to stretch the lead. Soon after however Tri Doug had to come unlatched. Eric M and BSB kept the gap up all the way to the light on Route 68.

     In cunning fashion, Hacker jumped hard thru the green light, as the group didn’t have to wait too long for it to change. The counter attack was well timed, albeit a little awkward. Hacker rode up a decent gap once onto Moss farms and with a limited but steadily increasing pace from Guido, Eric M, Thomas B, Rattatatat, BSB, and a couple of others, Hacker was able to hold the gap all the way past the chicane and onto Marion, finally getting caught after more strong efforts from Larry M, Chris C, Mike McG and Peter P. Whether he turned off the burners or was out of fuel, is in the eye of the beholder. Impressive nonetheless. The catch allowed everyone to sit up and recover a bit, although Larry M would wade into the deep end a bit, briefly getting a gap as the ride barreled toward the industrial park. There was some more scrambling off the front as the ride got near to 322 but it all stayed together. Props to the Bikers Edge kid on an ancient Cannondale. Someone get that guy a new bike. One at least from the current era! There was also a new guy ( Yelle Stoop! ) with a blu-ish kit that had some Belgian name on it. Both those new guys were up front as the ride got to and went over 322 and would get up front later on during the ride at a couple of spots. Yelle can now teach a class on SG First Ride Introduction Habits to all the newbies out there. 

    The crap road section before 322 gave Toddo H a flat ( sad face ). Once onto Mount Vernon, Joshy G, Hacker, Eric M and Mike McG were out to make everyone’s life miserable by getting all hot-N-heavy with themselves at the front of the ride. It stayed up over 30 mph for a solid 3 or 4 kilo’s, or at least up to around the false flat section, after they were done, Joe K hit the front running along with Rattatatat and kept the speed up during that section. Rattatatat stayed up front for some extra credit time and back came McG, Eric M, Guido and Hacker to the front. It settled down after that and that let a few more guys get up front to put in some work.
     As the ride neared the turnaround, Hacker again jumped hard thru the corner onto Welch. After a few seconds, Eric M went up the road to bridge, triggering a tsunami of disorganization behind. Several guys jumped off the front, others prairie-dogging it near the front or in no mans land. DJ Dan, Larry M, Bike Shop Bob, Thomaas B, etc... Everyone deserves props for giving it ol college try but as per usual, the steady pace of the pack, led for a ways by Chris C, would end up collecting all but the 2 up the road. With about 250 meters to the corner, Brian Girard( good to see him making time for the SG ride ) jumped hard and looked like he meant business. Once onto the hill, Mike McG jumped along with Little T, still with a gap to make up to Hacker and Eric M with Girardo even further up the road. It ended up being a 3 horse run to the line with McG and Little T catching Girardo with some room to spare, letting T easily get this one with little contesting from the others. It all got rounded up on the backside, but not before Eric M took a flyer on the downhill that Peter P had to chase down. Koski and Guido would also drive up the pace for a bit but mostly it calmed down for the ride back to route 322 due to a pretty stiff headwind. Flat #2 on the night went to Mike McG, and some of the stragglers breathed a light sigh of relief. The light was red at 322, and a couple of guys snuck thru with the obvious intention of getting gap. Eric M, DJ Dan, Bike Shop Bob, and Ratta. Long way out to the sprint but that is what a couple of the front runners were thinking and they went to work building a gap as the pack slowly got going after the red turned green. There were a few guys pissed at the cheeky move. The leaders looked strong but a quick acceleration from Chris C got the chase going on Peck and the break would eventually get caught on the rizer up Peck Lane after hard efforts by Guido, Girardo, and Bobby German. Girardo led everyone thru the still-chewed-up road section. 
    Once back onto Route 10, it calmed way down for a minute or 2 and then ramped up again for the stop n shop sprint. A bunch of guys were in position for this one and there was some chaos as DJ Dan got hit a flat during the fast run in but was able to part ways without bringing anyone down. The ruckas didn't affect the very front tho where it ended up being between Little T and Hacker. T gets this one, upping his streak to 87 in a row or something like that.
Woe to us all and who oh who will step up to end his tyranny???

    The ride back through Cheshire was pretty fast, with some good work into the wind done at the front. Eric M, Hacker and Ratta again, capping off solid rides. Guido did a long pretty fast pull from the center of town to McDonalds Land. Then more riders did stepped up. For the last section Pter P came surging to the front with about 1.5 miles to go and did some nice work to string things out. There were still way too many riders standing in line for cake for the final half kilo despite Ratta bolting down the cannons with flame in hand. Guido hit the front towrad the end as usual but this time to send off an Seal Team 6 to duke out the kill. ( Bob the Lady Germinator, Little T, HackAttack, Bike Shop Bob )

Tuesday the 24th

 Not much time for a re-cap this week guys ( and gals ), we stayed up too late at the Dancing with the Stars After party ( Kristie Alley was robbed ! )


It was a decent sized group out tonight. With the 'Rent starting up a few guys were missing from the SG scene. But on the other hand we got Guido and Crowle back and both were looking to miraculously make up for lost training time.
   Right from the get-go CVC Rob and Tri Doug hit the front along with Guido, Thomaas B and DJ Dan. Mahoney also worked his way front and the pace was steady for the first few miles leading to Mountain rd. Once onto Mountain, Eric M hit the jets and strung thing out behind him as he towed Bike Shop Bob up the hill. From there on the pace was good with lots of different guys getting involved up front and a slight tailwind. Everyone wisely sat up for the ultra fast light on Route 68, giving everyone to recollect and get ready for Moss Farms.
    There, Eric M, Thomas B, DJ Dan ( not the REAL Dj dan, but still a cool guy ) VQ Rob and Rondo got things going to which everyone was game. Eddy A and Air Jordan then hit the front and created a gap to the leaders. Guido followed along with Hunter P and the group, even though just a few meters up the way, was looking volatile. The CCB duo along with Hacker and Little T ramped things up from behind and sewed it up. as everyone was coming out of the Chicane. Heading up to Marion, Eddy A stayed up front to pace along the ever improving Jordan Lynn, Hunter P and Eric M were up there too and without any attacks, the pace stayed high up past the industrial park.
    The stragglers were left out as everyone got the green light over 322 and then VQ Rob punched it breifly on the other side.  Eddy A jetted off the front as everyone got to Mount Vernon and that sent everyone into race mode. It stayed fast for the next couple of miles leading to the false flats, with the speed just under 30 miles an hour. We can all tip the hat thanks to Mike McG, CCBs, Hacker, Eric M, Bike Shop Bob, etc etc yada yada yada..... Even Mahoney was up there driving it along. Good job everyone!
     Eddy A, Air Jordan, Hunter P, Chris C and Hacker were upfront dispatching the false flat for everyone. It stayed all together after that section and despite the CCB duo and John Pescatore looking itchy coming up to Welch Rd, everyone was getting a chance to recoup before the turnaround.
      Leading up to the corner, after some good pacing by Bike Shop Bob, a huge group massed near the front. Mike McG charged off unassumingly, taking along Yahor (?) from CCB, then Jordan L jumped to match that pace along with Hacker. They went thru the corner first right in front of Little T, who had jumped a few seconds prior, taking along Hunter P, Eric M and the rest of the guys going for it. There were some cars in the corner, which stacked things up a bit and once thru it, Mike McG, Hacker and CCB were left up front as leadout train. Mike was cool with that and kept the speed high up to about 150 meters to go at which point Little T jumped up fast enough so that once again, no one went with him. Chris C and CCB went over the line next.
    On the backside it all came back together. A red light scooped up a descent attacking Eric M. The pace stayed high as a couple of guys were ok with working thru the section. VQ Rob, Thomas B, Mike McG, Etc. The next action was before going over 322 again. A new guy from Central Wheel had jumped off the front with Guido, Thomaas B and MaHoney but a red light over 322 brought everyone back together.
    Eric M found a way to have an integrated seatpost slip so the group waited a little while soft pedaling onto Peck Lane as he fixed it. But it was back to bruises soon after. It got going again with Guido, Mahoney and Ike McG up front. Mike attacked hard at the end of the little rizer on Peck, causing Yahor and Chris C to bridge up hard as Mahoney, Hunter P, Eric M and Guido chose the slow-and-steady route back to the leaders. It all came back together once everyone was past the road construction it was gruppo compacto turning onto Route 10.
    Going up the hill by Cheshire Park, a new rider in a white and red (?) kit was setting tempo pace. Then VQ Rob took over and a CCBer. Soon enough it was time for the Zane's train to hit the front. Koski and Rondo kept it brisk as Little T, Tim "best legs of the pack" Ratta, Hacker and Hunter P were sitting in. Little T jumped taking along Rattatatat and Hunter P. The big guy in the Innova Health Jersey (?) was sliding backwards and slowed the sprint for everyone but Little T, although Rattatatat was feeling the 3 hours he put in before the SG ride (!) and was fading fast. T gets this one as well by a healthy margin.
    Fast forward to the end, where empty-the-tank-efforts from Rondo, VQ Rob, Eric M, Guido, and Hacker left an elite group up front, fighting Little T all the way to the bitter end. Up the hill went, Dr. Dennis, Mahoney, Hunter P, Gregg F, and a couple of others.

All in all a good ride with the workload shared, smooth rotations up front and solid speed throughout.