Another Lively, and Friendly Ride!
There was a smaller than usual crowd out tonight. The cold and the wind no doubt kept a few away. Right from the gun the pace was high though. Hunter P zipped off the front as soon as the ride turned off route 10. He was joined by Steve B and pretty much everyone responded in kind.
There were plenty of warm bodies to keep rotating thru the front to keep the pace high (Jordan Lynn, Chris C, Ben Bruce, Kevin M). Turner French was next to go, and rolled off the front after the corner of South Brooksvale. He stayed on the gas and was allowed to roll. By the corner of Mountain Rd, he had 50 meters but the field was working it's way back. On the first risers up the hill, Hunter P jumped and made the bridge. That made two off the front. The response from the back on the climb was delayed which added to the gap.
A few riders didn't want to miss the bus though, and attacked off the front of the chase as the uphill section was ending. Kevin M, Wild Bill, Dan Smith, and Rich N. The timing was slipshod so everyone had to work hard with gaps in place as TF and HP continued rolling away. Pretty much just as soon as it all came together up front, Dan Smith attacked the break, taking only TF and Hunter P with him. The rest of the break sat back dismayed and frustrated. Once DS and TF saw they weren't going to riding away alone, the gas went out of that effort as well, so everyone (pack included) hit the light on 68/70 together.
Onto Moss Farms where there were a few guys (Jordan Lynn, Chris C, Hacker, etc) that were responsible for most of the pace-making. Hacker looked like he was going to attack a couple of times, but the pack stayed together all the way through to the industrial park. Hunter P rolled off the front before 322 and the light was green, but the CW-led chase was right there.
CW stayed on the front for the first part of Mount Vernon. There were a few others always present up there to keep em company. The full-length roll down Mount Vernon was uneventful. The usual gaps formed after the false-flat section, but no one attacked. The pace picked up a bit on Welch. A surge at the front put Hacker, Erin Rand, and Ben Bruce in the frontseat and they rolled off the front and hit the corner for West St with a few seconds gap. Dan S jumped across the gap, taking Steve B, TK and a couple of others with him. There was some hesitation from the chase, but once it got going, Dan S was going past Hacker and Ben Bruce. TF and Steve made up and over as well, and that was the order through the sprint point.
On the backside, a couple of guys (Chris C, Hunter P, Steve B) stayed on the gas but the pack made it's way back and wasn't too far behind as the downhill ended. Hunter P had a douche-bag wide gap and rolled thru a just-turned red light, whereas the rest stopped a second later.
Grumblecakes ensued, but everyone was eager to get the chase going once the traffic cleared. HP held the gap all the way to the light going back over 322. CW did the lion's share of the chasing to bring him back. Next up was Dillon P who rolled off the front in search of the light on route 10 but that was red thru and thru.
Damien R was next to attack on East Johnson. He rolled thru the corner for Cheshire St with a narrow gap. Once again it was Dan Smith chasing back. The hill+corner gave a few guys the chance to roll off the front (Hacker, Dan Smith, Big Red, Kevin M, Wild Bill) but there was enough of a response to make sure it didnt get very far.
Onto the Greenhouse climb, where Chris C jumped off the front after the first riser and was allowed to roll away uncontested. He kept a healthy gap going up nearly the entire climb, as the pack went up the slowest it has in weeks. The strong cross-winds were not helping. Once near the top, the gap started to come down, and then Chris C was held up by the red light. On the back side, Hunter P got the pace back up and then Steve B jumped early for the sprint. It was fast enough to catch a few by surprise but Hacker and Hunter P latched on quickly. Hacker was the first to open up the sprint proper, but Hunter P was able to come around and get the points. Ben Bruce was there in second and then TF.
Dan Smith tried to keep it going after the light and the corners, but it was all together soon after. The pace was for real after that. No one attacked, but the pace was high for the sections that mattered. The rise up Tuttle was fast, everyone ripped down the backside, and there was a healthy amount of jockeying for position in final kilometer.
For the finale, TF jumped off the front early, risking a yellow-line violation. He stalled out as Wild Bill and Big Red were winding it up. Ben Bruce got the late, best jump though and stayed out in front to get it in front of Wild Bill. Third place was ??? It was too close to call. If it was you, leave it in the comments.
(There is a new poll up. It was suggested that the end of Tuttle is getting chewed up again and sprinting there is getting sketcty due to potholes, pavement ruts, and cracks. The top of the final riser seems a safer spot to sprint to. Leave your poll response if you'd like)
