Tuesday the 14th

Make sure your Kenisio tape is on & looking tight.... Got to impress the lady Yalies!

It was a smaller then usual group tonight and a couple of the heavy hitters weren't around. Any thought of this being the yearly ice cream social ride was erased when Dillon P hit the front soon after turning off route 10 and taking along Bike Shop Bob, MoMoney and a couple of others with him.

    The pace stayed crisp from then on out. A small group was pushing for a gap heading to Mountain rd but lots of traffic stopped the ride for a couple of seconds and reset the peleton for the way down mountain. Jelle!Snoop was spied going in the opposite direction on Mountain so apparently he's gotten too good for the SG ride. We'll miss his Belgian flair for the dramatic. The ride toward the lights was uneventful with the quintet of Mike McG, Bubble Boys, Hacker, Ciocci and Larry M doing the most of the work.

     Moss Farms started out the same as always. Fast to slow and then faster again. Toward the end a good sized group was led off the front, captained by Hacker, Pescatore, and Ciocci. It was a group of about 12 heading to the Chicane so there was an appropriate response from the pack, although it was take a little while once onto Marion for the peleton to fully reconnect. Chris C attacked up the hill, taking along Hunter P who kept the pace high once onto Marion. That split off a small group along with Hacker, Larry M and MoMoney. That group couldn’t start work more then a 20 meters or so gap and it was all together again going by the industrial park and up to route 322.

      The ride got a another glorious green light over 322 and that kept things fast toward Mount Vernon Rd. Chris C and Special Ed rode off the front and had a 50 meter gap getting onto Mount Vernon. That was enough to sound some alarm bells. After a minute, when it became obvious that the 2 would stay up there for a bit, Hacker, Mike McG and a rider in a blue\green Castelli kit were the first to jump off in pursuit. Benje was next but got stuck in no man's land. The gaps behind were starting to open as the front of the pack lost cohesion. Chris B, Larry M, Hunter P and Bike Shop Bob would successfully bring the 4 guys up back and sew things up in time for the false flat section. After a reshuffling of the cards up front, leadership changed hands to anyone not involved in the break\chase.

      After the false flat, another good sized group was riding off the front but that didnt last very long. Dillon P used the slow-down to slingshot off the front but he was brought back soon after the shooting range. Turning onto Welch, Larry M, Hacker & MoMoney had a small gap that they clung to till about halfway down Welch. The front the pack ( Ciocci, A rider in a Club BMC jersey, Special Ed and Hunter P ) kept tempo high and slowed reeled the trio in. Hunter P jumped off the front as soon as the break was caught. He was allowed to get gap but by the hill was on his way to being brought back. Chris B was the next to jump, starting the hill in a sprint. He made it thru the corner first, but only with a slim gap over Ciocci and Hacker. Right behind, a decent sized group was there in pursuit. Chris B dug in for the long haul to the sprint and nearly clawed his way to it. Jacinto popped out of the group to get the sprint over Chris B, getting a much needed sprint win that will no doubt go a long way in his contract talks for next year..... Oh wait.... Nevermind.... It's Jacinto.

      The whole peleton consolidated for the right down West St and not too much happened on the descent. A couple of guys ( Larry M, Club BMC, Todd H ? ) rolled free heading to the corner and they drilled it hard enough to get a gap that they kept and added on during Atwater St. The chase slowing ramped up behind and just Larry M and BMC were hanging on by the highway overpass. Hunter P jumped on the little rise there, taking along Hacker, Ciocci and MoMoney Those 4 had a gap but couldn't quite get away in time for the light. Red light on 322 gave another chance for everyone reset.

     The ride up Peck was uneventful. On the very last tough section Chris C attacked, taking a small group with him ( Hacker, Ciocci, MoMoney, Hunter P ). That break had a gap but again, nothing that lasted too long as there wasn't enough hard terrain to give them the chance to break the will of the peleton behind. That same core group plus a Benje, BikeShopBob, Larry M and Club BMC led the way initially up route 10 but a red light at the top of the hill brought another reset. From there everyone got ready for the run in to Stop n Shop.

     Tall John, Larry M and the usuals were up front for the leadout, leaving Benje, Dillon P, Hunter P and Mike McG in the best place to kick. Dillon P jumped first but Mike had the longest sprint was able to cruise to the top alone. No one got away in town, although Larry M tried to drill it but red lights foiled that. Heading up to the high school, the “wide load” peleton was met head-on by a police cruiser who stopped all and reminded the ride about proper 2 abreast rules. It was a brief visit and the concern is much appreciated by the SG participants and really all who pedal on Cheshire's public roads.

      Heeding the admonishment, however, lasted all of about 5 blocks and once past the cluster of lights and shopping centers, it was back to owning the road. The usual suspects + Young Suto pushed the pace back into Hamden and once again it was a large group heading into the finale. At the last moment, it was whittled down to Hacker and Mike McG. From there it was a toss up too close to call. Up the hill, MoMoney switched the lever to “full throttle” and then broke it off, leaving him to implode halfway up. Hunter P had only to pop out and sprint the last half to stay away from Chris B, who was charging hard but came up short.