Tuesday the 24th

The Return of the Long Loop! 

Oh thank goodness, the long loop is back. And there was a good sized field out to enjoy it! The pace was crisp right from the start. The Sernyak, Chris C, Kyle "Headbutt" Crowell, and Jeff Scala were up there pushing the pace. Jordan Lynn was back on the ride, and he tore off a substantial gap early on that Alan Had to chase down. It was game on!
     As the ride barreled down Mountain Rd, Aidan C was up at the front quite a bit, pushing the pace. A new guy in a Ronde Rosey kit (name?) as well. Big Red had a couple of solid pulls and was floating back and forth on the front, making everyone nervous. Hunter P had a solid dig off the front with a few hundred meters before the light, but the timing was no beuno.
    Onto Moss Farms, where Alan B, Chris C, and the new guy drilled it impressively early on. It took some robust chasing from Aidan C, Sernyak and a couple of others to bring it back. It def softened the legs up quite a bit all thru the pack. After the chicane, Chris C and Sernyak were drilling it on the front again, but there were plenty of bodies to keep it all together. Getting close to the light on 322, Hunter P once again attacked off the front, but the light was red.
    The first trip down Mount Vernon was steady, but not crazy fast. All the aforementioned riders at one point or another were up to the front chipping in with the pace. Dave H made an appearance or 2 as well. Notably, he was moving up as the turn onto Welch Rd came up, but it was Aidan C and Kyle C who ended up rolling off the front. Hunter P bridged and then attacked but was caught by the corner of West St by Ben Bruce and Little T, the rest of the strong guys right there in tow. Ben Bruce stepped on the gas a bit, while Little T eased up to set up for the sprint. Into a strong headwind, Ben rolled the gap out enough to make it tough for the sprinters to catch him. Little T tried but came up short. Everyone rolled back down into Cheshire together.
     Heading down Peck Ln, the Crowells were up front a lot. Henk and one other CVC rider as well (name?) Going over the old rail tracks on Sandbank Rd, Hunter P attacked and got a decent gap right away. The Sernyak and Alan B gave chase and caught him shortly after the corner for route 10. That was enough to get the rest of the field into chase mode for reals. The lead trio held the gap past the hill, but it all came back together shortly after. That led to Aidan rolling off the front with Kyle C joining him soon after. Those 2 had a good gap heading into the sprint hill. Kyle dropped back just as Ben Bruce was winding up a lead-out from the pack behind. Hunter P sat on his wheel and was able to get an early jump on other sprinters, passing Aidan C midway up the hill.
     From there, the ride back into Hamden was standard stuff.