Tuesday the 13th

The Arnold Palmer ride, Half & Half, Hard then slow.

The ride was a buzz with excitement as the weather was nice and butt cam was getting charged up!

A late roll off due to some last minute media issues. The camera man had to make sure the POV angle was as unflattering as possible!

Straight to work off RT 10 CCR's Joe K, Stage 1's Chris C and Dave Broke all kinds of back road speed limits and opened up a gap right Quick. Tim Ratta and Eric M were quick to join but stop signs and potholes slowed em down and the Peleton (not working together, just jumping) brought it back.

Just Before MTN RD a group of 3 more tried there best to open something up (names?) but this time Joe K, Mike M, Eric M, and Chris C didn't let to much space open up. That fast, don't let em go, pace continued even when all were back together on MTN RD. 30mph+ was the drink of the night for the 1st half.

Once on Mtn road there was a fast driving pace line effort to keep the speed crazy fast. Guido, Eric M, Mike M, Stage 1 guys, Joe K, Little T, Lehigh team kit guy(name?), and some others. The pace stayed high all the way to the light which was red, as the group approached the light it turned green and we all sailed through. The same bunch was keeping the pace super fast on Moss farms. Mike M came to the front to drive the group to the corner of Marion, as we hit the corner a flying Guido made a hard dig to try and solo away from the bunch. He got a good gap and stayed away until the turn into the ind park.

A group of about 6-8 guys got a small gap but it came back together turning onto West Johnson. Heading onto Reinhard Mike M was at the front followed by Josh CVC? and Joe K. Mike M lead the group over the hump and down the hill. Joe K attacked first, followed by Josh CVC? and of course Little T. At about 150m to the stop sign Little T gunned it and easily made to the corner first followed by Joe K and CSC guy.

At that point boys became men and a few jumped up to the break on school house and the break was now 6 strong with Joe K, CHRIS Butler (EDIT ...Larry Merling), Guido, Eric M, Josh CVC?? . Joe K popped after peck and 5 were left.

This was when the Peleton decided that we were all going to fast for laws of nature to allow and the pace dropped off up peck and for the rest of the night for that matter and the drink of choice had switched to lemonade for the peleton kids.

Up the road the afore-mentioned break was killing it to the chants of Guido yelling that Bmw and Audi's are the only cars to drive and that the rest of the break was wheel sucking! "Maximum effort!" could be overheard by kids lapping up ice cream at DQ. "Mommy, what language is that?"

Hip Hip for the break though, It stuck all the way home with Guido taking Gold

Back in the now not so red-lined Peleton the S&S sprint was approaching and with some help from his new team Little T took the prime again. From there Rondo'nt, Little T and John Gregory broke away and kept away as the main group got stopped at some lights.

The group then put in some hard efforts toward the end there just to kick up the HR again, Silent Steve, Dillon P, Gregg F, Mike M, and a host of others taking pulls to not lose to much clock to the the split.

A fast 1st half and some strong breaks spells the recap.

Time to rest little one, Mommy and Daddy are taking a joy ride in the Audi....

MAXIMUM EFFORT!!!!

Tuesday the 6th

Freak show? Tuesday night BDSM? Gang warfare? Training ride? You decide.


Everyone was looking to get right back in the swing of things after 2 weeks of crap weather. 50 -60 riders with a bunch of new faces that are starting to become regulars.

Right off the bat, there was a good surge of speed anchored by Chris C, Time Trial Pete, Dillon P and Chris Mahoney. It was apparent that there would be a group of guys that would fight to stay out of the blind spots as the ride hit the crap roads. Call it practice for the riders that will be heading to Battenkill Roubiux… Chris B, Joe K, Chris C, Crazy Chris is who we know of. Best wishes to everyone racing there.

After Brooksvale Ave, the front of the field changed and was now being headed up by Koski, Mike McG, Eric M, Hunter P, Chris C, Joshy G, etc. (Rider on a Red and white C dale?). Heading down South Brooksvale the “heads of state” massed at the front of the ride. Hacker, Peter P, Rondo and a couple of others joining up. Joshy G had already started cranking up the heat and continued to do so on the initial risers up Mountain Rd, followed up by efforts from Mike McG, Yalie Adam, Peter P,, Hunter P and a rider on a Blue (?). A small group fractured off shortly after but things were held together with efforts from Chris C and Guido.


The pace was still high at the front thanks to New Haven’s finest and it was single-file head-down for the majority of Mountain Rd. An extra long green light, welcoming the SG ride back to good weather let a small group sneak thru the light. But this group held up right away in the name of fair play.

On Moss Farms thought, College St Bob and Thomas B snuck off while the pants were down. Chris B also hit it and Yalie Adam was stuck in the middle too. The rest of the ride rolled back together and shot back up to proper speed. The sneaks off the front wouldn’t get far and everyone was back in a bunch right after the chicane. Joshy G gets the Rockstar award for the night for answering a cell call whilst fighting gravity and wind heading up the hill to the corner of Marion doing oh hum about 27 mph. After the corner there was some accelerations from Hacker, Hunter P etc but nothing back-breaking and it all rolled into the industrial park together with Guido at the helm.

Nothing too exciting for a bit. Pace stayed high thru the park of industry. Silent Steve, Eric M, College St Bob, Thomas B and Zane’s riders up front, also the college kid on a blue trek with unique form…. Name? Turning onto West Johnson ave, Chris C shot off the front for a brief bit. Heading to Reinhard the usual faces would make their way to the front. Just before the corner, when the rivet is being downright danced on by pretty much everyone, Josh G and Hack Attack did just that, riding off in romantic duo fashion. It wasn’t a fierce jump, just an impressive surge, followed up by a little team work. Peter P, Little T, Eric M, Little T, Jacinto, and others were sorting themselves out behind. Eric M put in a decent leadout for his mate Little T who jumped at the base of the sprint hill with Hunter P in tow. The gap to the Gewitz and Hacker was far too much though. Joshy G rolled thru the corner right in front Hacker and the 2 appeared to keep on the gas for the backside.

After everyone turned onto Schoolhouse, heading downhill, Guido and Jacinto had jumped off trying to bridge up and had a bit of a gap turning onto Peck Ln. Rondo and Mike McG, after an apparent mechanical, were seen meeting back up with the front of the ride. Once on Peck ln, headwinds took their toll on everyone and even the 2 up front throttled back, giving everyone a chance to regroup. The overall size of the field was def a good bit smaller, with probably close to 20 riders being shed up to this point. The speed ramped up a bit before and onto route 10, as Mike McG surged up the hill by Cheshire Park.

Heading to the Stop n Shop Sprint, Rondo went to the front for a spell, turning 30 mph into the wind for a minute and half or so, putting pressure on already thin ice. This def helped his teammate Little T, who was tucked in nicely. Yalie Adam and the rider on the Blue would give a crack at the sprint but would be easily beat by T. There was def some worked over guys coming to rest at the lights in mid Cheshire.

The rest of the ride was standard fare. Good to see it was a little safer blasting thru lighter, later day traffic. The headwind would excise its own tax, popping a couple more guys off the back heading into Hamden. A group of 6 or so had a chance to duke out the final meters. It took all of the road available for Peter P to finally edge past Hacker right before the corner of Shepard Ave.

All in all great ride.

Tuesday March 23

the ride was rained out today..... Peter Kenny, Chris B, Chris Mahoney, Hunter P, and possibly TT pete were the only ones who showed up to ride tonight.

Tuesday the 16th

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.

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.

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.