Tuesday the 17th

 Steve B is Back!

 It was great to see Steve B back out and in the action at SGR. He's had a challenge and a half, getting his hand healed up after getting hit by a car in Meriden. He deserves a bunch of kudos as he took 2nd place at the turnaround and first at the greenhouse. Sort of using just one good hand. 

Welcome back Steve!  

Tuesday the 10th

 Animal Encounters, Mechanicals, and Spicy Action

It was a medium-sized group, maybe 17 to 20 riders at the start. Turner French was out. No big names beyond that come to mind. The pace was mellow early on. Until, reportedly, a bear ran across the road on Mountain. Dillon handled it, naturally. Word is he chased it down and skinned it alive. Situation resolved.

The first traffic light of the night was green, which got everyone twitchy heading into Moss Farms. Pace picked up slightly but nothing broke loose. Hunter P moved to the front through the chicane and into the rollers toward Marion Ave, but it stayed together.

Turner attacked hard heading into the second light, with Hunter right on him. Looked promising, but the group got the green and closed it all down. Mount Vernon saw another move from the same duo. They got a small gap, but the group had just enough bodies to pull it back. Still no break.

Then came an unexpected attack at the end of Mount Vernon. Hunter jumped early before the Welch Road turn, going with around 200 meters to the corner. He opened a solid gap on Welch and held it until the base of the hill. Behind, Turner and Little T surged at the bottom and halved the distance fast. By the time they were 200 meters on West Street, they had caught and passed Hunter. Little T edged out Turner for the sprint.

Everyone regrouped on the descent and through the I-84 lights. Things calmed down. Turner was getting frustrated with the constant surging and sitting up, especially around Wes Johnson. He and Hunter each threw in a few digs, but nothing stuck.

Then came a twist. Little T had been dealing with a slow leak all ride. He stopped with Turner Frnech fo top off his tire at the light at 322. He and Turner then had to chase back but did so without issue and well before the pack made it  route 10. This despite the field getting stretched out a bit by a dig from Dan Smith.

From there, things shifted into steady tempo. Stefano P and a few new faces helped drive the pace into the greenhouse climb. Turner, Chris C, Hank P, and the usual crew were all there. Chris C gave Hunter P a strong leadout for the Greenhouse sprint. Hunter launched and held it to the line just ahead of Turner and one other.

Later on, Little T’s rear tire was nearly flat again. He followed Dan’s early jump into the final sprint, with Stefano between them. As Little T opened up his sprint, the tire completely blew. He slid a bit but stayed upright and somehow managed second place behind Stefano. Third might have gone to the guy on the rim brake Scott bike, judging by who rolled in next.