A running account of the "race without an entry fee"..... The Tuesday night ride

Tuesday the 24th

So what's more important? The new New Girl or the SG ride recap???

    Racing the dark makes for another fast short loop ride. The crowds are dwindling with every week it seems as soon it will be just the hardcores out for the weekly throwdown. 25 or so out for he ride tonight and it started rather briskly out of the parking lot. One guy who was caught with his pants down was Gregg F, who was easing nature when the pack rolled out. He chased and on any other given day, would have caught on but today everyone was out like a cannon. As soon the ride turned off route 10, Rory D and Dillon P jumped up and away. Soon after, Guido, Jordan L, Chris C and one other joined them, making for a pretty strong group up the road. Behind, Cheshire riders in the front weren't too quick to chase initially and the Gibertoni was allowed to ride clear to try to get across the gap. He ended up stuck in no-man's land though. After the crap road section, Hacker jumped up get across the gap, taking along Hunter P and that was enough to signal to the rest of the ride it was time to ride. From there to the light on route 68 it was a mix of guys up front. Jordan L, Hacker, Chris C, Tall John, Joe K, etc.
     The light there was green which allowed for Chris B to lead the pack thru quickly. He stayed on the gas with Timmy Hip right behind. Soon after it was all together as guys were looking round at each other to see who would be the first to flinch. Hacker kept the pressure on going into the Chicane and Little T jumped hard to get a gap going up to Marion. Chris C and Hunter P were close behind but the speed wasnt enough to make a real gap. It was all together heading into the industrial park.
   Chris B drove the pace on Knotter drive and everyone else was content to follow. There was a brief gap that opened up due to the quick pace but as the corner for West Johnson came up, everyone was at attention. Hacker jumped right after the corner, taking along Jordan L, Young Suto and Hunter P. That group had a brief gap but the chase was on in earnest. Chris B and Chris C leading the way back up to the leaders. Hacker kept on the pressure naturally after it was gruppo compacto and his dance card changed a few times before the corner for Reinhard as guys were halfway in between pace setting and hanging on. It would eventually end up being Jacinto latching on to the Professor for the final ramp on Reinhard. The 2 drove into the sprint with some solid speed as Chris B and Special Ed came out of the chase group to try to bridge the gap last minute. They came up short as well as Little T, who jumped hard but stopped the pursuit when it was apparatnt that it was 2 horse race. Jacinto used the extra time in the draft to his advantage and was able to jump around Hacker before the corner. On the backside, it was all back together again.
    Chris B continued to set a solid pace on Peck ln. Joe K was also up front, trying to get away from the field a couple of times before route 10. Once onto Route 10, the speed went back up again, thanks to Tall John ripping a solid pull up the hill there by Cheshire Park (site of "Cheshire ....... Oh nevermind)
    A light on Route 10 stopped the ride in it tracks. The pace was coming down at that point anyway. After the reset, Dillon P took to the front along with Guido and Hacker. There was a small group with a slight gap but Little T had no problem covering as he jumped from his usual spot and took the sprint. The ride was all together going thru Cheshire and mostly green lights meant very little slow down in pace.
    For the finale, there was a couple of slowdowns, a couple of surges, and a small group off the front with less than a kilometer to go with little chance of making it. Dillon P, John Morgan from Keltic, Rusty, Central Wheel Casey, Guido and one or 2 others came up a bit short as Little T came by with the tall newer rider on the Specialized(?) Little T stuck it out to the end.
   Up the hill went a larger than usual crowd. Dillon P, Chris B, Swing-the-bat Casey, The Gibertoni, Hunter P, C-Dale Rick and a couple of others. Swing the Bat Casey took the front and led it out briskly. Hunter P jumped the rest with a held on till the top.
    Great ride everyone! More Strava KOM's on the night! Cha-ching! Next week the ride needs to move to 5:30. Only a couple more chances to grab some Tuesday night glory! We still do not have a ride-long breakaway for 2013... If it holds up, that has got to be a Summertime first.