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

Tuesday the 5th

Revenge of the 5th!

There was disturbance in the force and it led to bikes being torn asunder. Here's how it went down....
    There was a group of about 30 jedi out for the first 80 degree ride of year.  Great to see the usual cast of characters and the artist formerly known as ‘T' show up tonight.  Out of the parking lot, French Casey got the motor tuned up and set a solid tempo all the way to the turn in to River skipping the Jim Carey Cycling Heisman he’s so famous for and just sailing North on the headwind.  As he took the first right, Chris C and Rory shot off to bridge leaving the pack unsettled on who was going to chase past Brooksvale park.  Chris C and French got through the stop sign with Chris C keeping the pace high at the front.  The normals, Sernyak, Nalini, Ben Bruce (nice white walls!), Gibertoni, and a few others were pushing to make contact.  As they made contact with Mt Sanford Gibertoni launched up around the knoll taking Ben Bruce with him.  Those two kept on the pace and held the gap until  just past the stop sign on Mountain.  Chris C and Joe K, they actually might have been on a tandem…launched a splendid counter leaving little chance for those in back to stay on.  Those two held a gap until the light (note the theme here).
     On Moss Farms, Professor Crowell had another lesson on group cycling 101 for Burgie.  Burgie failed.  The group was mellow up Moss Farms with Gibertoni hitting the last riser hard and keeping on through the Chicane and past the Po Po at the stop sign on Marion.  Chris C and Sernyak bridged up and the three went to work until…the red light.  Groupo Compacto.  The ride out through Southington was mostly together with the Team Errace, Rob Dux, and a few others driving the effort.  The pace picked up on the turn around with Dillon P launching a solid effort to pull the best Watt/KG ratio on the East Coast; Kyle Crowell, up the left hand side.  I’m pretty sure I heard him yelling FASTER.  For the sprint, Neumotion, the Artist formerly known as ‘T’, Ben Bruce, and Joe K went for it with Joe K pushing through for the crown.  The Artist formerly known as ‘T’, Nuemotion, Crowell, Sernyack(?) snuck through the light on West St and crested the hill before the group made it through opening up a solid gap over the crest of the hill and downward.  Still on probation from last week there were a few folks erring on the side of caution in to the intersections at the bottom of the hill but the double greens meant it was go time and the guys off the front were consumed.
     As the rest of the field made its way back down Pleasant there was a small effort at the underpass, brought quickly back just in time for the next red light.  Onward to Peck, Special Ed and Rusty crested the hill with a solid pace and gapped the field.  Gibertoni and Joe K bridged up and the four came through the corner on to RT10 with a few meters gap and a green light but a small hesitation let the group latch on and come together at the next red light.  A couple of hundred meters later…someone hit the manhole cover/pothole and Nalini, Calfee, and Gibertoni hit the deck in the middle of traffic.  Hopefully everyone is alright, the bikes were definitely not. 

There were a few guys up front who unknowingly made the final selection of the night, with Joe K taking the S&S.  As for the finale…it was kind of the like the Godfather…2 was better than 3.  Ride safe everyone and see you next week.