Tuesday the 21st

Kinda like the 2008 Lakers  

With two weeks of humid or junky weather in the rearview, a big crew came out swinging tonight. Skies were clear, temps were cool, and everyone had a little more pep in the step thanks. It would show on Mountain Rd and then again for realz on Mount Vernon.

The ride lit up early on South Brooksvale and Mount Sanford, where Sean Hurley and Sean Maher took charge and were putting in pulls with plenty of help from Dan Smith, Turner French, Aaron Black, Brian Suto, and the triumphant return of George Elias, who managed to charge his shifter batteri before tonight's ride. George was wound tighter than a tubeless Conti at 120 PSI, visibly ready to go to war with any attacks. Of course, exepct for for Dan S's moves off the front, which he could not chase. George let out an audible grrrrrroooooaaaaannnnn every time Dan pushed off the front. Everyone else heard that right? 

The light at route 10 was green, which made things harder for anyone hanging on at the back. It could have gotten real ugly real quick on Moss Farms but no one really punched it. Little T was active again going onto Marion, and Hunter P had a dig going into the industrial park. Once again, Dan Smith was close to cracking the group heading to Mount Vernon, but when Hunter P and Turner French bridged it up, it triggered a strong reaction from the rest and it was all together after that. 

 things started to settle down a bit on the early parts of Mount Vernon. But pretty soon, it was back to spicy up front as a bunch of guys got involved. The usual suspects all were active, but then were a few moves that were allowed to roll. Nate Summers had one, His dad Wade as well. Christian Duncan was up there chasing a gap down as well. All the while the sprint leaders were mostly sitting back in wait.  

Dan S lead a charge off the front once again on Welch. He took along 3 or 4 others. Then Little T jumped at the base of the climb, taking Hunter P, Noah Black, and Turner. The break was soon absorbed. Little T pushed on. After a little cat and mouse, Noah, sporting a brand new kit (Apparently all it took was a promise to ride his bike ‘most Sundays’ and a selfie atop East Rock and boom, Noah’s an Angel). He hit the jets. Behind him and a bit late to the party was Hunter P. Those two made it around Little T in that order, with Turner lurking behind Little T but ready to pounce.

On the back side, Hunter P and Turner French linked up, caught Noah, and then pushed on to build a gap. As they rolled thru the first lights at the I84 interchange, the pack was 40-50 meters behind. The three kept on it and was rewarded with one of the last lights on that stretch that turned red just as they rolled thru it. 

Race radio lit up with the move but the stewards deemed the move fair-play as the pack was either unwilling or unable to close the gap down in the 250 meters before the light. "No Further Action" was the ruling. 

That was about it for the night. The trio made off into the sunset. The CVC crew of Chris C, Henk, Little T, Tom K, and Sean Maher would make a fair game out of it. They organized a solid chase when possible and the gap hovered steady at 75-90 seconds. By the end of the ride it was closer to a minute. 

Next week, there is a special Mid-Summer's TNC at the Rent. It's a good week to do something different than SGR..... Most of Mount Vernon is chewed up on the bike lane side, awaiting repaving. Same for West Street heading south.   

Tuesday the 14th

 The Full Cast Back on Set 

L'attacco in fuga dal fronte è la ciliegina sulla torta!
(in honor of Stefano P getting into the break) 

Weather was great for the ride, so just about everyone showed up. After two weeks of crap weather, it felt like the group had been let out of a cage. Once things got rolling, the pace picked up quickly. One of the first to head off the front was Dillon P, along with Henk. Those two got a small gap as the ride moved through the early sections (Mount Sanford Road, South Brooksvale, and so on)

Also up front at this time, and then later on as well, was the resurgent Humble Paul, containing his redemption arc. 

A few riders pushed off the front early, but nothing really stuck. Turner French was doing his usual front-end patrolling, setting a solid pace along with Christian Stahl the triathlete, and a few others. Sean Hurley and Tom K were also in the mix.

There was a little acceleration turning onto North Brooksvale, led by Turner, with a few trying to slip away, but that didn’t amount to much. A bit of traffic turning onto Mountain Road meant there was a moment to punch it, but no one committed with anything that resembled a full attack, so it stayed together.

There was some action later on Mountain Road. Turner, Dan, and Hunter were together, forcing open a gap. Tom Krol tried to bridge to the leaders and got yelled at by Chris C for doing it wrong. The red light at Route 68 brought it all back together anyway.

Things chilled for a bit through Moss Farms and into Marion. But once on Marion, Little T, Turner, Hunter P, and one othergave it a dig. There wasn’t much separation, just enough to push the pace past the Industrial Park and make things uncomfortable.

Approaching the light before 322, Dan Smith, Hunter P, and Turner were back at it, looking for daylight, but again nothing held. The group was getting strung out, but the light turned green at just the right time, so everyone got across and it regrouped.

After the light, it looked like Henk and Sean H were ready to hit the jets, but that never materialized. It stayed steady down Mount Vernon. At the turnaround on Welch, Dan Smith and Christian Stahl slipped away and were given free reign off the front. As the group crept toward the corner, Little T punched it from the base of the hill, came around both of them, and held it. Dan made it an honest sprint and came across second. Hunter P took third from the chasing group.

Over the I-84 interchange, Turner and Stefano P rolled off with a smooth acceleration and with Stefano's Cheshire teammates watching, were not chased. They then caught a green light. They snagged another on the way toward Atwater, and that was the last anyone saw of them. Even though the group got a green at 322, the two were already gone and out of sight.

Heading into the Greenhouse climb, Sean Hurley opened it up early. Chris C followed, then Hunter P led the group up the main section. Hunter launched the sprint from far out, with Little T on his wheel. Little T came around to take third on the climb.

Little T also took third in the finishing sprint behind the two breakaway riders.

Tuesday the 7th

Back to Normal for the SGR... Sort Of

The forecast looked questionable heading into the evening, but by 5:00 the skies were clear and roads were dry. Enter Chris C, New England's self-appointed Doppler Deity. He decided after last week the “risk was too great” and made the call to push his ride to Wednesday. Totally reasonable... except this is a Tuesday group ride. So the show went on, just with a few fewer riders and a touch less chaos. 

Thanks, Chris, for your cautious meteorological influence on what became a slightly watered-down (but bone-dry) edition of the SGR.

Once rolling, the pace was strong. The Black brothers were out in full force alongside Dan S, Hunter P., and Paul Best, who, depending on the phase of the moon, toggles between Angry Paul and Meek Paul. Dan and Hunter made a couple early digs, and Aaron B was there for all of them. One move nearly stuck before red light at 322 snuffed it out. More fireworks followed after Moss Farms, with a few promising attacks stretching things out, but it always came back together. 

Coming into the turnaround sprint, the group was mostly intact. Noah B. launched early and capitalized on an untimely mechanical for Hunter P., grabbing max points ahead of his brother Aaron B and Dan S.

The ride stayed together and uneventful moving back into Cheshire. On the greenhouse climb, Dan S tried to solo from the base, but Noah bridged, surged past, and never looked back. He finished solo and dropping the legendary SGR flex on social media.

Brian Girard and Vlad Vlad Vladimir scooped up points behind to round out the night. Solid effort from all. Once again, a big shout-out to Chris C. for almst canceling a great ride.

Tuesday the 1st

Rained out halfway thru! 

Chris C warned us... If only we'd listened...

"Turn around now or face the wrath of Southington's storm clouds"

Sure enough the group got dumped on getting into Southington and any semblance of a normal SGR was pretty much washed away.

Tuesday the 24th

Hotter than hades out! 

Turnaround Sprint:

Noah B took it with Little T and then Tom Krol rounding out third. 

For the Greenhouse Climb it was once again Noah B, followed by Little T and then Chris C.

For the finale it was Noah getting the hattrick, with Little T in second. Third place goes impressively to Sammy Martinez, the better looking one of the Burrow Brothers, who was visiting the ride for the very first time. Come back any time!

Tuesday the 17th

 Steve B is Back!

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

Welcome back Steve!  

Tuesday the 10th

 Animal Encounters, Mechanicals, and Spicy Action

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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