Steve B is Back!
It was great to see Steve B back out and in the action at SGR. He's had a challenge and a half, getting his hand healed up after getting hit by a car in Meriden. He deserves a bunch of kudos as he took 2nd place at the turnaround and first at the greenhouse. Sort of using just one good hand.
Welcome back Steve!
Animal Encounters, Mechanicals, and Spicy Action
It was a medium-sized group, maybe 17 to 20 riders at the start. Turner French was out. No big names beyond that come to mind. The pace was mellow early on. Until, reportedly, a bear ran across the road on Mountain. Dillon handled it, naturally. Word is he chased it down and skinned it alive. Situation resolved.
The first traffic light of the night was green, which got everyone twitchy heading into Moss Farms. Pace picked up slightly but nothing broke loose. Hunter P moved to the front through the chicane and into the rollers toward Marion Ave, but it stayed together.
Turner attacked hard heading into the second light, with Hunter right on him. Looked promising, but the group got the green and closed it all down. Mount Vernon saw another move from the same duo. They got a small gap, but the group had just enough bodies to pull it back. Still no break.
Then came an unexpected attack at the end of Mount Vernon. Hunter jumped early before the Welch Road turn, going with around 200 meters to the corner. He opened a solid gap on Welch and held it until the base of the hill. Behind, Turner and Little T surged at the bottom and halved the distance fast. By the time they were 200 meters on West Street, they had caught and passed Hunter. Little T edged out Turner for the sprint.
Everyone regrouped on the descent and through the I-84 lights. Things calmed down. Turner was getting frustrated with the constant surging and sitting up, especially around Wes Johnson. He and Hunter each threw in a few digs, but nothing stuck.
Then came a twist. Little T had been dealing with a slow leak all ride. He stopped with Turner Frnech fo top off his tire at the light at 322. He and Turner then had to chase back but did so without issue and well before the pack made it route 10. This despite the field getting stretched out a bit by a dig from Dan Smith.
From there, things shifted into steady tempo. Stefano P and a few new faces helped drive the pace into the greenhouse climb. Turner, Chris C, Hank P, and the usual crew were all there. Chris C gave Hunter P a strong leadout for the Greenhouse sprint. Hunter launched and held it to the line just ahead of Turner and one other.
Later on, Little T’s rear tire was nearly flat again. He followed Dan’s early jump into the final sprint, with Stefano between them. As Little T opened up his sprint, the tire completely blew. He slid a bit but stayed upright and somehow managed second place behind Stefano. Third might have gone to the guy on the rim brake Scott bike, judging by who rolled in next.
Everyone's Tired Tonight
Good sized group, beautiful weather. Featuring the triumphant return of Casey King. (also Chris C)
Casey was gone too long, Chris is back too soon.
The early pace was set by Turner Frnech, Sean Hurley, Dan Smith and Peter Morgan. Throw in a few attacks by Mike Hons and it resulted in a solid pace. Everyone stayed together for the run to the light at the end of Mountain Rd.
More of the same on Moss Farms. Visitors to the ride, Andrew Hudacek and Christian Stahl took a couple of pulls in addition to a few new-to-the-front guys pushing the pace. There was a short-lived gap to Stan Prushinski, Hons, Sean Hurley and Tom K, but by the chicane it was all together. Turner French was pushing going into the 4-way stop there. It got strung out going up to Marion, and Hutner P attacked thru the corner, but no one went with and shortly after it was all together again.
Turner pushed off again heading over the highway. Dan Smith jumped up to join and he had Hacker and Hunter P as well. the light at 322 was red so it was all back together again.
Onto Mount Vernon where Chris C and Hacker were leading a decent sized group (Stefano P, Sean Hurley, Christian Stahl, and a few others) off the front, but with a couple of strong guys left behind it didn't stand too much of a chance. So it was all back together for the next few minutes. Later on Mount Vernon, Joe K, Stan P, and a newer ride in white pushed off the front and was allowed to get a bit of gap. Dan Smith wound it up again and took a long a few guys to bring it all back together for the corner onto Welch.
A group of four (Hacker, Hons, White Kit, and Brent de la B) were allowed to roll clear. Joe Rod tried to get across but it was a little to late. The break worked up a 150 meter gap before the hill to the corner broke it apart. Hacker pressed on alone and had a good enough gap to make it to the sprint point alone. Behind the rest were absorbed shortly after the corner, and Hunter P took the group sprint in front of Little T.
The entire group stayed together on the backside. No attacks until after the light on 322, Dan Smith jetted off the green light quickly. Everyone responded. Then Turner took advantage and drilled it into the corner, leaving Hacker, Peter Morgan, Andrew H, and Hunter P to chase him down. Hunter P attacked next but then sat up.
No fireworks to report on the other side of Route 10. Steady, solid pace for the rest of the night. Turner French once again set a fast pace up the greenhouse climb, leading out Hacker and Hunter P for the sprint. Hunter P collected that with Hacker and Turner behind.
Down the road, for the finale Brent DeLaBeeeee jumped early for the sprint.... A bit too early. He would get swallowed up by Little T, who took it at the line by a decent margin ahead of SP the Italian and Brent.
Great ride everyone. Next week SGR shares the love with the TNC Race Series at Rentschler Field. Although with TNC on a Wednesday for the first week, it will be interesting to see who shows up on Tuesday with their A-game and who is there just to hang out.
It Was Fast, Until it Wasn't
The streak of new faces at the ride ended this week. A normal-ish looking crew of 25 or so was out for a great night weather-wise. One notably absent was Turner French, who is preparing to take on Unbound out West.
Early pace was set by Steffen H, Matt Z, and Sean Maher. The brothers Black would also get involved here and there and it was a steady pace, albeit much slower in the first 30 min than the week prior. Dan Smith tried to get off the front a couple times but was not allowed to do so.
Onto Welch where sentiment changed... Sean Maher and the Tom Seleck of New England cycling, Peter Morgan, were allowed to roll clear headed to the turnaround sprint. They got to it, and starting building a solid gap by the turn onto West St. They would take the sprint point and keep it rolling to the lights. Behind, there was little to no chase.
Back in the pack, Aaron B edged out Hunter P for the last points on offer.
The leaders would benefit from sneaking a couple of lights, and they were nearly out of sight as everyone made their way onto Atwater. Joe K was allowed to roll clear on that stretch and he took a gap going over the light on 322. He was still well down on the two leaders though.
Onto the Greenhouse climb where Gregory Rodriguez came out of his Big and Tall sized shell to set the early pace on the climb. Then Evan Woodford took off in pursuit of Joe K. Those two would connect near the top and get to work together keeping clear off the front of the pack. Ahead, Sean M and Morgan were out of sight.
The two leaders would not be caught. Joe K and Evan W would be caught at the top of Tuttle, and that's how the ride ended up.
The Breakaway Wins Again
Another hard fought battle up front leads to an elite ending for the ride. Turner French started it on Mountain Rd. Hunter P and then Hacker responded and up the ante, leading to a break of 10 guys off the front. That group cleared the light at the end of mountain and that was all she wrote.
Dan Smith, Tom Krol, Little T, Brothers Black, Stefano P, Sean Maher, Hacker, Hunter P and Turner French.
The chase behind was ummm, disorganized. Some guys took the shortcut, some peeled off early, others got dropped. Without the usual horsepower up front, there was no more steam in the engine.
Up front, after a bunch of attacks, regrouping, and sitting up. Turner French gave up trying to break the group up. Dan Smith and Tom Krol were allowed to roll off the front before the turnaround. They caught a couple of lights and had the gap, and took mucho points to the bank.
Behind, it was the aggressors vs the guys just glad to be there vs the old-timers. Big old stalemat! There was one point for up grabs at the turnaround and Little T nabbed that.
After that, as the chase rolled thru the I84 interchange zone, Turner French pushed off the front using the pinch point caused by stacked traffic at a light. A couple hundred meters later he was clear of the pack that was negotiating the cars, and he got to work covering the gap on his own. He would eventually catch the two leaders near the end, making it 3 to collect the final points on the night.
A Proper Suffer-Fest as a One-Man Swatt Team Shows Up
Sneak Attack from the Rain, and a Dubious Light
A rainy forecast kept most riders away, but 12 to 14 of the faithful showed up and were rewarded with dry roads at the start. The early miles were uneventful until Gentle Paul pushed off the front on the backroads of Cheshire. Turner French threw in a few digs but was mostly quiet this week.
Crossing into Southington, there were a few efforts to stretch things out, but nothing stuck. On the turnaround sprint, Hunter P opened it up on Welch Drive but had drivetrain issues right as Turner French and Little T launched. Dan Smith was also in the mix to the line. Little T took the sprint with Noah Black close behind.
The group came back together until Dan Smith gave it another go on Atwater. He didn’t get the light, but on the other side, he kept pushing and was gifted a gap. Hunter P bridged up to him on West Johnson, and the two got to the light just as is was going yellow, giving the duo a clean getaway.
Turner French was already in pusuit and he was dragging along Sean Hurley and the new guy Italian Stallion Stefeno P. Those three slid underneath the red while the rest of the pack stopped.
That sealed it, the breakaway of five stayed away: Dan Smith, Hunter P, Turner French, and kudos to the new guys who have been riding strong.
