Season Kick-Off is a Kick in Da Nutz for Most
After a couple of weeks of crap weather, the SG finally got some dry roads and only slightly bitter temps. So the first throwdown of the year was a bit on the sparse side. Fresh off a block of training, the CCNS contingent was looking fierce. A couple of guys not waiting to get caught out by it were both the Crowells and Little T. They took off right away out of the parking lot and were quickly out of sight down route 10. They kept the hammer down as a trio. Behind in the pack, once the ride got off route 10, Aidan C was straight away at the front setting a hard tempo. BurggieBaby was there for back up, and a couple of pulls and it was a fast intro but everyone was ok with hanging on. Big Red came thru and took a flyer on Mount Sanford and got a minimal gap, Hunter P jumped across it next and took along Burgster, Aidan C, and Rob Dux. A couple of guys were caught in the middle as everyone was going thru the corner for South Brooksvale. Steffen Huber and Tom Krol among them. They chose to hold up a bit and slotted in at the front of the chase. The four guys up the road were off and running though, and the slight hold up due to traffic was more than enough to give them the gap needed.
That group caught the early trio a couple of streets after, and then Rob Dux was caught out and had to fall back. From there it was a seven man ride up front, 12-15 guys rolling a solid tempo in the back.
For the sprint points, Burgie took off at the corner for Reinhard and held a gap. Hunter P sprinted up from the chase and was made the gap up but Alan rolls through the intersection first. The gap those two had didn't amount to much once everyone turned on to Peck. Aidan C drilled hard up the slight hill on Peck and made it hard for anyone to come around him. Hunter P put in a dig but was back in the fold by the corner for route 10.
The lead into Stop n Sprint was anything but gang-busters, Grome put in an effort and Burgster was up there as well. Kyle Crowell jumped hard and was allowed to collect the prize. From there, it was a standard run-in back to Hamden and Little T came up and got the final points on the night, relatively unchallenged, save for Big Red, who is never one to take it easy on himself.
Great ride everyone! A solid open to the 2018 season of madness!
Tuesday the 26th
The return of the short loop (and the blog)
The season is wrapping up but it was a great night to get in a solid ride. A few guys missed the memo on the time adjustment, as about seven guys met to leave for 6 PM. The group at 5:30 was 16-18 strong and Chris C led everyone down route 10 at a good clip. Early attacks came from Big Red, and then Hunter P got a small gap and blew thru a stop sign as the rest had to stop for an oncoming car. That led to a bigger gap and only Big Red was willing to bridge the gap. Those 2 held their break up to and through the light on route 68\70. They had to wait a bit, and the chase made it through the light, and it was together after that. Mike McG, Hoyle, and Chris C kept the pace high on Moss Farms and into the industrial park.
It stayed together as everyone charged up to the sprint point. Big Red gave it a late push, which drew out Ben Bruce. Then Chris C pushed off the front. Mike McG got the sprint started but quickly gave way to Little T and Hunter P. Those two drag raced it out with Little T going over the top in the last handful of meters to take the points. On the downhill, Hunter P pressed on. Ben Bruce was in between the sprinters and the pack, but he stayed on the gas and bridged up to Hunter on Peck Lane. Those 2 went to work on building the gap up. The chase behind was slow to get going.
Once everyone was on Route 10, the gap was coming down, but a light before the Stop n Sprint held up the chase, but the leaders got through. They didn't sprint but rather kept on the gas through Cheshire. There was more traffic in town, being 30 min sooner than usual. The pack got caught up at a couple lights, giving the leaders the breathing room to stay away for the rest of the ride.
Just a couple more weeks of this craziness! Don't miss out!
The season is wrapping up but it was a great night to get in a solid ride. A few guys missed the memo on the time adjustment, as about seven guys met to leave for 6 PM. The group at 5:30 was 16-18 strong and Chris C led everyone down route 10 at a good clip. Early attacks came from Big Red, and then Hunter P got a small gap and blew thru a stop sign as the rest had to stop for an oncoming car. That led to a bigger gap and only Big Red was willing to bridge the gap. Those 2 held their break up to and through the light on route 68\70. They had to wait a bit, and the chase made it through the light, and it was together after that. Mike McG, Hoyle, and Chris C kept the pace high on Moss Farms and into the industrial park.
It stayed together as everyone charged up to the sprint point. Big Red gave it a late push, which drew out Ben Bruce. Then Chris C pushed off the front. Mike McG got the sprint started but quickly gave way to Little T and Hunter P. Those two drag raced it out with Little T going over the top in the last handful of meters to take the points. On the downhill, Hunter P pressed on. Ben Bruce was in between the sprinters and the pack, but he stayed on the gas and bridged up to Hunter on Peck Lane. Those 2 went to work on building the gap up. The chase behind was slow to get going.
Once everyone was on Route 10, the gap was coming down, but a light before the Stop n Sprint held up the chase, but the leaders got through. They didn't sprint but rather kept on the gas through Cheshire. There was more traffic in town, being 30 min sooner than usual. The pack got caught up at a couple lights, giving the leaders the breathing room to stay away for the rest of the ride.
Just a couple more weeks of this craziness! Don't miss out!
Tuesday the 27th
Storm Chaser Edition of the SG Ride
The threat of rain clouds didn't deter that many guys today. Still a good sized group out for the throwdown. This week was a little more orderly as well. A potential detour on South Brooksvale was faced with solidarity. Traffic at Route 68\70 and again at 322 was no big deal.
Between dances with the storm clouds, the usual guys were attacking the group. A couple more got involved, which is always good to see. Big Red, Hunter, Alan B, Chris C, and Little T. This week, Dillon P got involved on Moss Farms and Hacker was back in action, pushing the pace here and there.
Little T jumped way before the turnaround sprint, was eventually passed a ig group, from which Mike McG jumped clear for the points. Alan B had another good jump on the pack early on route 10. He would narrowly get caught again. Dillon P took the prize at the Stop n Shop sprint point.
NEXT WEEK.... The Independence Day SG Ride?
Check out the poll in the upper right corner and leave your vote there or comment to vote below..
Will you be riding SG next Tuesday?
Based on the votes, we'll be officially canceling, or going forward with the ride.
The threat of rain clouds didn't deter that many guys today. Still a good sized group out for the throwdown. This week was a little more orderly as well. A potential detour on South Brooksvale was faced with solidarity. Traffic at Route 68\70 and again at 322 was no big deal.
Between dances with the storm clouds, the usual guys were attacking the group. A couple more got involved, which is always good to see. Big Red, Hunter, Alan B, Chris C, and Little T. This week, Dillon P got involved on Moss Farms and Hacker was back in action, pushing the pace here and there.
Little T jumped way before the turnaround sprint, was eventually passed a ig group, from which Mike McG jumped clear for the points. Alan B had another good jump on the pack early on route 10. He would narrowly get caught again. Dillon P took the prize at the Stop n Shop sprint point.
NEXT WEEK.... The Independence Day SG Ride?
Check out the poll in the upper right corner and leave your vote there or comment to vote below..
Will you be riding SG next Tuesday?
Based on the votes, we'll be officially canceling, or going forward with the ride.
Tuesday the 20th
Chris Jones drops in so hey, we’ll let him take it away this
week.
“It was great to be back at the Sleeping Giant Ride. You guys are still flying out there, making all the cars hate cyclists! Love it though! The long summer loop was great as well. So it down like this…
Not sure about the first moves of the night. I was laying
low, getting warmed up and making sure I was going to be able to hang with the
group. After about 3k, I moved to the front to find the CCNS dudes setting a
good tempo, so I chipped where I could and maybe upped the ante a bit here and
there. There was also a Yale rider (Big Red - SG Blog) that was riding strong. The Hartford Hospital
team was solid as well.
The pace stayed pretty good on Mountain Rd, all those guys were not content to let the speed drop on the backsides of all the risers. The CCNS guys, Hunter and ? (Alan B) , traded attacks but none of the gaps stuck. I backed off where the old turning point was but was back at it going over Meriden / Waterbury Rd. Hunter attacked there but was brought back a bit later. The HH guys were chasing. Then the Yale rider and one other (Joe K) got a bit of a gap and Henk from HH pinned it back pretty much on his own. When the ride finally turned right, I could tell, and a few guys told me about the sprint coming up so I was just trying to keep it honest up front. All of a sudden there was no one willing to pull, which I figured meant the sprint must be at the next corner. Another HH guy (Chris C) jumped but there was a few guys on him right away. Everyone was still racing after the corner, going up the hill. A light was red, which slowed everyone down. Then all of a sudden living legend Michael McGinley jumped off the front to beat everyone to the top of the hill, but I’m told the sprint was off due to having to pass the cars. Be careful out there everyone. Save it for the races!
The pace stayed pretty good on Mountain Rd, all those guys were not content to let the speed drop on the backsides of all the risers. The CCNS guys, Hunter and ? (Alan B) , traded attacks but none of the gaps stuck. I backed off where the old turning point was but was back at it going over Meriden / Waterbury Rd. Hunter attacked there but was brought back a bit later. The HH guys were chasing. Then the Yale rider and one other (Joe K) got a bit of a gap and Henk from HH pinned it back pretty much on his own. When the ride finally turned right, I could tell, and a few guys told me about the sprint coming up so I was just trying to keep it honest up front. All of a sudden there was no one willing to pull, which I figured meant the sprint must be at the next corner. Another HH guy (Chris C) jumped but there was a few guys on him right away. Everyone was still racing after the corner, going up the hill. A light was red, which slowed everyone down. Then all of a sudden living legend Michael McGinley jumped off the front to beat everyone to the top of the hill, but I’m told the sprint was off due to having to pass the cars. Be careful out there everyone. Save it for the races!
After that, it broke up a bit as some guys were still drilling it, looking to
get a gap on gassed out riders. A couple of them got away (Big Red, Alan
B, Hunter P) and rolled away as everyone else got caught out by a couple of
lights. There was some grumbling in the pack about “cheating” which is
hilarious. Seems like they wanted it a bit more than everyone else. The rest of
the ride back was solid. Fun stuff. A few others got involved in the pace-setting and it
calmed down a bit as well. I think we even obeyed a couple of traffic laws on
the back south! The group broke up a bit by the time we got into Hamden. Great
ride everyone!”
Tuesday the 16th
Attack Chase Repeat
Hoot of a ride tonight! Most courageous rider goes to Ben Wolfe (oh wait).
Hoot of a ride tonight! Most courageous rider goes to Ben Wolfe (oh wait).
Ok the SG version goes to Alan B for attacking Eleventeen times today. A close
second to Big Red, who attacked the field on nearly every section. Between
those 2, there was plenty to keep Crowell pissed. Notable attacks came on early
on (Henk, right away route 10). Mount Sanford (Hunter P, thanks to dodging
cars). Then on Moss Farms (Alan B, with Kyle Crowell, Henk, and Hunter P
chasing). Then a bit later on Moss Farms (Gibertoni). Then still later on Moss
Farms (Big Red, Hunter P). Then past the chicane (Little T). Then on Marion (Alan
B). Then going over the highway (Sernyak, Kyle and Hunter P chasing Alan). Then
Mount Vernon (Sernyak, Henk and THE Tim Johnson). Later on Mount Vernon (Alan
B). Even later on Mount Vernon (Hunter P with Big Red). There were probably
others in there as well!
By the time the ride got to the turnaround Crowell was
foaming at the mouth over all the crap paceline riding. So enraged in fact was
he, that he split the field in 2 leading up to the turnaround sprint, leaving his sprinter Little T in the chase group. Chris
C was chasing down Joe K, who had jumped off the front on Welch. By the sprint
line Joe had done enough to hold off Nuemotion by mere inches.
From there the aggression showed no sign of letting up. Alan
B jumped off the front going downhill, and then again going over 84 along with
Hunter P and Gibertoni. Those moves, combined with the fast run thru the sprint
area, lead to a small group charging successfully away from the rest down West
St. Rapha Anup, Sernyak, Ryan from Expo, Hunter P, Alan B, Big Red, Ben Bruce,
Gibertoni, Chris C, Kyle C, Rusty and a couple of others made up the group. It
got whittled down a little more going up the hill under the highway on Atwater
St as Hunter P pushed the pace up front. It all came back together at the light
on 322 though. After the light turned green a couple of riders went down (THE
Tim Johnson?) but everyone was ok.
Heading up to Peck Ln, another group rolled off the front,
led by Sernyak, Big Red and Ben Bruce. That didn’t get too far but Alan B used
the opportunity to push the pace coming up to Route 10. He would lead a group
of about 7 up the hill by Cheshire Park. For a brief moment it looked like a
split was happening but Ryan from Expo did a solid pull at the front of the chase
to bring it back together. The run into the sprint was all CVC and Little T was
able to take this time over Nuemotion.
From there, there was plenty of red lights to frustrate the
tail end of the ride. Sernyak gets the final prize.
Awesome ride everyone!
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