Tuesday the 26th

       The storm clouds opened up just in time for the ride this week. It was a fast moving front but the field rolled out of the parking lot in a downpour. The Cheshire Cycle crew used their home field advantage and stayed in the locker room till the heaviest rain stopped. Soon after the ride turned off route 10, Eric M jumped off the front and was joined by Builder Pete, and Monty B from CCR. Also jumping in pursuit was C-Dale Rich and BenGe. The rest of the Cheshire Cycle crew rode up the course and found Eric M driving the break hard with the 2 CCR guys attached. Unsure of who or what was in pursuit, Hunter P, Dillon P, Gregg F and Joe K rounded up the stragglers and reconnected with the break by the middle of Mountain Road. The light at route 68 brought the entire ride back together, as the peleton had started up riding chase on Mountain rd as well with Guido doing a lot of work along with Luekens.

       Onto Moss Farms where it took less then a kilo for Yelle Snoo!P to attack off the front. Time Trial Pete and Perry would chase a bit, then Saul-not-Gaul, in a strong display as he returns to the fold, took over and by then it was all coming back together. Arlene Zane was out tonight on the ride, no doubt a homeless racer seeing as how the Crit at the Rent was canceled. MoMoney led everyone into the Chicane and Dillon P drove the pace up to the corner for Marion. After the riser, everyone rolled back together and it was to slow for Guido. He hit the front hard, taking along Hunter P and BenGe. Perry was also up there and the foursome tore off a small gap just before the industrial park. The chase was on though and as it was coming back together, Guido surged again, taking only Hunter P with him . Those 2 hung on a bit longer but ended the attack after the ride slammed into the unexpected construction section right before 322. Everyone seemed to either go very slow over the gravel or very fast. Joe K, being one of the few SG riders who has competed in Battenkill Roubay, rode off the front, no doubt looking for a green light at route 322. It was red, so gruppo compacto. Surprisingly, no one got a flat thru the rough stuff.

      Onto Mount Vernon where Eric M and a faster then last time Luekens hit the front but everyone took a bit of a breather thru this section. MoMoney, BenGe, Jacinto and Yelle Snoop were early pace setters on Mount Vernon, but the pace remained on the sedate side. Guido would roll up and pitch in along with Bike Shop Bob and Joe K. Robyn was never far from the front as well. YelleSnoop, Joe K and Team Gaul would start things out on the false flat section with Hunter P attacking quickly to build up a solid 50 meter gap by the time the road went level again. No one really responded, leaving Hunter to dangle out front for a close to a kilo before a group of poursuivants led by Guido would bring him back. The bump in speed started to develop small gaps but a pause up front let it all clam down for the run-in to the turnaround.

        Leading up to the corner for Welch rd, a small group had a crack of a gap into the corner. A CCBer ( Yahor? ), Team Gaul, and Tri Doug with Gregg F, YelleSnoop, “Divine Electric” Perry and Hunter P in between but closing in on the leaders. That led to Team Gaul setting a solid tempo followed up by Hunter P who didnt keep up the assault, letting the peleton come back slowly but surely. The next group to go off the front was Luekens, Arlane Zane and Yahor. A dangerous trio in this situation. Perry and Hunter P responded, along with an IRS Medic rider ( Chad? ) . Arland Zane clicked down a couple of gears and rode off the front before the corner, taking along Perry and Hunter P. All 3 would rotate thru the front as the speed was just high enough to keep the chasing peleton 30 yards back. Jacinto, Guido and Bike Shop Bob tried to bridge the gap, but it was too late. Hunter P easily jumped away to collect the prize. Guido would try to summon everyone to keep up the attack but a red light near I84 would get it all back.

       BenGe snuck thru a light and would go into full on attack mode on the descent of West St. The pack was slow to respond but was back to 6 or 7 seconds by the corner of Atwater St. BenGe, in a liberal show of defiance, hung on and drew out the gap, leaving Perry, Thomas B, Eric M, Otto from Team Gaul, Hunter P and Tri Doug working hard to keep it close. The 7 second gap was erased quickly when Hunter P blitzed the hill by the underpass, bringing up Guido, Arland Zane, Mountain man and a couple of others. Guido followed up Hunter P's sruge with one of his own, and BenGe again dug in and went with it. Those 2 got to the light first with Gregg F and YelleSnoop in between pack and Tete de la course.

       There was more gravel on the first sections of Peck lane, so any attacks were held back. Hunter P got hit with a flat. The rest of the way to Route 10 was peaceful with no damage being done up front. Once onto route 10, Keltic O'shea and Eirc M kept the pace high on the riser up past Cheshire Park. Heading into the Stop n Sprint, JelleSnoo!p attacked fast at the last remaining light with Otto Gaul. The field was content to watch it unfold with only 1 or 2 guys responding. One or two single. Jacinto put in a strong dig to close the gap with Bike Shop Bob and Guido on his wheel. Coming up was Dillon P, with Little T lurking in his shadow. Jelle and Otto were caught by the base of the hill, giving everyone a chance at the sprint. Little T gets back in the win column by easily taking this one. A passing truck proved too much temptation for T and he jumped on for some motor pacing with only Guido, BSBOB and Jacinto chasing. A red light by Route 42 ended the chase though and brought the field back together except for Little T who was well off the front by now.

       For the finale, Little T, despite getting dropped by the truck, was well ahead of everyone else. Up the hill. Tri Doug and Mountain Man duked it out after passing Dillon P. The were both snookered by Gregg F who beat them to the line, leaving Perry and MoMoney behind in the process. Mountain Man has vowed revenge.

Tuesday the 19th

New Equipment Day at SG ride.

    The heat index was pegged again tonight. It seemed to slim the crowd down a bit but anyone with half a brain for this type of thing could sense the fireworks coming down the road. The pace started up slow thanks to the rough stones leaving the access road. Everyone waited on route 10 for the most part to make sure the whole group was accounted for. Once on the backroads, Stage one and Guido were up front along with a new rider in a Yale Kit ( Andrew Adare ). Also present was Silent Steve, VQ Rob, sporting a new set of deeeeeeeeeep Zipps. He had along with him BikeShopBob and another CVC rider who was too tall to be CxC ( Mike Sernyak ). There was also new guy in a Amity Kit. Hacker was also up there along with MoMoney, French Casey and Hunter P ( also riding on some "new" wheels ). MaHoney would get hit with a flat and drop out. Everyone stayed together up until the approach for Mountain Road, when Jel!e Snoop took off the front all alone. He hammered out a small gap before the corner onto mounatin and the subsequent climbing.
      His attack drew the fire of some guys on the climb and soon after a small group got spit out the front. Eric M, Chris C, Dillon P and Guido. On the next section of rollers, Hunter P bridged up and that got everyone to pick it up and reconnect with the front. Pace making for the rest of Mountain rd wasn't too smooth and there was another group that rolled off the front late in search of the green light. Yel!e, Eric M, Dillon P and Little T. When Chris C and Hunter P bridged up, again the rest of the field jumped on it, not letting any hard to close gaps open up.
      Once on Moss Farms the deck got reshuffled a bit. Mike McG came up and along with Eric M, Hacker, Gerry O'Shea, and Joe K. When the pace slowed, Joe K attacked and Hacker went with him. The 2 got a gap quickly that they would hold onto past the Chicane. As they worked hard up front, the Cat n Mouse was going on behind as no one seemed to want to be the one to tack it back. Up the hill to Marion, Eric M was going hard, along with CxC, Yelle and Mike McG. The effort shredded riders behind and several were dropped. Hunter P and Chris C bridged up yet again, but this time, Mike McG has rolled off the front alone and caught up with Hacker and Joe K, making it a trio up the road. The pace dropped a bit with Zane's and Cheshire Cycle represented up the road, bringing it back just yet wasn't priority one. Joe K would come back a little ways after that as Guido was faithfully setting a solid tempo up front along with Mountain Man ( on a nice new Bianchi !? Not very woodsman of him ). Hacker and McG would cut the gas before the crossing of 322 and it was gruppo compacto.
       Eric M would jump along with Jacinto, Bike Shop Bob and Guido but that was short lived with VQ Rob, Hunter P and McG closing the gap before the corner on Mount Vernon. Then, once on Mount Vernon proper, pigs decided to sprout wings and fly! Little T attacked and attacked with vengeance. The chase wasn't immediately strong, VQ Rob and Chris C doing some work. LT kept on the gas for a solid mile and a half, and the rest were content to let him roast a little in the heat. Dillon P took it upon himself to bridge the gap quickly and then set out on his own flyer. He gave it up right as the false flat section started but managed to stay up front to usher the pack up along with Bobby German. The speed was way off from weeks past as everyone expected McG to start up an interval, but instead he sat in the pack. He would roll off the front along with Eric M once past the incline and more disorganization in the peleton meant that Guido had to be the one to bring em back.
      Heading onto Welch, Hacker attacked and his frat brother Guido went with him. A strong push that only CVC ( BikeSHopBob, Sernyak ) responded to. The foursome would bang out a decent gap as the field hesitated just long enough. Without anyone to really start the chase, guys like Jacinto, Chris C, an ever faster Robyn and Mountain Man would hit the front. Eric M and Little T showed attack right past the corner but got back into chase mode as it seemed the break would get it. Meanwhile up front the 4 were working well together, and Guido lead out Hacker before the corner, giving him a good jump on the rest. Hacker, not one to let opportunities pass by, was able to hold the gap convincingly and would immediately dedicate the sprint win to the national debt ceiling.
     Gruppo compacto as the usual lights slowed everyone down on West St. At this point the ride was down quite a few guys to maybe 25 total. Going back over 322, Eric M attacked off the quick green light, taking Guido, BikeShopBob, and the Sernyak with him. Hunter P, then jumped up and caught onto the back of the group, again setting off alarms in the pack. Jacob, McG, Yelle, and a few others chasing hard, not wanting to be left out of the fun. That led to a quick run up Peck Lane. Hunter P had a dig at the end but quickly got caught as he had no one to make the run to route 10 with.
      Once on Route 10, speeds went up and that scattered the field quite a bit. When the dust settled it was Hacker off the front with Jacinto chasing him hard. The 2 duked it out for the Stop n Sprint point but Hacker was able to fend off the challenge, making it 2 in row for him. The ride back into Hamden was fast and uneventful, besides Hunter P almost curbing himself, and Eric M nearly yard sale-ing over a dead racoon. VQ Rob, O'Shea, Middlebury Nate,  and the Suto's would do a lot of work up front, keeping the final kilo's quick. For the finale, an small group got a gap after Hacker and Guido had one last attack with half a mile to go. That led to Little T and Eric M fighting it out for the very last meters. Mountain Man used good positioning and a initial gap to take the hill prize over Hunter P.
     Good ride everyone!

Tuesday the 12th

This Year's Breakaway Award goes to.......

     Every year at the Tuesday Worlds there is one week that ends with a break that leads the entire ride and clears the finish alone. Some seasons there are 2, rarely there are 3, but there's always at least one. This week we got it out of the way. The long breakaway took the cake.
      There was a decent crowd for ride at the parking lot. Heat was on but it wasn't overly oppressive. Good too see the resilient Craig Luekens out and not phased by the crash of last week. Rolling down Route 10, Tri Doug would roll off the front alone. Then as soon the ride hit Brooksvale, Hunter P jumped off the front and took along a couple of riders, VQ Rob, Perry ( the new guy, a painter on a C'Dale ) and a young rider with an "I ride with Diabetes" jersey. The foursome would hit the rough road section still with Tri Doug a little up the road. Back in the peleton, the response was sedate, and CCR riders Gregg F and Dillon P would set tempo early on. The break, being driven by VQ Rob and Hunter P, would collect Tri Doug and set off toward Mountain Rd. Soon they were joined by more riders who had taken off the front early on and were chasing. Rob C from Bikers Edge, Yel!e Snoop, Richy Sachs Chris, Nate with a Middlebury Jersey on, Jacinto and one or 2 others who never pulled thru. The group, still being driven along by Hunter P, VQ Rob, and Tri Doug would break up a little on the risers of Mountain Rd, but tempered their efforts and stayed together. The break came up to the light on Route 68 with a solid gap and got a well timed green light. Behind Hacker, Momoney and Guido had attacked hard off the front on Mountain road and were flying across the gap. MoMoney didnt stay attached and it was just Hacker and Guido making it to the light. They missed the green but were able to sneak thru barely red and continued the chase. The peleton had to stop and wait at a red light.
        The break, now encouraged from the green light, set off on Moss Farms with determination. Meanwhile the pace in the Peleton wasn't slow, but it wasn't fast either. Team Zane's was rumored to be on active recovery mode tonight ( whatever that means ). Yel!e apparently didnt get the memo tho cause he was tearing it up. Guido and HackAttack would get up to the break midway down Moss Farms. All of a sudden, with a solid chunk of the ride's horsepower in the break, and the remaining horsies behind lacking organization, it was the break's gap to lose. Guido and Hacker wasted no time in hitting the front, giving the other strong men a little more of break from the front. Despite the big guns, the break stayed mostly together in thru the chicane section and up to Marion avenue. 1 or 2 riders, those who weren't taking pulls were eliminated by the industrial park. The break got another green light at the 322 crossing, and they went thru with just a lite touch of the brakes.
      On mount Vernon, Hacker, Guido, Hunter P, Tri Doug and Yel!e Snoop did most of the work. But credit pretty much everyone with putting in efforts up front. Behind, Mike McG set off on another one of his legendary intervals and pulled the peleton along for nearly the whole length of Mount Vernon. Not enough to close the gap down tho and when the break saw no one coming at the turn for Welch Road, it seemed like they could pull it off. The jockeying started a bit for the sprint, but everyone stayed together till up on West Street. Perry put in a long pull along with Jacinto and Hacker. Hunter P waited and jumped up to take the sprint in front of Jacinto. In the process breaking the iron-fisted rule and the long streak of sprint wins that Little T had been enjoying as He was behind in the peleton. The sprint would trim the break down a bit, most notably losing Ye!le Snoop and VQ Rob. So it was down to: Middlebury Nate, Hacker, Hunter P, Guido, Rob "middlefingers" Carmen, Tri Doug, Perry, and Jacinto. Behind in the Peleton, The ride would get split up once on West St, but the descent would allow everyone a chance to get back together. Watch out for flying french fries everyone..... Dillon P would be targeted by some post pubescent girls out a car window. Nice!
       As the break rolled on back into Cheshire, there were a few comments about heatstroke, being completely done in, and other complaints. Guido, surely going against the Hippocratic Oath he took, was still up their giving no one a chance to cool down. Hacker as well was getting antsy and was not ok with the slackers in the bunch. His chance to thin the herd would come after the incline up Peck lane going towards Route 10. Hunter P would hustle down a couple of gaps along with Jacinto. Again heading up past Cheshire Park, Hacker and Guido would bring out the tag team and put the others in a world of hurt. Hunter P and Rob C got briefly gapped but red lights would give them a chance to claw back. The Stop n Shop sprint was taken by Hacker as he narrowly held off a supa strong Tri Doug. In the center of Cheshire, Guido would drop his chain and had to stop to reload it. No problem, he would just chase back on 2 miles later. Not only that, but he would then TT attack off the front of the group to finish out ahead, Jacinto being the only one who would try to chase him down. It would be a solid 4 minutes before the peleton would come rolling in. Hope everyone enjoyed their beers tonight.

Tuesday the 5th

The “S” in crash is for Sucks

Decent ride tonight, a little on the slow side but hey everyone was probably working off burgers, beer and too much sulfur inhalation. The weather was perfect and a large group was out for it. Everyone stayed together thanks to a good pace on Route 10 from Peter K and VQ Rob. Soon after, Dillon P and Tri Doug moved off the front and got things going. Peter K also was up front drilling it.... No wait, that was from last week's notes... They may get scattered in with this week.... sorry.

       No one attacked through the first few miles of the ride, although Guido found himself off the front as apparently no one else was zee-zocken enough for it. Thomas B came up and bridged the gap and brought it all together mid way thru Brooksvale Ave. On the rough roads, Yel!e Snoop got hit with a flat and so did another unidentified rider. Once onto Mountain Rd the Yellow-shoe-team of Eric M and Rattatatat did a good chunk of work and from then the usual guys came up and helped. Toward the end of Mountain, as the speed dropped down, a small group got off the front ( Eric M, Ratta, Chris C, a new guy on a C'dale and a couple of others ). Guido charged up to the group along with Hunter P and Mahoney but it was a little too late and the red light brought everyone together.

       The start of Moss Farms was also slower then usual. Once it got going a handful of strong guys briefly made it off the front but the peleton was attentive and the group was chased down despite some good turns from Mike McG and CCB Sasha up front in the break. It was all together going into the chicane and the speed went down again briefly before being resuscitated by Ratta, Eric M and Mike McG. That same core group pushed the pace to the industrial park along with help from Tri Doug, Young Suto, and a couple of others.

Once over 322, VQ Rob hit the front and rolled off it but no one responded right away, Guido also got involved but for the most part, it was break time in the peleton until a little ways down Mount Vernon. A lot of guys got involved up front ( nice to see Sean from Berlin Bike\Best Cleaners out on the ride ). The false flat shook things up again as Little T, Tall John and Christian Olympics hit the front hard, giving a couple of guys the chance at riding off the front toward the end of the section. Thomas B, Chris C had a decent gap which Hunter P and SashaCCB closed soon after. From there it was back to the usual for the run-in to Welch Rd turnaround.

       Once on Welch, Mike McG, who has become the Mark Renshaw of the SG ride, was up there setting a solid tempo along with Bike Shop Bob and Guido. The pace making let the sprinters sort things out behind without worrying too much about attacks, and sure enough, everyone went thru the corner for West st all together. CCB, Scott Glenney, Little T, Hunter P, Eric M were up there at the sharp end with Eric M doing a chunk of work before Little T jumped with Hunter P on his wheel. T gets another as neither Hunter P or CCB Sasha could come around. Jacinto and the new guy were up there as well but so long as Little T is channeling his inner Philbert, it will take a different approach to get the best of him. Oh and Matt Sack again scared everyone with his cleat coming un-engaged, which is a feat considering he is in India right now.

     Behind, the rest of the ride was close and in contact on the descent. On the the downhill we all got to enjoy the weird sight of the legendary christmas tree light recumbent rider. But like a nerdy cousin, if you ignore him, he will most likely go away to tinker in solitude. On the ride up West St, Luekens went down when he got squeezed into the curb and hit some sand. Fortunately he was ok and he had a couple of guys hang with him for the ride back.

      Up front, the ride didnt get going again until Peck lane when Hunter P, Mahogany and Tri Doug ramped it up and everyone else was game. This led to a brisk pace ( Sasha, Berlin Sean, Glenney, Etc ) up the false flat section of Peck ln and decent speed in thru the new street surface section. Once onto Route 10, Mike McG came back up front and was drilling it. Yel!e Snoop, who had reconnected after fixing his 2(!) flats, got hit with another. Sux! The soft pedaling new haveners looking after Craig L were able to stop and provide another tube for him.... Cause the animals in the front of the ride certainly weren't going to stop and help. You guys are mean.

       The run-in to Stop n shop was fast fast fast.... As Little T recruited CCB Sasha for a leadout, Chris C, Keltic O'Shea, Koski, Thomas B and the New guys on a C'dale were at a good clip up front. CCB's leadout wasnt the best, but Little T didnt need it anyway as he danced away with another. Eric M got a good chance at beating him but just came up short.

         The ride back into Hamden was uneventful. Eric M, Bike Shop Bob, Neil Suto, Sasha and a couple of others would try to sneak off the front but nothing would have much of a chance. For the finale it was Little T duking it out with Mike McG till the bitter end. And up the hill went Tri Doug, The Mountain Man, Hunter P, Gregg F, the Bikers Edge MTB crew, MoMoney, and one or 2 others. Tri Doug gets this one, coming around Mountain Man at the very end.

Good ride everyone! Now stop yer belly aching....
 

Tuesday the 28th

Recap coming soon ( hopefully )

Its been a busy work and training week. Sit tight everyone and till then, vote the poll, feel free to post a comment about the ride, guys on the ride, girls seen whilst on the ride, bikes on the ride, bad manners from the ride, etc etc etc

here's a brief version:
Eric M, Guido, Tim Ratta, Joshy G all went fast with some help from others, Little T followed up his 5th place at Keith Berger with sprints at the turnaround and Stop n Shop. Matt Sack needs new cleats. No one got off the front for any significant amount of time ( besides Crowle and Tall John cheating at the very beginning.... )

Tuesday the 21st

        The rains came and went just in time for the ride to get going. It seemed to thin the crown a little but the core 30 riders were there. The start this week was a little less mellow then weeks past and as soon as everyone got their legs wet it got going in ernest. Mike McG and Guido were early on up front. Dillon P, Hunter P, Hartmann, Thomas etc etc etc. There wasnt much by way of attacks until Mountain road when Eric M rode the first riser section hard, taking Guido and MaHoney with him. Those 3 looked dangerous up there and it seemed like Koski was playing a bit of defense for his man so the chase got going and the trio was reeled in shortly after. From there a lot more guys got involved in the rotation. Tri Guy Knee High, Yelle!Snoop, Chris C, Richy Sachs Chris, GHC Dennis, Tall Johhny, Elder Foley, etc. At some point the Robyn-ator got hit with a flat and Hubby Hunk Rondo gave up a wheel to let her carry on. So romantic!

         Onto Moss Farms, where Eric M took off asap. Koski and Hunter P were right there and that got the pack going, stringing things out for most of the way down to the chicane. Tall John, looking fit as ever, and Mike McG came up and took over and it stayed fast till the corner. BikeShopBob and Jell!e Got things up the hill but it stayed compact onto Marion and all together heading up to 322. Pescatore, Chris C, Carquest Doug, Joshy G all getting involved up front. Joshy G lifted the pace as he approached the traffic light. It was red and everyone rolled thru together. Little did the peleton realize Joshy would keep on rolling the dice with the traffic lights in the hopes of getting a green.

         Tall John jumped off the front coming up to Mount Vernon but no one was game so it was all together at first, Joshy G and Hunter P got things going leading to the usual mix of guys up front keeping the pace somewhat respectable. Too many faces up front to really get the rivets bent though and it stayed slower then it has been through this section. Guido moved up to get things going but some sloppy pace lining let him instead slip off the front, Yelle!Snoop bridged up shortly after and the break looked determined. BikeShopBob and Mahoney then powered up and as everyone was deciding whether to be concerned or to let it ride, the break moved up the road a decent amount. As the false flat section bit though the steam came out of the break. Eric M, Special Ed, and Mike McG drilling it up front certainly helped as well. The only other movement off the front came when a gap opened to Special Ed, Peter Kenny, Chris “I only have one cycling outfit” Crowle, and Eric M. That was short lived though and it was all together and calm for the turn onto Welch, although Larry M was at the front looking to start a fight.

       Larry M at first on Welch, then Guido took over. Eddy A was near the front the whole time and that probably kept everyone alert. There was brief gap to the leading 5 but that was sewed up by Yell!e and Tri Doug. Once it was all together, the speed dropped for a bit as BSB, Thomas B and Larry M manned the front. Mike McG was the first to jump up and had Joshy G, Eric M and Hunter P right there. Mike shut it down after the corner, leaving Joshy to go it alone. He dug deep and got an immediate gap. Eric M also dug his heels in though and kept the gap to a minimum the entire way to the sprint point. A couple of times Josh would hit it, keeping the gap open, but every time, Eric would buckle down and keep him within 20 feet or so. Eric started the sprint but Hunter P was right there and came around the 2 and was able to hold off Jacinto, who had also tagged onto the leadout train.

       Things slowed down as the ride moved back toward Cheshire. Heading under the underpass on Canal St, a gap opened up to a couple of guys up front. Guido stepped on it up front, taking advantage of the opportunity. Joshy G then attacked hard, thinking green-light-means-go for route 322. Guido and Joshy G had a 30 yard gap and sure enough the light was green-turning-yellow as they hit the intersection. The peleton stopped for the light and with the cycle lasting at least 30-45 seconds, everyone quickly realized it would be tough to bring the 2 back. Eric M,Thomas B, and a CVC rider snuck thru the red light to a chorus of boos from everyone else unclipped from their pedals. The 2 slowed up and waited for the pack while Eric M was turbo-ing up to the not-gonna-slow-break. He would never make it to the leaders though, even though all 3 were out of sight when the pack got onto the long straight of Peck ln.

         When the peleton could,t see the break, it became evident that the catch was unlikely. Mike McG did his best nonetheless to police the chase and coax a solid pace from the front of the ride. MaHoney, Koski, Hunter P, Tri Doug, Tall John, BenGe, Chris C etc, all having a part in the chase. Stomachs full of anger as the peleton was single minded. Hell even Robyn was up there chasing hard, and soon enough Eric M was back in sight. The police led the ride slide thru some one lane road construction on Route 10 super fast ( thanks guys ).

      The stop n shop sprint was negated for everyone, as Joshy G and Guido were working super good up front, despite the headwind and of course the chase behind did not sprint it out. Eric M would hang on, fighting off the front, till nearly the end. But all everyone could think of was the cheeky move thru the red light. Josh and Guido would end up with a 45 second win, despite hitting their fair share of red lights thru Cheshire.

     Up the hill went Mountain Man, Dennis, Gregg F, Mahoney, Christian Olympics, and Hunter P, who got to the top first.

Tuesday the 14th

     With rain coming form the North tonight it was mostly New Haven-ers gathered at the park at ride time. The group picked up several riders on the way up route 10 though. Probably 40 or so all told which is pretty impressive considering the cold, very wet weather. The ride got going with dosed efforts at first as everyone did their best to chat and look comfortable. Yelle!Snoop was the first to have a go and with no one chasing and Jelle still unawares of the ride route, ended up going straight by Mountain Rd and that was the last time he was seen for the night. So technically his breakaway never got caught. Chapeau!

      The pace picked up after the first rizer on mountain and around the second riser it was finally good ol SG ride with a steady fast pace all the way to Rt 68. On Moss farms Jacinto and Chris C took a short flyer to make up for Saturday in New Britain but that got brought back pretty quickly. From there on the Peleton stayed together with good pulls at the front from numerous folks to Rt 322. Most riders opted for long loop, despite the cruddy conditions.
     Once onto Mount Vernon the pace started out slowly. Or at least slower then usual but there was a headwind to deal with. Once past the flase flat the speed picked up and stayed high all the way to the turn. Mike McG, Eric M, VQ Rob, Joshy G, and Guido doing all of the grunt work. Guido went solo off the front at the corner on Welch, and the rest were content to watch for a while. JoshyG went in pursuit shortly after but Guido held the gap to the corner onto West street. Joshy G, by then towing all the other fast guys ( Eric M, Jacinto, Mike McG, Little T ) went up and through Guido and kept the pace all the way up to the sprint point, where ??? took it.

       Nothing out of the ordinary going back toward 322. Everyone pretty much working to get home in good time. On Peck ln, Eric M, VQ Rob, Guido, Joshy G, and Yahor from CCB stepped it up a notch or 2 and got things going.
     Once on Route 10, Guido and Tri Doug got a little gap on the rizer going by Cheshire Park and those 2 were able to keep it for a decent amount. Red Lights before the sprint brought everything back together. It was slow upon resuming, which led to a mess of a sprint by Stop n Shop so hopefully the winner will please come forward to collect his prize. Joshy kept it going after the center of Cheshire and then things got chaotic. Joshy had two or three riders with him (LT, Chris C, Bike Shop Bob??). The peleton behind was suffering from a lack of organization and with lights starting and stopping the chase the lead group had good conditions to make an escape. Eric M, VQ Rob and two or three others started the direct chase. 2nd chase group on the road being anchored by Guido but behind him there were less then 15 riders left. Eric M and that group  were close to making the bridge to the lead group, with a red light not stopping them. Guido jumped off his group and went thru that same red light leaving Rondo, Mike McG, and Yahor to do the chasing once it it turned green.

     With the front 2 groups together and then Guido and Mountain Man also catching on near the Cook Hill Rd intersection, you'd think a group that big would just motor on home right? Wrong.... Joshy G, VQ Rob and Eric M, turned it up and went off the front, getting a gap over the remaining. Guido once again bridged the gap shortly after that, making it 4 up front for the final push, where Guido duked it out with Eric M.