The weatherman was only half right today.
The usual crowd was out tonight. A couple of new faces were mixed
in, replacing a couple of regulars who were missing (Little T, Guido, Hacker,
The Full Nalini, etc) Right off the line, there were a couple of jokers who set
out ahead of the pack down route 10. They didn’t stay out there too long once
onto the backroads. The initial pace was put down by a pair ERRACE doods
(Jordan L and Rusty) and College St Cycles (The Sernyak and Jacinto). Soon
enough Chris C and Mike McG were up there as well and the speed stayed high throughout
the opening 20 min or so. On the lead in to Moutnain Rd, a new guy (Bontrager
gear, specialized bike?!) hit the front and did a great job contributing but
not getting in the way with the unknown corners.
Mountain
Rd, the pace slowed a bit at first but ramped up behind ERRACE (Rory D and
Jordan mostly) and French Casey. A couple of guys shot off the front for the
light (HunterP and The Senryak) but it was red. Once onto Moss Farms, French
Casey stayed on it and took off with Jordan L in pursuit. Those 2 dangled out
there while the rest sorted themselves out behind. Nuemotion, Ben Bruce,
Ciocci, Bontrager Mix-up and Hutner P all steadily ramping it toward the chicane.
Jordan L stayed up there and led all thru the corner. Heading up to Marion,
Hunter P jumped hard and strung things out, Seryack, Nuemotion, Chris C and a
couple of others responded and it quickly created a gap to the rest of the
field. The lead group stayed on the gas for a kilo or so but it would all be
brought back together when the sharp end of the break broke.
Over
322 and the pace stayed steady, but no one was looking to attack. Rory D
started things out on Mount Vernon with a brief jump off the front. The rest of
the way down Mount Vernon was steady and a bit slow as most riders were just
trying to avoid flatting on the crap road. Heading past the broken up roads and
leading up to the false flat, Sean Cahill showed the ride the most deliberate
attack we’ve seen in a while. Most riders at the front didn’t know how to
respond, so he rolled away. A new head wind formed thanks to the storm clouds,
and it pushed him back on the riser. Cahill would be caught shortly after the
climb as lot’s of guys got involved up front to help push things along.
Steady
pace all the way to the corner to Welch… Once thru the corner, more rotation up
front meant the speed stayed decent, but it def started to slow as the corner
and hill loomed. Chris C was the first to jump, with plenty of time to spare to
the corner. Lots of guys responded and it made for a crowded turn. It quickly
sorted out to just Chris C and Jacinto with a decent gap on the rest. The main
chase would become Sean Cahill, Mike mCg, Nuemotion, The Sernyak, Hunter P and
one or 2 others. The chase would close down on the leaders with a couple of
seconds to spare for the sprint, which Mike McG opened up in earnest. Only
Nuemotion would respond and it was a 2 horse race to the end, with Nuemotion
pulling ahead in the final 30 meters or so.
Lots of
guys in position to peg it on the descent, and with the rain starting to
lightly fall, there was plenty of reason to giddy-up toward the lighter skies
to the south. No attacks until the short hill going underneath the highway,
where Rory D, The Gibertoni and Hunter P jumped, but the response was quick and
sure, bringing all to the red light on 322 in a bunch.
The only
rider to roll of the front on Peck was the Berlin Bike rider in the Dux helmet
(name?) but that was short lived as everyone wound it up again for the long
drag to Route 10. No real action as the ride got close to the Sprint point. A
red light at the base of the hill slowed everyone down considerably, making the
sprint awkward… Mike McG, Jacinto, and a couple of others jumped all the same,
no doubt to work on their CX race starts. Mike gets this one back over Jacinto
in a long fight to the line.
The
ride back thru town was slow and cumbersome as the high school fields were
clearing out en masse, no doubt in response to the lightning coming quick. The
pace picked up once past all the lights for a standard run-in back to Hamden.
For the final kilo, A small group split off in the final 700 meters, with
Jacinto in the best spot to roll away with it. Mike McG nearly sped across the
gap and thru all but came up a bit short to Jacinto’s wheel.
Another great ride everyone! Thanks to the new guys for
being good sports and chipping in when they could.
