Tuesday the 22nd

Rain waves white flag.... For now...   

    The rain finally gave way for the ride tonight. Besides a little over spray off the back roads, everyone stayed dry tonight for the 35-45 guys and girls out. Good to see Peter K out on the bike, recovered from his fractured hip. Next, the ride waits for Joe K's return.
     Right off route 10 the speed ramped up as everyone was eager to get the HR up. YelleSnoop! was up there and inbetween saving his bike from disaster, was pushing the early pace. Also too was Hunter P, BlackTie\Aetna, MoMoney, Young Suto, Jacinto, and Hacker. Turning onto North Brooksvale saw Aidan and Hacker surge, bringing out BlackTie and Hutner P. The foursome got a gap right away and held that onto Mountain Rd. Behind Guido, Chris C, Mike McG, Jacinto and a couple of others were pulling weight to keep the gap close. Everyone was back together after the initial climbs on Mountain. Aidan kept up the pressure and took along Chris C, an FSU rider, and Gregg F. That group never made it more then 20 meters off the front as riders used the downhill sections to reconnect. From there to Route 68 was steady and fast as the ride snuck thru the light and kept the pace going onto Moss Farms.
    YelleSnoop and Thomaas B got an early jump on Moss Farms but were soon back in the bunch as Chris C, Rondo and Hunter P rode steady on the front, dragging the bunch up. There were no further attacks running into the chicane. Once onto Marion, turns of speed from Aidan, Chris C, Little T, and Hunter P sprung a break briefly but other strong guys were there to sew it up ( Guido, Hacker, Yelle, BlackTie ). No other attacks till going over route 322.
    Aidan, Hacker, Hunter P, and BlackTie continued being the protagonists and rolled off the front shortly after and hit Mount Vernon with a 40 meter gap. But too many guys, not wanting to be left out of the action, rode the gap shut and it was all together again. Things slowed down a bit after that as the ride reached the false flats. Good to see Craig Luekens out in his retro TargetTraining kit. Surely there are some New Haveners that can get that man a new kit... Anyway, things started to break up a bit on the false flat, but no one was delivering the crusher. A new guy from Central Wheel (?) shot off the front briefly, but didn't last long up there.
    Guido rolled off the front as everyone paused to recollect. Special Ed, The new Guy in Nalini, Gregg F and MoMoney rode up with him but it was all together a minute later as everyone got ready for the turnaround. SPeed stayed steady as the group turned onto Welch. A couple of new faces popped up to set tempo and get everyone's attention ( Rondo, Dillon P, Central Wheel ). Heading to the corner, Aidan, Jacinto, Hunter P and Hacker were in position. Hacker jumped first, taking Jacinto, Chris C and Hunter P along with him. Right after the corner, from his last-in-line position, Chris C jumped strongly and had a 30 meter gap. Jaconti and Hunter P rode the front to bring the gap down, then Hacker jumped to reconnect but came up short. Chris C gets a well deserved one here, as a late sprint from Hunter P wasn't enough to close the gap.
   On the backside, Aidan looked like he wanted to punch it. Little T joined him and the 2 looked to have a jump on the rest but a red light brought it all back together. No further attacks until Peck Lane, despite surges on the front from BlackTie, YelleSnoop!, Hunter P and Aidan.
    Onto Peck Lane where Chris C's early hard pacing rode a small group off the front. Chris C left first with Nalini and Aidan. Hacker and Hunter P bridged up and made it a break... Perhaps the most serious of the night. The group had 50 meters by the top of the false flat on Peck and were working well together. Behind, Guido, Jacinto, Mike McG, Little T and the other usuals didnt let the break go unnoticed. Also up there was John Gregory who was going over 100 miles on the day at that point. Props to the Mountain Man on keeping tempo for 140 miles.
   Onto Route 10, the break still had a healthy gap and were unfazed by the hill next to Cheshire Park. A red light before the Stop n Shop sprint finally brought it to an end and allowed the peleton to catch. Little T collected the Stop n Sprint ahead of a well timed Chris B and a Yalie ( DJ Dan? )
    The ride into Hamden was standard fare. Fast but could have been faster. For the finale, after final pulls from Craig L, Dillon P and Mike McG, it was Aidan, fighting it out with Nalini, Guido and Chris B. Nalini got in front of Aidan and was able to hold it. Up the hill went the usuals. Chris B attacked early but Hunter jumped mid way and took it.