Tuesday the 15th

Rained out except for a few knuckleheads!

 

   The passing thunderstorms kept the field on the light side tonight. By ride time thought, the rain had stopped for the most part and as everyone headed further north, the roads were dryer and dryer...

   Chris C was up front as soon the flag dropped. Dillon P was there as well Chris C to make sure he wouldn't sneak off. The ride mostly was quiet for the first several miles. No one was attacking on the early on. A disruption in the paceline up front as the ride got closer to the light on route 68 triggered a shift response and a few guys jumped up to try to nab the lihgt. It was green all the way and everyone made it thru no problem. Construction on the first part of Moss Farms closed everyone down and it took a little while to get back going again.

      Once it did, guys like Dillon P. Ed A, Chris C and a couple of others were pushing the pace and got a bit of a gap but it was all together for the rest of the way to the Chicane. Chris C upped the ante on the riser up to Marion and a few guys followed him.... Dillon P, Special Ed, etc. Again, gaps were few and far between, although Chris C and Special Ed looked to keep the hammer down as the ride went by the turn for the short loop. They had help from The Dillon P Chris C and ED... Gruppo Compacto to the light on 322.

      After the light, it slowed down a bit and everyone recollected. It took a but to get going again and Dillon P ( good to see him back ) was ever so patient with the ride as the field lolly-gagged its way to the construction zone. The more delicate guys in the field held sway and it was declared a neutral section thru the dirt road. Ed helped spark interest in going fast once everyone got thru the dirt and had a chance to wipe down their Asian-made plastic bikes. From there it was fast as a few guys hit the front running ( Ed, Chris C, Dillon, Chris, Special Ed, etc ). As the ride came up on the turnaround, Chris C rode off and was allowed to go. Chris C then poked out of the field and quickly took a gap in the crucial 150 meters before the corner to Welch. The only one to go with him was Dillon P and the 2 rolled off a gap, went up and over Ed and extended it nearly the whole way to the hill thanks to Chris C's blatant disregard for the sprint coming up. Behind the peleton seemed content with letting the chips fall as they may, giving the break the chance to fall short. Chris C and Dillon P? did jet off the front right before the hill kicked. Up front, the 2 leaders worked well together and Dillon P easily got the points as Chris C didn’t contest after being the early afterburners for the escape.

      The ride came back together on the backside without any incident or anyone thinking about attacking. Chris C did seem feisty during a couple of moments but the field was attentive or the lights were red, keeping everyone together. Together aaaaaaaaall the way back into Cheshire and over 322. The pace was tempo at best. Dillon P again picked up the slack up front on a couple of occasions. Going up the false flat on Peck, no real action... The ride has gotten too friendly as of late. More people need to be less concerned with looking like they are calm and composed and actually try to fight their way off the front.

      The run in to the Stop n Shop sprint was fast, with a few guys getting an early jump, ( Dillon P, Chris C, Chris C, Dillon P, etc ) Chris C was back at it and this time he brought Dillon P up across the gap, Dillon P had little problem taking it over Chris C and the 1 or 2 others that put up a fight. Moving thru Cheshire was uneventful, as an early red light let all catch back on and gave no one the chance to sneak off.

      Once past all the lights, Chris C fired things up on the front and then Dillon P continued pulling the field single file. It settled down but with the smaller field left on the road, the battle for the sit n sprint would end up shredding the peleton. Chris C Dillon P ended up in front of the remains, with Chris C taking it with a last minute surge, coming out of Dillon P's shadow. Up the hill Dillon P took it over Everyone Else Who Didn't show...

Good ride everyone!

Tuesday the 8th

Where real cycling stars are made... Forget about winning actual USAC races!

   The storms held off! The heat did not! Great to see good crowd out despite the threat of rain. Everyone played nice (sort of) on the route 10 construction zone. Big thanks to the police officer who let us all right thru separate from the cars. Once off the main road, Jeff Weaver started the fast riding with a move off the front he held until the crap road section. A small group of guys behind, headed up by Joe K and Dillon P, also briefly broke free in pursuit. Once guys like Nuemotion, Silverback Randy, Hacker and Mike McG moved up thru and to the front to help things along, it all came back together quickly. Hacker tried to get away a couple of times, at one instance getting off the front with The Sernyak and one other but corners and traffic slowed them down.
    Onto Mountain Rd, where a car in the intersection forced all way around the corner... The front riders took that as a sign to slow down and take those initial rizers easy.... Gregg F was allowed to go clear but once the group got going again, it was all together and fast to the light. Hacker and Nuemotion hit Moss Farms hard but they were kept on a short lease by Rob Dux, CCB Sasha, Chris C, Mike McG and a couple of others. The field was strung out but most had assistance hanging on, thank to the pretty strong tailwind. Hacker and Nuemotion were caught but Hacker kept on the attack. In the ensuing re-shuffle, a group got off the front and charged hard into the Chicane.... Mike McG, Chris C, Hacker, Hunter P, Nuemotion, The Sernyak and maybe one other. The group fell apart as Hunter P rolled away going up the hill to Marion. The catch of all was made soon after. Hunter P rolled off the front again going over the highway, but no one else made the jump, leaving him to dangle out there before the light on 322.
    The light was green again which made for a quick trip onto Mount Vernon.... But no real attacks. The tailwind was whipping and the speed was high all the way down Mount Vernon. Only a slight slowdown on the false flat, which gave most a chance to recollect and get ready for the final fast push to the corner. Over 27mph for an average for the first half of the ride, assisted by the tailwind...
    Joe K attacked in the final few hundred meters before the corner, but there was enough get up and go from riders (College ST and Yalies predominantly) to corral Joe pretty quickly. That led to a small group off the front with a slight gap... Behind most of the chasing field went into Cat5 mode as the tailwind disappeared and seemed to become like a cross wind from northern France. Riders were all over the place. A couple guys made it across the gap but just as soon as the leaders (Hacker, Joe K, Rob Dux, Chris C, CCB, Nuemotion, Little T, The Sernyak) went free, they pulled the ripcord and came back to the field. The bombs kept going off in the field heading up the hill and thru the corner.
   4 or 5 riders stayed on the throttle despite the strong headwind (Hacker, Nuemotion, Mike McG, Chris C) and went clear. Behind, the new (yalie?) rider from Cornell led a small group in an attempt to bridge/catch but with Chris C and Mike McG going hard into the wind, the leaders would stay out in front. Hacker and Nuemotion were left to sprint it out. It went down to the wire with Nuemotion getting it by a thin margin.
    The group came together and attempted a further push off the front but lights kept that from materializing. The ride back into Cheshire was uneventful. Guido tried to ride off the front with Special Ed going up the hill under the highway, someone nearly got their head taken off by going over the yellow lines on the first section of Peck ln, and Hunter P tired unsuccesfully again to get oof the front later on the uphill section of Peck.
    Once onto Route 10, it got downright leisurely into the wind for a few moments. Thankfully that didnt last long as the usual suspects came up and started rolling again. Lights before the sprint slowed it down but once thru, it was Little T jumping up ahead of the other sprinters to get it. A quiet, but quick ride back into Hamden was made interesteding by CCB Sasha rolling off the front with The Sernyak and the new Yalie rider on the alloy Trek (name?).... A+ for effort for that group but it would be eventually brought back. In the re-shuffle, Guido charged off the front and nearly stole the show. A solid group of about 4 or 5 ramped it up in the final key moments and caught the Bavarian Diesel... From that group, Little T slipped out last and hung on to take it.

Another great ride everyone!

Tuesday the 1st

Big group out to play footbal tonight!

Perhaps the biggest group of the year out tonight. It looked like 55+ riders strong rolling out of the parking lot. Exceptional turnout from the ERRACE as they are no doubt getting ready for their big event in a couple of weekends.

    Right off route 10 the Sernyak took to the front and used the strong tailwind to get things going. He was helped along by Guido, Chris C, The Gibertoni, Mike McG, Jordan L and a couple of others. For the turn onto Mountain RD, Joe K Chris C, Mountain Man, Little T, and Hacker hit the risers hard, stringing out the group as the train hit 29mph+ toward the light at route 68/70. More than a few riders were shed as they realized there wasn't enough money on their MetroCard.

     Once on Mossfarms, everyone took the opportunity to recollect. The pack actually bunched up a bit through the chicane, Chris C and a couple of ERRACE riders rode hard to the corner of marion with a group of about 20 riders in tow. The pace continued to stay high on Marion, leading to more shelled riders.

     The light going over Rt 322 was red at first but turned green quickly and rather unexpectedly. Hacker, Chris C and CCB Sasha went into attack mode, showing no mercy, taking off right after the intersection. At the riser shortly after, Ciocci and Guido were flying across the gap, but when Mike McG responded in kind from the pack, he actually ended up towing the rest back up so it was all together at the Stop sign.

     Once onto Mount Vernon, Hacker attacked again along with Guido and those 2 got the first real gap of the night. They worked up a 50 meter lead or so before Jordan L started to bridge up. Along for the ride across was Rob Dux. Those 2 made it so then the lead group was 4. The chase was on in earnest and there was no real danger of it becoming a runaway. The group would be brought back by the end of the false flat section. From there, a bit more recovery time for everyone as the speed turned steady. Heading to the corner for Welch, Special Ed took a solid pull that strung things out and Mike McG, Jordan L, Guido, Hacker and others kept up with the fast pace until the corner to Welch.

After the corner the pace stayed steady as The Gibertoni was looking to lead it out for teammates. It wasn’t fast enough to keep Hacker from attacking. No one went with him and he got to the corner at about the same time the rest hit the bottom of the riser. At the riser, Chris C jumped in pursuit, taking Mike McG and Little T with him. Chris C buried himself into the strong headwind and pulled off half way to the sprint. Mike McG took over and finished the rest of the gap, giving Little T in a great spot to pounce on Hacker, getting the sprint without much contention as the rest of the would be sprinters were left chasing across the initial gap.

      On the backside, those four (Hacker, Little T, Mike McG, Chris C) had a gap going toward the highway but the light was red so what was left of the peleton back together. From there the pack stayed together initially on West St but on the second descent, The Gertoni, Hacker, and Tommy Krol went into Falcon mode, ripping down the descent and getting to the intersection on Atwater st with a gap. That trio would take some liberties with a red light and their gap continued. Rob Dux came across the gap in the confusion and went ot work helping with the pace making. Behind, the small peleton was being shred by the headwind and the disjointed chase. The lead group would be eventually held up at the light to get back over 322 but they were on their way to being caught by several riders who were working hard to bridge / chase.

     The pace into the headwind stayed high on Peck lane and that caused the next round of carnage on the field. Once Special Ed pulled on the last riser on Peck lane the final selection of the night was made. Only 14 riders took the corner onto Rt 10 in that front group that stayed together till the end. That final group was made up of: McG, Jacob, The Sernyak, Joe K, CCB Sasha, Neumotion, Guido, Chris C, Little T, Chappy Chris, Rob Dux, Senior Steve Suto, Big Jim (from New Haven), the new guy David in the Louis Garneau kit with “interesting” drafting techniques, and maybe one or 2 others.

     Once onto rt 10, Hacker went on the attack again on the prison riser, Joe K bridged up past the climb but the light before the Sprint run-in was red so the group was back together. Once thru, Guido started the lead out with CCBSasha taking over, but car traffic negated the fast leadout and the front of the pack slowed down before the riser proper. From the bunched up pack, McG went first with Little on his 6. Joe K went after them and as Mike pulled off, leaving Little T to fend off Joe K to the top to take the second of the day.

      The pace stayed high through Cheshire despite the strong headwind. Everyone was taking determined pulls. Past the last light on Rt 10 (Cook Hill Rd) Guido, CCB Sasha, Hacker and Mike McG went a tear, encouraged by the lack of pack fill. Their end gap was small and they were brought back a short time later. Before the last kilo things slowed down a bit so Hacker went to the front and took a strong 20 second pull that strung things out nicely followed by an equally strong pull by Mike McG that finalized the split. That left The Sernyak, Guido, Sasha, and Little T to finish it off by taking their respective last pulls in that order, leaving LT last man standing for the finale.

Great ride everyone! Let's do it again next week!

Tuesday the 24th

The only thing worth recapping tonight....

     The return of Chris B! It was good to have him back out on the ride.
He was drilling it up front on the way north, trying to ride away with it on Mountain Rd, Moss Farms and then on Mount Vernon. The always powerful Ryan S strapped on his road bike and was up front on Mountain Rd, bridging into a move with Guido, Hunter P, Rob Dux, and Jordan L.
     Hacker was back out on the ride as well, and he nearly got off the front for good with Bryan McG, Nuemotion and Jordan L late on Mount Vernon. The new guy in the Cornell kit kicked up his contribution to the ride when he put in a lot of work to bring back that dangerous move.
     Jacinto pulled off the long range attack on the turnaround sprint, getting a gap into the headwind and holding it ahead of Little T and Mike McG. Little T got his revenge at the Stop n Shop sprint, taking it easily despite 3 or 4 guys squared up behind him.
    
     Great ride everyone!

Tuesday the 17th

Hondurains? Hondurasites? Hondurans!

     Hot and humid for the ride tonight. It seemed to slow things down overall a bit. 2 guys that weren't waiting for the heat were Jordan L and The Sernyak. Those 2 took off pretty much right awat off route 10. They got a bit of a gap before Chris C jumped to cover. Then Cristiano, the new guy, originally from the South American capital of fire road mountain bike racing, Honduras, jumped up and quickly bridged the gap. The multiple corners at the very first parts of the ride allowed the lead group to get an advantage while the peleton was sorting themselves out. Ben Bruce took up the early chase. Jacinto and Hunter P as well. Traffic in a corner slowed the leaders down and gave every one a chance to recollect. Jordan L stayed on it though but once the gap was closed, no one was allowing another one to develop.

      Cristiano stayed up front for most of the way towards route 68\70. The speed was good as there were others to pitch in with the pacing. Gregg F looked to sneak off the front as the light came up but he didn't get too far. The Sernyak was back up and off the front on Moss Farms, and once again, Cristiano jumped hard to cover the gap once it was semi-established. This time guys were attentive and so there were plenty of bodies to fill the gaps.

       After the chicane, Chris C and Ciocci led a group of guys up to Marion but it wasn't enough to create a meaningful gap. Jordan L tried once again to ride of the front as the pack went by the industrial park but the speed was constant and it stayed together all the way to the green (!) light over 322.

Onto Mount Vernon were a bunch of gus tried to push their way off the front. A group of about 5, anchored by Cristiano, Chris C, Jordan L and one other ERRACE guy had a brief gap, but Silent Steve, Tall Dennis, Todd H, Mike McG, Ben Bruce, his twin on the Calfee, and a couple of others chipped in to close the gap down. That led to gruppo compacto heading up the false flat. No one attacked and so the pace stayed high from there all the way to the corner on Welch.

Early on Welch, Chris C and Jordan L were sneaking their way up front, but no one threw down anything so it stayed together the entire run into the corner. Everyone was no doubt in anticipation of a pretty kickn headwind once the ride went south. Once on the hill before the corner, Ciocci was the first to give it a real dig, followed by Chris C and Ben Bruce and then a bunch of others. Chris C and Ben Bruce would stay on the throttle well through the corner, and they had the gap to the very end. Jacinto was the only one to try to sprint-bridge across it but it was too far to run. Up front, Ben Bruce was the first to jump for the sprint but Chris C stayed with it and was able to come around in time for the line.

      The ride downhill was uneventful. Tall Dennis gave it a dig after the zigzag intersection at the end of West st but he didn’t get very far off the front. Going under the highway, Rob Dux, Jordan L and one other attacked and got a gap that they would hold to the light. It was red though and that gave all else a chance to get back on, or else it very well have been lights out for the chase.

      Peck Lane was steady and quick... No attacks. Chris C tried a dig at the end, and it did result in gap, but once Cristiano, and then Mike McG, flew across it, all others responded and it was brought back in time for the corner on route 10. No incidents heading up to the stop n sprint. Chris C tried a couple of times to get off the front but with Cristiano just kind of riding hard tempo up front, the pack had wheels to follow up to the front. For the run into the sprint, Todd H led out the front of the pack, with Mike McG taking over and keeping the speed high. Hunter P jumped off his wheel for the long sprint to the top of the hill. A couple of guys tried to jump late but only Jacinto was able to make up the gap. He came from quite a ways back and it was neck and neck at the top. Hunter P got to the white line first with Jacinto's momentum taking him under the light ahead of everyone else.

       The usual characters tried ( unsuccessfully) to get off the front going thru Cheshire. Instead the speed stayed high despite the headwind and for the final 500 meters, after Tall Dennis and Ben Bruce burned their last matches, it was The Full Nalini taking it to the corner ahead of 2 or 3 chasers.

      

      Phew! Where's my beer???

Tuesday the 10th

You always get your money's worth at the SG Ride!
(So long as everyone keeps their helmets on)

    Near record crowds for the year tonight in the parking lot. Not too many new faces though. Right from the start, the Errace guys were out and up in front pushing the pace. Chris C also took his usual  place up there as well. While the pace was high pretty much right off rt 10, there were no real attacks. Sean Cahill "the Peacock", or is it Zebra? Marmoset? Platypus? One of those.... He took off trying to get an early break going, as his ERRACE mates patrolled the front.
    Sean was also amoung those that were drilling it up the first section of Mountain Rd. But it stayed all togetehr. Mike McG and Rob Dux  as well. Guido got involved up front later on Mountain and that kept anyone from attacking. No real change in the front on Moss Farms. More guys were getting involved.... Todd H, Nuemotion, Little T..... Everyone seemed to have a part tonight.
    Heading past the chicane and up the hill, it seemed like a couple of guys were ready to go but no one lit it up. Ciocci, Hacker, Sean Cahill, and others chipping in. Heading past the industrial park, Hunter P took a dig and Hacker went with him. The gap went quickly up but Mike McG started the chase soon after in earnest. He brought a couple of guys with him and once everyone rolled together going over the highway, disorganization reigned. That let everyone catch back on.... That and the red light on 322.
    Rory D and Sean Cahill took off right off the green light but didnt make it far. The field reacted quickly to Hacker and Nuemotion jumping off the short hill before Mount Vernon. Once thru the corner and the bend, more solid pace up front, stringing out the field but not really putting anyone under pressure. That steady pace continued straight up to and past the false flat, although Sean Cahill, Special Ed and the rest of the ERRACE crew looked antsy up near the front.
    Fast forward to the corner for Welch, where Hacker tried a couple of times to get off the front. Each time taking a couple of sacks of dead weight on bikes, so it stayed all together for the first half of Welch. As the corner loomed, Hacker was pushing off the front along with help from Joe K. Those 2 hit the hill with a gap as the rest looked around at each other a bit and decided to wait till West St to chase. Once everyone rolled thru the corner there was plenty of guys to chase.... Ciocci, MattFine, Rob Dux, Special Ed, Chris C, etc. Up the road though Joe K was hammering and Hacker was content to sit on for the most part. For the sprint, Hacker was easily able to come around Joe K for it, getting a small measure of revenge for Saturdays Masters race in New Britain.
    On the backside, although there were a couple of guys looking to blitz the ride back into Cheshire, it stayed all together. After lights by the highway, Sean Cahill, jumped hard, taking Rory D, The Gibertoni and a couple of others but they would be corralled by the bottom of the descent. The ERRACE team stayed up there for a while along with MattFine and Tall Dennis. Up the short hill under the highway, Hunter P took off, with Rob Dux in pursuit. Those 2 would work on up a gap but it started coming down as the light loomed.
    Once back onto Peck, Hacker and Guido were drilling it but no one was having that. Instead it stayed fast all the way up Peck lane. Ben Bruce and Nuemotion also tried to escape with no success. Once at the top of the false flat, 4 ERRACE guys ( Special Ed, Jordan L, Rusty, Sean Cahill)  found themselves with a gap and as the chase took a moment to sort themselves out, they sped off. Soon after, Hunter P jumped the gap with Hacker, sensing the potential for a runaway. That got everyone behind going again and the gap was coming down quickly by the corner for route 10.
    Up the hill, those 6 leaders stayed up front, keeping the pace high. An escape was brewing at the top of the hill as Hacker stayed hard on the throttle with Sean Cahill. As the lead group sorted itself out.... Who would drive it, who would chase... Hacker hit something, slipped off something, pulled away from something.... Something. It still in not quite know what, but he made contact with a rear wheel and quickly dropped on top of the bike and to the ground. He slid off to the curb and no one else went down.
    The ride stopped to make sure he was ok. Just superficial scratches, a dented helmet, and a broken spoke or 2. Thankfully, Hacker has Obamacare to back him up! The rest of the ride was sedate. The run in to the sit n sprint got things going again and Little T out-dueled Nuemotion for it.

Tuesday the 3rd

Letting the new guys get used to the course....

Another good ride was enjoyed by all tonight. The ride was light on Cheshire Cycle jerseys, so here are some of the standout highlights of the night...  First off, the persuasive tailwind that got everyone going was deceptively strong. It was great to see Hamden's newest cycling resident, Bryan McGill (or simply "Yellow" as mike MCG observed) wasting no time in contributing to the efforts up front. He lifted the pace on Mountain Rd, giving Hunter P and French Casey a chance to get off the front. Ciocci bridged but brought the cavalry. Quiet on Moss Farms, although Little T attacked strong on the hill to Marion but with no help, was soon brought back by the solid overall pace. Hacker was ready to rumble thru-out the night but especially once over 322. He nearly escaped with Sasha from CCB at the start of Mount Vernon. Most of the riders on the front watched to see who would move into action. French Casey tried to bridge but came up short. The leading duo had 100 meters at the false flat. Hunter P used the incline to jump out and bridge the gap. That gave everyone else in the pack the needed motivation to take the chase to that next level and close it down. The gap came tumbling down slowly but surely as Tall Dennis played good teammate to all and started the chase in earnest. Also putting in a monster effort to round it all back up was Julio L.

    Hacker wasnt done and by the time the corner for Welch came up, he would attack a couple more times. Riders along for the ride: Ben Bruce, The Gibertoni, Hunter P, and Nuemotion.... All jumping on for the ride and trying to get away for themselves. 

     French Casey was having none of that and would be the main force in keeping it together heading onto Welch and toward the corner for West St. Little T patiently sat near the front and made a strong jump at the base of the hill. He hit the corner and turned into the headwind with a solid 40 meters. He was untouchable from there to the sprint point as only Jacinto would go above and beyond in the name of chasing. Behind, everyone else was just content to find their fight against the headwind. After it settled down, "Yellow" would continue to ride the front of the wave, putting in some solid efforts but not breaking backs, apparently doing his best imitation of the absent Chris C. The next action came when a small group sprinted off a red light at the base of the hill by Cheshire Park on route 10. Hacker was the main driving force and by the top of the hill, he had a devils gear rider, Ciocci (?), B. McGill, mike MCG , Nuemotion, and a couple of others. That group worked hard into the headwind. In the pack, good final pulls at the front were unloaded from The Gibertoni and Ben Bruce but it wasn't nearly enough to the cover the gap. Hacker gets the Stop n Shop sprint over Nuemotion. 

      The lead group dutifully re-formed afterwards and got the benefit of a green light whereas the peleton had to stop. More than several guys broke formation due to the impending dark clouds and so someone else will have to pick it up from here. Did the break stay away? Did they sit n sprint? 

Stay tuned to find out.