Tuesday the 27th

Riders Look for Back-up, it's not there...

On and off rain kept todays ride to a group of about 22 or 23. Some strong faces were missing from the ride. Mike McG, Empire Matt, Peter P, Eric M and a couple of others.
Greg from Keltic (or was it Jesse?) and Guido led things off off route 10. They were caught as the field went thru corners and soon it was just Guido up the road with a surgeon Hacker. Chris C, Todd H and Hunter P kept the gap in check. Hunter P then jumped across right before the turn onto Mountain Rd. and that brought enough attention to the front. The trio were caught pretty quickly. Rondo, Chris C, Todd H, and probably Little T closed that shop down quick smart.

Lots of guys going all over the place on Mountain Rd. Guido had another brief go off the front, John Gregory was cruising, Dave M from CCR racing was up there too. Chris B from CCR put in a little dig toward the end too. But nothing developed, as per usual for this section.

If ever we figure out how to get that light green for us, the fireworks will start to go off on this road...

Onto Moss Farms were Chris B and Hunter P went staight to hard tempo mode. That brought Hacker off the front of the feild and Chris C too. The four had a bit of a gap but everyone was moving fast, so the potential was there and the effort was doing some damage. The smaller peleton was stretched to chasing-maximum. The four worked well for about a half mile, then
Hacker surged off the front. Hunter P chased him down and the 4 was down to 2 by the "chicane". The chase was hard behind them tho. The rain started coming down hard at this point.

Going up the hill to Marion, the 2 were caught by a flying Chris C and company. That led to Hacker staying on the gas past the corner, and riding away with Rondo, Little T and Todd H. Again, the usual speed train that picks up the flicked at this point in the ride just wasnt there and that gave advantage to the break. The new quartet had a gap of about 5 seconds as they gingerly turning into the Industrial Park area.

Chris C, Guido, Hunter P and a couple of others dug deep to keep the gap close. Then Chris B, riding his 21 pound rain bike, flew across the gap and made the connection seem easy. That was pretty much all the group needed and the 5 had horsepower to spare up the road as they turned onto West Johson Ave. The guys that were capable of bringing them back were stretched thin and near redline.

Credit Hacker with the Schoolhouse sprint ( i think ). Behind them, Thompson from Keltic, Chris C, John G, Greg from Keltic, all doing their fair share in the workload.

Onto Peck Ln where it seems Little T and Rondo sat up from the break. (reason?). Undeterred and confident they had completely severed the elastic, the trio of Todd H, Chris C and Hacker went on with out them. It was starting to look like kilo 200 of Paris-Roubaix... Guys all over the place going up Peck Ln. Guido had a hard turn off the front with Hunter P chasing him down. Going over the train tracks, it was Todd H's turn to come off the break. He was soon back into the fold and that left just Chris C and Hackattack off the front.

Going back into Cheshire was a little on the sedate side, traffic lights made sure to kill off any hope of brining back the two escapees. There was opportunity though for Guido to get in one more romp off the front... He is one rider who gets away with not knowing the "rules of engagement".
We will have to hear from our two strong men as to who took the finish, but as the remnants of the chase pulled up to Shepard ave, thru the fog and drizzle, the figure of Chris B could be made out driving alone up to the top of the climb.... Maybe the breakaway wasnt enough training for him. And for that, its long overdue that he be added to the cast.

Tuesday the 21st

Rain rain rain

5 guys showed up - Rondo, Eric M, Mike McG and CCR riders Dillon P and Chris B. and then an unknown rider on a Bianci

Hunter took too long during his pre ride and missed the group by 30 seconds. Probabyy better off cause he was later found near hypo back at the shop. Silly spring May weather.

The small group of fearless riders went about being nicey nice thru out the ride, Bianchi rider was the 1st to go and then Dillon dropped off but caught back on. Into North Cheshire, the pack was going quite fast, trying to keep the body temps up. Dillon lost contact in the hills of North Cheshire as Rondo and Eric M were drilling it.

Everybody finished together, despite some tricky traffic situations on Rt 10. Props to Mike McG for drilling it back together.... Tho we all know that's easier than drilling it all apart.

Dillon P finished off the effort by heading to the new Humprey's in Wallingford with Mechanic Jordan. The two indulged in all-you-can-eat ribs and Dillon ( with his secret: one beer and no frys ) ate 5 racks to Jordan's 4. More yum yums in your tum tum than you no doubt.


Lets hope for better weather and tired legs after lots of crit racing for next Tuesday.

Tuesday the 13th

Another day, another Throwdown....Today was a calmer day for the TWC....

This week, the CCR crew nearly got taken out by a tweenage girl driver en route to the ride. No one down but Dillon P suffered a skid flat on the Shop Demo pair of 404's. So he missed the first half of the ride on account of the rim being a tad too deep for the CO2 cartridge.

The rest of us were a little late but none worse for wear.

The Peleton was being led into the roads of Cheshire by Mike McG, Matt from Empire and Eric M. Eric is having a stellar season so far and is quickly charging his way to the Cat2's.

The pace starting out wasnt too bad and everyone was together all the way thru the first third of the ride to West Main st in Cheshire. There was earlier than usual pacing from Mike McG and Rondo, along with the usual swarm of Keltic and Stage 1 riders. Little T busted out some early power as well, charging up the initial riser on Mountain Rd. He took along with him a strong Gregg F from CCR but there was plenty of guys to keep the pace going on past Higgans road and for the rest of Mountain Rd.

Onto Moss farms where Chris B from CCR jumped early but was quickly matched by Chris C and Empire Matt. Going thru the chicane there was some dangerous looking faces up front, (hacker, hunter, Mike McG, Little T, Rondo, Joe K) but they all followed Empire Matt and Eric M up the hill onto Marion. Mike McG, Hunter, and Joe K lit it up a bit going into the industrial park, but nothing too severe.

Into the industrial park where Rondo, Jesse from Keltic, prolly Greg C from Keltic too, Eric M, and Chris C all went to work to single file us all out. The pace was a 6.98 on a 1-1o scale. A brief split opened up but didnt last too long. Turning onto West Johnson saw Mason from Dartmouth attack pretty hard on the hill. There was a good effort to match the speed, Kyle F and Chris C doing a good job here. Hacker countered hard half way up the hill, quickly caught and then passed Mason. He was on his way alone when some heavy traffic at the intersection for Peck lane slowed him and everyone else down. When we all got thru, Hacker still had a bit of a gap to work with going up to Rienhard. Mike McG stamped hard to get up to him and the two were officially free going up the riser on Reinhard. Empire Matt started the bridge and took with him Julio and Crazy Chris(?) from Stage 1. They were able to get to the 2 out front, who seemed to sit up, and Matt gets the prize for being first to the corner.

everyone was together for the ride downhill and onto Peck Ln. Eric M and Gregg F started things off going up the riser, Hunter P, Joe K, Rondo and others finished it fast. Getting back to route 10 it was all together. The ride back was predictable. The Stop and Shop sprint was weirded out by a red light, but it was all Little T and Hack attack.

Coming back into Hamden, the finale was a little crazy. not unsafe, just different. Hacker, Julio, and a couple of others were spotted out of the saddle.

soooooo
Rondo was the first one back who did things by the book.

On a editorial note; we'll be trying to add a name to the "roster" each week.... Preferably based on who had a strong ride that week.

Tuesday the 6th

The Living Legend; Luigi Delbuono stops by for a beer and a spin

Not much time for a post today guys. Busy week around here....

It was a great ride, really fast. Hunter P clocked in one of his highest average wattage totals for the throwdown. And he wasn't even up front that much.

And it was great to see Luigi and John Elengo on the same mile of road! Rumors abound of a return of Gruppo Sportivo Europeo to the NRC curcuit!

The ride started decently quick. Chris C took off pretty early past route 10 and was joined by Guido. They had a gap coming up to South Brooksvale Rd. They slowed up a bit and let Hunter P, and Eric M, who were chasing, catch on.

The 4 worked well together, and got a decent gap right away. But then things went ballistic in the Peleton with Chris Jones and Mike McG moving up. the gap fell apart in a cocaine blink and by the first riser on Mountain rd, the 4 were done. The front of the peleton didnt stop for nothing and nearly tore a gap into the field. Mike McG, Jones, Rondo, Hacker, Matt (?!) from Stage one, Todd H... All of em drilling it past Higgans Rd. Chris C was good enough to jump across and his efforts, plus, Little T's kept things together. There was a little too much star power in the front group to work it smoothly anyway.

Onto Moss Farms Chris B from CCR drilled it, and with Matt from Empire, Hacker, and other Stage 1 guys keeping it going the pace was fast.

Onto the Chicane where Jones sailed to the front and kept it quick. Past that Tall John was lighting it up and riding strong and it was super fast going into the industrial park area. Some reports have as many as 10-15 guys getting flicked off the back from Moss farms to Rienhard.

So speed was high the entire time and the only effort that led to guys off the front was Mike McG and Hacker going up the hill before the turn onto Rienhard. Little T jumped on the Rienhard hill to bridge the gap. He took Hunter P and Eric M with him. Mike got to the corner first, and everyone was pretty much together going down Schoolhouse.

Turning back onto RT 10, Hacker and Chris C had a gap that they drilled going past Cheshire Park. The tail wind helped em out a bit. But by Norton School, all was together again. There was some jocking for the Stop n Shop sprint. Little T jumped from 7 or 8 bikes back and the only ones that went with him were Hunter P and Hacker. Little T got that one pretty easy.

It was really fast going thru town and into Hamden. No one tried anything tricksy, and coming into the finale, some guys got caught out in the front too early, Tall John, Hunter P and Eric M.

One of the Keltic riders ( greg ? ) was seen out of the saddle with less than a kilo to go and as a result, the entire team must be relegated from any finishes. The strong trio of Hacker, Mike McG, and Little T found themselves in the right place and we are giving Little T the win for this one.

Sorry for the brevity, great ride!

Tuesday the 29th

A slower ride for once as the rain clouds part way for the throwdown.

The rain ended promptly at 3:45 and by 6 the roads were pretty much all dry. A thinned out crowd of perhaps 45 rolled out of the Sleeping Giant parking lot at 6:01 PM

Turning off RT10 saw little action going on up front. Tall John from Stage 1 snuck off the front with Dillon P in tow. Soon after a small group containing Guido, Todd H, Matt the new Empire Cycling rider, and a couple of others was gassing it to get up to the duo. By the end of Brooksvale the group had been established, and even tracked down an "early out of the gate" Rondo. Strong riding from Peter P, Joe K, Mason from Dartmouth and Julio from Stage 1 kept it close.

Turning onto Mountain Rd, Hacker deftly set himself up for a strong bridging effort. But once he did, the whole group seemingly sat up and was soon caught after the crest of the first riser on Mountain Rd. The pace down the rest of Mountain wasn't that exciting. many different guys had a share in driving the pace.

Onto Moss Farms where Chris Butler from CCR shook the dirt from his shoes and rode off the front. He got about 20 yards before a cast of characters woke up and started in after him. By the end of Moss, going down toward Jarvis, we had another small split in the field. Matt, Chris C, "Look" rider, Matt from Stage 1, and others were pushing the tempo. But it all came together for the "chicane".

Once again, Little T drove the pace up the hill toward Marion, but this week, even in this hotspot of asphalt, the pace was controlled and all was together with relative ease going towrads the industrial park and the hills of North Cheshire. The slowdown let Chris C ride off the front the entire length and past the corner of Knotter. But it came back together with some strong riding by Rondo, Peter P and Joe K (pushing a cross bike and 35 mm tires this week!). Guido again tried to jump off befroe the corner of West Johson, but he never got more than a few bikes up.

The pace picked up a bit on West Johnson, Peter P, Hunter P, and Matt from Empire all chipping in. Matt rode strong thru the intersection of Peck and West Johnson. This set up a strong pull by Hacker with Julio in tow. They powered off the front, turning onto Reinhard with seemingly no one around to mark it. They kept up the effort to the Schoolhouse sprint point ( Hacker ). Rondo and Stage 1(Tall John) gave chase down the hill.

Turning onto Peck, Mike McG and Chris C, among others, had a hand in keeping it going into the wind that never made up its mind. It was all over the place today. Turning back onto RT 10, everyone was together and the wind was mostly from the back. Nothing too exciting heading into the center of Cheshire. Everyone had plenty of chance to setup for the jump up to Stop n Shop. And it was Mike McG getting that one with a couple of guys kicking hard to stop him.

Blazing back into Hamden, the usual suspects were pitching in. Rondo, Mike, Matt, The Foley's, Stage 1 as a team, Mason, Peter P, and Andy G from Keltic, (filling in for the missing Eric M) were all present and active. Tall John laid it down pretty good in the final half kilo, letting Peter P power away to the finish, just holding off a yielding Rondo.

Tuesday the 22nd

Solid ride tonight everyone! the evening of debuts...

Kyle F, Dillon P (sporting a new Scott Addict with “Srampy” - that’s Campy Shifters on a SRAM drive train! Hotness!) and Guido again on the offensive rolling off Route 10. Plenty of legs responded tho, Mason from Dartmouth, Rondo, Hunter P, Gregg F and others. The group of 5 or 6 that jumped hard at first was never far away and by the turn onto Mount Sanford the whole ride was together.

Turning onto North Brookvale saw big jumps from the Empire rider ( still don’t know his name ) and a rider from the Yale Collegiate Team (YCT). The pace again this week for the opening miles was fast fast fast. A couple of flats happened ( we hate flats !). Kyle F and Rondo both hit with em. Peter P slowed to assist.

Coming up to Mountain road, Stage 1, sporting the new yellow and black kit ( The ball bearing boys!? ), were driving the pace. Todd H and Chris C lead the field up the initial riser on MTN rd. After that it was Empire again hitting it hard along with another Yale rider (gerolstiener jersey) and the pace continued to be hot enough so that no one was attacking.

Tall rider from Keltic (?) jumped at the end of mountain road, but the light of course was red and it was all together.

Onto Moss Farms where the Yale riders, along with Chris C and Empire continued to drill it. Dr. Hacker came up briefly to give everyone a shock but then retreated to the I.C.U. A small split actually developed as over the small risers toward the end of Moss Farms. A handful of riders were off the front. Empire, Mason, Jesse from Keltic, and a few others were steam rolling away. Hunter P jumped late to bridge which started a reaction and by the “chicane”, Mike McG, Hacker and Stage 1was stretching things out nicely. All was together for the climb up to Marion rd. A rejuvenated Little T came bounding like a stag past everyone before the turn and kept it motoring along down half the length to Knotter.

Turning onto Knotter - John Gregory came thru going hard and Stage 1 ( Chris C, Julio) kept it up. Again, Empire and the Yalies, doing a great job of making the ride hard. Hopefully they will continue to be regular “throw downers”. Guido again tried to jump off the front, this time with the rider always in the white Look kit (?). But no dice, and by the turn onto West Johnson, Empire and Yale were again at the front doing their best, unfamiliar with the course.

That’s the way it was all the up to Reinhard. Julio was setting a great pace and briefly was riding away but then, on the climb up to Schoolhouse, Little T jumped pretty good. He took Mike McG and Hunter P with him. The 3 had a small gap ( credit Mike McG with the intermediate sprint point ). Going down hill, things came back together tho. Hacker and Chris C had also gassed it on the climb and were stringing things out around the corner.

The ride met up with Peter P & Rondo on Peck ln. Things were fast, nothing exciting happened tho. There was a headwind going down route 10. But that ok when Keltic and Stage 1 are up front setting tempo. Hacker, Mason, Peter P and others contributing. Coming up to Stop n Shop, Little T jumped off the front and collected his 50 sprint points.

Traffic was tough going thru town, a couple of aggressive ( defensive? ) drivers meant that there was some friction. ( lets be nice guys ). But once past all the lights and cars, things opened up. Guido tried once more to jump off the front, but he started from so far back that he was covered nicely once getting to the front.

Everyone rode pretty smoothly into Hamden, Stage 1 (Little T) seemed to be setting up Julio for the finish, but much like highway off-ramps, you always have more room to go than you think. Julio was stuck out front too early (after more unselfish riding from Peter P) and Hunter P jumped second to last. He gets the finish after narrowly holding off the last man to jump, Eric M from Keltic.

Good ride, but too much drama with the traffic and too many flats. Both of which can prolly be attributed to the high speed .

Tuesday the 15th

Will unfinished business from Bethel spill into our friendly ride?

Great weather today as the ride had about 35-40 riders. Vacations from school no doubt meant that some were elsewhere.

Turning off RT 10, it seemed the ride would be civil for a while.

Yea.....right...... and 8 seconds into Brooksvale Guido "Time2TT" Wollmann sped off. He has been humiliating Plainville & Bethel Cat 5 races by simply riding off the front and staying there. Diane, if you are reading this, get this man an upgrade to Cat 3.5 STAT.

Only one rider today would jump on his wheel. Our own Team manager, Dillon P from Cheshire Cycling Racing. Dillon too has been sprinting well in the Plainville cat 4 and 3\4 races. The duo very quickly built up a 15 second lap and where out of sight by Mount Sanford. Guido was doing the lion's share of the work tho, and even with CCR boys up at the front of the peleton patrolling\controlling, the break was in sight by the turn onto Mountain Rd. Guys like Rich(silver Giant), Peter P , Tall John Interlandi (good to see him back) and Kyle Foley were keeping things moving along.

Going up the initial riser on Mountain, Tall John snuck off the front and was making his way toward the leading two. Going thru the stop sign for Higgans a tall rider on a Cervelo from Empire Cycling (name?) jumped away and Hunter P tracked him down so soon after the leading two became 5. Guido and Dillon were feeling the effects of the break and team work wasn't the best. By Cornwall ave Cervelo and Hunter P found themselves riding off the front alone. No cars in the queue for the light on West Main means that the two had stop. the P'ton was closing in anyway. Def a dangerous break if they had gotten the light.
Moving onto Moss Farms, Kyle F, fresh off embarrassing the Masters field in Bethel, again went at it alone. It took solid riding from Cervelo, Gregg F and Joe K from CCR, and Peter P to keep him close. Going down hill toward the intersection of Jarvis and Moss Farms, Hacker ( champion of Bethel, but don't tell Allessio that ) snuck thru and was drilling it toward the chicane. Hunter P, again playing the opportunist, was matching his effort to get the free ride. Peter P was up the road a bit but the 3 couldnt get their speed right and Hunter P was alone going up the hill towards Marion. Little T came sailing to the front along with the Cervelo rider but things were on the sedate side heading into the hills of North Cheshire.
Strong pulling from Rondo, Peter P, Little T, Cervelo, and Eric M almost made a split happen in the industrial park. Turning onto West Johnson saw still a strong pace on the front. Hacker, Peter P, Alessio were going hard up to the stop sign for Peck. Unfortunately, Little T hit some kind of metallic object prolly left over from the Nicaraguan occupation of Cheshire. He flatted and was out for the evening. the field slowed ever so briefly and that was all Hacker and Peter P needed. They got a quick gap. Hunter P jumped hard to get up to them by Reinhard. Also doing the same was Joe K and the Cervelo rider.
Once the 5 saw that they had a gap, team time trial mode was telepathically decided on and going up the climb towards Schoolhouse, they worked well and were riding away from the rest.
Chris B from CCR tried to jump across with Julio from Stage One going up toward Schoolhouse, but it was too late.
The leading 5 were working well with Hacker and Joe K doing solid work on the front. Going over the train track scars on Sandbank, Cervelo lost his front light and slowed to retrieve it. 5 was down to 4. It didnt matter tho, they already had a 30-40 second gap.
The front 4 snuck thru most of the lights in Cheshire, whereas the Peleton was caught at most of them. Chris B had left Julio and was doing his darnest to make up the huge gap. Moving into the final kilo, the cat and mouse games started in the quartet. Hacker waiting, Hunter following. Peter P took it upon himself to lead the 3 out for the finish and Hacker easily bounded off the front without much resistance. Joe K gave chase, with Hunter following him in and thats how it ended. Chris Butler rolled in about 25 seconds after alone.
Back in the field the whole Keltic crew was trying to salvage the ride with some hard riding into Hamden, Mike McG and Rondo as well.... But as they say, all the money was up the road.