The return of the short loop, aka leg openers for Sunday's
Downtown Hartford CT Cycling Festival.
The ride rolled out and everyone seemed ok with the long sleeves,
knee warmers, etc. The pace was pretty quick even heading down route 10 ( into a
headwind)... People musta been concerned with the time. The ride got
going with surges from Jordan L, Riff Raff Ralph and Hunter P. A
couple times Hunter rolled off the front and the pack just pushed go
a little harder and always rounded. Heading to Mountain Rd, Riff Raff
Ralph was next to jump off the front and he held onto a gap up the
risers, but the beast would open up wide and swallow up another.
There was another small group off the front toward the middle section
of Mountain Rd. But it even with Hacker, Chris C, Jordan L, a new guy
in a GQ Brooklyn Kit, and a couple of others, it wasn't enough to
reach escape velocity.
The truce on Moss Farms lasted for about 4 feet as GQ, Jordan L,
Rory D and Riff Raff drilled the front. Hacker was up there to
looking for a chance to bolt. Despite a big push from him, Hunter P
and and the Brooklyn rider, it was all together. One rider using the
bodies in front of him well was The Gibertoni, who rocketed off the
front well before the corner to the Chicane and made the most of it
by staying out there alone for a while. Next up to the plate was
Chirs C and Guido, who charged off the front up the hill to Marion.
The response to their push was a bit subdued, but the speed picked up
and by the corner to the industrial park it was all together again.
From there, it seemed that everyone's attention went to the
turnaround and the fast climbing section that would follow. Sure
enough, with Jordan L and a couple of others already going decently
quick, Hacker charged up the first riser, taking Hunter P along.
Other in the pack behind were having none of that and it was covered
quickly. The speed was still pretty crisp 200 meters later but a
police cruiser camped out encouraged everyone to be extra nice at the
4-way intersection, allowing all the cars to get thru. It let a bunch
of riders get back into it and reset the pace for the final push up
to Reinhart. The first to jump after getting thru the intersection
was Little T, who was stuck with a broken shirt cable on the ride
down. Making due with his 53x11 or a 39x11 he jumped off the front on
the flat road to get a head start on the climbing. Chris B took it
upon himself to bring the wounded bike back. He ramped up the speed
on the remaining 300 meters of West Johnson, getting past Little T
pretty quickly. He kept the hammer down and behind, Aidan C, every pageant queen's heartthrob, was
queuing up to keep the pace high. Thanks to those 2 leg blasting
pulls, the only guys in a position to sprint up the hill were Hacker,
Hunter P and Young Suto. Aidan C pulled off right at the bottom of
the hill and Young Suto was the first to jump. Hunter P got onto his
wheel and had little problem jumping away with plenty of road left to
the corner. Behind other fast guys like Mike McG, Special Ed and
Jacinto had too much ground to make up and were out of it from the
start. Jacinto, however, gave it a go and was closing in by the
corner.
On the backside, Special Ed would charge off the front but as is
nearly alawys the case with the descent, everyone was able to get
back on and it was all together heading onto Peck. Mike McG, Brooklyn
GQ and Chris C were among those pushing the pace up the false flat
but nothing was getting off the front.
More of the same heading onto Route 10 and by Cheshire Park (site of Cheshire Cross o-13!). Several guys chipped in to keep the speed
high. Hacker and Guido moved into position before one of the last
lights and hit the as once through. Guido ended up riding away
himself and once he saw the gap, he was all in for the sprint.
Behind, everyone was finding a good spot as Hunter P took the role of
leadout, pegging it for the final couple of meters. Little T was able
to ramp up some speed and get a good jump in his 11. No one seemed
that surprised. Behind, he had a whole slew of riders trying to get
stay on his wheel. Mike Mcg was there and in contention as they both
slid by Guido, but Little T gets this one. Next week, he rides a
single speed.
The ride back was usual fare. GQ Crooklyn rider, and then The Full
Castelli, tried to ride off the front after all the lights in the
center of town. That didnt last long. It ended up all together for
the run into Hamden. After the usual hard pulls from Mike McG, Chris
C, Tall Dennis, Dillon P and a couple of others, it was Hacker duking
it out with Chris B. Chris Stays on the gas a little longer and gets
it by a bike.
Good ride everyone. Short but sweet (26 mph average!). Everyone is
in great shape to have a good race on Sunday in Hartford!
