Tuesday the 10th

You always get your money's worth at the SG Ride!
(So long as everyone keeps their helmets on)

    Near record crowds for the year tonight in the parking lot. Not too many new faces though. Right from the start, the Errace guys were out and up in front pushing the pace. Chris C also took his usual  place up there as well. While the pace was high pretty much right off rt 10, there were no real attacks. Sean Cahill "the Peacock", or is it Zebra? Marmoset? Platypus? One of those.... He took off trying to get an early break going, as his ERRACE mates patrolled the front.
    Sean was also amoung those that were drilling it up the first section of Mountain Rd. But it stayed all togetehr. Mike McG and Rob Dux  as well. Guido got involved up front later on Mountain and that kept anyone from attacking. No real change in the front on Moss Farms. More guys were getting involved.... Todd H, Nuemotion, Little T..... Everyone seemed to have a part tonight.
    Heading past the chicane and up the hill, it seemed like a couple of guys were ready to go but no one lit it up. Ciocci, Hacker, Sean Cahill, and others chipping in. Heading past the industrial park, Hunter P took a dig and Hacker went with him. The gap went quickly up but Mike McG started the chase soon after in earnest. He brought a couple of guys with him and once everyone rolled together going over the highway, disorganization reigned. That let everyone catch back on.... That and the red light on 322.
    Rory D and Sean Cahill took off right off the green light but didnt make it far. The field reacted quickly to Hacker and Nuemotion jumping off the short hill before Mount Vernon. Once thru the corner and the bend, more solid pace up front, stringing out the field but not really putting anyone under pressure. That steady pace continued straight up to and past the false flat, although Sean Cahill, Special Ed and the rest of the ERRACE crew looked antsy up near the front.
    Fast forward to the corner for Welch, where Hacker tried a couple of times to get off the front. Each time taking a couple of sacks of dead weight on bikes, so it stayed all together for the first half of Welch. As the corner loomed, Hacker was pushing off the front along with help from Joe K. Those 2 hit the hill with a gap as the rest looked around at each other a bit and decided to wait till West St to chase. Once everyone rolled thru the corner there was plenty of guys to chase.... Ciocci, MattFine, Rob Dux, Special Ed, Chris C, etc. Up the road though Joe K was hammering and Hacker was content to sit on for the most part. For the sprint, Hacker was easily able to come around Joe K for it, getting a small measure of revenge for Saturdays Masters race in New Britain.
    On the backside, although there were a couple of guys looking to blitz the ride back into Cheshire, it stayed all together. After lights by the highway, Sean Cahill, jumped hard, taking Rory D, The Gibertoni and a couple of others but they would be corralled by the bottom of the descent. The ERRACE team stayed up there for a while along with MattFine and Tall Dennis. Up the short hill under the highway, Hunter P took off, with Rob Dux in pursuit. Those 2 would work on up a gap but it started coming down as the light loomed.
    Once back onto Peck, Hacker and Guido were drilling it but no one was having that. Instead it stayed fast all the way up Peck lane. Ben Bruce and Nuemotion also tried to escape with no success. Once at the top of the false flat, 4 ERRACE guys ( Special Ed, Jordan L, Rusty, Sean Cahill)  found themselves with a gap and as the chase took a moment to sort themselves out, they sped off. Soon after, Hunter P jumped the gap with Hacker, sensing the potential for a runaway. That got everyone behind going again and the gap was coming down quickly by the corner for route 10.
    Up the hill, those 6 leaders stayed up front, keeping the pace high. An escape was brewing at the top of the hill as Hacker stayed hard on the throttle with Sean Cahill. As the lead group sorted itself out.... Who would drive it, who would chase... Hacker hit something, slipped off something, pulled away from something.... Something. It still in not quite know what, but he made contact with a rear wheel and quickly dropped on top of the bike and to the ground. He slid off to the curb and no one else went down.
    The ride stopped to make sure he was ok. Just superficial scratches, a dented helmet, and a broken spoke or 2. Thankfully, Hacker has Obamacare to back him up! The rest of the ride was sedate. The run in to the sit n sprint got things going again and Little T out-dueled Nuemotion for it.

Tuesday the 3rd

Letting the new guys get used to the course....

Another good ride was enjoyed by all tonight. The ride was light on Cheshire Cycle jerseys, so here are some of the standout highlights of the night...  First off, the persuasive tailwind that got everyone going was deceptively strong. It was great to see Hamden's newest cycling resident, Bryan McGill (or simply "Yellow" as mike MCG observed) wasting no time in contributing to the efforts up front. He lifted the pace on Mountain Rd, giving Hunter P and French Casey a chance to get off the front. Ciocci bridged but brought the cavalry. Quiet on Moss Farms, although Little T attacked strong on the hill to Marion but with no help, was soon brought back by the solid overall pace. Hacker was ready to rumble thru-out the night but especially once over 322. He nearly escaped with Sasha from CCB at the start of Mount Vernon. Most of the riders on the front watched to see who would move into action. French Casey tried to bridge but came up short. The leading duo had 100 meters at the false flat. Hunter P used the incline to jump out and bridge the gap. That gave everyone else in the pack the needed motivation to take the chase to that next level and close it down. The gap came tumbling down slowly but surely as Tall Dennis played good teammate to all and started the chase in earnest. Also putting in a monster effort to round it all back up was Julio L.

    Hacker wasnt done and by the time the corner for Welch came up, he would attack a couple more times. Riders along for the ride: Ben Bruce, The Gibertoni, Hunter P, and Nuemotion.... All jumping on for the ride and trying to get away for themselves. 

     French Casey was having none of that and would be the main force in keeping it together heading onto Welch and toward the corner for West St. Little T patiently sat near the front and made a strong jump at the base of the hill. He hit the corner and turned into the headwind with a solid 40 meters. He was untouchable from there to the sprint point as only Jacinto would go above and beyond in the name of chasing. Behind, everyone else was just content to find their fight against the headwind. After it settled down, "Yellow" would continue to ride the front of the wave, putting in some solid efforts but not breaking backs, apparently doing his best imitation of the absent Chris C. The next action came when a small group sprinted off a red light at the base of the hill by Cheshire Park on route 10. Hacker was the main driving force and by the top of the hill, he had a devils gear rider, Ciocci (?), B. McGill, mike MCG , Nuemotion, and a couple of others. That group worked hard into the headwind. In the pack, good final pulls at the front were unloaded from The Gibertoni and Ben Bruce but it wasn't nearly enough to the cover the gap. Hacker gets the Stop n Shop sprint over Nuemotion. 

      The lead group dutifully re-formed afterwards and got the benefit of a green light whereas the peleton had to stop. More than several guys broke formation due to the impending dark clouds and so someone else will have to pick it up from here. Did the break stay away? Did they sit n sprint? 

Stay tuned to find out.

Tuesday the 26th

The weatherman was only half right today. 

                The usual crowd was out tonight. A couple of new faces were mixed in, replacing a couple of regulars who were missing (Little T, Guido, Hacker, The Full Nalini, etc) Right off the line, there were a couple of jokers who set out ahead of the pack down route 10. They didn’t stay out there too long once onto the backroads. The initial pace was put down by a pair ERRACE doods (Jordan L and Rusty) and College St Cycles (The Sernyak and Jacinto). Soon enough Chris C and Mike McG were up there as well and the speed stayed high throughout the opening 20 min or so. On the lead in to Moutnain Rd, a new guy (Bontrager gear, specialized bike?!) hit the front and did a great job contributing but not getting in the way with the unknown corners.

                Mountain Rd, the pace slowed a bit at first but ramped up behind ERRACE (Rory D and Jordan mostly) and French Casey. A couple of guys shot off the front for the light (HunterP and The Senryak) but it was red. Once onto Moss Farms, French Casey stayed on it and took off with Jordan L in pursuit. Those 2 dangled out there while the rest sorted themselves out behind. Nuemotion, Ben Bruce, Ciocci, Bontrager Mix-up and Hutner P all steadily ramping it toward the chicane. Jordan L stayed up there and led all thru the corner. Heading up to Marion, Hunter P jumped hard and strung things out, Seryack, Nuemotion, Chris C and a couple of others responded and it quickly created a gap to the rest of the field. The lead group stayed on the gas for a kilo or so but it would all be brought back together when the sharp end of the break broke.

                Over 322 and the pace stayed steady, but no one was looking to attack. Rory D started things out on Mount Vernon with a brief jump off the front. The rest of the way down Mount Vernon was steady and a bit slow as most riders were just trying to avoid flatting on the crap road. Heading past the broken up roads and leading up to the false flat, Sean Cahill showed the ride the most deliberate attack we’ve seen in a while. Most riders at the front didn’t know how to respond, so he rolled away. A new head wind formed thanks to the storm clouds, and it pushed him back on the riser. Cahill would be caught shortly after the climb as lot’s of guys got involved up front to help push things along.

                Steady pace all the way to the corner to Welch… Once thru the corner, more rotation up front meant the speed stayed decent, but it def started to slow as the corner and hill loomed. Chris C was the first to jump, with plenty of time to spare to the corner. Lots of guys responded and it made for a crowded turn. It quickly sorted out to just Chris C and Jacinto with a decent gap on the rest. The main chase would become Sean Cahill, Mike mCg, Nuemotion, The Sernyak, Hunter P and one or 2 others. The chase would close down on the leaders with a couple of seconds to spare for the sprint, which Mike McG opened up in earnest. Only Nuemotion would respond and it was a 2 horse race to the end, with Nuemotion pulling ahead in the final 30 meters or so.

                Lots of guys in position to peg it on the descent, and with the rain starting to lightly fall, there was plenty of reason to giddy-up toward the lighter skies to the south. No attacks until the short hill going underneath the highway, where Rory D, The Gibertoni and Hunter P jumped, but the response was quick and sure, bringing all to the red light on 322 in a bunch.

                The only rider to roll of the front on Peck was the Berlin Bike rider in the Dux helmet (name?) but that was short lived as everyone wound it up again for the long drag to Route 10. No real action as the ride got close to the Sprint point. A red light at the base of the hill slowed everyone down considerably, making the sprint awkward… Mike McG, Jacinto, and a couple of others jumped all the same, no doubt to work on their CX race starts. Mike gets this one back over Jacinto in a long fight to the line.

                The ride back thru town was slow and cumbersome as the high school fields were clearing out en masse, no doubt in response to the lightning coming quick. The pace picked up once past all the lights for a standard run-in back to Hamden. For the final kilo, A small group split off in the final 700 meters, with Jacinto in the best spot to roll away with it. Mike McG nearly sped across the gap and thru all but came up a bit short to Jacinto’s wheel.

Another great ride everyone! Thanks to the new guys for being good sports and chipping in when they could.

Tuesday the 20th

Not the type of ride to enjoy a sun-shiny day.

              Seems like each ride this week has had just about the same amount of riders participating. Within a few here and there, the ride size has been pretty consistent. Tonight was no different.

Starting pretty much right out of the parking lot, the alpaca was out there and going it alone off the front. The ride was turn off route10 all together though. Soon enough, Chris C was leading a charge off the front. Alapaca, Mike McG , The Sernyak, Nuemotion, Rusty and a couple of others were trying to get off the front. The group swelled a bit as Guido rode into it, but no one really capitalized leading up and going thru the crap road section (for good reason), meaning that it would all come back together soon after.

                A new rider from Danbury Audi (Christian) was slowly working his way up to the front, looking like business as he made his way up there. He would be one of the couple of riders pushing the pace up the first section of Mountain Road. Most everyone else was in a Wait-and-see mode, meaning that strong riders were being marked, and sneaky stronger riders were waiting for the ideal chance to jump.

                More of the same on Moss Farms. Chris C was one of the first to go, with Alpaca going up after him. When Danbury Christian, jumped up in pursuit, a couple of riders tagged along. In strong form Christian would catch the leaders and then overhaul them, albeit slowly. As the corner loomed, too many guys knew the road and were therefore reluctant to jump off the front. That meant it was all together heading into the chicane. The pace there slowed quite a bit as there was a turning car in front of the charging pack. After that obstacle, Chris C charged off the front, heading thru the corner with a slight lead. Once again, the presence of the new, obviously strong rider, would up the game and keep other on their toes. That lead to a decent sized group getting a gap as the turn for the short loop was passed. There was some strong pulls at the front of the peleton ( tall Dennis, Todd H) to bring back the 8 or 9 riders who would certainly have ridden away with it with the right road conditions. The following section was then pretty fast, but without attacks.

The light at 322 was green which made for some tired riders at the back of the pack, without a chance to recover. The speed stayed high onto Mount Vernon, Chris C and The Sernyak were up there, trying to get a gap. Next up was Hunter P, who rolled off the front, taking 3 or 4 riders with him. The pace in the lead group stayed high, while the response was a little slow. Nuemotion and Special Ed charged across the gap with one or 2 other riders. The crappy roads there on Mount Vernon slowed down any organized chase, while the front group was at max throttle, bouncing all over the place, as guys were looking for a clean path of pavement. Advantage> Front Group. Soon enough, there was a real deal split in the field, with 12 or so riders up the road charging hard, 8-10 riders struggling to connect, some more riders dropped behind that group. Carnage level higher than normal as the headwind was definitely taking its toll.

The lead group would hit the corner for Welch Rd with about a 12 second gap. Up front, plenty of guys were chipping in, helping keep the speed high. For the approach to the corner, Chris C slowly jumped off the front. Right there was Mike McG. A bit later to answer was Nuemotion. Those 2 went thru the corner with a 405 second gap. Behind, a group of 5 or 6, headed up by Jacinto and Danbury Audi was collecting itself for the pursuit. The trio up the road would get to work, and they made the most of the gap. Just a few short moments later, it was evident that they wouldn’t be caught. From within that trio, the prize went to Mike McG, who patiently waited til the right time to jump and take the sprint.

On the downhill, it would all come back together, although the turnaround hill had further split up what was the main group. A couple of the subsequent lights were green, adding to the advantage that the first 10 riders on the road had. By the I84 flyover, there were riders scattered all over the place. One red light slowed the group down, giving a certain number a chance to catch back on. The second group on the road, separated on the false flat of Mount Vernon, was long gone and out of it though.

Jumping off the red light was Chris C. He took along Christian from Danbury and Mike McG. Those 3 rolled up to Hunter P, who had snuck thru the red light but was sitting up waiting. Chris C kept the charge going up to the top of West St and down the backside, which extended the lead for the front 4. The second group, consisting of 10-13 riders was held up briefly at one more light. The ensuing gap was all the front 4 needed. They would roll off uncontested, getting the long-ball prize of the week.

For the Stop n Shop sprint, Hunter P got it after Chris C started the sprint. For the finale, No one contested Mike McG as he rolled away with a couple hundred meters to go.

Great ride everyone! Even better than last week! Better bring you’re A-game next as well!

Tuesday the 13th

The SG ride... Maybe the most unselfish thing you’ll do all week!

   The usual crowd + some not so usual faces were out for the ride tonight. The most eventful part of the start  to this week’s ride was the motorbike rider who was hanging around repeatedly. It didn’t look like Tall John on a nice new touring moto but who knows. Maybe someone can fill us in. Anyway, with the temptation to draft in a couple of places, there were more than a couple of guys looking to snooker the bunch behind the engine. Nothing came of it though.

    The first real move happened and Chris C split a group of 5 off as the ride sped toward Mountain Rd. Once Guido got up to ride across, the rest of the ride responded and it was all together making the turn onto MTN. Hunter P attacked up the hill but was alone and with Chris C chasing hard up the first risers, didn’t stay out there too long. From there the ride was all together to the light, which was green, allowing all through. The lack of a break would spell a bit of trouble for some riders in the back who would go on to get unhitched later on Moss Farms.

     Back in the pack, Hacker used the green light to get a jump on the bunch. He rolled off a bit of a gap before Chris C jumped in pursuit. Then Keith Mullaly (who may or may not have finished 3^rd at the rent the week before) also jumped to bridge the gap. Neither chasers were making up much ground on Hacker, who was using the tailwind to set down a pretty vicious tempo. After a bit, Hunter P and Mike G jumped hard, going by and collecting the 2 chasers on their way to Hacker. Young Mullaly couldn’t cut it and dropped back leaving 4 up the road. That group went thru the chicane with a solid 6 or 7 seconds on the pack. From the back, Nuemotion came flying up and thru all to get to the lead group before the riser to Marion. After the corner, the gap started coming down and by the turn for the short loop it was all back together. Hacker and Chris C would keep on it though but they would again be corralled before heading over 84. Little T countered with a good attack that send him off the front in chase of green light on 322. It indeed turned to green as the ride came up to it, but by then it was gruppo compacto. The only one who really used the chance to keep the attacks/surges going was The Sernyak. He split off the front for a quick bit but was brought back by the corner onto Mount Vernon.  

    From there the next to go was Sasha from CCB and Hacker. Those 2 hit the front hard and got a gap of 70 meters or so before the rest started to wind it up. The 2 up the road, benefiting from the tailwind, kept up a good pace that made pack cohesion start to wither. The crappy roads didn’t help the chase and the 2 up front stayed out there all the way to the false flat section. There was lot’s of gaps opening up in the chase as the riser came up but then the gas ran out up front. As Hacker and CCB sat up, the rest took the cue and also slowed down, probably more out of necessity than laziness.

     The Sernyak kept on it though, as did Tall Dennis. The Sernyak gets the “most combative award” for the night as he managed to stay out there all the way to the corner for Welch. The chase behind wasn’t full gas, but was decent, especially as the corner came up. Credit Rory D, Julio L, Chris C and Hutner P with last minute pulls to get the field going again. Hunter P led it out on Welch, followed up by Chris C and a couple of others. The speed was high for the whole stretch of the road, but not so high that Hacker couldn’t attack and find daylight. He took along Ben Bruce as well and those 2 rolled thru the corner with 15 seconds or so. Behind, Nuemotion, Chris C, Jacinto, Hunter P, Little T and maybe 1 more were quick to drill it. That made for a chase group of 6 that was quickly pushed back by the wind. The gap to the leaders came down, but then it went up as it was evident that whoever sprinted from the front 2 would be able to get it. Instead, Hacker and Bruce just stayed on the gas and Ben Bruce ended up rolling thru first without a contest from his more aero-helmeted companion.

        On the backside, there was some effort to roll away, but red lights allowed all to catch back on. From there, the ride back was uneventful with the headwind. Jacinto and The Sernyak again tried to get away by the highway but that was brief. Once on Peck Ln after crossing 322 again, Guido would attack, but traffic at the intersection there stopped that. From there, it was mostly everyone just sharing the workload into the wind back onto and up Route 10.

       For the Stop n Sprint, red lights caused a bit of a cluster funch for the run-in. There was about 8 guys in a group all in a position to slowly sprint for it. Little T jumped out halfway up the hill to take it from Nuemotion and Jacinto. From there, back into Hamden, the ride was fast as the headwind seemed to stop being such a nuisance. For the final 500 meters, again, there was a crowd in place to go for it. Little T again rolled away with a final surge that no one was able to answer.

Great ride everyone! Lot’s of “let’s keep it fast because it’s better fast” riding out there!