"We won't get rained on"..."The rain will miss us"
The sun was shining nicely as the ride got underway with a relatively slow pace turning off rt 10. The pace picked up near Brooksvale, as it usually does. Then on Mt Sanford Guido (on a straight up TT bike, 650 wheels, the whole nine!) put in a hard pull and all the guys on regular bikes did OK keeping up. VQ Rob, Eric M and Tall John were all working hard. Todd H as well. Then on Mountain rd the rain came! And oh boy did it ever pour! It came so hard the helicopter we use to write this review was grounded and we lost all track of who was up or down. Only a few guys were willing to work in the torrential downpour. Eric M, Julio, Hunter P, Joe K, Jesse from Keltic, a couple of others... The light at Rt68 gave everyone a chance to rub their eyes clean and spit out the road dirt. Everyone was in a bit of shock as the bad conditions came so quickly. The Powertap crew all nervously hoped that the penetrating power of water is overrated.
For some unresolved reason, a group of 20 or so riders decided to run the red light with cars barreling down on them?! Maybe they were playing by "rain rules" or something, but at that point they were no long on the "TWC"....
The Peleton resumed the ride at the GREEN light and there was talk of scrambling to any conceivable overhang to escape the rain and lightning. The delay no doubt let the rest of the ride get a bit of a gap. Dillon and tri-Doug pulled up Moss farms rd barly able to see anything! What the guys could see by Jarvis was Angry Ron, Mike McG and Joe K power away from the group with roster tails of water spraying all those who had couldn't keep up! Up the road, Eric M, Hunter P, and Jesse and the rest of the front group were slow in getting it going. High winds came and fianlly Eric M decided there was some good training to be had still. He took off and had a bit of a gap as Todd H, Chris C and others chased.
Back in the "real" group, Mike McG, Ron, Joe K, Tall John and Chris B had all jumped the gap.
The rest of the guys, trying to give chase, kept the pace high up the hills of north Cheshire.
Coming into the industrial park, Chris C came up screaming about there being guys left behind. He pulled his main man, Todd H off the attack. Chris was looking to re-group. Just then Tall John came barreling thru, pulling the rest of the chase group. The reformed front group went back to riding as usual, as the rain seemed to be letting up. Chris C (with shorts foaming at the "mouth"), Mike McG, and Hunter P all left for the sprint point, but Little T trumped em all by getting the better of Mike right before the corner.
Back in the second group, Thompson from Keltic pulled hard up Peck. The front group was in sight pulling on to rt10 but then the red lights came. The peleton was held up by at least 4 or 5 red lights and that let the front group quickly disappear. Coming out of the lights on rt10 near Hamden the pace quickened again so as to not loose to much time to the break. What Keltic guys were left and Guido on his new fancy pants bike kept the machine switched to "drill" back to the finish.
Up ahead, everyone had taken there turn on the front, Mike McG went hard for the finale with Eric M and Hunter P.
Back in the respectable, law abiding group, Guido got the Gentlemen's field win behind the break...
Crazy weather, crazy ride...
Tuesday the 24th
The Sleeping Giant Ride....Where NRC pros & lowly CatV's ride in (relative) peace.
We had a thinned out crowd of around 40 on this, nearly the longest day of the year. The mood was calm. Maybe everyone is getting ready for New England's own, new "Superweek" of racing that starts with Cox on Saturday.
Turning off RT10, we had a couple of new faces driving it early. Vision Quest Training rider (Rob Ehrman?)and a new rider in blue\yellow kit atop a cyclecross bike with road tires (cx rider). They kept it lively for a couple of minutes till Guido came thru and gunned it. That led to a small group off the front, but that didnt last long as Chris Jones, Chris C and Keltic baddies, Eric M and Greg C brought everyone back. Turning onto Brooksvale, Jones rode off the front. That brought a tizzy to the whole New Haven crew and soon there was a solid lead group. The 2 new guys, Chris C, Jones, a couple of Keltic riders, a Bespeckled Litespeed(?) rider, Hacker and a couple of others for good measure.
Guido tried to jump across as the ride went by Bethany MT Rd. Hunter P was next to jump across and covered the gap going up the hill on Mountain rd. But Rondo, Tall John, and a couple of others had dug in and dragged everyone up. Good to see Peter Petrillo up there (you guys remember him right?). It was all together for the rest of Mountain rd. Jones continued to tempo-wedgie everyone, VQ Rob as well, keeping it real. Cant go without mentioning Stage 1 and Keltic as well, still battling it out for TWC dominance.
Turning onto Moss Farms saw VQ Rob and Hunter P have a go at it. They stayed off the front for an allowable amount of time and by the turn onto Jarvis, it was all back together. Jones, Hacker, and a young dude with a Fuji kit(?) were drilling it uphill toward the corner of Marion. Hunter P snuck on with Tall John and others. This kept things fast into the industrial park as a trio of Stage 1 guys were up front.
Nothing really exciting until the turn onto West Johnson. The presence of Jones keeping everyone alert and ready to go. Hacker jumped on the reinhard hill with Peter P. Pete, who has been hiding in the safety and ease of the East Hartford training Crit, admitted in the press conference tonight that every week he logs on and reads with much delight, what he has been missing here in Hamden\Cheshire. Anyway, its good to have him back. He and Hacker were going for the sprint point no doubt, but Mike McG, who only needs half the hill to catch em, spoiled the fun with a late jump and got to the corner first.
Coming back on Rt 10, Rondo, Keltic, and Jones were all active up front. Hacker was able to get his revenge at the Stop & Shop sprint. A split happened thru the lights of Cheshire's center and about 20 guys got caught back.
At the front, it was VQ Rob, CX rider, Rondo and Stage 1 \Keltic. Jones slid back with a couple of k to go so as to not get mixed up in the amateur carnage. everybody seemed to wind it up a little too soon tho and at the very end it was all Sommerville. Mike McG starting things off with a late jump and Rondo chased him down even later. Peter P tried to get in the action and those 3 round out our podium. On the hill, VQ Rob was pretty much soft pedaling up, Hunter P got up first and a couple of Keltic guys (Morgan and Thompson) came up moments after.
If you count the TWC as a "race", starting with Saturday there's 8 races in the next 9 days. Should be an interesting week.
We had a thinned out crowd of around 40 on this, nearly the longest day of the year. The mood was calm. Maybe everyone is getting ready for New England's own, new "Superweek" of racing that starts with Cox on Saturday.
Turning off RT10, we had a couple of new faces driving it early. Vision Quest Training rider (Rob Ehrman?)and a new rider in blue\yellow kit atop a cyclecross bike with road tires (cx rider). They kept it lively for a couple of minutes till Guido came thru and gunned it. That led to a small group off the front, but that didnt last long as Chris Jones, Chris C and Keltic baddies, Eric M and Greg C brought everyone back. Turning onto Brooksvale, Jones rode off the front. That brought a tizzy to the whole New Haven crew and soon there was a solid lead group. The 2 new guys, Chris C, Jones, a couple of Keltic riders, a Bespeckled Litespeed(?) rider, Hacker and a couple of others for good measure.
Guido tried to jump across as the ride went by Bethany MT Rd. Hunter P was next to jump across and covered the gap going up the hill on Mountain rd. But Rondo, Tall John, and a couple of others had dug in and dragged everyone up. Good to see Peter Petrillo up there (you guys remember him right?). It was all together for the rest of Mountain rd. Jones continued to tempo-wedgie everyone, VQ Rob as well, keeping it real. Cant go without mentioning Stage 1 and Keltic as well, still battling it out for TWC dominance.
Turning onto Moss Farms saw VQ Rob and Hunter P have a go at it. They stayed off the front for an allowable amount of time and by the turn onto Jarvis, it was all back together. Jones, Hacker, and a young dude with a Fuji kit(?) were drilling it uphill toward the corner of Marion. Hunter P snuck on with Tall John and others. This kept things fast into the industrial park as a trio of Stage 1 guys were up front.
Nothing really exciting until the turn onto West Johnson. The presence of Jones keeping everyone alert and ready to go. Hacker jumped on the reinhard hill with Peter P. Pete, who has been hiding in the safety and ease of the East Hartford training Crit, admitted in the press conference tonight that every week he logs on and reads with much delight, what he has been missing here in Hamden\Cheshire. Anyway, its good to have him back. He and Hacker were going for the sprint point no doubt, but Mike McG, who only needs half the hill to catch em, spoiled the fun with a late jump and got to the corner first.
Coming back on Rt 10, Rondo, Keltic, and Jones were all active up front. Hacker was able to get his revenge at the Stop & Shop sprint. A split happened thru the lights of Cheshire's center and about 20 guys got caught back.
At the front, it was VQ Rob, CX rider, Rondo and Stage 1 \Keltic. Jones slid back with a couple of k to go so as to not get mixed up in the amateur carnage. everybody seemed to wind it up a little too soon tho and at the very end it was all Sommerville. Mike McG starting things off with a late jump and Rondo chased him down even later. Peter P tried to get in the action and those 3 round out our podium. On the hill, VQ Rob was pretty much soft pedaling up, Hunter P got up first and a couple of Keltic guys (Morgan and Thompson) came up moments after.
If you count the TWC as a "race", starting with Saturday there's 8 races in the next 9 days. Should be an interesting week.
Tuesday the 17th
Ride starts with a fashion show, ends with dignified leg-tearing-off...
Great ride tonight as some new pieces of clothing were put on display. Congrats to Eric M on his new winners jersey and his upset in the 30+field in Harlem. And everyone s favorite team, Sommerville Sports, were riding with the new "post-Memorial day, summer-white version" of the ol big globe jersey. Both look great on their respective owners.
On to the ride were we had a few new faces. Could it be that news of the TWC is spreading?
Turning off route 10, everybody was feeling a little chatty. And so no one was in a hurry to get on with the antics. Hunter P started things off on Mount Sanford rd. He was quickly joined by Mason from Dartmouth and the ride was on. The two worked up a small gap but by the time Mountain Rd was in sight, they had been caught. The field being led by Chris C, Morgan from Keltic(?), Hacker and others. Hacker continued the drilling up the first riser on Mountain. He had help at the front from Eric M and the Vision Quest rider.
The pace was high all the way on Mtn rd tonight. Going by Higgans, Matt from Empire, who it is now known, works as a wind tunnel test dummy during the day, came plowing thru on his new TT ride. This caused all sorts of crap to happen as guys were already stretched thin, and Matt was turning a "healthy" gear over. He rode off the front with an attentive Jesse from Keltic, and a Stage 1 rider (todd?Julio?). The trio pulled away and in its wake, nearly split the field in two. Guys like Chris C, Crazy Chris, Tall John, Hunter P, Mason?, New rider on a raw carbon Bianchi, and a CCB rider were all scrambling to chase. By the end of MTN rd. The trio waited at the light, the chase group, up to about ten guys, and the rest of the ride, all came together, but not before some were cursing the fact that Matt chose to ride the TT bike tonight.
Onto Moss Farms where Matt continued to roll. Guys were attentive to it tho & it meant the pace was high. Rolling into the Chicane, Todd H & hunter P lead things up the hill to Marion. Little T, Hacker, and Eric M busted out some phat beats and laid it down nice the rest of the way thru the corner. A little delay behind a slow car (stupid internal combustion engines) slowed things a tad and this let Tall John roll away. He kept his gap into the industrial park. Guido had a go at closing the gap by himself, but stayed in no man's land as the strong men behind were trying to decide how to play the rest of the ride out.
Lots of faces up at the front going thru the industrial park, Rondo, Eric M, Matt.... All going hard. Both CCB riders ( Bieliakowski and Buben ) made their way to the front by the end and that put everyone's ears back and tails low. They drilled it up the first sections of West Johnson, the pace was quite fast, faster than normal thru this section. They eased up going thru the insection of Peck ln and that gave Mike McG a chance to jump off the front, same as last week. After a pause, Hunter P gave chase, dragging Jesse from Keltic and Julio?. Maybe not him, but by the corner for Reinhard, Mike had two guys with him and a small but meaningful gap. Going up Reinhard, things got a little crazy, guys jumping across, guys sliding backwards. Credit Mike with the sprint (?!), but it was all together going back towards Peck Ln, albeit very fast and together.
Moving onto Peck, CCR strong men, Joe K and Chris B came up and led the charge to the Rt 10. Again, the speed was very respectable, and no one was motivated to attack. Onto Rt 10 where Chris B kept it redlined and was rolling away from the field by the top of the climb past Cheshire Park. But this week, guys were there to cover and make up the gap. A stop at the intersection of Rt10 and Maple let everyone catch their breath. Matt and Chris B rolled off the light fast and they had an acceptable head start toward the Stop & Shop hill. Little T jumped late in pursuit, but brought along with him, Hacker, Chris C, and a couple of others. The light was red though so we really cant declare a winner. Chris B and Matt would have gotten there first though.
The peleton caught every light red thru the first half of Cheshire. Things picked up on the south side and we were rolling along at a good clip as the Keltic and Sommerville boys kept it gentlemanly. A crazy run into the finish saw a DQ 'd CCB rider (no standing in the last kilo boys), and guys skillfully fighting for a bit of position. Everybody seemed to sit up a bit at the very end which gave Guido a chance to blitzkrieg to the end by himself. Good job!
On the hill, an early attack from a rider in red(?!) made Hunter chase with Little T sitting in third, Chris B fourth. With 300 meters to go, Little T was easily able to pop around all of them for the win. Chris getting 2nd.
Great ride tonight as some new pieces of clothing were put on display. Congrats to Eric M on his new winners jersey and his upset in the 30+field in Harlem. And everyone s favorite team, Sommerville Sports, were riding with the new "post-Memorial day, summer-white version" of the ol big globe jersey. Both look great on their respective owners.
On to the ride were we had a few new faces. Could it be that news of the TWC is spreading?
Turning off route 10, everybody was feeling a little chatty. And so no one was in a hurry to get on with the antics. Hunter P started things off on Mount Sanford rd. He was quickly joined by Mason from Dartmouth and the ride was on. The two worked up a small gap but by the time Mountain Rd was in sight, they had been caught. The field being led by Chris C, Morgan from Keltic(?), Hacker and others. Hacker continued the drilling up the first riser on Mountain. He had help at the front from Eric M and the Vision Quest rider.
The pace was high all the way on Mtn rd tonight. Going by Higgans, Matt from Empire, who it is now known, works as a wind tunnel test dummy during the day, came plowing thru on his new TT ride. This caused all sorts of crap to happen as guys were already stretched thin, and Matt was turning a "healthy" gear over. He rode off the front with an attentive Jesse from Keltic, and a Stage 1 rider (todd?Julio?). The trio pulled away and in its wake, nearly split the field in two. Guys like Chris C, Crazy Chris, Tall John, Hunter P, Mason?, New rider on a raw carbon Bianchi, and a CCB rider were all scrambling to chase. By the end of MTN rd. The trio waited at the light, the chase group, up to about ten guys, and the rest of the ride, all came together, but not before some were cursing the fact that Matt chose to ride the TT bike tonight.
Onto Moss Farms where Matt continued to roll. Guys were attentive to it tho & it meant the pace was high. Rolling into the Chicane, Todd H & hunter P lead things up the hill to Marion. Little T, Hacker, and Eric M busted out some phat beats and laid it down nice the rest of the way thru the corner. A little delay behind a slow car (stupid internal combustion engines) slowed things a tad and this let Tall John roll away. He kept his gap into the industrial park. Guido had a go at closing the gap by himself, but stayed in no man's land as the strong men behind were trying to decide how to play the rest of the ride out.
Lots of faces up at the front going thru the industrial park, Rondo, Eric M, Matt.... All going hard. Both CCB riders ( Bieliakowski and Buben ) made their way to the front by the end and that put everyone's ears back and tails low. They drilled it up the first sections of West Johnson, the pace was quite fast, faster than normal thru this section. They eased up going thru the insection of Peck ln and that gave Mike McG a chance to jump off the front, same as last week. After a pause, Hunter P gave chase, dragging Jesse from Keltic and Julio?. Maybe not him, but by the corner for Reinhard, Mike had two guys with him and a small but meaningful gap. Going up Reinhard, things got a little crazy, guys jumping across, guys sliding backwards. Credit Mike with the sprint (?!), but it was all together going back towards Peck Ln, albeit very fast and together.
Moving onto Peck, CCR strong men, Joe K and Chris B came up and led the charge to the Rt 10. Again, the speed was very respectable, and no one was motivated to attack. Onto Rt 10 where Chris B kept it redlined and was rolling away from the field by the top of the climb past Cheshire Park. But this week, guys were there to cover and make up the gap. A stop at the intersection of Rt10 and Maple let everyone catch their breath. Matt and Chris B rolled off the light fast and they had an acceptable head start toward the Stop & Shop hill. Little T jumped late in pursuit, but brought along with him, Hacker, Chris C, and a couple of others. The light was red though so we really cant declare a winner. Chris B and Matt would have gotten there first though.
The peleton caught every light red thru the first half of Cheshire. Things picked up on the south side and we were rolling along at a good clip as the Keltic and Sommerville boys kept it gentlemanly. A crazy run into the finish saw a DQ 'd CCB rider (no standing in the last kilo boys), and guys skillfully fighting for a bit of position. Everybody seemed to sit up a bit at the very end which gave Guido a chance to blitzkrieg to the end by himself. Good job!
On the hill, an early attack from a rider in red(?!) made Hunter chase with Little T sitting in third, Chris B fourth. With 300 meters to go, Little T was easily able to pop around all of them for the win. Chris getting 2nd.
Tuesday the 10th
Too Hot to Ride. Let's play Shuffleboard Instead
Today was a scorcher. High humidity and air temps in the low to mid 90's meant it was a tough day. The type of day where you better keep your max heart rate 5 beats less than normal, or else you're probably going to explode. The type of day where you have to find the right balance between drinking too much and too little. Its in heat like this where you dont get hot, you end up getting chills from the onset of heatstroke. Some guys like it, and for some its like riding with their brakes on.
We had a decent field, 50-60 guys. There was little activity off the front in the opening miles. Keltic was up front keeping a respectable pace. Some delays in a corner let Greg, Eric from Keltic and Hunter P and a fourth(?!) escape . They had a small gap going down the start of Brooksvale. But things picked up in the field and they were caught by the corner of Mountain road again, just like last week. From there, the field was led by Chris C, Hacker, a new Vision Quest Training rider, and a couple of others. The pace was good, but nothing crazy.
There was little pause at the light on West Main st, and going thru it, Hacker immediatly pedaled off the front. Probably thinking the peleton was too lazy today to chase. He was almost right. A couple of keltic riders came up to ride chase, a couple of Stage 1 guys ( good to see Brian Girard back ).Things strung out a bit as riders decided who would be sitting in and who would contribute, but coming up to the turn for Jarvis it was pretty much together. A group of 4 Stage one riders ( Chris C, Todd H, Tall John & Brian? ) managed to get off the front with some slippery conrnering and were drilling it team style up the hill to Marion. Behind them there was a touch of hesitation. Then strongman Joe K simply decided to catch them himself. He tore up the hill with Hacker and Hunter P in direct tow. The rest of the field was scrambling, but catching, behind them. Joe needed no help and thru the corner any guys off the front were caught. This led to what probably was the evening's most serious break. The group ( Joe K, Hunter P, Chris C, Crazy Chris? 2 more ? ) had a small gap that they kept into the indutrial park. But halfway thru Knotter they were caught by a strung out field led by Mike McG and Vision Quest.
Turning onto West Johnson, the pace was back to not-so-crazy, even perhaps lazy. Coming up to and thru Peck ln, Mike McG picked it up and eveyone sat back, too scared because of the little hill coming up. Mike tore it up onto Reinhard, where finally a couple took notice to match his efforts. Little T, Hacker, Greg from Keltic, and a stage one rider (Brian), all jumped and with Mike, they had a small gap that they took to the base of the sprint climb. Coming up to Schoolhouse, Greg jumped around the efforts of Little T and Hacker and took the corner first. The rest of the field was closing in and all was together going down to Peck.
Riding on Peck, up the slight uphill there, Mike McG again came up and gave the rivet a hurtful twist. Credit him for going fast on the spots were everyone else was hurting today. Chris B, Joe K and others dug deep to keep him close. At the top as the road becomes Sandbank, it was back together. This is where insanely Strong man, Chris B, took off on his own. He simply pedaled off the front as we watched. Brian Girard gave chase, and by the turn onto RT 10, Chris was 15 seconds up, Brian about 8 or 9 off the front of the field. The Peleton paused a bit for the 2 first lights on 10, but Chris was riding away anyway.
Coming up to the Stop and Shop sprint, with Chris still up the road, Little T, Eric M and Hacker went for the points. Hacker stayed on the wheel of Little T, who dragged them to the top. A red light at the intersection Rt 68 ended Chris's run at the front. He probably would have stayed away had he gotten thru that light. He is dubbed tonight's master of pain.
Coming back into Hamden was status quo, but a few guys slipped thru the last light were as the peleton stopped. Chris B snuck up the road with V.Q.T. and Julio (!?). Hacker and Little T paused to re-join. Mike McG had another chance to inflict pain as he drove it the final mile, but in the end there was too many guys all over the place. On the hill, Chris used his 10 second advantage to easily hold off Hunter P, Gregg F, and Morgan* from Keltic.
*corrected from prior post
Today was a scorcher. High humidity and air temps in the low to mid 90's meant it was a tough day. The type of day where you better keep your max heart rate 5 beats less than normal, or else you're probably going to explode. The type of day where you have to find the right balance between drinking too much and too little. Its in heat like this where you dont get hot, you end up getting chills from the onset of heatstroke. Some guys like it, and for some its like riding with their brakes on.
We had a decent field, 50-60 guys. There was little activity off the front in the opening miles. Keltic was up front keeping a respectable pace. Some delays in a corner let Greg, Eric from Keltic and Hunter P and a fourth(?!) escape . They had a small gap going down the start of Brooksvale. But things picked up in the field and they were caught by the corner of Mountain road again, just like last week. From there, the field was led by Chris C, Hacker, a new Vision Quest Training rider, and a couple of others. The pace was good, but nothing crazy.
There was little pause at the light on West Main st, and going thru it, Hacker immediatly pedaled off the front. Probably thinking the peleton was too lazy today to chase. He was almost right. A couple of keltic riders came up to ride chase, a couple of Stage 1 guys ( good to see Brian Girard back ).Things strung out a bit as riders decided who would be sitting in and who would contribute, but coming up to the turn for Jarvis it was pretty much together. A group of 4 Stage one riders ( Chris C, Todd H, Tall John & Brian? ) managed to get off the front with some slippery conrnering and were drilling it team style up the hill to Marion. Behind them there was a touch of hesitation. Then strongman Joe K simply decided to catch them himself. He tore up the hill with Hacker and Hunter P in direct tow. The rest of the field was scrambling, but catching, behind them. Joe needed no help and thru the corner any guys off the front were caught. This led to what probably was the evening's most serious break. The group ( Joe K, Hunter P, Chris C, Crazy Chris? 2 more ? ) had a small gap that they kept into the indutrial park. But halfway thru Knotter they were caught by a strung out field led by Mike McG and Vision Quest.
Turning onto West Johnson, the pace was back to not-so-crazy, even perhaps lazy. Coming up to and thru Peck ln, Mike McG picked it up and eveyone sat back, too scared because of the little hill coming up. Mike tore it up onto Reinhard, where finally a couple took notice to match his efforts. Little T, Hacker, Greg from Keltic, and a stage one rider (Brian), all jumped and with Mike, they had a small gap that they took to the base of the sprint climb. Coming up to Schoolhouse, Greg jumped around the efforts of Little T and Hacker and took the corner first. The rest of the field was closing in and all was together going down to Peck.
Riding on Peck, up the slight uphill there, Mike McG again came up and gave the rivet a hurtful twist. Credit him for going fast on the spots were everyone else was hurting today. Chris B, Joe K and others dug deep to keep him close. At the top as the road becomes Sandbank, it was back together. This is where insanely Strong man, Chris B, took off on his own. He simply pedaled off the front as we watched. Brian Girard gave chase, and by the turn onto RT 10, Chris was 15 seconds up, Brian about 8 or 9 off the front of the field. The Peleton paused a bit for the 2 first lights on 10, but Chris was riding away anyway.
Coming up to the Stop and Shop sprint, with Chris still up the road, Little T, Eric M and Hacker went for the points. Hacker stayed on the wheel of Little T, who dragged them to the top. A red light at the intersection Rt 68 ended Chris's run at the front. He probably would have stayed away had he gotten thru that light. He is dubbed tonight's master of pain.
Coming back into Hamden was status quo, but a few guys slipped thru the last light were as the peleton stopped. Chris B snuck up the road with V.Q.T. and Julio (!?). Hacker and Little T paused to re-join. Mike McG had another chance to inflict pain as he drove it the final mile, but in the end there was too many guys all over the place. On the hill, Chris used his 10 second advantage to easily hold off Hunter P, Gregg F, and Morgan* from Keltic.
*corrected from prior post
Tuesday the 3rd
Ride gets disorderly - S.W.A.T. team is called in
It happens every year... Sometimes twice... Our welcome in the fair village of Cheshire wears thin and the PoPo steps up to the civic plate... But more on that later....
There was about 45-50 guys or so on the ride tonight. Turning off RT10, Guido went straight to work by distancing himself from the others... Chris C and Hunter P kept tempo on his 50 yard gap. then Eric M came rifling by & both Chris C & Hunter P jumped on.
Eric caught Guido pretty quickly and by the turn onto Mount Sanford the 4 went to work together. The pace was pretty decent in the break and back in the field. Other Stage 1 riders, Joe K, Tall John.... All were keeping it close but the gap went up to about 7 seconds. Coming up to the turn onto Mountain, the field had gone turbo and single file, lead by Hacker and Tall John... The catch happened just as the corner came up. There was oncoming traffic that slowed all but the front group which was made up of the break and the strong men chasing.
Hacker and Hunter P took advantage of the split on the opening hill of Mountain Rd and the others latched on. By the time the ride came thru the stop sign for Higgans there was a pretty massive split in the field. Lets see if can name all the guys up front... Tho it was pretty much the crew you'd expect.
Guido \ Todd H \ Chris C \ Mike McG \ Hunter P \ Eric M \ Jesse from Keltic \ Tall John \ Mason \ Hacker \ Joe K \ Chris B \ Julio? \ Kyle F \ a CCB rider who we think is Yahor Buben .... Who else??? Probably missing some guys from that list. Sorry for that. The light at West Main was of course red and it all came together.
Onto Moss farms where Kyle K went off on his own. He held a 7 or 8 second gap as Hacker & others gave a slight chase... Nothing too crazy though. Kyle kept the gap until the turn onto jarvis where some traffic issues let Hacker and someone else (!?) slide up to to him. Todd H and Little T led the charge to bring them back on the ramp up to Marion and by the corner all was together. A couple of guys were able to use the cover to roll off the front, Tall John, Hunter P and Greg from Keltic. Those 3 covered the length of Marion together but as they entered the industrial park, the field was all sewed up.
The CCB rider, Hacker and a couple of others went to work with the pace and nearly split the field again thru the industrial park, but it stayed together all the way up to Reinhart. Mike McG was keeping it ticking along when Little T jumped out on the hill toward Schoolhouse. Hunter P jumped on and used the lead out to get to the sprint points corner first. That had strung things out a bit but going down towards Peck Ln the ride was together again. Nothing unusual for the next few miles. The ride was hit with a stiff headwind on RT10 that kept the pace at an elderly 18 mph.
Here is where Kyle had another go off the front but as and the field was coming up to the Cheshire Police department building, an officer was there to stop traffic and "pull over" the ride... Seems there was some complaints about bad pace line etiquette and down&dirty drafting tricks.... Either that or we were hogging the road... Regardless, the officer, as always, was pretty nice about it and simply requested we keep it to 2 abreast or else bikes would start to get impounded and sold off at government auction. After a background check on everyone showed that the fugitive, Anthony Parent, was not among us, we were released.
That kinda negated the Stop n Shop sprint, which Dillon P was squarely favored to take....
Nothing too exciting going back into Hamden... The finish was a bleak affair with someone getting to Shepard ave first. We arent really sure who. CCB was up there, Eric M and Rondo too. The real party was up on top of Shepard where Hunter P waited out all of Chris B's attacks and took the top o the hill sprint, with Gregg F from CCR coming in 3rd.
Great, classic ride... We will all have to concentrate on being a little more orderly it seems...
It happens every year... Sometimes twice... Our welcome in the fair village of Cheshire wears thin and the PoPo steps up to the civic plate... But more on that later....
There was about 45-50 guys or so on the ride tonight. Turning off RT10, Guido went straight to work by distancing himself from the others... Chris C and Hunter P kept tempo on his 50 yard gap. then Eric M came rifling by & both Chris C & Hunter P jumped on.
Eric caught Guido pretty quickly and by the turn onto Mount Sanford the 4 went to work together. The pace was pretty decent in the break and back in the field. Other Stage 1 riders, Joe K, Tall John.... All were keeping it close but the gap went up to about 7 seconds. Coming up to the turn onto Mountain, the field had gone turbo and single file, lead by Hacker and Tall John... The catch happened just as the corner came up. There was oncoming traffic that slowed all but the front group which was made up of the break and the strong men chasing.
Hacker and Hunter P took advantage of the split on the opening hill of Mountain Rd and the others latched on. By the time the ride came thru the stop sign for Higgans there was a pretty massive split in the field. Lets see if can name all the guys up front... Tho it was pretty much the crew you'd expect.
Guido \ Todd H \ Chris C \ Mike McG \ Hunter P \ Eric M \ Jesse from Keltic \ Tall John \ Mason \ Hacker \ Joe K \ Chris B \ Julio? \ Kyle F \ a CCB rider who we think is Yahor Buben .... Who else??? Probably missing some guys from that list. Sorry for that. The light at West Main was of course red and it all came together.
Onto Moss farms where Kyle K went off on his own. He held a 7 or 8 second gap as Hacker & others gave a slight chase... Nothing too crazy though. Kyle kept the gap until the turn onto jarvis where some traffic issues let Hacker and someone else (!?) slide up to to him. Todd H and Little T led the charge to bring them back on the ramp up to Marion and by the corner all was together. A couple of guys were able to use the cover to roll off the front, Tall John, Hunter P and Greg from Keltic. Those 3 covered the length of Marion together but as they entered the industrial park, the field was all sewed up.
The CCB rider, Hacker and a couple of others went to work with the pace and nearly split the field again thru the industrial park, but it stayed together all the way up to Reinhart. Mike McG was keeping it ticking along when Little T jumped out on the hill toward Schoolhouse. Hunter P jumped on and used the lead out to get to the sprint points corner first. That had strung things out a bit but going down towards Peck Ln the ride was together again. Nothing unusual for the next few miles. The ride was hit with a stiff headwind on RT10 that kept the pace at an elderly 18 mph.
Here is where Kyle had another go off the front but as and the field was coming up to the Cheshire Police department building, an officer was there to stop traffic and "pull over" the ride... Seems there was some complaints about bad pace line etiquette and down&dirty drafting tricks.... Either that or we were hogging the road... Regardless, the officer, as always, was pretty nice about it and simply requested we keep it to 2 abreast or else bikes would start to get impounded and sold off at government auction. After a background check on everyone showed that the fugitive, Anthony Parent, was not among us, we were released.
That kinda negated the Stop n Shop sprint, which Dillon P was squarely favored to take....
Nothing too exciting going back into Hamden... The finish was a bleak affair with someone getting to Shepard ave first. We arent really sure who. CCB was up there, Eric M and Rondo too. The real party was up on top of Shepard where Hunter P waited out all of Chris B's attacks and took the top o the hill sprint, with Gregg F from CCR coming in 3rd.
Great, classic ride... We will all have to concentrate on being a little more orderly it seems...
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.
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.
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.
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