Aren't you glad you rode tonight?
The passing thunderstorms kept the
field on the light side tonight. By ride time thought, the rain had stopped for the most
part and as everyone headed further north, the roads were dryer and
dryer...
Chris C was up front as soon the flag
dropped. Mike McG was there as well the Gibertoni to make sure he
wouldn't sneak off. The ride mostly was quiet for the first several
miles. No one was attacking on the early on. A disruption in the
paceline up front as the ride got closer to the light on route 68
triggered a shift response and a few guys jumped up to try to nab the
lihgt. It was green all the way and everyone made it thru no problem.
Construction on the first part of Moss Farms closed everyone down and
it took a little while to get back going again.
Once it did, guys like Ciocci.
RalpheeBaby Allen, Nuemotion and a couple of others were pushing the
pace and got a bit of a gap but it was all together for the rest of
the way to the Chicane. Chris C upped the ante on the riser up to
Marion and a few guys followed him.... Pescatori, Ciocci, Hunter P,
Special Ed, etc. Again, gaps were few and far between, although Chris
C and Special Ed looked to keep the hammer down as the ride went by
the turn for the short loop. They had help from The Best-Looking-Ralph-Ever, and Hunter P. Gruppo Compacto to the light on 322.
After the light, it slowed down a
bit and everyone recollected. It took a but to get going again and
Guido ( good to see him back ) was ever so patient with the ride as
the field lolly-gagged its way to the construction zone. The more
delicate guys in the field held sway and it was declared a neutral
section thru the dirt road. Guido helped spark interest in going fast
once everyone got thru the dirt and had a chance to wipe down their
Asian-made plastic bikes. From there it was fast as a few guys hit
the front running ( Rusty, Chris C, Nuemotion, Rory D, Mountain Man,
etc ). As the ride came up on the turnaround, Ciocci ride off and was
allowed to go. Chris B then poked out of the field and quickly took a
gap in the crucial 150 meters before the corner to Welch. The only
one to go with him was Hunter P and the 2 rolled off a gap, went up
and over Ciocci and extended it nearly the whole way to the hill
thanks to Chris B's blatant disregard for the sprint coming up.
Behind the peleton seemed content with letting the chips fall as they
may, giving the break the chance to fall short. Chris C and Ralph A?
did jet off the front right before the hill kicked. Up front, the 2
leaders worked well together and Hunter P easily got the points as
Chris B didn’t contest after being the early afterburners for the
escape.
The ride came back together on the
backside without any incident or anyone thinking about attacking.
Chris C did seem feisty during a couple of moments but the field was
attentive or the lights were red, keeping everyone together. Together
aaaaaaaaall the way back into Cheshire and over 322. The pace was
tempo at best. Guido again picked up the slack up front on a couple
of occasions. Going up the false flat on Peck, no real action... The
ride has gotten too friendly as of late. More people need to be less
concerned with looking like they are calm and composed and actually
try to fight their way off the front.
The run in to the Stop n Shop
sprint was fast, with a few guys getting an early jump, ( Ciocci,
Nuemotion, Chris C, The Full Nalini, etc ) Chris B was back at it and
this time he brought Little T up across the gap, T had little problem
taking it over Chris C and the 1 or 2 others that put up a fight.
Moving thru Cheshire was uneventful, as an early red light let all
catch back on and gave no one the chance to sneak off.
Once past all the lights, Ciocci
fired things up on the front and then Guido continued pulling the
field single file. It settled down but with the smaller field left on
the road, the battle for the sit n sprint would end up shredding the
peleton. The Full Nalini.The Gibertoni, and Little T ended up in
front of the remains, with T taking it with a last minute surge,
coming out of the Gibertoni's shadow. Up the hill chris B took it
over Mountain Man, Hunter P, and the Gibertoni.
Good ride everyone!
