Big group out to play
footbal tonight!
Perhaps the biggest group
of the year out tonight. It looked like 55+ riders strong rolling out
of the parking lot. Exceptional turnout from the ERRACE as they are
no doubt getting ready for their big event in a couple of weekends.
Right off route 10 the
Sernyak took to the front and used the strong tailwind to get things
going. He was helped along by Guido, Chris C, The Gibertoni, Mike
McG, Jordan L and a couple of others. For the turn onto Mountain RD,
Joe K Chris C, Mountain Man, Little T, and Hacker hit the risers
hard, stringing out the group as the train hit 29mph+ toward the
light at route 68/70. More than a few riders were shed as they
realized there wasn't enough money on their MetroCard.
Once on Mossfarms,
everyone took the opportunity to recollect. The pack actually bunched
up a bit through the chicane, Chris C and a couple of ERRACE riders
rode hard to the corner of marion with a group of about 20 riders in
tow. The pace continued to stay high on Marion, leading to more
shelled riders.
The light going over Rt
322 was red at first but turned green quickly and rather
unexpectedly. Hacker, Chris C and CCB Sasha went into attack mode,
showing no mercy, taking off right after the intersection. At the
riser shortly after, Ciocci and Guido were flying across the gap, but
when Mike McG responded in kind from the pack, he actually ended up
towing the rest back up so it was all together at the Stop sign.
Once onto Mount Vernon,
Hacker attacked again along with Guido and those 2 got the first real
gap of the night. They worked up a 50 meter lead or so before Jordan
L started to bridge up. Along for the ride across was Rob Dux. Those
2 made it so then the lead group was 4. The chase was on in earnest
and there was no real danger of it becoming a runaway. The group
would be brought back by the end of the false flat section. From
there, a bit more recovery time for everyone as the speed turned
steady. Heading to the corner for Welch, Special Ed took a solid pull
that strung things out and Mike McG, Jordan L, Guido, Hacker and
others kept up with the fast pace until the corner to Welch.
After the corner the pace
stayed steady as The Gibertoni was looking to lead it out for
teammates. It wasn’t fast enough to keep Hacker from attacking. No
one went with him and he got to the corner at about the same time the
rest hit the bottom of the riser. At the riser, Chris C jumped in
pursuit, taking Mike McG and Little T with him. Chris C buried
himself into the strong headwind and pulled off half way to the
sprint. Mike McG took over and finished the rest of the gap, giving
Little T in a great spot to pounce on Hacker, getting the sprint
without much contention as the rest of the would be sprinters were
left chasing across the initial gap.
On the backside, those
four (Hacker, Little T, Mike McG, Chris C) had a gap going toward the
highway but the light was red so what was left of the peleton back
together. From there the pack stayed together initially on West St
but on the second descent, The Gertoni, Hacker, and Tommy Krol went
into Falcon mode, ripping down the descent and getting to the
intersection on Atwater st with a gap. That trio would take some
liberties with a red light and their gap continued. Rob Dux came
across the gap in the confusion and went ot work helping with the
pace making. Behind, the small peleton was being shred by the
headwind and the disjointed chase. The lead group would be eventually
held up at the light to get back over 322 but they were on their way
to being caught by several riders who were working hard to bridge /
chase.
The pace into the
headwind stayed high on Peck lane and that caused the next round of
carnage on the field. Once Special Ed pulled on the last riser on
Peck lane the final selection of the night was made. Only 14 riders
took the corner onto Rt 10 in that front group that stayed together
till the end. That final group was made up of: McG, Jacob, The
Sernyak, Joe K, CCB Sasha, Neumotion, Guido, Chris C, Little T,
Chappy Chris, Rob Dux, Senior Steve Suto, Big Jim (from New Haven),
the new guy David in the Louis Garneau kit with “interesting”
drafting techniques, and maybe one or 2 others.
Once onto rt 10, Hacker
went on the attack again on the prison riser, Joe K bridged up past
the climb but the light before the Sprint run-in was red so the group
was back together. Once thru, Guido started the lead out with
CCBSasha taking over, but car traffic negated the fast leadout and
the front of the pack slowed down before the riser proper. From the
bunched up pack, McG went first with Little on his 6. Joe K went
after them and as Mike pulled off, leaving Little T to fend off Joe K
to the top to take the second of the day.
The pace stayed high
through Cheshire despite the strong headwind. Everyone was taking
determined pulls. Past the last light on Rt 10 (Cook Hill Rd) Guido,
CCB Sasha, Hacker and Mike McG went a tear, encouraged by the lack of
pack fill. Their end gap was small and they were brought back a short
time later. Before the last kilo things slowed down a bit so Hacker
went to the front and took a strong 20 second pull that strung things
out nicely followed by an equally strong pull by Mike McG that
finalized the split. That left The Sernyak, Guido, Sasha, and Little
T to finish it off by taking their respective last pulls in that
order, leaving LT last man standing for the finale.
Great ride everyone!
Let's do it again next week!
