Tuesday the 7th

Same Ride, less bikes

     The field had dwindled for the final installment of the Tuesday night ride. There were only about 20 riders out to do this crazy ride one more time for the year. On cue, Jordan L and Rory D jumped up once turning off route 10. This time Joe K and Chris C went along for the ride. A couple of seconds later, Ben Bruce jumped as well, along with Dillon P, Rusty, and a couple of others. When Hacker, Special Ed and Hutner P made their way up to speed, it brought everything back together again, front group included.
       The speed stayed high down Mountain Rd with plenty of guys to move the front along. The peleton got the light on route 68/70, leading to some guys feeling the hurt later on Moss Farms. Hacker tried to get off the front but a couple of guys covered that gap and the rest filled in the rest. As the ride sped through the industrial park, a gap opened up to a small group led by Chris C and Joe K. Also up there was the Mike Frisk, Dillon P and Rob Dux. Joe K had it pegged to the corner of West Johnson, leaving the rest to hustle across the gaps. The break was all done on the opening hills of W Johnson, leading to a slow down as everyone was re-charging for the turnaround sprint.
       For the push toward Reinhard, Hacker took advantage of the slower pace by jumping hard a couple hundred meters before the corner. Ben Bruce, The Full Nalini, and a couple of others gave chase at first but started to fade off the Professor’s pace as the initial climbing of Reinhard dug in. Hacker pressed on all the same. Behind, the rest of the dwindling field was there, giving Little T a good jump off the front. Ben Bruce and Hunter P followed. The headwind there seemed to be especially stiff, standing up the guys chasing hacker and Little T as he rolled up from behind. Ben Bruce kept on the throttle and then it was just Hunter P out of the saddle. Hunter P came around Hacker at the very last moment before the corner but for all intense purposes, Hacker had made it their alone.
       On the backside no one pushed the pace, leaving a chance for everyone (that was left) to come back together. Between a couple of dropped riders and others peeling off, the ride was sputtering out in true end of the year fashion. Rob Dux and Mike Frisk put in a solid push up Peck Lane and onto Route 10. Hacker got involved which upped the pace for a solid kilo or 2. By the time the ride got to the stop n shop run-in, it was down to about 13 guys. Traffic and red lights disrupted the sprint but Hacker and Little T went toe to toe all the same. Hacker looked to get a good jump on it but was snookered again at the very end. Little T rolled up to the red light first but it wasn’t a true gallop.
        For the trip back into Hamden, Dillon P snuck off the front before the lights and 5:30 traffic and got enough green lights to make it back alone. The pack was forced to slow for a couple of red lights but more so to go single file to get by stacked up cars. As the core group of riders rolled into Hamden, Little T took off with the Full Nalini. Those 2 rolled off and despite Nalini’s best efforts, T stayed away. 

That’s it folks!

It was another great year for the SG ride, thank you everyone who made it the most challenging group ride in CT!

Be sure to clear your calendar for CHESHIRE CROSS on Nov 15th. If you think bumping elbows with Chris C on Tuesdays is fun, just wait till you get him away from the public, in the woods, with a couple of beers! Here are some photos from last year... Special "Hill People" status is awarded to any SG Ride regulars who come out to put on a show for the racers. See you there!

Tuesday the 30th

 21 guys for the weekly cyclocross training ride, aka the SG Ride

Despite the road construction re-route right at the start, everyone was in a great mood for the 2^nd to last ride of the year... As soon as the ride turned off the bike path, it was game on, with Jordan L jumping out first, followed by Rory D and Hunter P. Pretty soon they were joined by BurgieBaby, who took a risk or 2 getting thru the corners in order to get up the leading trio. Rory D dropped back as the lead group tore through the soon-to-be-the-crappy road section. The remaining 3 kept on it as behind, the field had a couple of slow corners thanks to those pesky cars.
                The leading trio of BurgieBaby, Jordan L and Hunter P kept on the pressure, kept extending the lead all the way to the light on 68/70. The lead group made good time down Mountain RD and was given the bonus green light. The pack was just getting up to speed, thanks to solid pulls on Mountain Rd from Mike McG and Rob Dux. 2 steps backwards though when the peleton got up to the light as it was turning red. The pack hustled soon thru all the same and onto Moss Farms, not content to just sit back and watch the ride go away. Hacker jumped out from the front and was had visual contact with the lead group just as they turned onto Marion, but he had to return to the pack and rfill the afterburners.
                The leaders stayed off the front all the way to the turnaround sprint, where Hunter P took it with no challenge. As the trio bombed down the backside, Hacker was going off the front 2.0, taking a flyer up the hill along with Ben Bruce. Those 2 kept the pressure up on the descent. Up front, Jordan L turned homeward at the Peck Ln intersection, but that was just in time for Hacker to make the connection to Hunter P and BurgieBaby. It stayed the 3 up front and off the pack all the way back onto Route 10 and up to the stop n sprint. The pack stayed close and was in striking distance as the leaders came up to the Stop n Sprint. Little T patiently bided time till the last moment, jumping hard from the now-closing-fast-chase. He was able to cruise-missile past all 3 to take the sprint there.
                As the remaining riders in the front were fracturing under the pressure of the sprint hill. Hacker kept up the pressure going thru Cheshire and that led to a small group getting off the front as the ride barreled toward the high school. A turning light there let some riders slip thru the red light, while others straight blowed it. When all was said and done, a group of 5 was successfully off the front, charging into Hamden. Hacker, Little T, Hunter P, The Full Nalini and Dillon P worked the gap and stayed off the front the entire way back. For the finale, The full Nalini gave Little T a run for it, but it was to no avail.

Tuesday the 23rd

French Casey is getting faster!? 
He nearly steals the show along with Jordan L. The 2 take off fast, shed Dillon P and one other en route to a long break up to the light on Route 68/70
Few, if any, attacks made with only a couple of weeks to go...
The pack stayed together for the most part, with the usual guys content to set decent tempo up front.
Little T pads his season lead.
Easily taking the 2 sprint points. Aren't you glad you waited for him to fix the flat?
Hacker comes up a bit short in the finale.
2 riders (?) lept away in the final moments to take it.

It's getn dark out there! 5:30 next week? Or keep it to six and make sure everyone rides that much faster?

Tuesday the 16th

Guido gets a proper send off  & no animals were hurt...

     The cool weather and cloudy skies didn't stop a good number of riders from coming on out for the short loop tonight. As it should be, Guido was charging hard out of the gate. The usual riders were up there as well with him... Jordan L, The Sernyak, Hunter P, Mike McG etc. Ben Bruce and The Burg shot off after a nearly corner to get a gap. When Jordan L rolled up to bridge, it would serve as a signal to all others to get up get going.
     The pace stayed like that all the way onto Mountain Rd. Fast, with a good number of strong riders pushing the pace with the rest of the field just able to stay in constant contact. Chris C and Hunter P rolled off the front, taking a Special Ed, Jordan L and a couple of others but there was no follow-thru when the gap was formed and the peleton was able to power back once again. Midway down Mountain, The Gibertoni and Dillon P were out to put on a crucial cyclocross "racing" clinic for everyone... The Gibertoni, not out on the bike tonight, stood near his home, ready with a beer handup. Dillon accepted the challenge, took the pint... And downed it all before stopping for Builder Pete's well-timed flat tire shortly after.... Nice job boys... We expect your training to continue and your "fitness" to get better all the way up to Cheshire Cross '15 on November 15th.Next week's lesson... The dog barrier dismount!
       Onto Moss Farms for the rest of the pack, where Tall John, The Sernyak, Rory D, Rusty, The new rider on the Cervelo, and a couple of others all had a part in keeping the pace high. No one broke out off the front this week though and instead, it just was a constant crisp pace all the way in thru the Chicane. Little T hit the hill running and came thru the corner with a gap but there was plenty of guys balancing that edge of being able to attack and setting a good pace for everyone else. One guy who walked confidently over that edge was Guido, who rolled thru the front well before the corner for the industrial park. Jordan L and a couple of others were wise to the potential and attempted to go with, but the rest of the field responded for the most part.
      Chris C, Hunter P, the new guy, Guido, and one or 2 others got things going once thru the corner and it stayed fast onto West Johnson.... Again, no one really taking any digs off the front. Later on, as everyone rolled thru the 4-way intersection, Hacker surged off the front, taking along The Sernyak, Todd H, and A. Burg. That trio looked to have a head of steam at the corner but the rest of the field used the next 200 meters to claw back most of the gap. That left Little T in a great place to jump from early on. The only rider to go with was Ben Bruce, who stayed respectively close but not enough to make it a true race to the corner. Hunter P and Chris C led the rest of the field up close behind and those 2 rolled the dice on the backside along with Special Ed. No go though as the downhill was enough to let the rest of the feild chase back on by the corner for Peck Ln.
      The rest of the ride into the center of Cheshire was the usual stuff.... No shenanigans up front and no real attacks to take note of. The leadout train into the Stop n Sprint was in back in business, with a few guys up there setting great tempo. The Full Nalini was the first to go after Hacker, who had a small jump on the rest thanks to position in the pack. They were passed by Hunter P, who was giving Little T a good wheel to follow. T was able to slide around with room to spare on his way to #2 on the night.
     Feel free to leave your comments and impressions on the rest of the ride in the now completely anonymous throw-back-to-2010 comments section! Otherwise, Bon Voyage to Guido Wollman... He'll be back in the winter ya'll. We already can picture you sissy's complaining about going to fast on the Sunday ride...

Tuesday the 9th

Shortcut thru the local packy with a detour thru the pizza place...

           Pretty big group out for the ride tonight... Everyone must be getting in final training preparations for the last big race of the year. Rory D was lickin his chops out of the parking lot, drifing away from the rest on route 10. Once the ride got onto the back roads, in a replay from last week, Jordan L and Hunter P took off, this time with The Sernyak and Rusty joining as well. The group was allowed to quickly sprint up a gap but corners slowed the attack. The pace was kept high by Jordan L and Chris C came up as well. One more corner later found Hacker moving on thru the front and soon the pace was high from all. No gaps were allowed all the way toward Mountain Rd, despite some strong pulls up front by Chris C, Nuemotion, Jordan L and a couple of others. Hunter P surged alone up the road on the second set of risers but that was short lived. Gregg F countered that move but that was also a short effort as the field barreled on toward the light.... Which went green at the last moment, letting all thru nice and smooth, though the next light was red. Once onto Moss Farms, Pescatore took off and was joined soon by a few guys.... Jordan L, Chris C, Nuemotion, A CF Racing rider, and one or 2 others. That led to a pretty solid pace all the way down Moss Farms. Toward the end, The Gibertoni and Mike McG moved off the front on brute force but by the chicane, it was strung out single file and fast. That led to a fast trip up to Marion and soon after the corner, a small group was split off the front, led by Chris C, Ben Bruce, Hunter P, Neumotion and a couple of others. Despite the group having plenty of ponies the pressure from behind was too much and everyone was all together for the run toward the light.

            That light went from green to red at the last moment, giving the chance for the front 8 to squeak through but leaving the rest of the peleton having to stomp on the brakes. The law-breakers waited up in proper style and soon after it was all together heading toward Mount Vernon. Little T was off the front and drilling it with Gregg F, Ben Bruce, The Sernyak, Hunter P and a few others chasing hard. Soon after it was all together as everyone seemed to be want to the one that led the rest on the shortcut of the night.

           The time on Mount Vernon was brief, and the speed stayed high on Prospect St as there was plenty of riders to chase down Hunter P as he tried to sneak off. As everyone got back onto West St the ace stayed high, continuing with the theme of the night.

           The speed was ramping up and the front 10 were flying toward the overpass on Atwater when a little Muffy dog ran out in front of all with a lease on. Pretty much everyone braked hard and swerved safely. There may have been contact from by a rider though.... And by contact it we mean a square t-boning of the canine. The dog was pissed and complaining as most riders stopped to see what could be done. A handful of riders rolled on slowly. The dog ended up appearing to be fine. So everyone rolled on. The 2 groups were back together on Peck ln. and the ride got going back to full speed with some cheerleading from a local patrol car who thought the cohesiveness of the pack was lacking a little legality.

            Back onto Route 10, after Christian D snuck off during a lull and stayed out in front long enough to be there when the front runners were winding up to lead out the sprint.... Mike McG setting the speed down. A traffic light with a car turning out right at the base of the hill brought the full-flight leadout to a stop.

             A few guys started up, rolling hard up the hill to make a little something out of the sprint. Little T got it with little fuss. For the rest of the ride, the speed..... Wait..... Where was Guido?

Tuesday the 2nd

Aren't you glad you did your leg openers on Monday!

    Summer came back with a vengeance and gave us a hot n sticky ride last night. The usual 30-40 riders were out and ready to go. Even so, everyone was all too happy to wait for Rory D to change a flat in the parking lot. Once it going it got going. Jordan L took hit it as soon as the flag dropped off route 10. Hunter P jumped as well and those two quickly got up a gap. The chase started for reals when Guido jumped up to join them, no doubt looking to have as many shots on goal during his last couple of weeks left Stateside :(

     A slow corner soon after field catch the 3 leaders and from there it was generally all together. Heading down towards Mountain Road French Casey took off in a flash and took Jordan L with him. Those 2 worked quickly and concisely to stay on the throttle and get up a solid gap. Dillon P went all in with a bridge effort but the 2 leader were 100% committed to the break. GOOD ON EM for that!  They were nearly out of sight as the field turned onto Mountain rd. Once the threat was recognized as being serious and real deal, the field went to work to bring it down. Strong pulls from Chris C, The Sernyak, A new guy in a fake Rock Racing Kit, Hunter P, a new guy in the Mengoni kit, Mike McG, Little T , Rob Dux and Burggie Baby got the gap to fall pretty quickly. French Casey and Jordan L had 50 meters as they came up on the light for 68\70, which was red. “Gruppo Compacto” as Rondo says.

     Hacker took action on Moss Farms, and Burggie Baby and Jordan L were there as well. It would be the Burg's final showing as he got hit with a flat soon after the chicane and riser to Marion. Jordan L continued to ride hard up front for kicks and giggles.

     Once onto Mont Vernon, Mengoni was up front with Guido and The Sernyak, looking to split up the group. Hunter P came across the gap and brought everyone with him. From there is stayed solid with no one really striking out. There was a brief gap enjoyed by French Casey and Christian Duncan coming up to the corner for Welch. But that was squelched as everyone dug in for the run to the sprint.

     Despite Hacker, Mike McG, Little T, Hunter P, and a couple of others being up front, the pace slowed down quite a bit. Little T eventually took it matters into his own hands, sitting tempo up the hill, thru the corner and onward. Hutner P took over and then Chris C, stringing things out just enough to give Mike McG a good launch pad to get the sprint point.

    On the backside, French Casey took his place at the front of the class room and started schooling everyone. He hit the afterburners and was off. The rest of the field came back together on the initial descent but after the highway crossing, as the road went down again, Chris C and The Sernyak took to the front and snuck off quickly and effectively. They got up a gap that was assisted by some traffic for the peleton at the end of West St by the gas station ( French Casey's Corner). The 2 leaders drilled it for the rest of the way toward the 322 crossing. They managed to stay away despite some strong pacing by Guido going underneath the highway, and then Mengoni afterward. As the pack (now quite smaller due to the pace into the wind) barreled up to the light, Chris C could be seen leading (tempting) The Senryak thru the redlight. Safe crossing for the breakaway, pretty much out of sight, means no foul..... But it was pretty darn close. That left 3 riders off the front to take the rest of the prizes on the night. Chris C and the Sernyak would stay in visual contact with French Casey but no one would catch him tonight. He takes all the marbles and impressively finishes the ride solo... The first of the season!

      Behind, the pack was resigned to playing 2nd fiddle. Everyone would have to wait for a while at the light going over 322, and then some more while as the pack broke up getting thru the red light that would not change. Once everyone was back together on the other side, the leaders were gone-sville. Nice job to them for riding hard off the front.

Perhaps the short loop next week???

Tuesday the 26th

Withdrawal from the SGR kicks in hard right around Thursday mid morning for most.

   With each week we get closer to some final rides.... Guido's final ride.... The final ride of the summer.... Plenty of riders were out on Tuesday to enjoy the great weather and declining daylight. Still ample time to enjoy the long loop and generally the ride was quick tonight. More than a few riders had to slow/stop for issues during the crap road section early on. Then Chris C got a flat at the end of Mountain Rd.
   After that the usual guys were up front drilling it... Jordan L, Gary B(!), Sasha from CCB, Hunter P, Rob Dux, Burgiebaby, Team Nuemotion and a couple of others. Attacks were made, none really stuck. Mike McG won the war of attrition for the midpoint, into-the-wind sprint. Couple of more attacks on the way back into Cheshire. Christiano from Honduras went ballistic on the hill up past Cheshire Park and got a gap. He was assisted early on by couple of red lights for the field and rolled away with not only the Stop n Sprint point but kept on going all the way to the bank! Nice job riding aggressively on his part!
    Behind, the field knew it would be racing for second but still ramped up the speed once thru the lights of Cheshire. Guido uncorked a monster effort that took 5 or 6 riders off the front with about 2k to go. Soon after there was a high speed crash when a panicked rider swerved and slowed, taking out Hunter P and 2 others in the process. All besides Hunter P were able to eventually continue in order to finish out the ride. 
    Let's hope it doesn't affect next week's ride too much.

Tuesday the 19th

The missing week......

Gibertoni! Gibertoni! Gibertoni! Gibertoni! Gibertoni!
He is well on his way to upgrading to Cat3. 
Burgiebaby! Burgiebaby! Burgiebaby! Burgiebaby!
Because the SG ride will always need a strong rider to yell at.

Tuesday the 12th

The SG ride waits for no man... Except Jacinto, on his last ride with us...

     The rain held off for the 20-25 riders who came out for the ride tonight. Everyone was keen on sending off Jacinto and Guido in style. Jacinto moves back to Portugal on Friday. Surely it can be said that he made the most of the weekly SG Ride, not least of all because he was a true regular, but rather because he added to the ride, and didn't just sit in.

We'll all be fortunate if just one rider can pick up the slack.

     Right from the get go, Guido was quick to get to the front. Initially he had along Jeff Weaver and Pescatore for help and for a moment early on, the trio was making headway on the backroads. Soon after a couple of guys (The Full Nalini, Dillon P, Hacker, Mike McG, Hunter P, etc) started chasing in earnest and it was all back together. Getting onto Mount Sanford, Hacker took to the front along with Nuemotion and those 2 got a gap within a few seconds. Young Suto, and Hunter P were was quick to get involved and soon a select group was chasing down the leaders as everyone barreled toward Mountain Rd.

     There was no real gaps heading onto Mountain but the pack was stretched out due to the smaller field and the fast pace set by the chase. Hunter P hit the gas on the first set of risers on Mountain and split off a gap that Young Suto, Hacker and Mike McG were able to add to. Nuemotion came up a few seconds later and then Ben Bruce made it up as well. That lead group kept the pace high for the next 750 meters and onto the next set of the ramps.

     Behind, the job of chasing fell on Guido. As he poured out the power, no one was able (or willing) to chip in, and the helter-skelter chase wasn't going to bring back the break very easily. Up front, the lead group actually got the light on route 68/70, which all but sealed the deal. The lead group (Hacker, Nuemotion, Hunter P, Ben Bruce, Mike McG, Young Suto) got one bigger as The Full Nalini was able to squeeze thru the light and latch onto the break.

     With the light in the break's favor, all that was needed was teamwork and a sharing of the pace-making, which is indeed what took place. With a smaller group behind and even fewer to match the Kaiser's pace, the break would not normally be caught.... However......

      As the peleton made its way thru the chicane, Jacinto broke a spoke. A lengthy repair job kept a group of about 7 or 8 stopped for a long time. An equal sized group kept going. One of the riders waiting was The Sernyak, who soon after getting going again, got hit with a flat, adding even more time to the wait. Once that was taken care of the group decided to shortcut and ride against the route to meet up with the rest in a reasonable time frame. Although it was encouraged that the group should NOT get involved with the break, if it was still going when it was met.

      Way up the road, the break wasn't without its own incidents. First a driver pulled out in front on Marion and rode along at 20-25 mph, just off the front of the break, even hitting the brakes at a couple of spots to make sure to stay close and in the way. Despite yelling and arm-waving the driver was not going anywhere. Hunter P rolled up alongside, banging the rear panel, which only served to piss off the occupants more and led to a shouting match.... Tho the passenger in the car was dead-on in his assumption... Hunter P can be pretty “douche-y”. Incident #2 for the break happened with 250 meters to go for the midpoint sprint. The group had been trading pulls well, but on Marion, Hacker attacked, with Nuemotion and Young Suto responding. It was enough to un-hitch The Full Nalini and Ben Bruce. After the hill and the corner, the leaders hit the head wind and slowed to regroup. Nuemotion jumped hard from a good distance out and as Young Suto was going to match the attack, his chain dropped. Mike McG, Hacker, and Hunter P were all close enough to notice and no one advanced past without first making sure the chain was back on. Nuemotion got to the sprint point first without a chase from behind. Those five would re-group and keep going with the break.

    A short time later on Atwater St, the Jacinto/Guido group had actually ran into the 2^nd group on the road, who also decided to make shortcut. So it was back together for the peleton for a short moment and then the break came steam-rolling by. So before the ride went back over 322, it was pretty much all together again. Guido, full of piss and vinegar at this point, wasted no time in turning the screws on the rest, getting gaps on Peck and then on Route 10 along with Hacker.

    For the Stop n Sprint, Hacker got it clean over a 2 or 3 others. The ride back into Hamden was uneventful. In the smaller group, Guido charged clear for the finale with only Jeff Weaver to answer in the final 300 meters. The 2 went down to the wire with Weaver staying on the gas just a little while longer.After that 5 pizza's were eaten quickly (Thank you Dana R and Julio L) and no Haribo gummy bears made it out alive...

     Good ride everyone. Again, best wishes and safe travels to Jacinto Pereira. If there is a crazy, unruly, fast group ride sprint to win in Portugal, he will surely get it.