New Faces, same pain.
Leave your checkbooks at home and get your leather on boys, its Throwdown time.... Welcome to the Sleeping Giant Ride…O ten version.... Or if you listen to Chris C's complaining, the "Stop N Shop ride leaving vie-se-vie Sleeping Giant State Park". The Stop n Shop boys were late in getting to the park at 5:30 today. As the ride rolled out, no one was complaining about the lack of bubbles. Lord knows they woulda made it in time if they drove to S.G. instead but then they would lose the male bonding time and the chance to hit on the female staffers at Mr. B's Pizza in Cheshire after the ride.
Anyway, once everyone smelled each other's butts right after turning off of route 10, the ride started up for the season like a freshly tuned chainsaw. Peter P looked good early on, along with Thomas B, Eric M. & Chris C. That was the early group punching it thru Brooksvale Rd. which now barely passes muster as a back country pass, there are so many potholes. Hunter P and Chris Mahoney bridged up but it was short lived. Hacker went to work pushing the pace right after that and like some kind of wise, strong hyena, his work up front signaled the New Haven Pack that it was time to go to work tearing flesh. There were a few strong new haven riders out leaving their mark today. Hopefully we’ll get some help on the names. Black and white Bianci, Jeff W (Devils Gear Rider on a Fuji) big Dude in a white Inova jersey with blue print. Yea yea, its been a while, sorry for forgetting names.
The ride almost had a split coming up to mountain road, but it came back together and slowed a bit on mountain. For the first half of mountain road there was only a few guys doing the work, Chris C, Koski, Jeff W, Hacker, Bianci, Yalie Adam etc. The second half others started to chip in a bit. Dillon P, and Empire Matt among them. The ride went by a cop in waiting, and even though Rondo could have been cited for indecent exposure, there was no harassment from the Po Po ( tonight at least ). It was all together hitting route 70 and the ride got the green light, letting everyone thru.
Once on Moss Farms, the new haven guys were back at it, stringing it out pretty quickly. Once the false flat sections started though, no one took the opportunity to really detonate things with a super effort. So everyone hit the chicane together. There was no real attacks on the hill, but after the corner onto Marion, Hunter P attacked with Black\white bianci and Thomas B. That trio had a gap for the rest of the way down Marion but it was gruppo compacto heading into the industrial park. That’s when the crap really hit the fan.
First it was the Devils Gear rider, kinda just riding off the front as everyone charged thru the intersection of west Johnson and Peck. He rolled back into the group just as Mike McG and Hacker started off the front. That led to those 2 plus black & white bianci and Jacinto (?) with a slight gap turning onto Reinhard. The four hit the bottom of the sprint hill with a 4-5 second gap. Behind, Yalie Adam, Craig Luekens, Peter P and Little T were bringing the rest up. Little T did jump out in pursuit on the hill, but Hacker lit the burners up front, taking along Bianci with him. Little T sailed up and thru all, but was well short of catching Hacker who gets the credit for this one.
Then, with a display that certainly will take several weeks for anyone to top, Hacker continued his assault, no doubt aware that with each 1\8 mile, uphill or down, guys way back were getting spit out with their heads spinning. He stayed away, or at least solidly on the front of the ride for up till route 10 by Maple ave, Along the way getting help from a few guys. Hopefully the ride this year will see more ball busting efforts separating the chaff from the wheat.
The run in to the Stop n Shop hill was fast, but with it all together, Little T was able easily pounce on this one, especially with a little inadvertent lead out from yalie Adam, who rolled up 2nd. Heading thru Cheshire, Hacker and the clearly strong New Haven crew kept it going quickly. The ride turned idiotic as guys were going and chasing full speed, expecting rush hour traffic to magically part for them. The ride went super single file out of sheer necessity and with a couple of red lights eventually split right in half. All the Cheshire Cycle guys were caught up at the red’s. So thusly the ride ended for us much more mellower than it was up in the front group no doubt. Perhaps someone up there can fill in the details of how the ride ended. All in all, a great first tuesday night.
Yea yea the recap is a little brief tonight… .Chalk it up to easing back into the seasin. Oops, I mean season… ( Too much off season “Rondo’s Rage” )
Time Change Time!
Alright - its on like donkey kong!
Forget the male enhancement pills, the Obama's playing XBox and the hot new stock tips....
It's T.W.C time!
Looks like the ride is taking off at 5:30, with or without an ailing Rondo.....
See you all there.
Forget the male enhancement pills, the Obama's playing XBox and the hot new stock tips....
It's T.W.C time!
Looks like the ride is taking off at 5:30, with or without an ailing Rondo.....
See you all there.
Tuesday the 16th ( March 16th )
ok ok so its not even February yet, but we just wanted to remind everyone out there when it all will go down.
Also, the long loop won the poll by 2 to 1 over the 2nd place highlight ( "all the newbies" ). No doubt the long loop will continue in 2010 to be a thorn in the side of West Haven area residents.
Check out the new poll... Just something to chew on for the next 52 days.
Also, the long loop won the poll by 2 to 1 over the 2nd place highlight ( "all the newbies" ). No doubt the long loop will continue in 2010 to be a thorn in the side of West Haven area residents.
Check out the new poll... Just something to chew on for the next 52 days.
Tuesday the 6th
The final ride of 09 leaves us all a little teary eyed.
There was little parking lot talk of this being the final edition of the TWC. But once the riding began in earnest, you could def sense that guys were looking to leave it all out there with the hopes of putting a mark on what has been a pretty darn good year for the Throwdown.
Right off route 10, Ridley Ben and Thomaas B were early instigators. Hunter P got involved along with Guido and that was enough to spring the day’s first group willing to role the dice against the impressive forces behind. Also in the break was Eric M, Dillon P and Chris Mahoney (?). That rolled along thru the Mount Sanford and then thru the cobbles , but some traffic turning onto North Brooksvale slowed the group and it came back together. Right after the catch Chris C moved to the front to make himself known as did Lityle T and Mike McG. Also moving up was Hacker and Chris Jones. Good to have CJones back out on the ride, especially with a nice little I'm-riding-a-Cross-bike handicap.
On to Mountain Road where Thomaas B and Hunter P got things going up the first riser. There was another momentary gap but it came back together behind Chris Jones, Mike McG and Little T. From there the pace was good as the heavy hitters stayed near the front and kept the pace making brisk.
Onto Moss Farms where pace was decent again, Peter P, Guido, and other beefcakes keeping it real. Hunter P and Guido led everyone into the Chicane, with Guido dropping back a bit to collect himself for the attack. There was no activity behind Hunter P till Guido came surging off the front again. No one immediately responded, but a couple seconds later Hunter P jumped off the very front to slowly catch Guido a little past the corner. Guido’s surge plus Hunter’s broke the front up a bit, and a few riders took advantage to drill it after the corner. Steve Grey and a Bethel Cycles teammate, Eric M, and another rider ( Peter P?) came up and with Guido and Hunter off the front, a break was formed. This rolled along for a kilo, with Guido and Hunter P doing the brunt of the work. Behind the usual guys were riding tempo, slowly bringing it back. By the industrial park, it was all together again, although Steve Grey remained at the front and pushed the pace up till the corner of West Johnson Ave.
Coming up to Reinhard, the speed was a little higher than usual, as no one was really attacking the front. ( cue Chris Butler? ) Jones and Hacker moved up to the front, doing what they do, and was putting the pressure on the sprinters behind to keep em close. And plenty of sprinters behind there were. You name em, they were were present and accounted for. Really…. At this point in the year, do we even need to name them??? Anyway up the first part of Reinhard, Steve Grey actually found a way to still be up there but he was as good as a pig on a spit up there spinning slowly and dying quickly. Hack Attach and Jones continued to stay at the front locked in “dare me to go” poses. Julio L may have been the first to jump proper, but Little T was right behind him. Also there to respond was Joe K, who ended up being the only one to fight Little T to the very very end. Little T hit the corner first tho by a meter or 2, continuing his nearly unbeaten season in the trivial throwdown sprints.
After the corner, 16-teams-a-year-Jones and Hacker continued the strong riding, fyling down the road toward Peck lane as the working class sorted themselves out behind. They hit Peck Lane with a thin 4 second gap over Joe K and then another 3 seconds to the peleton. Joe K would try to catch them on Peck, but he would get brought back by the field. The 2 up the road however, kept the gap steady up to Sandback Rd. Behind them, Guido came up to the front and pulled everyone with a vengeance from the old train tracks to Route 10, a good kilo+. That cut deeply into the gap. A red light right immediately at the base of the hill on Route 10 slowed the chase and delayed the catch another couple of minutes. In that time, Julio L was also needed to come to the front and take a long drag on the front. With it still fast, and still strung out like a junkie after Yom Kippur, it was kinda anyone’s guess for the Stop N Shop Sprint. Kinda because not too many doubted that Little T was gonna bend chainrings to lock up his sprinter‘s Tee shirt prize. Still…. He had some work cut out for him, not being in the front 12 bikes or so with 300 meters to go. Mike McG, everyone’s teammate except for Chris C, came by Little T and dragged him up to and past the fornt, leaving Little T only a bit of homework to do to get past Hacker and a couple of other guys who were in a decent spot.
Rolling thru a tired rush hour Cheshire, for the last time this year was bitter sweet. You almost had to smile with affection as a truck pulled out and nearly took out the front of the ride. Thomaas B tried to ride off the front. No dice. The usual guys were doing the work down into Hamden, plus Jones and a cute chick in a ACT jersey (name?). In the end, Julio L, Chappy, and others ( where was Guido!? ) had a chance, but Little T sealed this year up for everyone.
Who knows what a week will bring… Maybe the sun will pause in the sky for us for one more week of immature fun on 2 wheels. We doubt it tho.
All n all, it was a great year. Please be sure to check out the new “best of” survey on the sidebar and leave your vote. Come over to the shop and buy a SG tee, we’ll have a dart board with a picture of Rondo on it.
There was little parking lot talk of this being the final edition of the TWC. But once the riding began in earnest, you could def sense that guys were looking to leave it all out there with the hopes of putting a mark on what has been a pretty darn good year for the Throwdown.
Right off route 10, Ridley Ben and Thomaas B were early instigators. Hunter P got involved along with Guido and that was enough to spring the day’s first group willing to role the dice against the impressive forces behind. Also in the break was Eric M, Dillon P and Chris Mahoney (?). That rolled along thru the Mount Sanford and then thru the cobbles , but some traffic turning onto North Brooksvale slowed the group and it came back together. Right after the catch Chris C moved to the front to make himself known as did Lityle T and Mike McG. Also moving up was Hacker and Chris Jones. Good to have CJones back out on the ride, especially with a nice little I'm-riding-a-Cross-bike handicap.
On to Mountain Road where Thomaas B and Hunter P got things going up the first riser. There was another momentary gap but it came back together behind Chris Jones, Mike McG and Little T. From there the pace was good as the heavy hitters stayed near the front and kept the pace making brisk.
Onto Moss Farms where pace was decent again, Peter P, Guido, and other beefcakes keeping it real. Hunter P and Guido led everyone into the Chicane, with Guido dropping back a bit to collect himself for the attack. There was no activity behind Hunter P till Guido came surging off the front again. No one immediately responded, but a couple seconds later Hunter P jumped off the very front to slowly catch Guido a little past the corner. Guido’s surge plus Hunter’s broke the front up a bit, and a few riders took advantage to drill it after the corner. Steve Grey and a Bethel Cycles teammate, Eric M, and another rider ( Peter P?) came up and with Guido and Hunter off the front, a break was formed. This rolled along for a kilo, with Guido and Hunter P doing the brunt of the work. Behind the usual guys were riding tempo, slowly bringing it back. By the industrial park, it was all together again, although Steve Grey remained at the front and pushed the pace up till the corner of West Johnson Ave.
Coming up to Reinhard, the speed was a little higher than usual, as no one was really attacking the front. ( cue Chris Butler? ) Jones and Hacker moved up to the front, doing what they do, and was putting the pressure on the sprinters behind to keep em close. And plenty of sprinters behind there were. You name em, they were were present and accounted for. Really…. At this point in the year, do we even need to name them??? Anyway up the first part of Reinhard, Steve Grey actually found a way to still be up there but he was as good as a pig on a spit up there spinning slowly and dying quickly. Hack Attach and Jones continued to stay at the front locked in “dare me to go” poses. Julio L may have been the first to jump proper, but Little T was right behind him. Also there to respond was Joe K, who ended up being the only one to fight Little T to the very very end. Little T hit the corner first tho by a meter or 2, continuing his nearly unbeaten season in the trivial throwdown sprints.
After the corner, 16-teams-a-year-Jones and Hacker continued the strong riding, fyling down the road toward Peck lane as the working class sorted themselves out behind. They hit Peck Lane with a thin 4 second gap over Joe K and then another 3 seconds to the peleton. Joe K would try to catch them on Peck, but he would get brought back by the field. The 2 up the road however, kept the gap steady up to Sandback Rd. Behind them, Guido came up to the front and pulled everyone with a vengeance from the old train tracks to Route 10, a good kilo+. That cut deeply into the gap. A red light right immediately at the base of the hill on Route 10 slowed the chase and delayed the catch another couple of minutes. In that time, Julio L was also needed to come to the front and take a long drag on the front. With it still fast, and still strung out like a junkie after Yom Kippur, it was kinda anyone’s guess for the Stop N Shop Sprint. Kinda because not too many doubted that Little T was gonna bend chainrings to lock up his sprinter‘s Tee shirt prize. Still…. He had some work cut out for him, not being in the front 12 bikes or so with 300 meters to go. Mike McG, everyone’s teammate except for Chris C, came by Little T and dragged him up to and past the fornt, leaving Little T only a bit of homework to do to get past Hacker and a couple of other guys who were in a decent spot.
Rolling thru a tired rush hour Cheshire, for the last time this year was bitter sweet. You almost had to smile with affection as a truck pulled out and nearly took out the front of the ride. Thomaas B tried to ride off the front. No dice. The usual guys were doing the work down into Hamden, plus Jones and a cute chick in a ACT jersey (name?). In the end, Julio L, Chappy, and others ( where was Guido!? ) had a chance, but Little T sealed this year up for everyone.
Who knows what a week will bring… Maybe the sun will pause in the sky for us for one more week of immature fun on 2 wheels. We doubt it tho.
All n all, it was a great year. Please be sure to check out the new “best of” survey on the sidebar and leave your vote. Come over to the shop and buy a SG tee, we’ll have a dart board with a picture of Rondo on it.
Tuesday the 29th
A decent sized group was out tonight, despite the 5:30 start time. With only fun charity rides, long NH hikes, or tortuous cross races left on the calendar, everyone seemed up for a jab or two and right off Route 10 Guido was up there trying to get something started off the front. Bergie was having nothing of that and pegged that gap back quick for everyone. Then it was Eric M and Chris Mahoney trying to sneak off but again, the pace was quick thanks to Chris C and others and it was all together heading to Mountain Rd.
Hunter P and Greg Ciocci flew up the first slopes there got things rolling. Peter P was up there too along with Mike McG and Little T. For a second there was another gap on the 2nd set of risers but that was short lived as guys like Yalie Adam and Joe K were moving up. For the rest of the trip down Mountain, there were plenty of guys willing to work and the ride snapped like a carbon fiber whip. Yalie Adam was once again powering off near the end of Mountain, maybe to sneak off. He had Hunter P and Dillon P right there but with the red light, it all came back together again.
After the ride nearly suffered a collision with a car from behind on Moss Farms. It was French Casey leading the charge with John Gregory, Julio L, Chris C, Eric M, Rondo, etc. all close behind. Rolling into the chicane was pretty calm with no one really gunning it. Once at the top though Rondo, Chris C and Chappy Chris hit the gas and no one followed immediately. Once there was a gap it seemed like everyone would just rather wait and see how this one turned out instead of chasing the happy trio down. The gap went up to 7 or 8 seconds as Yalie Adam moved to the front and set a catch-em tempo. Then, as pigs were flying across the road nearly making bacon of themselves, Rondo turned it off and let the Chris’s roll off. Gianni Bugno was rolling in his grave* as the breakaway of 2 then disintegrated. It was pretty much all gruppo compacto heading into the industrial park. There, Guido (?) gave it a go and gapped the field briefly with Chris C still fighting it out off the front. Behind them, Peter P was leading the rest. Chris turned first onto West Johnson and gave it another stab but Peter P and Hunter P were right there and then it was Hunter P’s turn to go and he rolled off alone. The front of the field went into a brief tempo mode, giving Hunter a decent gap heading up to Rienhard. Guido was the first to jump and jump hard he did, going right past Hunter P hitting the corner first with a decent chance to get the sprint. Behind there was a real deal chase group riding away from the rest, Mike McG, Ken just Ken, Joe K, Greg Ciocci, Julio L, Peter P. Little T was close behind. That group swept up Hunter P and set the sights on the German. Just as the catch was being made, Little T jumped, taking most of the group with him but only Joe K had the fighting chance. T stuck it out and hit the corner first. Behind, Hunter P and Ciocci were rolling thru and collecting the near dead in order to keep up a gap off the front. A group of 5 or so got going fast down the back side, but traffic turning onto Peck Ln stopped everyone, bringing it all back together.
Coming up to Route 10, there was a brief move off the front by Peter P, Chris C, Chappy & Hunter P, but that didn’t last too long. From there the pace was decent up to the Stop N Shop sprint where a small group was quick to get into position off the front. LittleT, Julio L, Ciocci, and Peter P. Little T out-dueled Peter P for this one, making it two in row.
Moving thru Cheshire, TT Pete was seen dangling off the front, no doubt looking to pounce on any chance to get a gap to drive it home with. Guido was also up there getting ready to hit it in between lights. Once thru town, Julio L came up to the front and drilled it. Leading out all for a solid kilo before the likes of Mike McG and Eric M pulled thru.
For the final couple of clicks, the pace slowed for a second or 2, giving an unlikely Dillon P the honors of burying himself for Rondo, Little T, Hunter P and a couple of others. The race to the end was a 3 way battle till the Guido came rumbling thru in time to pass Little T and let him know how it was going to end. Little T sat up and rolled in right behind Guido, Hunter P and Bergie right there as well. Although for standing during the final, (cough - ahem - err) “sprint”, he gets a big fat DQ on this night.
Great ride everyone… Probably only one more week of these shenanigans left.
* Gianni Bugno is alive and well and probably, along with his fellow Romans, cursing the near overnight dominance of SRAM Road groups.
Hunter P and Greg Ciocci flew up the first slopes there got things rolling. Peter P was up there too along with Mike McG and Little T. For a second there was another gap on the 2nd set of risers but that was short lived as guys like Yalie Adam and Joe K were moving up. For the rest of the trip down Mountain, there were plenty of guys willing to work and the ride snapped like a carbon fiber whip. Yalie Adam was once again powering off near the end of Mountain, maybe to sneak off. He had Hunter P and Dillon P right there but with the red light, it all came back together again.
After the ride nearly suffered a collision with a car from behind on Moss Farms. It was French Casey leading the charge with John Gregory, Julio L, Chris C, Eric M, Rondo, etc. all close behind. Rolling into the chicane was pretty calm with no one really gunning it. Once at the top though Rondo, Chris C and Chappy Chris hit the gas and no one followed immediately. Once there was a gap it seemed like everyone would just rather wait and see how this one turned out instead of chasing the happy trio down. The gap went up to 7 or 8 seconds as Yalie Adam moved to the front and set a catch-em tempo. Then, as pigs were flying across the road nearly making bacon of themselves, Rondo turned it off and let the Chris’s roll off. Gianni Bugno was rolling in his grave* as the breakaway of 2 then disintegrated. It was pretty much all gruppo compacto heading into the industrial park. There, Guido (?) gave it a go and gapped the field briefly with Chris C still fighting it out off the front. Behind them, Peter P was leading the rest. Chris turned first onto West Johnson and gave it another stab but Peter P and Hunter P were right there and then it was Hunter P’s turn to go and he rolled off alone. The front of the field went into a brief tempo mode, giving Hunter a decent gap heading up to Rienhard. Guido was the first to jump and jump hard he did, going right past Hunter P hitting the corner first with a decent chance to get the sprint. Behind there was a real deal chase group riding away from the rest, Mike McG, Ken just Ken, Joe K, Greg Ciocci, Julio L, Peter P. Little T was close behind. That group swept up Hunter P and set the sights on the German. Just as the catch was being made, Little T jumped, taking most of the group with him but only Joe K had the fighting chance. T stuck it out and hit the corner first. Behind, Hunter P and Ciocci were rolling thru and collecting the near dead in order to keep up a gap off the front. A group of 5 or so got going fast down the back side, but traffic turning onto Peck Ln stopped everyone, bringing it all back together.
Coming up to Route 10, there was a brief move off the front by Peter P, Chris C, Chappy & Hunter P, but that didn’t last too long. From there the pace was decent up to the Stop N Shop sprint where a small group was quick to get into position off the front. LittleT, Julio L, Ciocci, and Peter P. Little T out-dueled Peter P for this one, making it two in row.
Moving thru Cheshire, TT Pete was seen dangling off the front, no doubt looking to pounce on any chance to get a gap to drive it home with. Guido was also up there getting ready to hit it in between lights. Once thru town, Julio L came up to the front and drilled it. Leading out all for a solid kilo before the likes of Mike McG and Eric M pulled thru.
For the final couple of clicks, the pace slowed for a second or 2, giving an unlikely Dillon P the honors of burying himself for Rondo, Little T, Hunter P and a couple of others. The race to the end was a 3 way battle till the Guido came rumbling thru in time to pass Little T and let him know how it was going to end. Little T sat up and rolled in right behind Guido, Hunter P and Bergie right there as well. Although for standing during the final, (cough - ahem - err) “sprint”, he gets a big fat DQ on this night.
Great ride everyone… Probably only one more week of these shenanigans left.
* Gianni Bugno is alive and well and probably, along with his fellow Romans, cursing the near overnight dominance of SRAM Road groups.
Tuesday the 29th
Looks like the ride is leaving at 5:30 tonight. If you have any questions, leave them here or feel free to call the shop.... 203 250 9996
Hope to see ALL the usuals out there.
Hope to see ALL the usuals out there.
Tuesday the 15th
Sniff Sniff, we miss the long (easier) loop
A good sized group out tonight and right from the start there was a group that was threatening to pull off the front… Julio L and John Gregory the main offenders among them.
But things settled down quickly, even tho the the pace was “tense” for a while. Eric M took over pace making along with VQ Rob. And soon enough, Mike McG and winter racer Kurt Davis were heading up to the front and turning the microwave to “defrost” mode. Cruising up Mountain road, Kurt D led for a healthy spell and by the second set of risers was starting to lead a small group off the front. Chris C, Tall John, Steve Grey, Ciocci, Tim Ratatata among the guys up front putting down a strong tempo. Then nearing the end of Mountain Rd, another group almost got free, no doubt looking for green daylight, but everyone stopped for the light on route 68.
Kurt D went straight to the front on Moss Farms and took Hunter P and T. Ratta along with him. The 3 went to work together but were being given zero to none leeway from the leaders of the peleton. Mike McG and Chris C among the ones keeping it close. The trio up the road wouldn’t fade easily and so the pace heading to the Chicane was brisk to say the least. Once caught, Davis wasn’t yet done and continued to stay near the front and help things move along with plenty of fiber. After that stretch, things calmed down and slowed down leading into the Chicane and no one was there to really drill it. Mike MaHoney, Eric M and Ciocci (?) were up there bringing everyone thru. Once everyone made it safely thru the turn into the industrial park things got going again with Little T and Ratta trying to separate themselves…. Crazy Chris, Julio L and a couple of others were up there as well and for a moment it looked like they may succeed in at least getting to West Johnson Ave with a gap but things slowed down a bit, no doubt due to Ratta’s short ride virginity. Next was Davis as he accelerated up the first initial risers of West Johnson. He took along a couple of Stage 3 guys (?) but that fizzed out by going thru the intersection of Peck Lane. Rondo took a dig, no doubt using that extra time he spent on the short bus kicking butt with the other “B ride” riders to his advantage. He looked like he was in a decent position to go for it as he went up the initial part of Reinhart with a few seconds but that evaporated pretty quickly as Little T sped off with Mike McG and Hunter P in tow. Those 3 took off and stayed exactly in that order as Little T kept on the gas all the way to the corner, leading out and winning the sprint in impressive fashion.
On the backside it all came back together before Peck Ln. Heading up to route 10 Julio L and Chris C obviously hatched some type of plan and were gunning it before and into the corner. Ratta, just looking to not go slow, jumped on and the 3 had a gap of maybe 7 seconds at the base of the hill by Cheshire Park. Hunter P jumped from the front of the rest and bridged up just as it was coming apart. Ratta sensed the hesitation and attacked the front, riding off alone. The Peleton was going up to the leaders, led by a host of guys, VQ Rob, Guido, Ciocci, Bergie, Mike McG, Little T etc. Hats off to Robyn as well for staying right up there close to the front, all ride long for the most part. Ratta got thru the first light on Route 10 as everyone behind had to stop. He soft pedaled after that and let everyone catch back on. Super sporting of him as he no doubt could have given it a fair & square run the whole way to the Stop n Shop sprint with the gap he had.
Once it came back together the pace went up again as it was single file to the sprint with only a few guys in position with the speed to contest it. Ratta, Mike McG, Hunter P, Julio, Chris C, and 1 or 2 more with a chance. In the end it was Ratta leading out Little T which is never gonna end pretty and Little T came around easily to secure more “Green SG Tee Shirt” points.
Heading back to Hamden was normal. We think there was some scheming being done again by TT Pete and Guido but any gap off the front they had was small & brief. It got a little clogged up in the finale after Curt D put in his final 2 cents worth and pulled off. With one on to follow, it slowed and then with Mike McG and Little T air ramming the left side, that was the place to be… Julio was up there? Or was it VQ Rob? Either way Little t got it and rounded out the hat trick for the night. Making up for last week’s debacle.
Good ride and a thanks to Curt D for helping make it a proper fast ride.
A good sized group out tonight and right from the start there was a group that was threatening to pull off the front… Julio L and John Gregory the main offenders among them.
But things settled down quickly, even tho the the pace was “tense” for a while. Eric M took over pace making along with VQ Rob. And soon enough, Mike McG and winter racer Kurt Davis were heading up to the front and turning the microwave to “defrost” mode. Cruising up Mountain road, Kurt D led for a healthy spell and by the second set of risers was starting to lead a small group off the front. Chris C, Tall John, Steve Grey, Ciocci, Tim Ratatata among the guys up front putting down a strong tempo. Then nearing the end of Mountain Rd, another group almost got free, no doubt looking for green daylight, but everyone stopped for the light on route 68.
Kurt D went straight to the front on Moss Farms and took Hunter P and T. Ratta along with him. The 3 went to work together but were being given zero to none leeway from the leaders of the peleton. Mike McG and Chris C among the ones keeping it close. The trio up the road wouldn’t fade easily and so the pace heading to the Chicane was brisk to say the least. Once caught, Davis wasn’t yet done and continued to stay near the front and help things move along with plenty of fiber. After that stretch, things calmed down and slowed down leading into the Chicane and no one was there to really drill it. Mike MaHoney, Eric M and Ciocci (?) were up there bringing everyone thru. Once everyone made it safely thru the turn into the industrial park things got going again with Little T and Ratta trying to separate themselves…. Crazy Chris, Julio L and a couple of others were up there as well and for a moment it looked like they may succeed in at least getting to West Johnson Ave with a gap but things slowed down a bit, no doubt due to Ratta’s short ride virginity. Next was Davis as he accelerated up the first initial risers of West Johnson. He took along a couple of Stage 3 guys (?) but that fizzed out by going thru the intersection of Peck Lane. Rondo took a dig, no doubt using that extra time he spent on the short bus kicking butt with the other “B ride” riders to his advantage. He looked like he was in a decent position to go for it as he went up the initial part of Reinhart with a few seconds but that evaporated pretty quickly as Little T sped off with Mike McG and Hunter P in tow. Those 3 took off and stayed exactly in that order as Little T kept on the gas all the way to the corner, leading out and winning the sprint in impressive fashion.
On the backside it all came back together before Peck Ln. Heading up to route 10 Julio L and Chris C obviously hatched some type of plan and were gunning it before and into the corner. Ratta, just looking to not go slow, jumped on and the 3 had a gap of maybe 7 seconds at the base of the hill by Cheshire Park. Hunter P jumped from the front of the rest and bridged up just as it was coming apart. Ratta sensed the hesitation and attacked the front, riding off alone. The Peleton was going up to the leaders, led by a host of guys, VQ Rob, Guido, Ciocci, Bergie, Mike McG, Little T etc. Hats off to Robyn as well for staying right up there close to the front, all ride long for the most part. Ratta got thru the first light on Route 10 as everyone behind had to stop. He soft pedaled after that and let everyone catch back on. Super sporting of him as he no doubt could have given it a fair & square run the whole way to the Stop n Shop sprint with the gap he had.
Once it came back together the pace went up again as it was single file to the sprint with only a few guys in position with the speed to contest it. Ratta, Mike McG, Hunter P, Julio, Chris C, and 1 or 2 more with a chance. In the end it was Ratta leading out Little T which is never gonna end pretty and Little T came around easily to secure more “Green SG Tee Shirt” points.
Heading back to Hamden was normal. We think there was some scheming being done again by TT Pete and Guido but any gap off the front they had was small & brief. It got a little clogged up in the finale after Curt D put in his final 2 cents worth and pulled off. With one on to follow, it slowed and then with Mike McG and Little T air ramming the left side, that was the place to be… Julio was up there? Or was it VQ Rob? Either way Little t got it and rounded out the hat trick for the night. Making up for last week’s debacle.
Good ride and a thanks to Curt D for helping make it a proper fast ride.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
