Tuesday the 19th

The who’s who of CT cycling (central CT at least….. But where Mike McG?!) continues to come out in full support of hard training and exemplary ride manners on Tuesday night! 

   It was great to see the Mullaly clan out for the ride. Keith and Kyle are crushing it out there and deserve kudos for their rides tonight. We had a blast from the past with a one Dan Smith back on the cycling wagon. It’s good to see a dude throw himself right into the deep end of the pool and have him not drown. Also out for the first time in a while was Alec Cunningham, visiting home, with his ski goggles, from college.

   As the ride got going, the first ones to put a fast foot forward were Jordan L, Chris C and Hunter P. No one was letting that roll though and so it made the opening 2 miles off of route 10 pretty quick. Hacker and The Burgess hit the front a couple of corners later and kept the pace high. There was a small group ld by Hacker on the early riser of Mountain Rd but by the stop sign for Higgans, the rest of the pack was ramping it up enough to catch them and regroup. From there it stayed pretty much all together with the usual guys drilling it up front.
     Hacker got the jump thru the light on route 69 and rolled too fast onto Moss Farms, aka Joe & Ben Boulevard. He was held up by vehicular traffic, although Hunter P and Jordan L were right there to keep it going. There was plenty of willing guys to follow, leaving no room for attacks of any sort. Pace stayed high into and thru the chicane. Hunter P rolled off the front after the corner for Marion and the Burgess was there to go as well. Chris C chipped in 3^rd but there was enough of a pickup from behind to keep it all together. (Nuemotion, Groome, Little T, Alec C, a new guy a plain white jersey). Hacker kept on the gas going over the highway, as well as Chris C, leading to a small group getting a brief gap, but the Burgess chased and brought it all back together before the light.
     Groome kept on it after the light, as well as Jordan L, but no one was getting any real gap all the way down Mount Vernon. There were a couple of points were the speed dropped down quite a bit. Turning onto Welch, Hacker jumped first again, and only a couple responded to the challenge. Chris C at first, then Ben Bruce. Behind there were a couple of guys in between but it quickly became a race for second place, at least to the corner. The 3 leaders went through with a small but substantial gap of 4 or 5 seconds. The Burgess worked into the wind to bring a couple of riders up close but not close enough. For the leaders, they worked evenly and had a good line at sprint. Each of them jumped but it was Hacker who had the kick needed to come around. On the backside, there was plenty of fast riding downhill to try to start something but a red light stopped any escapes.
      The ride back south stayed pretty plain-jane. Jordan L and Chris C got the pace going on West street after the zigzag lights. Special Ed rejoined after an early flat and pushed the pace after everyone went under the overpass. The light back over 322 was green, leading to Hunter P trying to sneak off with Chris C, The Burgess, and a couple of others thru the milled roads there between 322 and West Johnson. Great to see that section of road being re-paved. No one was having it and instead, the pace stayed high all the way back onto Route 10. Not too much by way of action leading into the Stop n Sprint. Hacker tried to jump early but he had the trio of Chris C, Ben Bruce and Hunter P along for the ride. After the reshuffle with only a couple of hundred meters to go, Hacker and Ben Bruce still tried to jump, but Little T had been lying in wait in good position and was able to come around with little fuss.
      Ben Bruce would get his chance later on for the finale, as he jumped up and past a handful of riders (great to see Kyle Crowell up in the mix as well) to be first to the corner.

Tuesday the 12th

      STEP 1) Open a new browser window
      STEP 2) hit S in the URL bar.
      STEP 3) Strava or this blog comes up.... Neat trick huh???

     Great ride tonight! It was great to see some new riders from the New Haven area out on the ride. All the cool kids where there. The crosswind made things interesting and the black jerseys of Cheshire Cycle and Yale were out in force! First it was French Casey. Then The Sernyak. Then HackAttack slipped up and lit up the front… And the ride hadn’t even gotten to Mountain Road yet!
     During the first 25 min Gibertoni and the Burgster teamed up and rode hard on the front. Mix in Ben Bruce, Joe K, and Hunter P and there was always a Cheshire guy trying to get off the front. Jordan L, Special Ed, and Rusty were in for the ERRACE crew.
      Perhaps the strongest show of force we’ve seen from the regulars this year though was when Ben Bruce attacked hard early on Moss Farms. Joe K went with him and those 2 put their heads down and drilled it. The chase was real and instead of the leaders being brought back, a chase group split off the front, with Chris C at the helm, along with the Sernyak, Burgster, Nuemotion, and a couple of others. The chase group came up and eventually caught the leaders just as the peleton was done clawing back the gap, right past the turn for the short loop. Impressive effort from Ben B and Joe K!
      Hacker jumped going over 322 and he took along a new Yalie. Those 2 stayed off the front for a couple of kilo’s. Behind Jordan L, then special Ed, then Chris C, all hitting the front to try to get something started. It all came back together soon after but the pace stayed pretty good for the entire run down Mount Vernon. No real attacks but the crosswind did play a part in catching some guys out and rewarding those that pushed it with small gaps here and there. Turning onto Welch, the first guy to have go off the front was Joe K. He muscled off the front and held the gap as the speed got going behind. Hacker let out the line a little and then jumped hard to bridge. Between them and pack, Burgster, Ben Bruce, Chris C, John Pescatore, Jordan L,  and Hunter P, were vacillating between jumping to bridge or just seeing what would happen. That was a mistake as Joe K and Hacker had all they needed to stay out in front. Hacker opend up the sprint but Joe was able to power out in front to the line.
      On the backside, those 2 kept on it and they would have had a crack at the long bomb had it not been for the red light by the highway. From there the ride was pretty normal. No real attacks of any kind. Jordan L, Gibertoni, Chris C, a little Rob Dux here and there, Rustico, Tall John (good to see him in the mix) and Burgster, all contributing to the action. Nice job to Kyle “the sprout” C. He rode well and made it thru the loop again.
      For the Stop n Shop Sprint, Chris C did his usual leadout, and Jordan L was up there too. The first to jump hard was Hacker, then Little T and Nuemotion. It ended up being a drag race between Little T and Hacker, this time Little T getting one. Good to see him back in action. No one really believed the hold out would continue for that long!
      The ride back in to Hamden was the usual semi sketchiness. Nice and fast. The usual group tore off the front for the sit n sprint (aka lumbering giants on bikes) and once again it was Gibertoni bending crankarms to get past, through, ahead of…. Whatever, French Casey and a couple of others.

Great ride everyone!

Tuesday the 5th

Revenge of the 5th!

There was disturbance in the force and it led to bikes being torn asunder. Here's how it went down....

    There was a group of about 30 jedi out for the first 80 degree ride of year.  Great to see the usual cast of characters and the artist formerly known as ‘T' show up tonight.  Out of the parking lot, French Casey got the motor tuned up and set a solid tempo all the way to the turn in to River skipping the Jim Carey Cycling Heisman he’s so famous for and just sailing North on the headwind.  As he took the first right, Chris C and Rory shot off to bridge leaving the pack unsettled on who was going to chase past Brooksvale park.  Chris C and French got through the stop sign with Chris C keeping the pace high at the front.  The normals, Sernyak, Nalini, Ben Bruce (nice white walls!), Gibertoni, and a few others were pushing to make contact.  As they made contact with Mt Sanford Gibertoni launched up around the knoll taking Ben Bruce with him.  Those two kept on the pace and held the gap until  just past the stop sign on Mountain.  Chris C and Joe K, they actually might have been on a tandem…launched a splendid counter leaving little chance for those in back to stay on.  Those two held a gap until the light (note the theme here).

     On Moss Farms, Professor Crowell had another lesson on group cycling 101 for Burgie.  Burgie failed.  The group was mellow up Moss Farms with Gibertoni hitting the last riser hard and keeping on through the Chicane and past the Po Po at the stop sign on Marion.  Chris C and Sernyak bridged up and the three went to work until…the red light.  Groupo Compacto.  The ride out through Southington was mostly together with the Team Errace, Rob Dux, and a few others driving the effort.  The pace picked up on the turn around with Dillon P launching a solid effort to pull the best Watt/KG ratio on the East Coast; Kyle Crowell, up the left hand side.  I’m pretty sure I heard him yelling FASTER.  For the sprint, Neumotion, the Artist formerly known as ‘T’, Ben Bruce, and Joe K went for it with Joe K pushing through for the crown.  The Artist formerly known as ‘T’, Nuemotion, Crowell, Sernyack(?) snuck through the light on West St and crested the hill before the group made it through opening up a solid gap over the crest of the hill and downward.  Still on probation from last week there were a few folks erring on the side of caution in to the intersections at the bottom of the hill but the double greens meant it was go time and the guys off the front were consumed.

     As the rest of the field made its way back down Pleasant there was a small effort at the underpass, brought quickly back just in time for the next red light.  Onward to Peck, Special Ed and Rusty crested the hill with a solid pace and gapped the field.  Gibertoni and Joe K bridged up and the four came through the corner on to RT10 with a few meters gap and a green light but a small hesitation let the group latch on and come together at the next red light.  A couple of hundred meters later…someone hit the manhole cover/pothole and Nalini, Calfee, and Gibertoni hit the deck in the middle of traffic.  Hopefully everyone is alright, the bikes were definitely not. 

There were a few guys up front who unknowingly made the final selection of the night, with Joe K taking the S&S.  As for the finale…it was kind of the like the Godfather…2 was better than 3.  Ride safe everyone and see you next week.

Tuesday the 28th

Velo Fantastico!

     Great ride tonight as the long loop was ushered in with force. It was great to have John “big hitter” Harris out, along with Aidan “the Hipster” Charles. The addition horsepower definitely upped the intensity at a couple of key points. Starting out, Chris C and Hacker were determined to find cracks in the peleton's armor. Harris would power off the front a couple of times before Mountain Road and each time guys were there to jump on the train. This, combined with the pretty stiff headwind meant the pack was losing riders pretty quickly tonight.
      The ride continued to be pretty quick past Moss Farms. Gibertoni, Joe K, Hacker, Chris C, Ben Bruce, Rusty, Jordan L, Special Ed, all contributing the pace. Harris and Aidan hit it going over the highway, on the way to Route322, and that further put guys in the. The light allowed for pretty much everyone to catch up though. The pace getting onto Mount Vernon was the slowest part of the ride tonight. The road conditions there are at a new low and no one was pushing off the front.

       Joe K, along with Jordan L, once again hit the afterburners going up the false flat. Dave Maynard was there to try to capitalize as the road leveled off. Then Harris once again lit up the front, forcing guys to chase. Heading into the corner for Welch Rd, it was CCAP making it uncomfortable. Young Nick Sabatelli got involved and the pace was pretty quick for the first 300 meters or so. It calmed down ever so slightly as Hacker, Chris C and a couple of others rolled into place for the charge up to West St. Harris once again hit the jets, forcing a fast reaction. He peeled off the front as Chris C, Ben Bruce, Hunter P, Gibertoni, Special Ed, and a couple of others were right there. Chris C kept the leadout going fast which forced all but Ben Bruce and Hunter P from the front. Hacker worked hard to jump up and through to get in position. Just then Chris C pulled off, allowing a Ben Bruce to roll off a gap that his teammate behind did not chase down. Once he had a gap, with about 250 meters to go, he was all in. Hacker jumped up from 3^rd wheel but ran out of room.

        On the back side Gibertoni and Chris C pushed the downhill pace, probably a little too aggressively as the corner at the bottom of the hill was obnoxious with cyclists. Heading back toward 322, Gibertoni kept at it, Harris was up there, so was Ben Bruce. Great to see Gary Boldac as well, visiting the ride after a long hiatus. Going under the underpass, Jordan L jumped up, then Hunter P. That was enough to spring a brief gap but as Harris and Chris C responded, so did the rest of the remaining riders.
       The light at 322 was red and as soon as it tuned green, Harris did his best Lars Van Der Haar impression and shot off the line like it was January 2017 in Hartford. He quickly, no... Very quickly, got out of sight and was not seen until the long false-flat up peck lane. There were plenty of guys willing to chase hard. Chris C, Hacker, Big Red, Ben Bruce, Hunter P, Keith Mullaly, and a couple of others. By the time the corner for Route10 approached, Harris was a stones throw away. The imminent catch, along with the tailwind, made the first mile of route 10 heading south fast.

          Heading into the Stop n Shop sprint, Big Red provided the leadout in front Chris C and Hunter P. From behind Hacker jumped, this time with Dave Maynard right on his wheel and Aidan C a couple of bikes behind. Dave was able to sneak by Hacker just at the last moment. From there the tailwind helped propel everyone back into Hamden right around 32mph. For the finale, once again, it was Gibertoni impressively leading out and out-muscling the Full Nalini with what must be a 9 tooth in the back.

Great ride everyone! Let's make em all like that this year!

Tuesday the 21st

Spring has sprung!

Best group yet for the ride tonight. The weather was good, winds were unpredictable and post-battenkill spirits were high. Off we go!

   The pace seemed high right out of the parking lot. Nuemotion and Ben Bruce were perhaps finishing up unfinished business from Cambridge NY. The high pace continued once off Route 10 as Cheshire Cycle black n blue came up to the front to set pace. Dillon P, Gibertoni, Christian D, Burgiebaby and Ben Bruce, all up in the mix with the usuals such as Rob Dux, Chris C. A couple of corners in Gibertoni and Burgster took off a bit with Hunter P jumping up to grab on as well. That was short lived as the pack came charging up with the Full Nalini and Big Red Cornell taking up the slack. There was a reshuffling of the deck and another group went clear running into the corner for Mountain Rd, but there was little activity off the front once thru the corner and up the hill. Hacker tried to jet off but that was initially brought back. He stayed on the gas though and soon after got off the front with Big Red and Burgster. That trio was allowed to roll and they kept their gap at 75 meters or so for most of the way to the light.
    After a pause for the light, the peleton slowly got back going again on Moss Farms. Again, Gibertoni and Ben Bruce were up front riding hard with Nuemotion, Hacker and the Sernyak looking for openings. Ben Bruce led things off up the hill to Marion, with Gibertoni and Hunter P close behind. Hacker again jumped off the front, and this time pulled off a gap with Big Red and one other. That trio was going pretty good to the industrial park but the pack behind was going gooder. All together again for the corner. Thus it stayed for the next mile or so, with the pace actually getting almost slow before the corner to West Johnson. Once on the riser there, Ben Bruce took off with Gibertoni and The Sernyak. The chase wasn’t going to come from the black and blue, so they worked up a decent size gap.
    A tail wind was helping along the pack and by 200 meters to the corner of Reinhard the front of the chase was all over the road. Ben Bruce hung tough tho up front, giving it a good dig to be the first thru the corner. Behind, Hacker jumped hard with Hunter P right on his wheel. Ben Bruce would have to throttle back at the crest of the hill, just as Hacker was going by, now separated from the rest of the peleton. Hacker started things up the hill but couldn’t shake Hunter P, who came around and got the corner first. On the backside, Nuemotion looked to get something going, then Chris C, but it was all back together by the corner for Peck Ln.
     On the rise up Peck Lane, Gibertoni rode hard to pull off a gap with The Sernyak and Chris C. Those 3 stayed on the gas and the response was tepid for longer than usual. They hit the corner for route 10 with a 12 second gap and then got the light at the base of the hill by Cheshire Park. Hacker and Nuemotion would try to jump the gap once thru but it the response to that was quicker. Meanwhile the 3 up front were working hard to stretch out the advantage and they got to the base of the Stop n Sprint Hill with enough of a gap so that no one was going to sprint up and thru. Gibertoni waited out his breakaway companions and then jumped around to get the sprint there. The trio stayed together and got thru a red light that the pack had to stop for. That usually would be all that’s required to stay clear, but the peleton made good time thru Cheshire, benefitted from Dillon P’s aero tuck. Mike McG then drove everyone out past the lights and got the speed up quickly. The leaders had to full stop for the light at Cook Hill and that allowed the pack to catch back on.
    From there the pace stayed high. For the finale, Gibertoni was able to get back up to the front and he rolled off the rest with The Full Nalini on his wheel. Those 2 had a good long dook-a-roo and Gibertoni was able to stay on the front all the way to corner.