A running account of the "race without an entry fee"..... The Tuesday night ride

Tuesday the 30th

The 2 group nonsense continues as the ride gets all fast and new-look.

The B group headed out 5 minutes early and the group was larger this week probably cause of the threat of rain. It ended up being about 30-35 riders in each group. Again, most of the strong guys went second, including the return of Empire Matt, Guido, and Chris Jones. Couple those with the CCR crew, the Bubble boys, Target Training’s Ed Angeli, Time Trial Pete, and Todd H’s Coppertopped hair, and the A group was blazin. The B group had French Casey, Rondo, and Eric M…. Good to see Casey back in action.

Off of route 10, it was John Gregory and Dave Hartmann setting early tempo. Then Mike McG, also with a new “dew”, and CJones took over and set tempo heading onto Brooksvale ave. The pace heading up to Mountain road was solid.

Turning onto mountain and up the risers, Empire Matt, on a TT bike, had jumped up to the front along with Craig L. Jones and Mike McG joined them quickly and there was a brief split as the foursome hammered it up the hill a mile or two faster than normal. The front of the group behind wasn’t having any of that and quickly closed the gap… Peter P, Thomaas B and Little T sewing up the gaps.

The rest of the way down Mountain rd was quick, with a group of 8 or 9 heading up the efforts at the front. Tall John, Crazy Chris, Julio L, Todd H and Maison from CCR were up there with the others doing work.

Onto Moss Farms where again, in a scene that would be played out a bunch of times tonight, Empire Matt surged off the front and Jones tracked him down. Crazy Chris, Mike McG were also up there with Luekens. That kept the pace high as the field flew thru the chicane, led by Thomaas B. Up the hill past that, Empire Matt hit it. Hard. Really hard. Others were scrambling for a piece of the wheel. Jones, Little T, Mike McG. Hunter P, Peter P. All were flying in pursuit. Matt kept up the gap up thru the corner and beyond, with Peter P, Hunter P, Jones and Mike coming up to form some type of group, but it was pretty much all together. The A group came within 5 seconds of so of the B group, just as it turned into the industrial park.

Once thru the lights and onto Mount Vernon Rd, it was Mike McG and New Haven’s version of the “3 Amigos”; Luekens, Empire and Jones setting tempo. There were others up there too of course. Notably, Tall John, Ed A, Julio, Maison, Little T, etc. With the tailwind, the pace was crisp, not falling below 28 mph. A couple of times, it seemed there was a group getting off the front…… Whenever Empire Matt would look for aero-bar-breathing-room off the front or when there was a slight pitch in the road and a gap would open up. But all in all, it stayed together and the pace was fast. Peter P got hit with a flat and dropped out as the crazy pace over the rough spots took its toll.

Turning onto Welch Rd, there was a pause in the speed, then it looked briefly like Luekens was going to have a go off the front. Mike McG was up there too and so was Jones. Chris B was also moving up and looking for daylight off the front, but the pace was just too fast. Little T jumped from 4 bikes back at the base of the hill and rounded everyone well before the corner. Coming thru after was more Stage 1 guys, Crazy Chris and Julio L, along with Hunter P. Little T kept up the attack and was up the road as the trio, Crazy Chris, Julio, and Hunter P was closing the gap. Julio killed it and caught T and then kept on going past. Then Hunter P took a turn as things were shuffling around behind. Mike McG and the New Haven crew were all right there and then had a good go off the front. Luekens, Jones, Empire, McG, Crazy Chris, and 1 or 2 others might have seen the game winning break if it weren’t for a red light by the highway. Things got rolling along again lazy like, but by the decsent down West Street, Empire Matt was fully stretching the limits of his 56 tooth chainring, pulling the ride out single file down the hill. After that, things calmed down all the way back to Route 10 in Cheshire.

There were plenty of guys rotating thru on the way up to the Stop n Shop sprint. Little T jumped from a ways back, taking Hunter P and Maison along for the sprint. Julio L was also there looking to sneak away. Neither could come around and Alessio got it by a healthy margin.

For the ride back to Hamden, red lights kept it slow. Although noteworthy was Tall John getting thru a light on his own. That was all he needed to attempt the long ride back by himself into the wind. After clearing Cheshire, the field ramped it up again with Empire Matt getting a few last good pulls in. Jones, Luekens, Thomaas B, and Guido were up there as well with others.

For the finale, Little T looked to jump at the right moment with a bunch of guys kicking his heels, but a rider in Bethel Cycles jersey was able to come around him at the last moment. Seemed little matter though, as Tall John was able to hold off all with his ninja red light skills and rode in first, fair and square all alone.

Good fast ride… Can we get some details of what went down in the B group?

Tuesday the 23rd

The Sleeping Giant Ride is a School bus... Which one were you on?

After much backroom bargaining and name calling, The Sleeping Giant Ride was officially split into 2 groups today… the “B” (for boring) group to do the ride as normal, and the “A”(for ass#oles) group that would do the winter loop, adding about 11 miles or so. As half the ride rolled out under the Flag of Rondo, The other half waited for a couple of minutes to depart for the longer loop. And as the tradition of one group, with solidarity, was broken, wherever they were on this night, Luigi Delbouno muttered the F word more than Paulie Walnuts did on the 3rd season of The Soprano’s and John Elengo became for the first time, Angry JohnnE.

The second group ( A group ) was made up mostly of the Stop n Shop crew (bubble heads and Mike McG), the CCR crew, 3 Yalies and other notables. So most of the ponies were going long and hard tonight. Hopefully we will get some details about what went down in the first group ( B ) and anything to report will be added to the recap.

Right off route 10, Mike McG and Eric M filled the familiar roles of early tempo setters. Also up there doing some surprising early work was Little T, who was coming to grips with the fact that there’d be no Reinhart Sprint for him tonight. The first one to have a go off the front was VQ Rob, who would be jumping off the front all night long. His first go was brief, and heading in thru the cobbles it was all together. He would next give it another go heading into Mountain Rd, but that was swallowed up for a field led by Tall John and Chris C. Some traffic on the corner for Mountain rd slowed things down a bit, but once thru Joe K would jump off the front with Hunter P in tow. The 2 tore it up the hill and were joined by Crazy Chris and it was officially a break. The 3 went to work together and held a gap for a decent length run, getting caught after the 2nd set of risers after the intersection for Higgans rd. Eric M, Mike McG, Julio L and others were chasing pretty hard to catch the trio.

The rest of the way down Mountain was quick as the lean and mean group shared the work load well and many guys were dipping their wicks into the wind.

The B group was just moving thru the light, no doubt caught by a red, as the A group Peleton was coming up to the intersection. The groups would stay separate as the second group waited out the red light and got rolling along without urgency once thru it. The pace down Moss Farms was good, nothing huge, VQ Rob was again rolling off the front for brief spurts along with a 1st time rider in red atop a sliver bike with yellow Time shoes. Heading into the Chicane, it was all together as Hunter P led the field thru. Yalie Adam and Craig L led everyone up the hill initially, and then Little T busted out some sprint and jumped off the front with Joe K in tow. The 2 ripped thru the corner with Hunter P closing the gap quickly. This made a trio again off the front with a small but respectable gap. The 3 would go to work but would be caught right before the turn into the industrial park. Everyone of course barreled thru and headed to Southington for the extended loop. Once onto Mount Vernon Rd, Mike McG resumed pace making along with VQ Rob, Eric M, and others. The pace was going good and there were a couple of solid but brief attacks. The first coming from Chris C, lasting a quarter mile and then Joe K pushed off coming up to the turn by Briarwood but was soon pushed back by the headwind. Again, work was being spread out well with more than 15 guys rotating thru nicely.

As the field turned right onto Welch to go by the golf course The rider in Red had a go off the front but was eclipsed by Mike McG’s sudden attack coming up to the hill. Craig L and the Yalies were up there to patch up holes in the front as the P’ton hit the base of the climb to West St. Little T, who actually found a way to beat everybody in B Group up the Reinhard sprint, nipping Greg Ciocci to the corner, was back with the A Group and seeing the hill to West St as a good substitute for sprint points, jumped hard after Mike McG. Little t came around Mike with a little room to spare and came thru the corner first. Mike kept up the attack as the hill keeps up past the corner. Hunter P was up there in the mix and went with Mike. The two had a gap when Crazy Chris jumped across and then it was 3 for a little bit. Back behind, Little T had stayed up front along with Chris C and a reshuffling up front, it was Chris and Mike leading the way. As expected, there were guys all over the road during this section as it may be the toughest Sleeping Giant stretch, Winter or summer loop. It all came together as the ride had to slow for a light late on West Street. Once on Canal St., the rider in Red attacked once more, this time taking Hunter P with him. The 2 kept the gap up to the light on 322, which as, usual, was red.

The pack took a couple of moments to recover, and then went up Peck Ln a bit faster than usual. There was a small split toward the end of the uphill section, before it turns to Sandbank Rd, made up mostly of the Stage 1 guys. That turned into a leading trio moving onto Route 10 of Crazy Chris, VQ Rob, and Hunter P. That was short lived and heading into the center of Cheshire it was all together.

There was still plenty of get up and go left in the legs for the stop n shop sprint. And heading into it there were a bunch of guys up at the front and ready to go. Julio L, Little T, Rich on C dale, Craig L, Joe K and the Yalies etc… Mike McG was the first to jump, from quite a ways back and had a gap before Little T, Rich and Julio L responded. Little T had the best shot to come around Mike, and there was some traffic to make it interesting, but Mike held off the Alessio charge to the top with Rich being a close 3rd.

The ride into Hamden was faster then usual. The group, not having lost anyone really, enjoyed the tailwind all the way back. Hunter P and VQ Rob had a brief go at the front, but that was crushed by Little T and Mike McG. The speed stayed at 30mph or higher the whole way back, except for a couple of red lights. Heading into the final kilo, there was again a solid group of guys ready to dive it home. The Stage one guys ( Chris C, Dave H, rider on a colnago, Tall John ) gave the front a final shove before letting Little T go out early and burn out, Then it was Mike McG pulling off, leaving Hunter P and Crazy Chris duke it out with Hunter P getting the final kick to the end.

Dillon P was 5th!

No one went up the Shepard Ave hill.

All in all it was a good ride. The A group ended up riding back thru Hamden about 20-25 min later than the B group probably… Maybe even less.

And as there was some premature talk of doing the winter loop again next week, perhaps the New Haven crowd will keep the timing in mind, as there was still more than 35+ min left of daylight to ride home.

Tuesday the 16th

Everyone seemed to have something to prove tonight as the ride had plenty of punch.

Right off of Route 10, after enjoying the tail wind from the parking lot, the group of about 55-60 was speeding right along. Mike McG was upfront, Rick on a C-dale, and Time Trial Pete Johnson was setting early tempo. Mike McG stepped on it running though Brooksvale Ave. and Hunter P along with Eric M were there to follow it up. Going up Mountain Rd, Mike continued to drive the front along with VQ Rob, Julio L and Tall John. Pistol packing Peter Kenney was up there as well. The pace down the ret of Mountain Rd was good with little break from the soliid tempo. Chris C and Rondo were working well together along with a new (?) Stage One guy on a Colnago.

Onto Moss Farms where Rondo and Hunter P jumped up the road early on along with VQ Rob, but that was shut down pretty quickly as EriC M and Mike McG were also rolling along fast at the front of the main pack. Tall John rode off the front going into the chicane and had a small headstart on the hill up to Marion Ave. The pace kinda dropped here as no one really took the opportunity to attack. Maison from CCR was off the front, semi attacking up the hill. Adam from yale was up there taking the main field thru the corner when Hunter P came off the front and surged past Maison. Hunter P stayed off the front alone for a minute or two, almost making it to the industrial park, but was caught by a strung out pack led by Mike McG, tall John, VQ Rob, Joe K, Julio L and others.

Into the industrial park where the pace remained high, with no one making any separation off the front. Chris B was inching his way up to the front in a move that has hidden from no one. He was first thru the corner for west Johnson but there were plenty of guys to mark his pace and he stayed at the front of the field. VQ Rob was up there again setting pace as everyone barreled thru the intersection of Peck Lane. Rondo may have gotten a flat somewhere at this point (?) The strong guys were setting up for the sprint with Alessio up there, Eric M, Maison, Hunter P, etc. Chris B impressively attacked again before the corner, taking Hunter P along with him for the early snooker shot at the sprint. The 2 stayed together with Chris charging the way up to the hill. They had a slim lead of 40-50 yards. Chris did a good job gathering himself for a sprint and jumping away from Hunter just as the guys in the pack were winding up. Greg Ciocci gave it a good go, jumping early and getting the jump on the rest. Mike McG and Little T were the next to go and nose to nose, swept thru the guys up the road, Ciocci, Hunter and Chris. The 2went pretty much down to the wire with Little T pulling thru the corner at the last moment. Alessio kept up the pace on the backside, but so did most of the riders behind and it was back to fast heading into Peck Lane. Nothing too unusual for the run in to Route 10 and into Cheshire. Chris Mahoney, Thomas B, Tall John and Julio and others were up there setting tempo. There was new faces out tonight, good to see some new guys out enjoying the ride.

The run in to Stop n Shop was quick, with a slowing at the end as everyone watched Little T come up to second wheel and then pouncing. Hunter P gave chase, Maison had an impressive jump and was in position to pass for a bit. Mike McG jumped as well and despite a rear tire losing air, was the only one to take it the long way to the line with Little T. Again Alessio was able to edge it out, but just barely.

Nothing else to report for the ride back into Hamden. Stage 1 was doing a lot of the pace making. Dave H was up there along with Crazy Chris, Julio L and Tall John. Coming into the final kilometer, Little T saw the front of the field a little eary and decided to run with it. He got a gap and looked for a moment to be on the way to the hat trick, but close behind there was an usually large group, maybe 10 guys just ramping up the speed and ready to turn on the afterburners. Dillon P, Eric M, VQ Rob, Ciocci, yalie Adam, etc. In the end Little T was passed by Vq Rob and Julio L who shared the honors of bringing the ride to an end.

Up the hill, Chris B wasn’t tired yet, he jumped up and past Gregg F and Chris Mahoney.

Tuesday the 9th

Report coming?

It was a good ride. Lots of guys out despite the rainy weather. Right off the bat... Literally right from the the parking lot, Chris Butler from Cheshire Cycle, Eric M, Tri Guy with knee highs and another rider in a Medics kit (?) attacked and left the bunch.

Even tho this type of sucker punching may be deemed inappropriate, it should be noted the group was not seen till late on Peck lane.

Hopefully we will get some details posted about what it was like in the main bunch during the ride soon.

> from Chris C <

The ride was relaxed up until the first rise turning onto Mountain Road when Greg Cocci attacked and I went with him. From that point to the light the ride was fast paced. It eased up a bit down Moss Farms road and through the intersection. Once into the Industrial Park the pace picked up again and after we went through the stop sign and turned right onto West Johnson, Mike went to the front and pulled all the way past the Kawasaki dealership. Single file, with no one able to pass. Very impressive! The pace stayed high down the hill and up the Peck Lane hill where we caught the break. There was only a few guys left at this point due to Mikes pull. Me, Mike, Eric M., Pete P., Tri Scott, Chris B., Rondo, Eddy A. and maybe one or two others. We kept pushing the pace all the way down RT-10. It is not far from an exaggeration to say we never went much below 30mph for the last 2 miles of the ride. I could barely hold on. Ron kept "f-ing" with me in the rotation which didn't help much. Great ride last night. One of the hardest in a long time. Definitely sore today.... (Chris C )




Feel free to post whatever details ( strong pulls, sloppy pace-lining, team taunting, flirting etc... ) you remember from the ride in the comments section.

Tuesday the 2nd

Entry Fees? 4 corners? The USCF? Forget it man, the Tuesday party continues…

The usual amount of riders were out tonight. Nothing spectacular, but decent as always. Pretty much from the get go - Mike McG was out in front setting tempo, He had help from Eric M and Thomaas B. The ride went slower this week thru the first cobbled section and everyone stayed together going up onto Mountain Rd. Thomaas B, not quite finished yet, jumped early on mountain. Chris Butler went with him and that started the chase in earnest. It was single file but it was all together. Mike kept the pace up after that and things moved along nicely down Mountain Rd. with a bunch of guys working at the front.

Onto Moss Farms where Tomaas B again jumped first and again, it was Mike keeping it the stitches strong. He had help from Eric M and the pace remained high up to the chicane where Richard Sachs Chris led everyone thru. Mike again jumped on the hill leading up to Marion, this time taking Chris C, Todd H, Ed Angeli along for the ride. Mike had a good jump, making the 3 work but once they came together they had a gap. Behind the field was being led up and thru the corner by Little T, Eric M and Kyle F. Kyle took it upon himself to cover the gap to the four and within a quarter mile, had single-handedly brought them back, even though they weren’t really turning screws in unison in the break. Along for the ride was Hunter P and Crazy Chris which made it 7 up front. The new larger group still had a gap but that was being chased down by Greg Ciocci, the rider in yellow and black from Mass (?), Julio L and a few others. By the time the turn into the industrial park came, it was all together again. and Things moved along nicely into the industrial park with no activity off the front. Right after turning onto West Johnson, Hunter P jumped off the front in a an early bid to get up to Reinhard. That was short lived though and He was brought back when Maison jumped hard off the front. He along with Chris B, were attacking, and stringing things out before the corner for Reinhard. Gregg F was up there as well with CrazyChris, Rondo, Julio, etc, in between. Maison was brought back before the sprint started and Chris B started the hill with a 50 yard gap. Rondo had played the position game well though and jumped the best in pursuit of Chris. Back in the main bunch, Little T was too far back, Eric M jumped for bit, and Hunter P jumped hard but was also too far back. Rondo cruised thru first, with Hunter just coming around Chris B before the corner.

Things stayed together till Peck lane. Mike McG shot off the front with an interval and it took up to Route 10 to catch him. From there the field stayed together up to the Stop n Shop sprint. All green lights meant that there was a good roll out bfore the jump, and guys were squaring up. Mike McG was first to leadout, getting the speed up. Tall John was up there, Julio L, Rich from Cuevas, Eric M etc. Little T was sitting 5th or 6th wheel when we went and there was little chance of catching him. Hutner P gave chase but it was a distant 2nd.

From there the pace was good through Cheshire. There was a brief split thanks to Stage 1 guys drilling it by Macdonald’s, but as Johan would say, never attack on a downhill. heading in to the finale, the usual suspects were going good, Tall John, Kyle F, Chris C, John Gregory, The Medics, a Rider from IBC ( Boston ), Thomaas B, etc. There was a brief Team leadout going it seemed with one Devils Gear rider leading out Matt from Devils Gear. That was wrapped up with a kilometer to go though. In the end, a group of about 7 were in position to jet off for the finish. Hunter P was first to go, Little T, was next, Eric M…. In the end it was Crazy Chris and Mike McG spinning past Shepard Ave.

It was good to see a bunch of guys head Shepard up for the real test. Rich on a C-dale, Gregg F, Chris B, Ken just ken, Chris Mo’Money Mahoney, Hunter P, Bill Thompson from Keltic (?), the Devils Gear riders…. No one was stopping Chris B this time and he walked away from the rest to get the top first.

Tuesday the 27th

Good ride tonight despite the cool temps. Must get the bad news out of the way though….. Massimiliano ( Max ) Accaputo who lives in Glastonbury went down in a final lap’s crash in the Pro race in Hartford and broke his femur. Max is a good guy of the Peleton who was enjoying his best season to boot. Bummer is a terrible understatement. Look him up, call Pig Iron Sports, ask a CVC rider, get his info and drop him a line. He will be off the bike for a long time sadly.

On the night’s ride and on a bit of a brighter note, We all got to see Curtis Easton’s beaming face out on the ride tonight. Curtis was back in town for graduation events and came out to play ball with us… Nice!

Right off the start of tonights ride, Matt from Devils gear took off down the road and was quick to get away. It wasn’t long after that that Chris C and Josh Freidman took off and it was clear the ride was going to be good and quick. Chris and Josh got a good gap of about 10 seconds before Mike McG moved to the front to set tempo. That turned into a full on attack\bridge as the ride was going over the cobbles of Mount Sanford rd. The ride splintered as guys were dodging potholes and Mike sped off with Greg Ciocci and Hunter P in tow. The trio started to work together and it was right around the start off brooksvale that they caught Josh F and Chris C. Matt from Devils Gear was still up the road. The 5 were out of sight of the peleton. Back in the bunch it was a bunch of guys doing to the work. Peter P, Chris Mo’Money, Rondo, Curtis too. The break caught Matt early on Mountain Rd and so then it was 6.

The Lead group worked up a good gap with all doing an equal share. They had to stop at the light at Route 68 and that gave the big bunch a chance to catch them, or else they no doubt would have stayed away the whole time.

Onto Moss Farms, D.G. Matt was right back at it. Charging up the road. Curtis, Rondo, and Mike McG went up and also worked up there and for the ride down Moss Farms, it seemed like there was legs that wanted to attack, but the pace was too high to allow it. Mike McG led the field for a solid half mile before and into the Chicane. He had Chris C right on his wheel for the charge up to Marion. Mike's efforts was followed right away by Rondo, Hunter P, and Todd H. That kept the speed high into the industrial park.

Once on the flat roads there, It was Rondo and Mike going good and for a second, they actually rolled off the front as no one was interested in coming thru. Moving onto West Johnson, the ride up to the corner for Reinhard was fast-ish. A lot of guys were working it, no one attacking... Just some solid efforts. Chris B again, for the 11teenth time, rolled off the front and had a good gap in the corner. Other guys squaring up were Mike McG, Julio L, Eric M, Chris C, Crazy Chris, Cuevas Rich, Peter P, Curtis, Hunter P, Rondo etc. A drop in speed just before the sprint kicked allowed a few guys to get ready and Chris to get a little more of a gap. It looked like he might be free and clear this time. Julio L was in good position, 2 bikes off the front when he started the sprint Eric M gave chase with a couple others. It was a true sprint that required a good starting position. Julio needed all the road to first catch Chris, and then come around him just at the last moment. Great job Julio. Chris B is getting closer and closer to pulling off the improbable. Soon, guys will be latching onto his wheel and then we will see some real carnage on the hill before, during, and after the sprint. Eric M, Crazy Chris and Hunter P rolled up through after the Chris\Julio express train started back down toward Peck Ln. Chris C and Hunter P kept the pace high but there were enough bodies coming up from the main bunch to fill in the gaps and it was gruppo compacto once on Peck Ln. Things didnt get going again till up past Cheshire Park on Route 10. The usual suspects were driving it and once again it looked like it was going to be a good run in to the Stop n Shop sprint but the rare red light across from the Police Dept brought things to a halt. Once rolling again it took about 4 seconds for Little T to light it up and try to win the brief match sprint up the hill. Julio L and Hunter P gave chase with Hunter getting the closest, but T had the jump from the stand still and was all over this one.

The rest of the ride was standard issue stuff. No one attempted to move off the front. The Medics, the Stage 1 guys, Thomaas B, Curtis, Peter P, Richard Sachs Chris, etc were all up there going into Hamden. The finale was fast, with a group of 5 or 6 splintering off the front at the right moment. It ended up being Rondo and Josh F riding up and thru the last light together with a few guys also soft pedaling in close behind.

Tuesday the 19th

Hey the weather was good tonight… Lots of riders out ready to get some good training in.

Pretty much as soon as the ride turned off route 10, Mike “di luca” McG went to the front and set tempo. He was joined by Eric M and things were starting to hot-up nice and early on. The pace thru the “cobbles” of Brooksvale was fast and with guys darting around ever growing potholes a group managed to ride off the front. Mike McG, Eric M, Chris C and Todd H all drilled it and were away briefly before being snagged by traffic turning onto Mount Sanford. The Medic set pace didn’t relent and going toward Mountain rd it was still mostly Mike and Eric up front. They had some help in the form of Ben from CT Coast, Tall John, Julio L and a couple of others. Turning onto Mountain was slow cause of cars but once clear it was again Mike setting early tempo up the hill along with Rondo. Things settled down a bit after that but Mike persisted in the pacing and he had help from Yalie Adam, Chris Mo’Money on a Scott, a bunch of Bubbles and others all the way down to the light.

Once past the light on Moss Farms, Todd H and our favorite rider on a Se7en ( name?) took off but that was reeled in pretty quickly by a couple of guys and it was gruppo compacto for the rest of the way down Moss. Toward the end coming up to the chicane, it was once again Mike up front, along with Yalie Adam and Chris C. Heading up the hill toward Marion, a few guys started darting around looking for a chance to jump, even tho the pace was still pretty decent. Chris C started the surge, Little T was looking ready to go, Mike jumped hard at first and then to that, an even harder jump. He rolled thru the corner first with Hunter P directly in tow. Hunter P put in another surge right after the corner and the 2 were well clear of a rivet popping peloton. Craig L was in control of his bodily functions tho and was able to bridge the gap up to the 2 pretty quickly and so the 3 went to work. Behind in the pack, Julio L, Little T, Todd H, CT Coast Ben and yalie Adam were keeping it close for everyone.

Moving into the industrial park, the trio still had a decent gap and were working well together. Coming up to the corner for west Johnson, Julio L had turned himself upside down and shook enough pennies out to cover the gap. That got things going in the main field and it would be “bunch packed” on West Johnson, halfway to the intersection of Peck. Craig was still looking good and would set some pace before the hill toward Rienhard. Chris B would again charge off the front with brute force and he was getting a decent gap. Ken just ken would also try to the same trick and was halfway between the peloton and Chris. It was brisk turning onto Reinhart, with little chance to slot into position for the sprint. Several guys were looking good for it. Eric M, Chris C, Craig, Mike, etc… Little T was rolling up to the front as well. Chris B had a solid 5-7 seconds at the dip in the road just as it going uphill with Ken still in between but coming back fast. Eric M was the first to jump with Little T right on his wheel and Hunter P right on T’s. They all went up the left side of the road, where Ken had come to a near halt. It was a close call getting around him and Hunter P had to jam on the brakes and was out of the running. Little T passed Eric halfway up and started in toward Chris. Chris was still powering away, but not fast enough as T got him a little before the corner. Eric was there a little ways back and Hunter P was farther back. Great to see Little T back and kicking butt after a few weeks off the bike due to illness. Rumor has it tonight was just his 3rd ride in a month, and he also had other things on his mind as his good friend Mike Regan’s Mother passed away recently. Everyone should really take a note…. Mike’s a great guy who loves riding, was in the industry for a while, and is still more enthusiastic about talking bikes than Rondo is about Gianni Bugno’s new pizza joint. Mike has insurance offices in Waterbury, look him up and say hi.

Over the top, thru the corner, and down towards Peck, Hunter P took off and had a bit of a gap, but toward the top of the riser on Peck he was caught and it was all together for a brief moment. Coming up towards Route 10, Crazy Chris, Chris C, Todd H and a fourth (?) slipped off the front, but that was shot down quickly and it was all together into the wind heading up the hill by Cheshire Park.

Heading into Cheshire was slowed by traffic lights and the run in to stop n shop took a bit to get started but once it did it was Little T rocketing off again. Mike McG was chasing as well. The best guy to beat T was America’s Team Rich on a C dale. Good to see him out again for the whole ride as well. He came close but Little T stayed in front all the way to the light.

Heading into Hamden was pretty standard issue. Craig was up front, Adam, the Medics, Tall John, etc. Guido was up there as well. Guido missed the start of the ride by like 15 short seconds which sucks. Heading into the final kilometer, after Rondo and Mike McG had put in the last dig and peeled off, guys like Little T, Hunter P, and Guido were a bit boxed in, leaving Craig and Todd H to charge in. the 2 rolled in together with a clear gap over the rest…