Tuesday the 25th

The elements take their toll... Roads, traffic, wind..... But the ride goes on.

Windy out today and cold. The ride left at 6:01 and some of the Stop n Shop crew was late and had trouble crossing traffic on RT 10. A small group that included at least Mike McG, John Gregory, & Crazy Chris were forced to chase most of the way. There were some strong collegiate riders out tonight, and it was good to see Craig L back on the ride sporting his new Target Training kit.
Right out of the blocks, Rondo & Pete from Zephr snuck off the front. A chase was started pretty quickly on Brooksvale by Joe K and Dillon P from Cheshire Cycle. The duo stayed in sight while Rondo and Pete were well up the road. On the crap road that we all know as Brooksvale, Eric M suffered a flat. That was too bad.
The Cheshire break stayed away all the way till Higgans Ave. on Mountain Rd. Dillon started to lose his crankarm and they were caught. Right away a surge from Steve Grey kept things moving along. The light at West Main found Rondo and Pete back into the group.
In what would happen a lot this ride, Ron took off again on Moss Farms Rd. This time he would be joined by a rider from Yale (?) but the two never got too much a gap. Going thru the Jarvis\Marion chicane, the pace was high, but not killer.
Coming up to the turn onto Knotter, Little T, fresh off a big win in Plainville last Saturday, shot by the field. unfortunately, there was oncoming traffic and he was nearly taken out in the turn. After everyone made it thru, Rondo shot off again, this time finding Steve G and Chris C willing to drive it with him.
Turning onto West Johnson, Steve was still pinning it. Although the field was pretty much together, He and Rondo still managed to get a bit of a gap. The cross wind was severe. Going up the climb before Reinhard Rd, Little t caught and then went by the duo, and guys like Craig L, Hunter P, Peter P & Chris C were close behind. When Hunter P jumped on the Reinhard climb, a break had established itself by the top.

Chris C
Joe k
Hunter P
Peter P
Unknown rider (?)
Julio

There may have been another rider or two. The group had a decent gap quickly, working against the wind, but oncoming traffic turning onto Peck Ln would stop them and the field was back together. The pace up Peck Ln into the wind was fast. Again, Rondo was turning screws and he had help from Brian K, Joe K and Chris C.
The ride back on RT 10 was predictable, lots of lights to stop for, and a fierce headwind to be battered by. Rondo, Craig, Peter P & a couple of others did the lion's share in keeping the pace near 30 mph. Nearing the end, Hunter P, in his best impression of Fabien Cancellara, jumped with a half mile to go. He was caught by Peter P very close to the end (?!) and that's how it ended.