It’s over!
A decent, though smaller, crowd rolled out for the final official Tuesday SG ride of 2013. If Chris C happens to go out this weekend and bludgeon himself half to death with some off season activity, He will probably be sounding the trumpet a week from now. If that is the case it will be dark.... Even if we left at 5PM.
Everyone got to start this final ride with a session of Pacing du Le Moteur from French Casey. He steam-rolled into the ever changing wind on route 10. Once the ride got onto the back roads, things calmed down a bit with Dillon P, Rory D, Rusty, Tall Dennis, Jordan L and French Casey all chipping in up front. Heading onto Mountain Rd, Hunter P and Young Suto jumped off the front and took a gap up the first risers there. It was soon marked by Jordan L, Chris C and the rest of the Mount Washington Summit Team. Next year, look for Stage One to compete in everything from Tough Mudders to duathlons.
The leaders were soon roped in by a chase group but that larger break had even less chance to get away from the attentive peleton. Joe K would strike out with a counter attack that nearly split a group off the front at the end of the second set of risers. Then French Casey hit the front. Along with Jordan L but it was brought back together by the light.
Onto Moss Farms where it stayed together for the most part. No attacks kept the pace on the slower side. By the end of the risers Casey again become the Parisian Nightmare by rolling off the front. Riders needed to make the quick decision whether or not to go with him or sit back and let it ride. By the Chicane it was all together. By the corner of Marion French Casey was charging again. He took along Jordan L and those 2 were allowed to go up the road. They built up a maximum of 50 meters as the ride rolled toward the industrial park. Shortly after the turn it was all back together as guy like Chris C, Timmy Hip, Rusty, and others kept on the gas.
More indecision as the front of the ride rolled up West Johnson as Jordan L rolled off the front, taking along Swing the Bat Gary and a couple of other guys with him. It would end up being a slower than usual charge up the hills to Reinhard. After the corner, 3 or 4 still were off the front a but with plenty of guys lining up close behind they were going to come back quickly. Young Suto was the first to jump with Jacinto and Hunter P on his wheel. On the other side, Mike McG jumped at about the same time. Soon it was down to 2 as Hunter P accelerated out and around. Jacinto was the only one to respond and despite being behind most of the remaining road, he kept on the gas, forcing Hunter P to stay on it all the way to the end. It was a close one.
On the backside, Joe K moved on off the front but was corralled soon after turning onto Peck Ln. The pace stayed crisp as Ben Bruce, John Morgan, Swing the Bat Gary, Chris C, and others rotated up front. A small lead group led (once again) by French Casey and also The Careening Caridi had a gap getting to the corner, but had to deal with car traffic which slowed the escape.
More gaps were allowed to form on the hill by Cheshire Park but a red light at the top shut down the attack for good. That led to a bunch sprint up to Stop n Shop. Mike McG got the early jump on this one, quickly going by the line of guys who were thinking they could save it to the last moment. Jacinto was again the only one to make it interesting. Again, it was a super close one, going down to the line as Mike McG had to go the whole way to stay out in front. Some vehicular traffic abbreviated the sprint by about 1.5 seconds, but it was Iron Mike in front til that moment.
The last trip into Hamden was uneventful, except for the car turning right into the bank which nearly took out half the Cheshire Team. For the final kilometer, some groups went up, came back, reloaded and jumped again. with 300 meters to go, it was Dillon P punching out at the right moment to get out in front. The only challenger was Ben Bruce who was out his saddle a bit too long for the sprint to be copacetic. It was a moot point though as Dillon was able to stay out in front till the final moment.
Up the hill for the last time in the dusk went the usual guys, except one Chris Butler and a Mountain Man ( hope he is recovering well ). Hunter P got a head start but couldnt hold off a rabid Joe K, who chased the front down and lept up to snag the line.
Well done everyone. It was another good year of Tuesday riding. Thanks to all who reliably showed up each week and thank you especially to those that added a little something extra to the rides whether it was attacks, brazen rudeness, self-destructive pulls, gung-ho sprinting, or just a willingness to ride hard. We don't have to name names. You know who you are.
Final ride of the year.... :(
Oh it seems like just a couple of weeks ago we were breaking in the long loop and suffering in the humidity.
Every season comes to a close and we are about there for this year.
We can't guarantee a SG Ride for next week, the 15th.
So.....
Tuesday the 8th, will be viewed as the last of the year.
The ride will take off at 5:30 like last week.
Everyone is welcome to hang out at Cheshire Cycle after the ride.
We will have pizza there and beer there.
Feel free to get a head-start on the bribery for next year's write-ups by bringing something to drink.
More importantly, let's end the season with a great ride!
Every season comes to a close and we are about there for this year.
We can't guarantee a SG Ride for next week, the 15th.
So.....
Tuesday the 8th, will be viewed as the last of the year.
The ride will take off at 5:30 like last week.
Everyone is welcome to hang out at Cheshire Cycle after the ride.
We will have pizza there and beer there.
Feel free to get a head-start on the bribery for next year's write-ups by bringing something to drink.
More importantly, let's end the season with a great ride!
Tuesday the 1st
5:30!
Good to see plenty of guys out on the ride tonight despite the earlier take-off time. Still, the group was down one German luxury sedan and A-book-author-too-busy-laughing-at-the-CSPAN-static-shots-of-the-House-of-Representatives-Chamber-to-Ride
The pace was once again crisp heading out of the parking lot and it continued off route 10 as well. Dillon P rolled off the front and with no one else joining him, he go'd it alone. He stayed off the front for a few streets as Kyle Foley rolled up to join him. By then the pack was coming around and it was all together. After that it was Mountain Man Junior, Jordan Lynn taking off and holding a short gap. He was followed up by The Gibertoni taking a short flyer. Dillon P also had a second crack at the front but there was no real push to get a well timed attack so it stayed together onto Mountain Rd. On the risers there, Hunter P and Tall John hit the front running, which started to splinter things up. Young Suto then went on the offensive, and that led to a Trio of Hunter P, Young Suto and Nuemotion off the front for a short bit. Chris C, Little T, Silent Pete, Mike McG and a couple of others were all attentive and didn’t let it get very far.
The light going over route 68/70 was red for a while, giving everyone a chance to reset. On Moss Farms Rusty got things going along with Ben Bruce(?) and a another not-so-new-guy (tall, both kind of squirrely on the bike). JLynn ramped it up on the risers there and that started to spread things out. Hunter P rolled off the front again, breaking off a gap with only Swing the bat Gary along for the ride. Those 2 got to work and quickly worked up a gap into the Chicane. JLynn moved to get across the gap but got stuck in no man's land. The 2 leaders kept the gap up onto Marion and halfway to the industrial park corner.
From there it stayed quick in thru the industrial park as there were plenty of guys to keep the pace high.
After the corner of West Johnson, guys like Mike McG, JLynn, Pescatore, and a couple of others kept the throttle pegged but no one was willing to roll the dice. Towards the corner for Reinhard, Jlynn was leading a couple of guys off the front but the gap was a small one. The lead group started to break up as Little T jumped from the chase, taking along Mike McG. It was a long sprint but Little T was able to stay out in front and get to the corner first.
Things stayed together on the back side and the group rolled toward route 10. Heading up to the corner, JLynn peeled off to head home and as everyone paused to say adios, Swing the Bat Gary was back at it up front. He jetted thru the corner and took Hunter P along. One other rider, (one of the mystery men) jumped the gap and made it 3 up the road bolting up the hill ( site of Cheshire CX 2013! ). The chase started slow but it got going soon enough. The 3 up front were working well together and holding their gap. Everyone, front and back, made it thru the lights and the gap was coming down by the base of the hill. Hunter P jumped out from the group and got the sprint as only a couple guys from the peleton tried to sprint jump the gap.
From there the ride had to deal with more traffic due to the earlier hour. The ride back into hamden was standard stuff. After massive final pulls from Chris B, proving it's better late than never, along with Mike McG and Dillon P there was a group of 3 duking it out. The Giberoni, Nuemotion, and the Full Nalini. Full Nalini squeaks it out just at the line.
Swing the Bat gets his prize up the Shepard Ave hill as he stayed out in front of Hunter P to the top.
Everyone is invited the end of the SG season get-together at Cheshire Cycle, directly following the final week. Which looks like it may be next week. Last year the final ride was the 9th. Next week is the 8th. Any opinions? There will probably be guys that want to ride on the 15th but we are inclined to make it official so that we have time to stock up on the methamphetamines.
Good to see plenty of guys out on the ride tonight despite the earlier take-off time. Still, the group was down one German luxury sedan and A-book-author-too-busy-laughing-at-the-CSPAN-static-shots-of-the-House-of-Representatives-Chamber-to-Ride
The pace was once again crisp heading out of the parking lot and it continued off route 10 as well. Dillon P rolled off the front and with no one else joining him, he go'd it alone. He stayed off the front for a few streets as Kyle Foley rolled up to join him. By then the pack was coming around and it was all together. After that it was Mountain Man Junior, Jordan Lynn taking off and holding a short gap. He was followed up by The Gibertoni taking a short flyer. Dillon P also had a second crack at the front but there was no real push to get a well timed attack so it stayed together onto Mountain Rd. On the risers there, Hunter P and Tall John hit the front running, which started to splinter things up. Young Suto then went on the offensive, and that led to a Trio of Hunter P, Young Suto and Nuemotion off the front for a short bit. Chris C, Little T, Silent Pete, Mike McG and a couple of others were all attentive and didn’t let it get very far.
The light going over route 68/70 was red for a while, giving everyone a chance to reset. On Moss Farms Rusty got things going along with Ben Bruce(?) and a another not-so-new-guy (tall, both kind of squirrely on the bike). JLynn ramped it up on the risers there and that started to spread things out. Hunter P rolled off the front again, breaking off a gap with only Swing the bat Gary along for the ride. Those 2 got to work and quickly worked up a gap into the Chicane. JLynn moved to get across the gap but got stuck in no man's land. The 2 leaders kept the gap up onto Marion and halfway to the industrial park corner.
From there it stayed quick in thru the industrial park as there were plenty of guys to keep the pace high.
After the corner of West Johnson, guys like Mike McG, JLynn, Pescatore, and a couple of others kept the throttle pegged but no one was willing to roll the dice. Towards the corner for Reinhard, Jlynn was leading a couple of guys off the front but the gap was a small one. The lead group started to break up as Little T jumped from the chase, taking along Mike McG. It was a long sprint but Little T was able to stay out in front and get to the corner first.
Things stayed together on the back side and the group rolled toward route 10. Heading up to the corner, JLynn peeled off to head home and as everyone paused to say adios, Swing the Bat Gary was back at it up front. He jetted thru the corner and took Hunter P along. One other rider, (one of the mystery men) jumped the gap and made it 3 up the road bolting up the hill ( site of Cheshire CX 2013! ). The chase started slow but it got going soon enough. The 3 up front were working well together and holding their gap. Everyone, front and back, made it thru the lights and the gap was coming down by the base of the hill. Hunter P jumped out from the group and got the sprint as only a couple guys from the peleton tried to sprint jump the gap.
From there the ride had to deal with more traffic due to the earlier hour. The ride back into hamden was standard stuff. After massive final pulls from Chris B, proving it's better late than never, along with Mike McG and Dillon P there was a group of 3 duking it out. The Giberoni, Nuemotion, and the Full Nalini. Full Nalini squeaks it out just at the line.
Swing the Bat gets his prize up the Shepard Ave hill as he stayed out in front of Hunter P to the top.
Everyone is invited the end of the SG season get-together at Cheshire Cycle, directly following the final week. Which looks like it may be next week. Last year the final ride was the 9th. Next week is the 8th. Any opinions? There will probably be guys that want to ride on the 15th but we are inclined to make it official so that we have time to stock up on the methamphetamines.
Tuesday the 24th
So what's more important? The new New Girl or the SG ride recap???
Racing the dark makes for another fast short loop ride. The crowds are dwindling with every week it seems as soon it will be just the hardcores out for the weekly throwdown. 25 or so out for he ride tonight and it started rather briskly out of the parking lot. One guy who was caught with his pants down was Gregg F, who was easing nature when the pack rolled out. He chased and on any other given day, would have caught on but today everyone was out like a cannon. As soon the ride turned off route 10, Rory D and Dillon P jumped up and away. Soon after, Guido, Jordan L, Chris C and one other joined them, making for a pretty strong group up the road. Behind, Cheshire riders in the front weren't too quick to chase initially and the Gibertoni was allowed to ride clear to try to get across the gap. He ended up stuck in no-man's land though. After the crap road section, Hacker jumped up get across the gap, taking along Hunter P and that was enough to signal to the rest of the ride it was time to ride. From there to the light on route 68 it was a mix of guys up front. Jordan L, Hacker, Chris C, Tall John, Joe K, etc.
The light there was green which allowed for Chris B to lead the pack thru quickly. He stayed on the gas with Timmy Hip right behind. Soon after it was all together as guys were looking round at each other to see who would be the first to flinch. Hacker kept the pressure on going into the Chicane and Little T jumped hard to get a gap going up to Marion. Chris C and Hunter P were close behind but the speed wasnt enough to make a real gap. It was all together heading into the industrial park.
Chris B drove the pace on Knotter drive and everyone else was content to follow. There was a brief gap that opened up due to the quick pace but as the corner for West Johnson came up, everyone was at attention. Hacker jumped right after the corner, taking along Jordan L, Young Suto and Hunter P. That group had a brief gap but the chase was on in earnest. Chris B and Chris C leading the way back up to the leaders. Hacker kept on the pressure naturally after it was gruppo compacto and his dance card changed a few times before the corner for Reinhard as guys were halfway in between pace setting and hanging on. It would eventually end up being Jacinto latching on to the Professor for the final ramp on Reinhard. The 2 drove into the sprint with some solid speed as Chris B and Special Ed came out of the chase group to try to bridge the gap last minute. They came up short as well as Little T, who jumped hard but stopped the pursuit when it was apparatnt that it was 2 horse race. Jacinto used the extra time in the draft to his advantage and was able to jump around Hacker before the corner. On the backside, it was all back together again.
Chris B continued to set a solid pace on Peck ln. Joe K was also up front, trying to get away from the field a couple of times before route 10. Once onto Route 10, the speed went back up again, thanks to Tall John ripping a solid pull up the hill there by Cheshire Park (site of "Cheshire ....... Oh nevermind)
A light on Route 10 stopped the ride in it tracks. The pace was coming down at that point anyway. After the reset, Dillon P took to the front along with Guido and Hacker. There was a small group with a slight gap but Little T had no problem covering as he jumped from his usual spot and took the sprint. The ride was all together going thru Cheshire and mostly green lights meant very little slow down in pace.
For the finale, there was a couple of slowdowns, a couple of surges, and a small group off the front with less than a kilometer to go with little chance of making it. Dillon P, John Morgan from Keltic, Rusty, Central Wheel Casey, Guido and one or 2 others came up a bit short as Little T came by with the tall newer rider on the Specialized(?) Little T stuck it out to the end.
Up the hill went a larger than usual crowd. Dillon P, Chris B, Swing-the-bat Casey, The Gibertoni, Hunter P, C-Dale Rick and a couple of others. Swing the Bat Casey took the front and led it out briskly. Hunter P jumped the rest with a held on till the top.
Great ride everyone! More Strava KOM's on the night! Cha-ching! Next week the ride needs to move to 5:30. Only a couple more chances to grab some Tuesday night glory! We still do not have a ride-long breakaway for 2013... If it holds up, that has got to be a Summertime first.
Racing the dark makes for another fast short loop ride. The crowds are dwindling with every week it seems as soon it will be just the hardcores out for the weekly throwdown. 25 or so out for he ride tonight and it started rather briskly out of the parking lot. One guy who was caught with his pants down was Gregg F, who was easing nature when the pack rolled out. He chased and on any other given day, would have caught on but today everyone was out like a cannon. As soon the ride turned off route 10, Rory D and Dillon P jumped up and away. Soon after, Guido, Jordan L, Chris C and one other joined them, making for a pretty strong group up the road. Behind, Cheshire riders in the front weren't too quick to chase initially and the Gibertoni was allowed to ride clear to try to get across the gap. He ended up stuck in no-man's land though. After the crap road section, Hacker jumped up get across the gap, taking along Hunter P and that was enough to signal to the rest of the ride it was time to ride. From there to the light on route 68 it was a mix of guys up front. Jordan L, Hacker, Chris C, Tall John, Joe K, etc.
The light there was green which allowed for Chris B to lead the pack thru quickly. He stayed on the gas with Timmy Hip right behind. Soon after it was all together as guys were looking round at each other to see who would be the first to flinch. Hacker kept the pressure on going into the Chicane and Little T jumped hard to get a gap going up to Marion. Chris C and Hunter P were close behind but the speed wasnt enough to make a real gap. It was all together heading into the industrial park.
Chris B drove the pace on Knotter drive and everyone else was content to follow. There was a brief gap that opened up due to the quick pace but as the corner for West Johnson came up, everyone was at attention. Hacker jumped right after the corner, taking along Jordan L, Young Suto and Hunter P. That group had a brief gap but the chase was on in earnest. Chris B and Chris C leading the way back up to the leaders. Hacker kept on the pressure naturally after it was gruppo compacto and his dance card changed a few times before the corner for Reinhard as guys were halfway in between pace setting and hanging on. It would eventually end up being Jacinto latching on to the Professor for the final ramp on Reinhard. The 2 drove into the sprint with some solid speed as Chris B and Special Ed came out of the chase group to try to bridge the gap last minute. They came up short as well as Little T, who jumped hard but stopped the pursuit when it was apparatnt that it was 2 horse race. Jacinto used the extra time in the draft to his advantage and was able to jump around Hacker before the corner. On the backside, it was all back together again.
Chris B continued to set a solid pace on Peck ln. Joe K was also up front, trying to get away from the field a couple of times before route 10. Once onto Route 10, the speed went back up again, thanks to Tall John ripping a solid pull up the hill there by Cheshire Park (site of "Cheshire ....... Oh nevermind)
A light on Route 10 stopped the ride in it tracks. The pace was coming down at that point anyway. After the reset, Dillon P took to the front along with Guido and Hacker. There was a small group with a slight gap but Little T had no problem covering as he jumped from his usual spot and took the sprint. The ride was all together going thru Cheshire and mostly green lights meant very little slow down in pace.
For the finale, there was a couple of slowdowns, a couple of surges, and a small group off the front with less than a kilometer to go with little chance of making it. Dillon P, John Morgan from Keltic, Rusty, Central Wheel Casey, Guido and one or 2 others came up a bit short as Little T came by with the tall newer rider on the Specialized(?) Little T stuck it out to the end.
Up the hill went a larger than usual crowd. Dillon P, Chris B, Swing-the-bat Casey, The Gibertoni, Hunter P, C-Dale Rick and a couple of others. Swing the Bat Casey took the front and led it out briskly. Hunter P jumped the rest with a held on till the top.
Great ride everyone! More Strava KOM's on the night! Cha-ching! Next week the ride needs to move to 5:30. Only a couple more chances to grab some Tuesday night glory! We still do not have a ride-long breakaway for 2013... If it holds up, that has got to be a Summertime first.
Tuesday the 17th
The return of the short loop, aka leg openers for Sunday's
Downtown Hartford CT Cycling Festival.
The ride rolled out and everyone seemed ok with the long sleeves, knee warmers, etc. The pace was pretty quick even heading down route 10 ( into a headwind)... People musta been concerned with the time. The ride got going with surges from Jordan L, Riff Raff Ralph and Hunter P. A couple times Hunter rolled off the front and the pack just pushed go a little harder and always rounded. Heading to Mountain Rd, Riff Raff Ralph was next to jump off the front and he held onto a gap up the risers, but the beast would open up wide and swallow up another. There was another small group off the front toward the middle section of Mountain Rd. But it even with Hacker, Chris C, Jordan L, a new guy in a GQ Brooklyn Kit, and a couple of others, it wasn't enough to reach escape velocity.
The truce on Moss Farms lasted for about 4 feet as GQ, Jordan L, Rory D and Riff Raff drilled the front. Hacker was up there to looking for a chance to bolt. Despite a big push from him, Hunter P and and the Brooklyn rider, it was all together. One rider using the bodies in front of him well was The Gibertoni, who rocketed off the front well before the corner to the Chicane and made the most of it by staying out there alone for a while. Next up to the plate was Chirs C and Guido, who charged off the front up the hill to Marion. The response to their push was a bit subdued, but the speed picked up and by the corner to the industrial park it was all together again.
From there, it seemed that everyone's attention went to the turnaround and the fast climbing section that would follow. Sure enough, with Jordan L and a couple of others already going decently quick, Hacker charged up the first riser, taking Hunter P along. Other in the pack behind were having none of that and it was covered quickly. The speed was still pretty crisp 200 meters later but a police cruiser camped out encouraged everyone to be extra nice at the 4-way intersection, allowing all the cars to get thru. It let a bunch of riders get back into it and reset the pace for the final push up to Reinhart. The first to jump after getting thru the intersection was Little T, who was stuck with a broken shirt cable on the ride down. Making due with his 53x11 or a 39x11 he jumped off the front on the flat road to get a head start on the climbing. Chris B took it upon himself to bring the wounded bike back. He ramped up the speed on the remaining 300 meters of West Johnson, getting past Little T pretty quickly. He kept the hammer down and behind, Aidan C, every pageant queen's heartthrob, was queuing up to keep the pace high. Thanks to those 2 leg blasting pulls, the only guys in a position to sprint up the hill were Hacker, Hunter P and Young Suto. Aidan C pulled off right at the bottom of the hill and Young Suto was the first to jump. Hunter P got onto his wheel and had little problem jumping away with plenty of road left to the corner. Behind other fast guys like Mike McG, Special Ed and Jacinto had too much ground to make up and were out of it from the start. Jacinto, however, gave it a go and was closing in by the corner.
On the backside, Special Ed would charge off the front but as is nearly alawys the case with the descent, everyone was able to get back on and it was all together heading onto Peck. Mike McG, Brooklyn GQ and Chris C were among those pushing the pace up the false flat but nothing was getting off the front.
More of the same heading onto Route 10 and by Cheshire Park (site of Cheshire Cross o-13!). Several guys chipped in to keep the speed high. Hacker and Guido moved into position before one of the last lights and hit the as once through. Guido ended up riding away himself and once he saw the gap, he was all in for the sprint. Behind, everyone was finding a good spot as Hunter P took the role of leadout, pegging it for the final couple of meters. Little T was able to ramp up some speed and get a good jump in his 11. No one seemed that surprised. Behind, he had a whole slew of riders trying to get stay on his wheel. Mike Mcg was there and in contention as they both slid by Guido, but Little T gets this one. Next week, he rides a single speed.
The ride back was usual fare. GQ Crooklyn rider, and then The Full Castelli, tried to ride off the front after all the lights in the center of town. That didnt last long. It ended up all together for the run into Hamden. After the usual hard pulls from Mike McG, Chris C, Tall Dennis, Dillon P and a couple of others, it was Hacker duking it out with Chris B. Chris Stays on the gas a little longer and gets it by a bike.
Good ride everyone. Short but sweet (26 mph average!). Everyone is in great shape to have a good race on Sunday in Hartford!
The ride rolled out and everyone seemed ok with the long sleeves, knee warmers, etc. The pace was pretty quick even heading down route 10 ( into a headwind)... People musta been concerned with the time. The ride got going with surges from Jordan L, Riff Raff Ralph and Hunter P. A couple times Hunter rolled off the front and the pack just pushed go a little harder and always rounded. Heading to Mountain Rd, Riff Raff Ralph was next to jump off the front and he held onto a gap up the risers, but the beast would open up wide and swallow up another. There was another small group off the front toward the middle section of Mountain Rd. But it even with Hacker, Chris C, Jordan L, a new guy in a GQ Brooklyn Kit, and a couple of others, it wasn't enough to reach escape velocity.
The truce on Moss Farms lasted for about 4 feet as GQ, Jordan L, Rory D and Riff Raff drilled the front. Hacker was up there to looking for a chance to bolt. Despite a big push from him, Hunter P and and the Brooklyn rider, it was all together. One rider using the bodies in front of him well was The Gibertoni, who rocketed off the front well before the corner to the Chicane and made the most of it by staying out there alone for a while. Next up to the plate was Chirs C and Guido, who charged off the front up the hill to Marion. The response to their push was a bit subdued, but the speed picked up and by the corner to the industrial park it was all together again.
From there, it seemed that everyone's attention went to the turnaround and the fast climbing section that would follow. Sure enough, with Jordan L and a couple of others already going decently quick, Hacker charged up the first riser, taking Hunter P along. Other in the pack behind were having none of that and it was covered quickly. The speed was still pretty crisp 200 meters later but a police cruiser camped out encouraged everyone to be extra nice at the 4-way intersection, allowing all the cars to get thru. It let a bunch of riders get back into it and reset the pace for the final push up to Reinhart. The first to jump after getting thru the intersection was Little T, who was stuck with a broken shirt cable on the ride down. Making due with his 53x11 or a 39x11 he jumped off the front on the flat road to get a head start on the climbing. Chris B took it upon himself to bring the wounded bike back. He ramped up the speed on the remaining 300 meters of West Johnson, getting past Little T pretty quickly. He kept the hammer down and behind, Aidan C, every pageant queen's heartthrob, was queuing up to keep the pace high. Thanks to those 2 leg blasting pulls, the only guys in a position to sprint up the hill were Hacker, Hunter P and Young Suto. Aidan C pulled off right at the bottom of the hill and Young Suto was the first to jump. Hunter P got onto his wheel and had little problem jumping away with plenty of road left to the corner. Behind other fast guys like Mike McG, Special Ed and Jacinto had too much ground to make up and were out of it from the start. Jacinto, however, gave it a go and was closing in by the corner.
On the backside, Special Ed would charge off the front but as is nearly alawys the case with the descent, everyone was able to get back on and it was all together heading onto Peck. Mike McG, Brooklyn GQ and Chris C were among those pushing the pace up the false flat but nothing was getting off the front.
More of the same heading onto Route 10 and by Cheshire Park (site of Cheshire Cross o-13!). Several guys chipped in to keep the speed high. Hacker and Guido moved into position before one of the last lights and hit the as once through. Guido ended up riding away himself and once he saw the gap, he was all in for the sprint. Behind, everyone was finding a good spot as Hunter P took the role of leadout, pegging it for the final couple of meters. Little T was able to ramp up some speed and get a good jump in his 11. No one seemed that surprised. Behind, he had a whole slew of riders trying to get stay on his wheel. Mike Mcg was there and in contention as they both slid by Guido, but Little T gets this one. Next week, he rides a single speed.
The ride back was usual fare. GQ Crooklyn rider, and then The Full Castelli, tried to ride off the front after all the lights in the center of town. That didnt last long. It ended up all together for the run into Hamden. After the usual hard pulls from Mike McG, Chris C, Tall Dennis, Dillon P and a couple of others, it was Hacker duking it out with Chris B. Chris Stays on the gas a little longer and gets it by a bike.
Good ride everyone. Short but sweet (26 mph average!). Everyone is in great shape to have a good race on Sunday in Hartford!
Tuesday the 10th
Summer isn’t going down without a fight!
The usual guys were at the ride tonight. Since the short
loop has a bad rap for some reason, the idea was floated to turn soon on Mount
Vernon and create a middle loop. Response was mixed for this idea but with Chris
and Mike McG leading the call, it was agreed upon.
The tail wind helped get the ride going and once again it
was Jordan Lynn taking the reigns along with Guido and other Central Wheel
riders. The ride moved thru to the crap road section with Joe K up front
keeping the pace high. Moving onto North Brooksvale, a small group of riders
went immediately clear and started on a gap. Jordan L, Todd H, Joe K and Rusty
held on to a gap of about 60-75 meters as the ride came up to Mountain Rd. With
some traffic in the intersection, the front riders were slowed and it came back
together soon after with Mike McG
and Chris C leading the charge. The rest of the ride down Mountain was decent
and without incident. More than the usual amount of riders were getting involved
and chipping in.
The ride moved onto Moss Farms and the speed stayed high
thanks to Little T and others. Toward the end of the Moss Farms, Hunter P
rolled off the front and took a small group of guys attentive at the front.
Hacker, Chris C, Jordan L, Hunter P and Nuemotion, who joined up a few moments
after. That group hustled thru the chicane and toward Marion with the rest of
the pack wisely chasing hard. Despite going full gas for a few hundred meters,
the pack would bring them back and Guido used the catch and added some great
timing to be the next to shoot off the front. There were enough riders in
between to make up the gaps and it was all together heading to 322.
Moving past the light and toward Mount Vernon, Rory D,
Jordan L, Hacker, Todd H, Tall John Young Suto and a couple of others all had a
hand in trying to get off the front but everyone seemed to be ready to charge
down the shortened stretch of Mount Vernon. The race for the front continued to
the corner as everyone wanted to prove their sense of geography and be the
first one to the new street. Once there, guys like Gregg F, Joe K, Jordan L,
Chris C, Tall Dennis and Little T were up front and paying attention in case
someone was thinking up mischief. The road offered little by way of challenging
terrain so it stayed together for the brief trip to toward West St and the hard
right to get back on to the regular route. From there the next one to stab at
the major organs of the front of the ride was Guido, who got things going on
Atwater. The Headwind was strong and it served to tamp down most efforts to get
of the front.
Jordan L, Hacker, and Young Suto jumped the front of the
ride coming off the 322 intersection and they went clear right away. Going thru
the 4-way intersection, the main field has a serious case of “ummmm should we
go, should we stop, nah let’s just slow dow really hard, really fast”. That let
the trio work the gap up a little more. Once everyone in the peleton got going
on Peck, Hunter P jumped up to bridge and so did French Casey. Those 2 would by
joined mid-chase by Aidan C, who was riding from the South. The trio held onto
the lead, into the headwind up to the top of the false flat on Peck. The tough
pace was starting to break up the group with Hacker being the one that was
turning the screw mostly. The chase joined up and sped thru with Young Suto
getting stuck in no-man’s land. The renewed break of French Casey, Hutner P,
Hacker, Jordan L, and Aidan C kept the pressure on. Behind in the pack, It was
all-hands on deck for the chase. Sensing the possibility of a strong break
running away with it in the tough headwind, it took some strong riding to keep
the gap manageable. Chris C, Todd H, Guido, Mike McG, Nuemotion, Timmy Hip,
Gatorade rider on a Calfee and others worked the front. The higher speed would
end up shedding a few guys as small gaps quickly become chasms in the headwind.
Up front, the gap continued to go up but Hacker was the proverbial horse
chopping at the bit. The pace was a little hot for some and as a red light or 2
came up the pace-line suffered and that gave the peleton a chance to bring it
back in time for the sprint. Hacker would stay on the gas, riding up the road a
little ways. As guys tried to get into good position in among the break riders,
it gave a good line of wheels for Little T to use to ramp up the speed for the
sprint. He took it ahead of Hacker and way ahead of others. The Full Nalini,
Jacinto, Young Suto, Rusty etc. Red lights in the center of Cheshire rolled
everyone back together for the ride back to Hamden.
Nothing too interesting to report for the ride back. It
played out as usual with a solid 12-15 rider paceline keeping the speed high
all the way back. There were a bunch of guys in a position to get to the last
light first. Surprisingly Little T wasn’t among them. Someone will have to fill
in the blanks as to who got it. Up the hill Chris B rolled away with it early
on over Hunter P.
Tuesday the 27th
Don't get all lazy just yet...
Good sized group of guys and girls out tonight. Good to have Sarah W back out. It was also good to see Laura Summers out, no doubt putting up with the group's shenanigans for the sake of the upcoming CX season. Right away off of route 10 the Central Wheel boys were up and on attention with Riff Raff Ralph and J Lynn and Rory D hitting the front. That got things going right away and Chris C, Tall John, Tall Dennis, Hunter P and a couple of others made sure they didnt get too far.
The whole peleton made it's way onto Mountain Rd without too much drama as the pace stayed high enough to discourage attacks. Chris C tore up the first riser on Mountain Rd and had help from CT's very own Chris Froome impersonator, Sam Smith. Hunter P led it up the second set of risers and that led to a small group getting off the front. That was short lived though as Guido got to the front and had help in keeping the speed high going toward route 68.
Once onto Moss Farms, Hacker and Jacinto were setting tempo up front with help from JLynn, Neumotion, Hunter P, The Full Nalini and a couple of others. The pace stayed high and even with strong pulls from Little T and Hunter P approaching the Chicane, there were no real gaps behind. Heading up to Marion, there was a good sized group up front pushing the pace enough to create a gap. Sam Smith, Chris C, and Nuemotion foremost among them. Hunter P came up from the bunch along with Hacker and a couple of other riders and that served to sew things up despite the pace staying high up front. Hacker kept on the pressure along with Nuemotion going by the corner for the short loop, but it was pretty much all together going up to the light at 322.
Things got anyway past the light when a small group ( Hacker, Jlynn, Riff Raff Ralph etc ) took off approaching Mount Vernon. That got things going in the pack and it bunched up soon after. The pace all and all was decent down Mount Vernon. Things slowed down before the false flat for some reason but surges from The Gibertoni, Gregg F, Chris C, and the Full Nalini broke off a small group early on. That turned into a duo off the front, The Gibertoni and Hunter P. Those 2 got a gap and ran with it. Behind in the pack, there was a couple of incidents with the pylons and gravel in the road. Jacinto (?) hit a cone, and Hacker got hit with a flat tire. Up front the break stayed away for a few hundred meters but eventually broke down as a few guys attacked off the front of the chase to bridge the gap. It was soon after all together heading into the turnaround.
Coming up to Welch, The Central Wheel boys were leading a charge along with Sam Smith, French Casey the Bike Rhino on the Calfee (Name?) and maybe one other. Hunter P came across the gap last second, taking along Chris C. The front group didnt have much of a gap but solid work up front by JLynn, Sam Smith, Hunter P and Chris C extended the lead to about 50 meters by the base of the hill. Chris C charged off the front with Sam Smith and French Casey as Little T came across the gap on the hill. The initial chase work would fall on Hunter P and Little T, and those 2 couldn't make up their mind who would work. Others soon came up, Jacinto among them, in a good spot to pounce. Little T came off some wheels at the last moment as Chris C was putting in everything for the line. It went to the judge's box to decide who got it and it's going to Chris C who has been cantankerous as of late since his family stopped feeding him. He worked the hardest for it tonight.
On the backside it was civil and all together down to Atwater St. The pace stayed high as a bunch of guys were ok with doing the work up front. On the hill under the highway, Hunter P took off, taking along Paul Casey. Those 2 extended their lead despite a decent pace from the pack. There may have been some unmotivated-to-chase Central Wheel guys near the front, letting the duo keep off the front till the light on 322. It turned green just as the 2 leaders where coming to a slowdown, letting the 2 the now closing in pack thru as well.
The speed stayed high onto Peck thanks to the green light and it went a long way toward making tonight a record breaking fast long loop. Something like 12 riders now sit atop the Strava segment for the long loop thanks to the night's pace+favorable lights. On the riser for Peck as it was going single file up front, Paul Casey this time was the one to attack, taking Hunter P with him. Those 2 were back off the front and working hard to keep the gap for a while. It would eventually come back together at the top of the hill on route 10. From there the speed stayed respectable heading into the sprint.
Going past the one of the last lights ("HOLE!"), Dillon P hit the front and ran up a gap. The speed behind was good, but there was some shuffling of riders as guys looked around to see where they say in the pecking order. Dillon P hit the base of the hill with about a 50 meter gap and it was coming back fast. He managed to keep the gap solid enough on the hill to make Little T chase, along with a couple of other guys. Little T took it by a bike length with Dillon P rolling thru next.
The ride back thru Cheshire was pretty quick and pretty much all the lights were green, which was great. Nothing unusual for the ride back into Hamden. Pace stayed high and there were about 5 or 6 guys ready to duke it out for the sit n sprint. Little T had Jacinto on his six the final 70 meters and despite a good effort, T kept out in front.
Up the hill went only a couple of riders, and Christian, a regular on the Thursday night Cheshire Cycle Ride took the hill over Gregg F and Dillon P.... Although he may have had to take a shortcut earlier in the ride. In which case, his name will be scratched out of the trophy.
Great ride everyone! There has been talk of switching to the short loop next week, which is about right for tradition's sake. If you want to get into a heated debate over it ( or any other SG ride topics ) be sure to stop by the Funky Monkey this Saturday to support Tall John's GF, Kerri Powers, as she performs songs about cycling all night long*. Chris C will be there as opening act, doing his best drunken impression of Ben Affleck doing his best impression of Long-Lost-Rondo.
*Probably not true.... Which is a good thing.
Good sized group of guys and girls out tonight. Good to have Sarah W back out. It was also good to see Laura Summers out, no doubt putting up with the group's shenanigans for the sake of the upcoming CX season. Right away off of route 10 the Central Wheel boys were up and on attention with Riff Raff Ralph and J Lynn and Rory D hitting the front. That got things going right away and Chris C, Tall John, Tall Dennis, Hunter P and a couple of others made sure they didnt get too far.
The whole peleton made it's way onto Mountain Rd without too much drama as the pace stayed high enough to discourage attacks. Chris C tore up the first riser on Mountain Rd and had help from CT's very own Chris Froome impersonator, Sam Smith. Hunter P led it up the second set of risers and that led to a small group getting off the front. That was short lived though as Guido got to the front and had help in keeping the speed high going toward route 68.
Once onto Moss Farms, Hacker and Jacinto were setting tempo up front with help from JLynn, Neumotion, Hunter P, The Full Nalini and a couple of others. The pace stayed high and even with strong pulls from Little T and Hunter P approaching the Chicane, there were no real gaps behind. Heading up to Marion, there was a good sized group up front pushing the pace enough to create a gap. Sam Smith, Chris C, and Nuemotion foremost among them. Hunter P came up from the bunch along with Hacker and a couple of other riders and that served to sew things up despite the pace staying high up front. Hacker kept on the pressure along with Nuemotion going by the corner for the short loop, but it was pretty much all together going up to the light at 322.
Things got anyway past the light when a small group ( Hacker, Jlynn, Riff Raff Ralph etc ) took off approaching Mount Vernon. That got things going in the pack and it bunched up soon after. The pace all and all was decent down Mount Vernon. Things slowed down before the false flat for some reason but surges from The Gibertoni, Gregg F, Chris C, and the Full Nalini broke off a small group early on. That turned into a duo off the front, The Gibertoni and Hunter P. Those 2 got a gap and ran with it. Behind in the pack, there was a couple of incidents with the pylons and gravel in the road. Jacinto (?) hit a cone, and Hacker got hit with a flat tire. Up front the break stayed away for a few hundred meters but eventually broke down as a few guys attacked off the front of the chase to bridge the gap. It was soon after all together heading into the turnaround.
Coming up to Welch, The Central Wheel boys were leading a charge along with Sam Smith, French Casey the Bike Rhino on the Calfee (Name?) and maybe one other. Hunter P came across the gap last second, taking along Chris C. The front group didnt have much of a gap but solid work up front by JLynn, Sam Smith, Hunter P and Chris C extended the lead to about 50 meters by the base of the hill. Chris C charged off the front with Sam Smith and French Casey as Little T came across the gap on the hill. The initial chase work would fall on Hunter P and Little T, and those 2 couldn't make up their mind who would work. Others soon came up, Jacinto among them, in a good spot to pounce. Little T came off some wheels at the last moment as Chris C was putting in everything for the line. It went to the judge's box to decide who got it and it's going to Chris C who has been cantankerous as of late since his family stopped feeding him. He worked the hardest for it tonight.
On the backside it was civil and all together down to Atwater St. The pace stayed high as a bunch of guys were ok with doing the work up front. On the hill under the highway, Hunter P took off, taking along Paul Casey. Those 2 extended their lead despite a decent pace from the pack. There may have been some unmotivated-to-chase Central Wheel guys near the front, letting the duo keep off the front till the light on 322. It turned green just as the 2 leaders where coming to a slowdown, letting the 2 the now closing in pack thru as well.
The speed stayed high onto Peck thanks to the green light and it went a long way toward making tonight a record breaking fast long loop. Something like 12 riders now sit atop the Strava segment for the long loop thanks to the night's pace+favorable lights. On the riser for Peck as it was going single file up front, Paul Casey this time was the one to attack, taking Hunter P with him. Those 2 were back off the front and working hard to keep the gap for a while. It would eventually come back together at the top of the hill on route 10. From there the speed stayed respectable heading into the sprint.
Going past the one of the last lights ("HOLE!"), Dillon P hit the front and ran up a gap. The speed behind was good, but there was some shuffling of riders as guys looked around to see where they say in the pecking order. Dillon P hit the base of the hill with about a 50 meter gap and it was coming back fast. He managed to keep the gap solid enough on the hill to make Little T chase, along with a couple of other guys. Little T took it by a bike length with Dillon P rolling thru next.
The ride back thru Cheshire was pretty quick and pretty much all the lights were green, which was great. Nothing unusual for the ride back into Hamden. Pace stayed high and there were about 5 or 6 guys ready to duke it out for the sit n sprint. Little T had Jacinto on his six the final 70 meters and despite a good effort, T kept out in front.
Up the hill went only a couple of riders, and Christian, a regular on the Thursday night Cheshire Cycle Ride took the hill over Gregg F and Dillon P.... Although he may have had to take a shortcut earlier in the ride. In which case, his name will be scratched out of the trophy.
Great ride everyone! There has been talk of switching to the short loop next week, which is about right for tradition's sake. If you want to get into a heated debate over it ( or any other SG ride topics ) be sure to stop by the Funky Monkey this Saturday to support Tall John's GF, Kerri Powers, as she performs songs about cycling all night long*. Chris C will be there as opening act, doing his best drunken impression of Ben Affleck doing his best impression of Long-Lost-Rondo.
*Probably not true.... Which is a good thing.
Tuesday the 20th
The most boring SG ride of the year is still pretty great.
It's getting a little darker out but the warm weather was still around for this week's ride. The group was a little on the quiet side upon rolling out and getting going. Things started up and everyone was soon focused on the task at hand, having a good ride. Chris C looked ready to sneak off early on. When Jordan Lynn and Hunter P joined him that was got the ride going and it stayed fast thru the backroads. Todd H, Tall John, Ciocci, Little T and a couple of new faces were up there as well at the front in the early miles. No fireworks though as the ride kept up a solid pace up to and down Mountain rd. Chis B made an appearance up front in anticipation of the light on route 68 but he backed off as soon as he realized that others had something similar in mind.
JLynn took off early on Moss Farms with Young Suto and those 2 worked up a quick gap as the field negotiated the chopped up road. Hacker was next to go across along with Yahor from the CCB toss-up. Hunter P then went across, taking along Chris C and Mike McG. The field picked up the pace and without any climbs to put the pressure on the peleton was bearing down by the corner. It stayed touch and go thru the chicane with some gaps outside the top 10 riders but there was no real attacks on the hill as Little T led the charge up along with Hacker, Timmy Hip and Hunter P. More solid pace up front the rest of the way toward 322. Hunter P had a go off the front going over the highway but it was a solo effort that didnt go too far.
Onto Mount Vernon where the pace stayed decent as the usuals hit the front and got it going. Credit Guido for once again stepping up and hitting the front about a mile into the Mount Vernon stretch when the pace needed a bit of motivating and from there it stayed respectable to the corner. Despite the speed Hacker hit the front running a couple of hundred meters before the corner for Marion. He had bodies up there ( Guido, Timmy Hip, CCB, Rhino Rider on the Calfee ). It made for a splintered group of about 4 or 5 with a short gap early on. Behind Chris C jumped across the field with Hunter P and those 2 made it up to the group just as CCB and Hacker were leaving the station and starting on a gap. The rest of the way down Welch, Chris C, Hunter P and Timmy Hip plugged away at the gap. By the base of the hill, Hacker had left CCB and was alone with a 30 meter gap going up the hill to the corner. Little T, using the long line of guys in between the chase and the closing field, jumped hard at the base of the hill and was soon up to Hacker. Those 2 went to work trying to keep the gap up as behind it was Hunter P Chris C and Calfee doing the chase work. The leaders were coming back but Little T put in a sprint, leaving Hacker. Hunter P started the sprint from the front of the chase but was quickly overhauled by Mike McG who had timed the chase well. He would be the only one to challenge Little T, who was able to get it with relative ease.
On the backside Chris B, The Mullaly, and Hunter P tried to sneak off and instead just ended up driving the pace nice and high for the field who was quick to catch on. The only red light was by Jude Lane again, no one jumped this time on the green light as it was evident the majority were gassed. Going downhill toward Atwater, plenty of guys were up front to keep it going. Chris B was back at the front, trying to be as invisible as possible. The left-hand turn light onto Atwater was red so that stopped any chance of a sneak attack. Even still, Chris B drove the pace up higher than usual for the first half mile on Atwater. Hunter P and The Mullaly followed it up and put the front of the field in a good position to possible attack up the hill under the underpass. Dave Rustico, Hunter P and Chris C put in efforts, but no separation was allowed. From there to the light Dillon P took the front along with Young Suto.
Once the ride got over 322 again , the seed picked up again. Rustico, JLynn and Chris C hit the front and got a quick gap on Peck lane that they worked hard to maintain all the way up the false flat. Mike McG jumped across the gap at the last moment along with Hunter P but the group was unable to continue the gap. From there the ride settled into the normal speed to Route 10 and up the hill. Nothing unusual to report in the run-in to the sprint. There was a long line of guys cued up and ready to go but Little timed a gap-skipping surge well and hit the hill twice as fast as the front. He got to the top first no problem.
One or 2 red lights later, the field was abit slow to get going while Hacker and Hunter P had jumped off the front and made it thru the lights in the center of town. The field had to slow down for a couple and that was all the front 2 needed to hold a substantial gap all the way back into Hamden. The 2 in the break didnt contest the sit n sprint or go up the hill, leaving the top o the hill prize to Dillon P to collect over a couple of other guys.
It's getting a little darker out but the warm weather was still around for this week's ride. The group was a little on the quiet side upon rolling out and getting going. Things started up and everyone was soon focused on the task at hand, having a good ride. Chris C looked ready to sneak off early on. When Jordan Lynn and Hunter P joined him that was got the ride going and it stayed fast thru the backroads. Todd H, Tall John, Ciocci, Little T and a couple of new faces were up there as well at the front in the early miles. No fireworks though as the ride kept up a solid pace up to and down Mountain rd. Chis B made an appearance up front in anticipation of the light on route 68 but he backed off as soon as he realized that others had something similar in mind.
JLynn took off early on Moss Farms with Young Suto and those 2 worked up a quick gap as the field negotiated the chopped up road. Hacker was next to go across along with Yahor from the CCB toss-up. Hunter P then went across, taking along Chris C and Mike McG. The field picked up the pace and without any climbs to put the pressure on the peleton was bearing down by the corner. It stayed touch and go thru the chicane with some gaps outside the top 10 riders but there was no real attacks on the hill as Little T led the charge up along with Hacker, Timmy Hip and Hunter P. More solid pace up front the rest of the way toward 322. Hunter P had a go off the front going over the highway but it was a solo effort that didnt go too far.
Onto Mount Vernon where the pace stayed decent as the usuals hit the front and got it going. Credit Guido for once again stepping up and hitting the front about a mile into the Mount Vernon stretch when the pace needed a bit of motivating and from there it stayed respectable to the corner. Despite the speed Hacker hit the front running a couple of hundred meters before the corner for Marion. He had bodies up there ( Guido, Timmy Hip, CCB, Rhino Rider on the Calfee ). It made for a splintered group of about 4 or 5 with a short gap early on. Behind Chris C jumped across the field with Hunter P and those 2 made it up to the group just as CCB and Hacker were leaving the station and starting on a gap. The rest of the way down Welch, Chris C, Hunter P and Timmy Hip plugged away at the gap. By the base of the hill, Hacker had left CCB and was alone with a 30 meter gap going up the hill to the corner. Little T, using the long line of guys in between the chase and the closing field, jumped hard at the base of the hill and was soon up to Hacker. Those 2 went to work trying to keep the gap up as behind it was Hunter P Chris C and Calfee doing the chase work. The leaders were coming back but Little T put in a sprint, leaving Hacker. Hunter P started the sprint from the front of the chase but was quickly overhauled by Mike McG who had timed the chase well. He would be the only one to challenge Little T, who was able to get it with relative ease.
On the backside Chris B, The Mullaly, and Hunter P tried to sneak off and instead just ended up driving the pace nice and high for the field who was quick to catch on. The only red light was by Jude Lane again, no one jumped this time on the green light as it was evident the majority were gassed. Going downhill toward Atwater, plenty of guys were up front to keep it going. Chris B was back at the front, trying to be as invisible as possible. The left-hand turn light onto Atwater was red so that stopped any chance of a sneak attack. Even still, Chris B drove the pace up higher than usual for the first half mile on Atwater. Hunter P and The Mullaly followed it up and put the front of the field in a good position to possible attack up the hill under the underpass. Dave Rustico, Hunter P and Chris C put in efforts, but no separation was allowed. From there to the light Dillon P took the front along with Young Suto.
Once the ride got over 322 again , the seed picked up again. Rustico, JLynn and Chris C hit the front and got a quick gap on Peck lane that they worked hard to maintain all the way up the false flat. Mike McG jumped across the gap at the last moment along with Hunter P but the group was unable to continue the gap. From there the ride settled into the normal speed to Route 10 and up the hill. Nothing unusual to report in the run-in to the sprint. There was a long line of guys cued up and ready to go but Little timed a gap-skipping surge well and hit the hill twice as fast as the front. He got to the top first no problem.
One or 2 red lights later, the field was abit slow to get going while Hacker and Hunter P had jumped off the front and made it thru the lights in the center of town. The field had to slow down for a couple and that was all the front 2 needed to hold a substantial gap all the way back into Hamden. The 2 in the break didnt contest the sit n sprint or go up the hill, leaving the top o the hill prize to Dillon P to collect over a couple of other guys.
Tuesday the 13th
"My road racing season is over. Except of course for the SG ride"
The crowd seemed a little light today. Maybe vacations are in full swing. No one seemed in too much of a rush to get to steppin. Dillon P rolled off the front right off route 10 and was allowed to go clear. Julio L would end up start the jump to bridge up but ended up pulling the rest of the field into action and by the end of the crap road section, it was all back together again. From there the pace was solid with the usuals chipping in up front. On Mountain Rd a small group was started to get a gap, led by Todd H and The Gibertoni but that was short-lived.
Onto Moss Farms where Jacinto jumped up and was the first to get going as the rest of the field had some trouble quickly getting through the messed up road. Hacker would soon make his way up front as well and that was enough to bring it all back. From there, guys like Chris C, Mike McG, Hunter P and The Full Nalini drove the pace thru the Chicane. Chis C and Hunter P led all up the hill to Marion with Hunter P continuing it fast enough to break off a group of about 4 but the group fell apart with dis-jointed efforts from Hacker and Hunter P at the very front. The field was bearing down pretty hard with it being an obvious threat. Once Hunter P was back in the group Hacker would try a couple more stabs before the light for 322, which was red.
Once onto Mount Vernon, Guido took off with Gregg F and Rory D in check and that got things going. No one was attacking so the pace stayed level all the way to the false flat ( now 4 degrees straighter! ) and beyond. Danbury Audi took a dig after the construction section but the speed was too high to escape easily. A couple of fast guys took to the front as the peleton got close to the corner for Welch. Hacker, Chris C, Guido, etc. Even still, the pace on Welch was average and that let Hacker slip free halfway to the turnaround. He only had a handful of seconds going thru the corner as there was a long line of guys cued up behind. Julio L, Chris C, Jacinto, Mike McG and a little farther back was Little T and Todd H. More strong riding from the Gibertoni as he was up there as well. Jacinto would end up catching Hacker and there was hesitation as to who else would join them. That let the 2 slip away and with Jacinto up at front and setting a strong tempo, Hacker was able to collect the sprint points with little problem.
As the group came down the backside, there was plenty of guys ready to get going. Tall John, The Gibertoni, and Hunter P hit the front looking to sneak away. They got all greens up to Jude Lane, which is a rarity. The field was right there though so no escape. The non-stop action was enough to pop a couple of guys though who would normally use the lights to make a collect call to the front.
Once again Chris C jumped at the light going green by Jude and this time Hunter P went with him. Those 2 wokred up a gap of maybe 75 meters at max but with a slight headwind, and a chasing pack were not going to get far. The Gibertoni was right there at the catch and moved straight on by and was the only one to get thru the changing light before Atwater. He got straight to work on that gap by himself and even though the field paused for only a few seconds Gibertoni was nearly out of sight. Up front Young Keith from the Motoring Mullaly's was eager to get going and along with Wade B and Hunter P briefly had a gap on the rest but once Guido decided to step on the gas it was all back together in chase of the one leader. The Gibertoni held on all the way to the light, which was green, letting the field slip by without incident.
From there, the ride onto Peck Lane was uneventful. Dave Rustico, Julio L and Tall John were up there. Pitching in up front as well with more stick-his-nose-into-the-wind-riding from Keith I-broke-my-own-fingers-so-the-shop-would-”moto route”-my-bike-brakes Mullaly. From there to route 10 it was normal.
As the ride went by Cheshire Park ( site of Cheshire Cycling's 2013 Cyclocross Extravaganza! ) a small group went clear but it was brought back as guys like Hacker, Mike McG and Little T squared up for the sprint. The run-in to the hill was interesting as there were a lot of guys going pretty hard up front. A couple riders decided to pull chute at the wrong moment and that gave everyone a little dodge for your life practice. The sprint was slow at first and contested by a few guys but Little jumped out in front quickly and hung on. No one was very close to getting clear thru the center of town. Once again, almost all green lights for a change and the field was quickly thru town in chase of Tall Dennis and Julio L who drilled it hard to get off the front.
The usual fast guys ( and girl! ) on the flats help out up front and that led to a good sized group gunning for the finale. Little T jumped out in front but had to pedal extra fast to hold off a charging Completo Nalino.
Good ride everyone... Be sure to leave your words of motivational wisdom in the comments section!
The crowd seemed a little light today. Maybe vacations are in full swing. No one seemed in too much of a rush to get to steppin. Dillon P rolled off the front right off route 10 and was allowed to go clear. Julio L would end up start the jump to bridge up but ended up pulling the rest of the field into action and by the end of the crap road section, it was all back together again. From there the pace was solid with the usuals chipping in up front. On Mountain Rd a small group was started to get a gap, led by Todd H and The Gibertoni but that was short-lived.
Onto Moss Farms where Jacinto jumped up and was the first to get going as the rest of the field had some trouble quickly getting through the messed up road. Hacker would soon make his way up front as well and that was enough to bring it all back. From there, guys like Chris C, Mike McG, Hunter P and The Full Nalini drove the pace thru the Chicane. Chis C and Hunter P led all up the hill to Marion with Hunter P continuing it fast enough to break off a group of about 4 but the group fell apart with dis-jointed efforts from Hacker and Hunter P at the very front. The field was bearing down pretty hard with it being an obvious threat. Once Hunter P was back in the group Hacker would try a couple more stabs before the light for 322, which was red.
Once onto Mount Vernon, Guido took off with Gregg F and Rory D in check and that got things going. No one was attacking so the pace stayed level all the way to the false flat ( now 4 degrees straighter! ) and beyond. Danbury Audi took a dig after the construction section but the speed was too high to escape easily. A couple of fast guys took to the front as the peleton got close to the corner for Welch. Hacker, Chris C, Guido, etc. Even still, the pace on Welch was average and that let Hacker slip free halfway to the turnaround. He only had a handful of seconds going thru the corner as there was a long line of guys cued up behind. Julio L, Chris C, Jacinto, Mike McG and a little farther back was Little T and Todd H. More strong riding from the Gibertoni as he was up there as well. Jacinto would end up catching Hacker and there was hesitation as to who else would join them. That let the 2 slip away and with Jacinto up at front and setting a strong tempo, Hacker was able to collect the sprint points with little problem.
As the group came down the backside, there was plenty of guys ready to get going. Tall John, The Gibertoni, and Hunter P hit the front looking to sneak away. They got all greens up to Jude Lane, which is a rarity. The field was right there though so no escape. The non-stop action was enough to pop a couple of guys though who would normally use the lights to make a collect call to the front.
Once again Chris C jumped at the light going green by Jude and this time Hunter P went with him. Those 2 wokred up a gap of maybe 75 meters at max but with a slight headwind, and a chasing pack were not going to get far. The Gibertoni was right there at the catch and moved straight on by and was the only one to get thru the changing light before Atwater. He got straight to work on that gap by himself and even though the field paused for only a few seconds Gibertoni was nearly out of sight. Up front Young Keith from the Motoring Mullaly's was eager to get going and along with Wade B and Hunter P briefly had a gap on the rest but once Guido decided to step on the gas it was all back together in chase of the one leader. The Gibertoni held on all the way to the light, which was green, letting the field slip by without incident.
From there, the ride onto Peck Lane was uneventful. Dave Rustico, Julio L and Tall John were up there. Pitching in up front as well with more stick-his-nose-into-the-wind-riding from Keith I-broke-my-own-fingers-so-the-shop-would-”moto route”-my-bike-brakes Mullaly. From there to route 10 it was normal.
As the ride went by Cheshire Park ( site of Cheshire Cycling's 2013 Cyclocross Extravaganza! ) a small group went clear but it was brought back as guys like Hacker, Mike McG and Little T squared up for the sprint. The run-in to the hill was interesting as there were a lot of guys going pretty hard up front. A couple riders decided to pull chute at the wrong moment and that gave everyone a little dodge for your life practice. The sprint was slow at first and contested by a few guys but Little jumped out in front quickly and hung on. No one was very close to getting clear thru the center of town. Once again, almost all green lights for a change and the field was quickly thru town in chase of Tall Dennis and Julio L who drilled it hard to get off the front.
The usual fast guys ( and girl! ) on the flats help out up front and that led to a good sized group gunning for the finale. Little T jumped out in front but had to pedal extra fast to hold off a charging Completo Nalino.
Good ride everyone... Be sure to leave your words of motivational wisdom in the comments section!
Tuesday the 6th
The reluctant highlight of the week. The SG Ride!
Just another Tuesday night right? Nope... It's SG time! And the weather is perfect for a bike ride. Smoke if you got em kids... And there was a good sized group out tonight for the throwdown. The ride had it all, chicks, dicks, guys too fast for the Special Olympics, squirrels, sledgehammers, and the occasional superhero. Let's get it on!
You didn't need to be a genius to sense that something was up as the ride rolled up route 10. Subtle as a sphinx Chris B was at the front. So you know something was going on. Sure enough, pretty much once the ride took the left off route 10, Chris B hit it and took along a dude in a generic jersey. Maybe Nate from Amity? After a couple of moments, Hunter P was up there as well and those 3 started working up a gap. No one was about to let that roll though and by the nasty section on South Brooksvale, it was coming back together. Ciocci, Hacker, Mike McG Chris C, a couple of others chipped in to bring it back. From there the speed stayed higher than normal and got going even a bit more on Mountain Rd. A small group ( Special Ed, Chris C, Ralph A... Do we have a nick name for him yet? and a couple of others) worked their way off the front and were steam rolling a small gap but some big trucks in the road slowed everyone down and reset the peleton. Some guys still were looking to jet off thru the light (Little T, Hunter P) but it was red.
Wreck-it Ralph was the only one to jump on Moss Farms and he was allowed a "send-a-real-warrior-to-our-gates" type gap. The CCB Toss-up was in attendance and in true strong man fashion, hit the front and didnt care to look back. Several others, as expected, responded and followed. Ralph was covered in a moment and for the rest of the way down Moss Farms and up the hill to Marion, the field was strung out with some very hard to cover gaps thrown in there. Probably about 10-15 riders got dropped and didn't have time to recover by the light on 322. Although an exception was made for a couple of riders as the field opted to pause a little bit past the light.
The ride slowly got going again on Mount Vernon with no one putting any real attacks in. Everyone approached the now newly paved section like puppies and kittens.... Once the coast was clear it was ok to play again. Chris C jumped late, along with Hunter P but there was plently of guys to cover it. From there to the corner it was solid pace, with no attacks. Going thru the corner for Welch, Hacker was on the front and running. He got a gap pretty quickly and then Rhino-man, aka Bike Doctor, started off in pursuit. It took a few meters for the front of the peleton to sort itself out but once again, it was CCB up front leading the charge. Hacker would the hit the corner with maybe 20 meters on the field, next thru was Chris B, who would be the first to chase down the Professor. Behind it was a mix of Chris C, Julio L, Hunter P, Mike McG and the Giant of Provence... French Casey. Soon it was Hacker, Chris B, and French Casey up front as the sprinters strapped in. Hunter P led it out, going past the leaders with 100 meters to go. On his wheel was Little T, who came around in enough to time to take it home to the line. French Casey, riding like a man possesed, would briefly lead an attempt to get a gap on the backside but it was all together soon after.
As the ride went by the light for Jude lane, Special Ed jumped off the line hard, taking along Wreck-it Ralph and Chris C. Those 2 snuck off on the downhill and quickly got a gap as no one chased for 20 seconds or so. The response would come eventually, and as the peleton reached the corner, the trio were sneaking thru the light there to get onto Atwater St. The field had to pause a bit there at then at the highway off ramp stop sign, letting the leaders get further up the way. They were working well together and had a solid 25 seconds by the highway underpass, where Guido jumped off the front, followed by Hunter P. That was enough to get a real chase going. The leaders were held up by the light on 322, and as they were getting thru it, the front handful of riders from the peleton also barged thru. It was decided to wait and so the leaders soft-pedaled until the rest came up on Peck Ln. No attacks there to the turn for Route 10.
The pace stayed fast up the hill past Cheshire Park. Hacker was leading a charge off the front along with Mike McG, Tall Dennis, Rory D and a couple of others. Again it was CCB drilling it back. Heading into the sprint, the new building across from the police station has set a new pattern for the traffic light there. It was red as the field plowed into it, forcing the front half to slow way down and pretty much negate the sprinting action. Little T still took it to the line but the light really messed things up. It remains to be seen if this light will be red more than it is green and if so, the Stop n Shop sprint will never be the same.
Heading thru the center of Cheshire, there was plenty of guys who were looking to try and sneak off. Rory D, Ralph, Hunter P, The Gibertoni etc. Once all that blunderbuss got over with it was back to serious riding to get into Hamden. The usual suspects were up there. Credit the ladies on the ride Sarah (and Karen?) for both making it up there when it got going fast. They've been killing it lately! Guido put the icing on the cake, allowing for a few guys to try to snag the last line, Hacker and Little T foremost. Little T gets this one as well. Up the hill went the usual handful of guys. Hunter P took it over Chris B.
Solid ride one and all... Keep working on building up the cajones....chutzpah....fegato.... Whatever you want to call it...... And we'll all have some good rides to look forward to.
Just another Tuesday night right? Nope... It's SG time! And the weather is perfect for a bike ride. Smoke if you got em kids... And there was a good sized group out tonight for the throwdown. The ride had it all, chicks, dicks, guys too fast for the Special Olympics, squirrels, sledgehammers, and the occasional superhero. Let's get it on!
You didn't need to be a genius to sense that something was up as the ride rolled up route 10. Subtle as a sphinx Chris B was at the front. So you know something was going on. Sure enough, pretty much once the ride took the left off route 10, Chris B hit it and took along a dude in a generic jersey. Maybe Nate from Amity? After a couple of moments, Hunter P was up there as well and those 3 started working up a gap. No one was about to let that roll though and by the nasty section on South Brooksvale, it was coming back together. Ciocci, Hacker, Mike McG Chris C, a couple of others chipped in to bring it back. From there the speed stayed higher than normal and got going even a bit more on Mountain Rd. A small group ( Special Ed, Chris C, Ralph A... Do we have a nick name for him yet? and a couple of others) worked their way off the front and were steam rolling a small gap but some big trucks in the road slowed everyone down and reset the peleton. Some guys still were looking to jet off thru the light (Little T, Hunter P) but it was red.
Wreck-it Ralph was the only one to jump on Moss Farms and he was allowed a "send-a-real-warrior-to-our-gates" type gap. The CCB Toss-up was in attendance and in true strong man fashion, hit the front and didnt care to look back. Several others, as expected, responded and followed. Ralph was covered in a moment and for the rest of the way down Moss Farms and up the hill to Marion, the field was strung out with some very hard to cover gaps thrown in there. Probably about 10-15 riders got dropped and didn't have time to recover by the light on 322. Although an exception was made for a couple of riders as the field opted to pause a little bit past the light.
The ride slowly got going again on Mount Vernon with no one putting any real attacks in. Everyone approached the now newly paved section like puppies and kittens.... Once the coast was clear it was ok to play again. Chris C jumped late, along with Hunter P but there was plently of guys to cover it. From there to the corner it was solid pace, with no attacks. Going thru the corner for Welch, Hacker was on the front and running. He got a gap pretty quickly and then Rhino-man, aka Bike Doctor, started off in pursuit. It took a few meters for the front of the peleton to sort itself out but once again, it was CCB up front leading the charge. Hacker would the hit the corner with maybe 20 meters on the field, next thru was Chris B, who would be the first to chase down the Professor. Behind it was a mix of Chris C, Julio L, Hunter P, Mike McG and the Giant of Provence... French Casey. Soon it was Hacker, Chris B, and French Casey up front as the sprinters strapped in. Hunter P led it out, going past the leaders with 100 meters to go. On his wheel was Little T, who came around in enough to time to take it home to the line. French Casey, riding like a man possesed, would briefly lead an attempt to get a gap on the backside but it was all together soon after.
As the ride went by the light for Jude lane, Special Ed jumped off the line hard, taking along Wreck-it Ralph and Chris C. Those 2 snuck off on the downhill and quickly got a gap as no one chased for 20 seconds or so. The response would come eventually, and as the peleton reached the corner, the trio were sneaking thru the light there to get onto Atwater St. The field had to pause a bit there at then at the highway off ramp stop sign, letting the leaders get further up the way. They were working well together and had a solid 25 seconds by the highway underpass, where Guido jumped off the front, followed by Hunter P. That was enough to get a real chase going. The leaders were held up by the light on 322, and as they were getting thru it, the front handful of riders from the peleton also barged thru. It was decided to wait and so the leaders soft-pedaled until the rest came up on Peck Ln. No attacks there to the turn for Route 10.
The pace stayed fast up the hill past Cheshire Park. Hacker was leading a charge off the front along with Mike McG, Tall Dennis, Rory D and a couple of others. Again it was CCB drilling it back. Heading into the sprint, the new building across from the police station has set a new pattern for the traffic light there. It was red as the field plowed into it, forcing the front half to slow way down and pretty much negate the sprinting action. Little T still took it to the line but the light really messed things up. It remains to be seen if this light will be red more than it is green and if so, the Stop n Shop sprint will never be the same.
Heading thru the center of Cheshire, there was plenty of guys who were looking to try and sneak off. Rory D, Ralph, Hunter P, The Gibertoni etc. Once all that blunderbuss got over with it was back to serious riding to get into Hamden. The usual suspects were up there. Credit the ladies on the ride Sarah (and Karen?) for both making it up there when it got going fast. They've been killing it lately! Guido put the icing on the cake, allowing for a few guys to try to snag the last line, Hacker and Little T foremost. Little T gets this one as well. Up the hill went the usual handful of guys. Hunter P took it over Chris B.
Solid ride one and all... Keep working on building up the cajones....chutzpah....fegato.... Whatever you want to call it...... And we'll all have some good rides to look forward to.
Tuesday the 30th
Long loop or die
Glorious glorious day. Perfect weather AND the return of Hacker. Although he brought back one of those "euro" helmets and like the girl that developed before everyone else in 6th grade, the boys didn't quite know how to deal with it today. Pretty soon surely everyone is going to want cup a feel. At any rate, the ride rolled out amidst murmurs of how the peleton was going to deal with the worsening situation on Mount Vernon rd.
The usual doods and a new BMC pushed the pace thru the backroads and with little regard for safety, the ride blew thru the crap road section... Flat #1 on the day. ( hope everyone was invested in petrochemicals and\or rubber producing heavy industry ).
Onto Mountain rd where there was some brief gaps opened up, mostly at the behest of Hacker, but it stayed together. The pace stayed high all the way to route 68 with Ciocci peeking out and looking to snooker the light. Little T followed suit but low n behold, the light was green, allowing everyone thru. Hunter P jetted off the front and onto Moss Farms with a gap. Road work there made it slow for the field, fast for the leaders. Max from CVC rolled off in pursuit, taking along Young Suto. They got up there with Hunter P and with another group ( Chris C, Ciocci, Hacker, Nuemotion and one or 2 others ) making the bridge up to the trio. That made for a pretty solid group charging toward the chicane. Behind the peleton was ramping up and not allowing much room. Little T, Guido, Joe K, Bike Doctor, and even a couple of new faces chipped in helped limit the losses. By the road up to Marion it was all back together. Little T jumped on the rider there, taking along Chris C and Ciocci. That trio held a gap for a little while but by the turn for the short loop, it was all back together and the field was given a chance to regroup before the light on 322.
As soon as that light went green, Chris C and Joe K took off. Response was slow at first as the field become obviously more concerned with the road conditions up ahead. That allowed for the 2 to build up a quick gap. One team that was missing the front spotlight was Central Wheel. Rory D and Ralph Rouleur took off to bridge the gap. The speed got going eventually in the peleton, erasing the Central Wheel advantage. The gap to Chris C and Joe K would take longer to peg back and it was the construction on the false flat that ended their run. Rory D would be hit with an immediate flat and right away guys ( and girls ) were stumbling to their feet in the new gravel layer. It made for a long slog thru the section. At least 4 flats during the gravel and one right after. The peleton would end up soft pedaling for a mile or so as it took some riders much longer to get thru the gravel and no one wanted to be guilty of leaving those behind right away. Even still, a couple of riders resorted to taking a shortcut. Needless to say, there will be real protest next week if the road hasn't been repaved by then.
The ride got going about half a mile out from the corner to Welch. Everyone picked up tempo without too much fuss and it was Ralph A taking up the pace making for the first sections. Joe k followed it up for the 2nd half, giving Little T a good launchpad. His jump was quick enough to get a gap at first but soon Hacker was on it with Chris C on his wheel, only a few bikes behind Little T. It soon became a 2 horse race to the line with Little T getting over the top of Hacker at the very end. Those 2 stayed on it but it was all together soon afterward.
The pace stayed crisp all the way back over 322 and up peck. No one put in any real attacks. Getting close to Route 10, action ensued when Hacker attacked right into the corner (crit racing 101 ). The attitude and response to that move was "metered" at best. Admittedly it did look quite dangerous although the Professor certainly had damage control worked out well before the corner. Some words of disapproval waved through the pack. Hacker used the chance and kept the gap going up the hill past the prison, despite a few guys putting in some solid pulls up front. A small group loyal to the principles of Animated Riding / Attacking Style made their way off the front with Hacker but inexplicably the lights went out of that move ( at a red light ) before the Stop n Shop sprint. ( remorse perhaps??? Naaaaaah ). The start back up to speed for the sprint was labored. A bunch of guys used the opportunity to show their claws.... Mike McG, The Sernyak, The Full Nalini etc. It was all playing-cards to Little T, who video-gamed his way off the front and up the hill in plenty of time to take the sprint.
The ride thru Cheshire was made interesting by a couple of yellow lights, and the guys who sped thru them. Still, it was all together into Hamden at an ok pace. Guido took the reins with a click and a half left and powered off the front, taking along Hacker and the Sernyak. He shot them off on their own with a bit of a gap but the field was revving up and getting ready for the finale. Mike McG and Dillon P emptied the tanks and that was followed up by strong pulls from Chappy and Todd H. Someone is going to have to fill in the blanks as for who took the sit n sprint.
Good ride everyone! Kinda..... Thanks for being good sports!
Glorious glorious day. Perfect weather AND the return of Hacker. Although he brought back one of those "euro" helmets and like the girl that developed before everyone else in 6th grade, the boys didn't quite know how to deal with it today. Pretty soon surely everyone is going to want cup a feel. At any rate, the ride rolled out amidst murmurs of how the peleton was going to deal with the worsening situation on Mount Vernon rd.
The usual doods and a new BMC pushed the pace thru the backroads and with little regard for safety, the ride blew thru the crap road section... Flat #1 on the day. ( hope everyone was invested in petrochemicals and\or rubber producing heavy industry ).
Onto Mountain rd where there was some brief gaps opened up, mostly at the behest of Hacker, but it stayed together. The pace stayed high all the way to route 68 with Ciocci peeking out and looking to snooker the light. Little T followed suit but low n behold, the light was green, allowing everyone thru. Hunter P jetted off the front and onto Moss Farms with a gap. Road work there made it slow for the field, fast for the leaders. Max from CVC rolled off in pursuit, taking along Young Suto. They got up there with Hunter P and with another group ( Chris C, Ciocci, Hacker, Nuemotion and one or 2 others ) making the bridge up to the trio. That made for a pretty solid group charging toward the chicane. Behind the peleton was ramping up and not allowing much room. Little T, Guido, Joe K, Bike Doctor, and even a couple of new faces chipped in helped limit the losses. By the road up to Marion it was all back together. Little T jumped on the rider there, taking along Chris C and Ciocci. That trio held a gap for a little while but by the turn for the short loop, it was all back together and the field was given a chance to regroup before the light on 322.
As soon as that light went green, Chris C and Joe K took off. Response was slow at first as the field become obviously more concerned with the road conditions up ahead. That allowed for the 2 to build up a quick gap. One team that was missing the front spotlight was Central Wheel. Rory D and Ralph Rouleur took off to bridge the gap. The speed got going eventually in the peleton, erasing the Central Wheel advantage. The gap to Chris C and Joe K would take longer to peg back and it was the construction on the false flat that ended their run. Rory D would be hit with an immediate flat and right away guys ( and girls ) were stumbling to their feet in the new gravel layer. It made for a long slog thru the section. At least 4 flats during the gravel and one right after. The peleton would end up soft pedaling for a mile or so as it took some riders much longer to get thru the gravel and no one wanted to be guilty of leaving those behind right away. Even still, a couple of riders resorted to taking a shortcut. Needless to say, there will be real protest next week if the road hasn't been repaved by then.
The ride got going about half a mile out from the corner to Welch. Everyone picked up tempo without too much fuss and it was Ralph A taking up the pace making for the first sections. Joe k followed it up for the 2nd half, giving Little T a good launchpad. His jump was quick enough to get a gap at first but soon Hacker was on it with Chris C on his wheel, only a few bikes behind Little T. It soon became a 2 horse race to the line with Little T getting over the top of Hacker at the very end. Those 2 stayed on it but it was all together soon afterward.
The pace stayed crisp all the way back over 322 and up peck. No one put in any real attacks. Getting close to Route 10, action ensued when Hacker attacked right into the corner (crit racing 101 ). The attitude and response to that move was "metered" at best. Admittedly it did look quite dangerous although the Professor certainly had damage control worked out well before the corner. Some words of disapproval waved through the pack. Hacker used the chance and kept the gap going up the hill past the prison, despite a few guys putting in some solid pulls up front. A small group loyal to the principles of Animated Riding / Attacking Style made their way off the front with Hacker but inexplicably the lights went out of that move ( at a red light ) before the Stop n Shop sprint. ( remorse perhaps??? Naaaaaah ). The start back up to speed for the sprint was labored. A bunch of guys used the opportunity to show their claws.... Mike McG, The Sernyak, The Full Nalini etc. It was all playing-cards to Little T, who video-gamed his way off the front and up the hill in plenty of time to take the sprint.
The ride thru Cheshire was made interesting by a couple of yellow lights, and the guys who sped thru them. Still, it was all together into Hamden at an ok pace. Guido took the reins with a click and a half left and powered off the front, taking along Hacker and the Sernyak. He shot them off on their own with a bit of a gap but the field was revving up and getting ready for the finale. Mike McG and Dillon P emptied the tanks and that was followed up by strong pulls from Chappy and Todd H. Someone is going to have to fill in the blanks as for who took the sit n sprint.
Good ride everyone! Kinda..... Thanks for being good sports!
Tuesday the 23rd
Aren't you glad you rode tonight?
The passing thunderstorms kept the
field on the light side tonight. By ride time thought, the rain had stopped for the most
part and as everyone headed further north, the roads were dryer and
dryer...
Chris C was up front as soon the flag
dropped. Mike McG was there as well the Gibertoni to make sure he
wouldn't sneak off. The ride mostly was quiet for the first several
miles. No one was attacking on the early on. A disruption in the
paceline up front as the ride got closer to the light on route 68
triggered a shift response and a few guys jumped up to try to nab the
lihgt. It was green all the way and everyone made it thru no problem.
Construction on the first part of Moss Farms closed everyone down and
it took a little while to get back going again.
Once it did, guys like Ciocci.
RalpheeBaby Allen, Nuemotion and a couple of others were pushing the
pace and got a bit of a gap but it was all together for the rest of
the way to the Chicane. Chris C upped the ante on the riser up to
Marion and a few guys followed him.... Pescatori, Ciocci, Hunter P,
Special Ed, etc. Again, gaps were few and far between, although Chris
C and Special Ed looked to keep the hammer down as the ride went by
the turn for the short loop. They had help from The Best-Looking-Ralph-Ever, and Hunter P. Gruppo Compacto to the light on 322.
After the light, it slowed down a
bit and everyone recollected. It took a but to get going again and
Guido ( good to see him back ) was ever so patient with the ride as
the field lolly-gagged its way to the construction zone. The more
delicate guys in the field held sway and it was declared a neutral
section thru the dirt road. Guido helped spark interest in going fast
once everyone got thru the dirt and had a chance to wipe down their
Asian-made plastic bikes. From there it was fast as a few guys hit
the front running ( Rusty, Chris C, Nuemotion, Rory D, Mountain Man,
etc ). As the ride came up on the turnaround, Ciocci ride off and was
allowed to go. Chris B then poked out of the field and quickly took a
gap in the crucial 150 meters before the corner to Welch. The only
one to go with him was Hunter P and the 2 rolled off a gap, went up
and over Ciocci and extended it nearly the whole way to the hill
thanks to Chris B's blatant disregard for the sprint coming up.
Behind the peleton seemed content with letting the chips fall as they
may, giving the break the chance to fall short. Chris C and Ralph A?
did jet off the front right before the hill kicked. Up front, the 2
leaders worked well together and Hunter P easily got the points as
Chris B didn’t contest after being the early afterburners for the
escape.
The ride came back together on the
backside without any incident or anyone thinking about attacking.
Chris C did seem feisty during a couple of moments but the field was
attentive or the lights were red, keeping everyone together. Together
aaaaaaaaall the way back into Cheshire and over 322. The pace was
tempo at best. Guido again picked up the slack up front on a couple
of occasions. Going up the false flat on Peck, no real action... The
ride has gotten too friendly as of late. More people need to be less
concerned with looking like they are calm and composed and actually
try to fight their way off the front.
The run in to the Stop n Shop
sprint was fast, with a few guys getting an early jump, ( Ciocci,
Nuemotion, Chris C, The Full Nalini, etc ) Chris B was back at it and
this time he brought Little T up across the gap, T had little problem
taking it over Chris C and the 1 or 2 others that put up a fight.
Moving thru Cheshire was uneventful, as an early red light let all
catch back on and gave no one the chance to sneak off.
Once past all the lights, Ciocci
fired things up on the front and then Guido continued pulling the
field single file. It settled down but with the smaller field left on
the road, the battle for the sit n sprint would end up shredding the
peleton. The Full Nalini.The Gibertoni, and Little T ended up in
front of the remains, with T taking it with a last minute surge,
coming out of the Gibertoni's shadow. Up the hill chris B took it
over Mountain Man, Hunter P, and the Gibertoni.
Good ride everyone!
Tuesday the 16th
One of those weeks....
The SG ride seemingly came back from vacation today with a good sized crowd out. Good to see several new faces out today. Still missing Hacker and Guido but soon enough they will be back. The ride got going pretty soon after route 10 and by the crap road section it was full gas. Mike McG led the field thru there at a good clip but there was no real attacks to try and break the front. As the ride was barreling toward Mountain Rd, a small group was pushing off the front led by Ryan RazzleDazzle Serbel from Aetna, new rider L.A. recently moved in from Cali, Max from CVC, Rusty, and Timmy Hip. Timmy Hip was rockin hiking shoes / MTBike clod hoppers today but still managed to mix it up in the front when he wasn't blowing by corners. Maybe the shoes are a new type of resistance training among the hipster elite. Sure enough, with no one calling out "take a left you turkeys" that handful of riders blew by Mountain Rd. They didnt all make it back to the peleton despite a general slow-down for a unusually generous 100 meters or so.
There was plenty of firepower up front heading down Mountain Rd with a bunch getting involved up front. A small group was breaking free by the second set of risers but it was soon back together again. Dillon P once again lined up the troops for a fast run at the light but gaps formed and he ended up leading no one out. The light was red as red gets anyway. The speed slowly got going on Moss Farms, giving Young Suto, Spencer from Yale, Special Ed and one more a chance to ride free. The responce was slow with a couple of riders trying to get a bridge going ( Ciocci, Mike McG, Tall Dennis, Danbury Audi, etc ) The gap held up to the corner and then the Chicane. Once on the hill to Marion, Chris C led the charge and came up and thru to the group, taking along Ciocci with him. That made a pretty solid group up the road by 50 or so meters. The gap would slowly come back down and by the turn for the short loop, it was all back together. Hunter P countered with an attack, taking along a new rider from Central Wheel but that was short lived after the newbie shut off the throttle.
Mount Vernon was slow to start and a Yalie ( CXC Chris?! ) took advantage by slipping off the front for a while. He dangled out there until the run-in to the false flat which is still an eighth mile of packed dirt and gravel. The ride slowed up for the narrow passage over the dirt but near the front and stomping it was Joe K. Close behind and bridging up was Gregg F and Hunter P. Those 3 made it out of the sector at speed and with a gap and went to work on the Team Time Trial. Behind, the pace quickly got back up to speed after the crappy road and the strong guys in the peleton went to high alert with the threat up the road building a gap. Mike McG, Special Ed, Little T, Rusty, The Gibertoni, Spencer etc. Several involved in a fast chase. The gap held up nearly to the turnaround, Special Ed jumped out at the last moment to bridge and try to coax a counter but it was it all coming back together.
Going into the corner for Welch a new guy in a Zane's kit who's done the ride a couple of times but has been racing a lot this year dove a bit too hard and snapped his wheel out from under him. He went down hard. Everyone stopped. It took a little bit to ascertain the damage. Hopefully he is not that hurt. He rang the ol bell a bit and got a little scraped up but was on his way to remounting and riding it off when the first shifts of the bike drove the rear derailleur into the spokes and tore the hanger off. That made for a further delay and eventually one rider ( Andy Lawson? ) elected to stay with him and wait for vehicular transport. Again, hope he is ok and back up near the front soon!
The pace picked up slowly after that. Some guys had already elected to ride on, some detoured home, and still others who were backtracking for whatever reason where stymied in the search for the missing peleton. Eventually, after 20 minutes or so, it was all back together, heading south on Atwater. Ryan S was back in the fold as well as Max and that seemed to motivate the pace up front a bit. It didnt get going though till Peck Lane when Young Suto, Alec C, Thomaas B, and Spencer? got off the front early on. That was soon brought on the false flat with Mike McG, Max, and Ryan S driving the front. That would split off a dangerous group of 5 or 6 heading over the old train tracks and toward route 10. The response from the field was swift and it was all together for the corner back onto Route 10.
The pace stayed high though as the run-in to the Stop n Shop sprint came up quick. Chris C lead out all but behind him directly was the new Central Wheel rider and Serbel, both pretty much unawares of the sprint point. They did their best at responding when Little T and Jacinto came shooting by but it was a 2 man dance to the line with T staying out in front of Jacinto just barely. Those 2 kept up a gap heading into the center of town and would be joined by the new Central Wheel rider (name?) and Hunter P. That made for aa group of 4 with a gap, although Jacinto would drop off, making it 3. That trio would get some breathing room when a couple of red light stopping the field. Once it got going again past the center of town, it got quick again on the front. The leading 3 would work well into Hamden but broke apart with about 750 meters to go as the peleton came into view and was bearing down hard on the front. Little T just barely escaped Ciocci and The Gibertoni, who had distanced themselves after a solid leadouts from Dillon P and Mike McG. Up the hill was mostly stragglers and Chris B was the first to the top to claim that prize.
The SG ride seemingly came back from vacation today with a good sized crowd out. Good to see several new faces out today. Still missing Hacker and Guido but soon enough they will be back. The ride got going pretty soon after route 10 and by the crap road section it was full gas. Mike McG led the field thru there at a good clip but there was no real attacks to try and break the front. As the ride was barreling toward Mountain Rd, a small group was pushing off the front led by Ryan RazzleDazzle Serbel from Aetna, new rider L.A. recently moved in from Cali, Max from CVC, Rusty, and Timmy Hip. Timmy Hip was rockin hiking shoes / MTBike clod hoppers today but still managed to mix it up in the front when he wasn't blowing by corners. Maybe the shoes are a new type of resistance training among the hipster elite. Sure enough, with no one calling out "take a left you turkeys" that handful of riders blew by Mountain Rd. They didnt all make it back to the peleton despite a general slow-down for a unusually generous 100 meters or so.
There was plenty of firepower up front heading down Mountain Rd with a bunch getting involved up front. A small group was breaking free by the second set of risers but it was soon back together again. Dillon P once again lined up the troops for a fast run at the light but gaps formed and he ended up leading no one out. The light was red as red gets anyway. The speed slowly got going on Moss Farms, giving Young Suto, Spencer from Yale, Special Ed and one more a chance to ride free. The responce was slow with a couple of riders trying to get a bridge going ( Ciocci, Mike McG, Tall Dennis, Danbury Audi, etc ) The gap held up to the corner and then the Chicane. Once on the hill to Marion, Chris C led the charge and came up and thru to the group, taking along Ciocci with him. That made a pretty solid group up the road by 50 or so meters. The gap would slowly come back down and by the turn for the short loop, it was all back together. Hunter P countered with an attack, taking along a new rider from Central Wheel but that was short lived after the newbie shut off the throttle.
Mount Vernon was slow to start and a Yalie ( CXC Chris?! ) took advantage by slipping off the front for a while. He dangled out there until the run-in to the false flat which is still an eighth mile of packed dirt and gravel. The ride slowed up for the narrow passage over the dirt but near the front and stomping it was Joe K. Close behind and bridging up was Gregg F and Hunter P. Those 3 made it out of the sector at speed and with a gap and went to work on the Team Time Trial. Behind, the pace quickly got back up to speed after the crappy road and the strong guys in the peleton went to high alert with the threat up the road building a gap. Mike McG, Special Ed, Little T, Rusty, The Gibertoni, Spencer etc. Several involved in a fast chase. The gap held up nearly to the turnaround, Special Ed jumped out at the last moment to bridge and try to coax a counter but it was it all coming back together.
Going into the corner for Welch a new guy in a Zane's kit who's done the ride a couple of times but has been racing a lot this year dove a bit too hard and snapped his wheel out from under him. He went down hard. Everyone stopped. It took a little bit to ascertain the damage. Hopefully he is not that hurt. He rang the ol bell a bit and got a little scraped up but was on his way to remounting and riding it off when the first shifts of the bike drove the rear derailleur into the spokes and tore the hanger off. That made for a further delay and eventually one rider ( Andy Lawson? ) elected to stay with him and wait for vehicular transport. Again, hope he is ok and back up near the front soon!
The pace picked up slowly after that. Some guys had already elected to ride on, some detoured home, and still others who were backtracking for whatever reason where stymied in the search for the missing peleton. Eventually, after 20 minutes or so, it was all back together, heading south on Atwater. Ryan S was back in the fold as well as Max and that seemed to motivate the pace up front a bit. It didnt get going though till Peck Lane when Young Suto, Alec C, Thomaas B, and Spencer? got off the front early on. That was soon brought on the false flat with Mike McG, Max, and Ryan S driving the front. That would split off a dangerous group of 5 or 6 heading over the old train tracks and toward route 10. The response from the field was swift and it was all together for the corner back onto Route 10.
The pace stayed high though as the run-in to the Stop n Shop sprint came up quick. Chris C lead out all but behind him directly was the new Central Wheel rider and Serbel, both pretty much unawares of the sprint point. They did their best at responding when Little T and Jacinto came shooting by but it was a 2 man dance to the line with T staying out in front of Jacinto just barely. Those 2 kept up a gap heading into the center of town and would be joined by the new Central Wheel rider (name?) and Hunter P. That made for aa group of 4 with a gap, although Jacinto would drop off, making it 3. That trio would get some breathing room when a couple of red light stopping the field. Once it got going again past the center of town, it got quick again on the front. The leading 3 would work well into Hamden but broke apart with about 750 meters to go as the peleton came into view and was bearing down hard on the front. Little T just barely escaped Ciocci and The Gibertoni, who had distanced themselves after a solid leadouts from Dillon P and Mike McG. Up the hill was mostly stragglers and Chris B was the first to the top to claim that prize.
Tuesday the 9th
The ride that never takes no vacation!
A slightly smaller than the usual crowd out tonight for the ride. Vacations and injuries ( heal up quick Guido! ) taking the toll on attendance. It was also a special night up the 'Rent so there were a few SG regulars up there... But they ( and others who rarely venture south to Throwdown ) will surely be checking this write-up so which is the better ride???
Anyway, the ride was kicked off by Dillon P, Mountain man and Peter K. The field kept up a decent clip to Mountain Rd where it kicked it up a bit thanks to a lot of guys cycling thru the front. The peleton came up to the light on 68 and made it thru without any drama which kept the speed up for Moss Farms. The usual suspects led the way thru the Chicane and up to Marion.... Mike McG, Special Ed, Nathan C, and Little T as well.
Once onto Mount Vernon it was more Mike McG and Special Ed, trying to spur everyone else on while simultaneously looking for a opportunity to get off the front. The field was riding no-nonsense tonight though and it was mostly all together. The road construction on the false flat section helped tamp down any would-be attackers as the ride went thru the now 200 meters of dirt at a safe, neutral pace.... Let's all pat ourselves on the back for being reasonable bike riders!
Once it got going again, all eyes fixed on the turn-around... And without anyone to upset the script, Little T walked away with it with little fuss. Chris B tried to sneak one but to no avail. Once everyone got up and over the hill, the speed slowed a bit and the ride back over 322 and into Cheshire was slower than usual. Fast forward to the Stop n Shop sprint cause there was little action till then. Jacinto has been on a tear lately with the sprint there and maybe got a bit a little too eager to nab another. He ended up leading out Little T textbook style and had to settle for runner-up.
From there the ride got a pleasant dose of green lights heading back into Hamden and the Po-Po left everyone alone. Yay again for the SG ride. No accidents, crashes, or intervention from law enforcement... Can the Renshlerrr race say that?!
Little T took the end sit n sprint and up the hill Chris B nabs a prize for the night, going up and over Mountain Man.
Hopefully the ride is back at it's full YEE-HAW strength next week.
A slightly smaller than the usual crowd out tonight for the ride. Vacations and injuries ( heal up quick Guido! ) taking the toll on attendance. It was also a special night up the 'Rent so there were a few SG regulars up there... But they ( and others who rarely venture south to Throwdown ) will surely be checking this write-up so which is the better ride???
Anyway, the ride was kicked off by Dillon P, Mountain man and Peter K. The field kept up a decent clip to Mountain Rd where it kicked it up a bit thanks to a lot of guys cycling thru the front. The peleton came up to the light on 68 and made it thru without any drama which kept the speed up for Moss Farms. The usual suspects led the way thru the Chicane and up to Marion.... Mike McG, Special Ed, Nathan C, and Little T as well.
Once onto Mount Vernon it was more Mike McG and Special Ed, trying to spur everyone else on while simultaneously looking for a opportunity to get off the front. The field was riding no-nonsense tonight though and it was mostly all together. The road construction on the false flat section helped tamp down any would-be attackers as the ride went thru the now 200 meters of dirt at a safe, neutral pace.... Let's all pat ourselves on the back for being reasonable bike riders!
Once it got going again, all eyes fixed on the turn-around... And without anyone to upset the script, Little T walked away with it with little fuss. Chris B tried to sneak one but to no avail. Once everyone got up and over the hill, the speed slowed a bit and the ride back over 322 and into Cheshire was slower than usual. Fast forward to the Stop n Shop sprint cause there was little action till then. Jacinto has been on a tear lately with the sprint there and maybe got a bit a little too eager to nab another. He ended up leading out Little T textbook style and had to settle for runner-up.
From there the ride got a pleasant dose of green lights heading back into Hamden and the Po-Po left everyone alone. Yay again for the SG ride. No accidents, crashes, or intervention from law enforcement... Can the Renshlerrr race say that?!
Little T took the end sit n sprint and up the hill Chris B nabs a prize for the night, going up and over Mountain Man.
Hopefully the ride is back at it's full YEE-HAW strength next week.
Tuesday the 3rd
Safety check required?
It was one of those weird kind of rides
tonight. The weather held out it and it was as nice as it been for any week
so far this year. There was a decent size crowd out for the ride. Good to see
Alec C back on the back after taking a few weeks to heal up after
being "curbed" by a car. The usual suspects got things going once off
route 10. Mike McG took a good pull to stretch things out thru the
crap road section and that led to Owen F and Hunter P getting a gap
that didnt last too long. Chris C stepping up in the role of
bridge-ehh-chase-ehh-just-go-hard. From there things stayed quick up to
Mountain Rd. A late surge on the initial risers there spit a group
off the front. Mike McG, Hutner P, Paul Casey, a Bikers Edge rider
and one other. Despite some good speed from the group it was brought
back soon after. From there it was fast with the tailwind heading to
the light. Late on Mountain, Dillon P kept the pace
high at the very front for a little longer than what's usual for the
ride, giving Hunter P a chance to jump off in a good spot
to perhaps get the light. Along for the ride was Tall John and
Special Ed. Sure enough the light showed green for longer than usual,
probably thanks to the 2 cars that were there tripping the sensor.
Hunter P, Tall John, Special Ed made it thru clean and in the gap to
the peleton was Little T, Chris C, and Rory D. Those 3 squeezed thru
the light and the rest of the peleton stopped and waved bye bye to the
group of 6.
The leaders jumped right into
breakaway mode, although even early on, a couple of the riders were
skipping pulls. The pace up to 322 in the lead group was solid, if
not slightly unimpressive. Behind in the field, the strong guys left in
the group who were feeling left out got straight to to the task of
upping the pace to try to mount a chase. Nuemotion, Guido, The CCB
Toss-up, Jacinto and Mike McG foremost among them. The break was in sight as the peleton stopped for the red light on 322 but it was still going to take some strong riding to bring it back.
Nothing much to report on either side
of the ride for the next few miles. In the peleton, a couple of noteworthy turns up or off the front were had by Joe K, Nathan C, Yalie Adam and Ciocci. In the break, Special Ed, his own best client,
apparently reached the prescribed riding for the day and decided to
peel off halfway down Mount Vernon. That left the lion's share of the
work to Little T, Chris C and Hunter P. No deal was struck
approaching the turnaround, no breakaway truce made, so the speed
went down as guys were eyeing each other or trying to collect
themselves for the fireworks. The break was still out of sight on
Mount Vernon, but once on Welch, the peleton could see the riders up
ahead, which definitely put some more motivation in the pedals.
For the sprint, Chris C, Hunter P and
Little T took turns with Hunter P ending up in front for the last
section. He tried the ol surprise jump from a little too far away,
off the front, and it was enough to get a quick gap on Little T with
a solid 175-250 meters to go. T clawed back but a late surge kept
Hunter P in front by half a bike. Behind, Mike McG has rocketed off
the front and was alone for a while, quickly making up the gap. Joe K
and Chris B tried to team up on the chase and that got the rest of
the field going. The leaders slowed to led the rest of the break come
back but instead of the 2 guys, it was the whole field bearing down
and so gruppo compacto once again and the elusive long bomb breakaway
stays out of reach for another week.
The ride back from there was
uninteresting and slow-ish in the headwind. Chris C stayed up there
and Guido rescued the pace at a couple of points heading back to 322.
There was no full stop at the changing light there which made for
some abrupt breaking, shouting and wheel molesting. Couple of guys
went down but it was more like a mountain bike dab with a little game
of twister thrown in. That slowed things down and it took a little
while to get going again.... Long enough to not have anything to say
about the ride till the Stop n Shop Sprint. Guido, Paul Casey and
Mike McG were up there driving it along. Jacinto snuck up at the last
moment and jumped hard, taking along Mike McG. Mike put in a good
sprint but Jacinto get this one for the second week in a row.
The only interesting part of the ride
back from there was the unscheduled pit stop the group made for
Cheshire's tallest police officer. He kindly reminded the group that
2 abreast is the law and that anyone who rides a full Proteam kit
with matching bike needs to have the legs ( and twitter followers )
to back that up. Seriously though, he makes a good point. Let's take
this moment to thank whatever residents of Cheshire ,Southington, (
and their Police forces ) that put up with our crap every Tuesday
night. You all are the best. We are just a bunch of sissy bike rides... And some of us can't even do that very well. Let's all try to ride more civil-like while in the center of
town.
Back to the ride where it again took a
while to get going. The finale was Little T up against Guido, who was a little late to
the party. The Full Nalini, Thomaas B, Ciocci (?), Rusty, and Paul Casey were
up there in the mix but Little T gets this over the hard charging German. He gets rewarded for this
by promptly being taken out by the flying squirrel by the bike trail crossing. No real harm
done. Though it was a weird way to end up a weird night. Up the hill
Mountain Man and Tall Dennis started things out, Chris B took over,
and then Hunter P sprinted all else to the top.
Tuesday the 25th
Back to your regularly scheduled ride
The weather finally held out for the most part and we had a ride. Chris C and a couple of others ( Timmy Hip, Dillon P etc ) drove the pace early on. There were a couple of points when there was a brief gap to the front 5 or 6 riders but after everyone got going in the heat it was game on. Downer moment of the week when the ride, moving fast after re-connecting with the lead group, came up on the corner for North Brooksvale and some hesitation ( read; flying thru the stop sign was not happening ) caused some riders to chain reaction break and Dave on the Jamis went over his bars. The ride full stopped to make sure he was ok and ride worthy and then slowly got going again.
It took a little while to get back up to full steam but the action started up again on Mountain Rd. Half the field was still getting going from the stop and the other half was ready to rock n roll, the heads of state were behind the action which made for an interesting cruise down Mountain Rd. Chris C was leading a bunch of riders off the front along with Nuemotion, Dillon P, and a couple of others. Guys were in between, not able to bridge and unwilling to get caught. No one took advantage of the situation with a well timed attack. The wind seemed to be turning into the faces with dark clouds up ahead and that buffeted the motivation to really turn the screws. The Peleton would slowly come around and round everyone up just in time for the red light on 68.
Once onto Moss Farms, it was Hunter P and Matt F from Devils Gear kicking things off, with Kyle Foley ( good to see him out on the ride ) and Mike McG picking up the slack after that. Late on Moss Farms, Hunter P, Mike McG and one other tore off a gap that they could have taken into the chicane, but cars at the intersection brought it all together. Chris C hit the front on the hill up to Marion and that turned into a trio of Nuemotion, Hunter P and Chris C off the front for a brief bit but as is often the case, attacks are rarely held from there to the light on 322. The CCB toss-up worked well at bringing the gap back and then pressing on but it was gruppo compacto to the light.
Mount Vernon = boring, anemic pace as the stormy headwind plus wet roads distracted everyone from riding with any kind of respectable speed. The only one to peg it during the long run in to the corner was Mike McG, who took off and held a solo gap going into the false flat. A surge in the final meters for the corner, led by a couple of Yalies ( Spencer mostly ) and Thomaas B got things going toward the sprint. Once on Welch, Hunter P kicked it off followed by CCB. By the end of Welch, it slowed again and was bunching up. Huge amount of guys hit the hill in front... Plenty of strong accelerations but it was all into stacked up traffic waiting to turn so the whole front of the ride slowed to almost a stop for the corner onto West St.
Chris C lit it up after thru the corner with a couple of guys in tow. Chris B moved up along with the Real-Brian-from-Stage-1. Late getting up to the front, coming across the gap was Jacinto. Behind Little T and Hunter P left it too late and couldnt bridge the gap. The trio of Jacinto, Chris B and The Real Brian went up and over Chris C and from there it was Jacinto getting to the sprint ahead of all others.
The usual downhill attacking was there afterwards but it was all sewed up by red lights once again. From there it was business as usual heading back towards Cheshire. Once onto Atwater, Hunter P and a new guy from Zane's teamed up to try to pull a fast on the field but that wasn't going to be allowed.
Fast forward to the incline on Peck ln where Timmy Hip, CCB and Chris C were drilling it single file but not enough to get a gap. That turned into Thomaas B getting to the hill on Route 10 first, followed by Hunter P with a gap to the next traffic light. The run to the Stop n Sprint was held up by a red light but the pace picked up pretty quickly after it. A small group had the gap needed to sprint it out and it was taken by Little T over Yalie Spencer. After the sprint, a group stayed on the gas on got a light in their favor. Little T, Jacinto, Half the CCB duo?, Danbury Audi, Timmy Hip and a couple of others... Maybe someone can list all the names as credit is due the group, who stayed off the front easily after the peleton got caught by a couple more lights. To the guys in the pack who threw caution to the wind to try and get somewhere ahead of the rest, sorry... No shout-outs here... Next time, work harder, earlier to make sure you get in the group that takes all the marbles. We will however give some props to Stephen Gibertoni, who very nearly got taken out by a SUV coming out of Mount Sanford Rd late down Route 10. Glad he swerved so fast... That woulda been ugly.
The weather finally held out for the most part and we had a ride. Chris C and a couple of others ( Timmy Hip, Dillon P etc ) drove the pace early on. There were a couple of points when there was a brief gap to the front 5 or 6 riders but after everyone got going in the heat it was game on. Downer moment of the week when the ride, moving fast after re-connecting with the lead group, came up on the corner for North Brooksvale and some hesitation ( read; flying thru the stop sign was not happening ) caused some riders to chain reaction break and Dave on the Jamis went over his bars. The ride full stopped to make sure he was ok and ride worthy and then slowly got going again.
It took a little while to get back up to full steam but the action started up again on Mountain Rd. Half the field was still getting going from the stop and the other half was ready to rock n roll, the heads of state were behind the action which made for an interesting cruise down Mountain Rd. Chris C was leading a bunch of riders off the front along with Nuemotion, Dillon P, and a couple of others. Guys were in between, not able to bridge and unwilling to get caught. No one took advantage of the situation with a well timed attack. The wind seemed to be turning into the faces with dark clouds up ahead and that buffeted the motivation to really turn the screws. The Peleton would slowly come around and round everyone up just in time for the red light on 68.
Once onto Moss Farms, it was Hunter P and Matt F from Devils Gear kicking things off, with Kyle Foley ( good to see him out on the ride ) and Mike McG picking up the slack after that. Late on Moss Farms, Hunter P, Mike McG and one other tore off a gap that they could have taken into the chicane, but cars at the intersection brought it all together. Chris C hit the front on the hill up to Marion and that turned into a trio of Nuemotion, Hunter P and Chris C off the front for a brief bit but as is often the case, attacks are rarely held from there to the light on 322. The CCB toss-up worked well at bringing the gap back and then pressing on but it was gruppo compacto to the light.
Mount Vernon = boring, anemic pace as the stormy headwind plus wet roads distracted everyone from riding with any kind of respectable speed. The only one to peg it during the long run in to the corner was Mike McG, who took off and held a solo gap going into the false flat. A surge in the final meters for the corner, led by a couple of Yalies ( Spencer mostly ) and Thomaas B got things going toward the sprint. Once on Welch, Hunter P kicked it off followed by CCB. By the end of Welch, it slowed again and was bunching up. Huge amount of guys hit the hill in front... Plenty of strong accelerations but it was all into stacked up traffic waiting to turn so the whole front of the ride slowed to almost a stop for the corner onto West St.
Chris C lit it up after thru the corner with a couple of guys in tow. Chris B moved up along with the Real-Brian-from-Stage-1. Late getting up to the front, coming across the gap was Jacinto. Behind Little T and Hunter P left it too late and couldnt bridge the gap. The trio of Jacinto, Chris B and The Real Brian went up and over Chris C and from there it was Jacinto getting to the sprint ahead of all others.
The usual downhill attacking was there afterwards but it was all sewed up by red lights once again. From there it was business as usual heading back towards Cheshire. Once onto Atwater, Hunter P and a new guy from Zane's teamed up to try to pull a fast on the field but that wasn't going to be allowed.
Fast forward to the incline on Peck ln where Timmy Hip, CCB and Chris C were drilling it single file but not enough to get a gap. That turned into Thomaas B getting to the hill on Route 10 first, followed by Hunter P with a gap to the next traffic light. The run to the Stop n Sprint was held up by a red light but the pace picked up pretty quickly after it. A small group had the gap needed to sprint it out and it was taken by Little T over Yalie Spencer. After the sprint, a group stayed on the gas on got a light in their favor. Little T, Jacinto, Half the CCB duo?, Danbury Audi, Timmy Hip and a couple of others... Maybe someone can list all the names as credit is due the group, who stayed off the front easily after the peleton got caught by a couple more lights. To the guys in the pack who threw caution to the wind to try and get somewhere ahead of the rest, sorry... No shout-outs here... Next time, work harder, earlier to make sure you get in the group that takes all the marbles. We will however give some props to Stephen Gibertoni, who very nearly got taken out by a SUV coming out of Mount Sanford Rd late down Route 10. Glad he swerved so fast... That woulda been ugly.
Tuesday the 11th
The ride at the end of the Rainbow....
The weather looked ominous but it didnt stop a hardy crew of about 25 from hitting the soaked tarmac. The pace out of the lot was pretty quick as everyone wanted to get it started to take the minds off of the rain. Thank fully the pace wasnt too fast for Guido and The New Tommy D to catch on. They were a little late and had to use the length of Route 10 plus a little to catch up with the group. Up front, the ride was quickly made fast by Hunter P and Chris C. Those 2 plus Tall John would trade attacks/surges for the opening 20 minutes or so. Gaps, when they happened were brief, never more than 30-50 meters. Guys like Todd H, The Full Nalini, Pescatore, Rusty, Little T, Ciocci, and maybe one or 2 more were up there, keeping the pace high behind the guys who thought they could escape.
The ride moved onto Moss Farms where Chris C kept the pace high and when Learner's Permit Tommy moved up and started to pitch in, it was enough to split a group off the front along with Ciocci and Pescatore and Special Ed?. That would be brought back a little before the Chicane and the next one to go was Hunter P who took off halfway up the hill He was allowed to go up the road for a bit but was reeled in as the ride was heading over the overpass.
Once the ride was past the light on 322, Guido moved up and pushed the Mount Vernon intro pace along with Special Ed. Hunter P took off again after the left and no one went with him. He would get maybe 8 meters up the road and held it for a little while. Tommy D, Guido and Chris C were the ones to do most of the chasing and it was all together as the ride came up to the false flat section. Little T and Hunter P led the group up thru that section and after the false flat, Rory D found himself alone in the headwind. He put his head down and rode out a gap as the rest of the pack seemed to be re-grouping. Central Wheel Paul soon jumped up and bridged to his teammate, making it 2 up the road. That got things going with quick responses from Ciocci, Pescatore, Chris C and others. It would come back together 500 meters later and when it did, Special Ed, Chris C, and Hunter P jumped off the front. They were joined by Rusty and the group of four started to work on a gap as the turn loomed ahead. The field wouldn't take it lying down and it was brought back to a couple of seconds as everyone when thru the corner. Hunter P kept on the gas and led all the length of Welch with Ciocci the only other one touching the wind. Hunter P opened it up on the hill but was it was soon Chris B, Chris C and Little T getting up front and making their way on West St. Chris B would end up leading out Little T straight into backed up traffic which minimized the sprinting action. Even tho there were plenty of riders cued up behind Chris B and Little T, it was easily taken by Alessio.
There were a few guys up there ready to keep the pressure on and sure enough Chris C and Rory D got a good hand and made it thru a light that was turning. It stopped the field aaaaaand put the group in contact with an irate driver who didnt like having to watch out for the pack as we all went over the highway. Plenty of car horns were sounded. The riders in the pack responded like any self-respecting SG rider would.... By more disrespectful riding! It was soon a distant memory and everyone resumed chasing the leaders down. Hunter P, Tommy D , Chris B, all drilling it down the hill and on to Atwater St. The pace was enough to split the group and that situation was only exaggerated by Chris B and Hunter P hitting it hard as the ride came up to 322 again. Hunter P got a gap on the hill by the underpass and he made it up to the 2 leaders just in time to be stopped by the red light on 322, where both groups of the peleton came back together.
French Casey got things going as the ride got to Peck lane, more drilling it by Chris C and Hunter P split a group of 4 off the front ( HutnerP, Chris C, The Full Nalini and Tommy D). That made for a dangerous group up the road and the field responded as such. Nearing the top of the false flat on Peck, wit the lead group shedding a rider or 2, the peleton caught back on. From there it was status quo getting back onto Route 10 and heading up to the sprint. Guido and Chris B made no attempt to hide their solid leadouts and it let Little T get another as he went unchallenged for the sprint point there.
On the backside of the sprint effort, Todd H hit the front to get the jump on the group as the deadly lights of Cheshire came up next. As per usual, cars and lights kept the action sedate and everyone rolled thru together. There were no surprised heading back into Hamden. For the finale, more strong riding up front from Chris B broke off a little gap for a couple of guys. It looked like Nuemotion and The Full Nalini would run away with it but the wind left the sails just as quick as it came.... That gave a chance for Little T to ride up thru plenty of riders and use the momentum to get to the final meters first.
Up The hill, Little T went for the unheard of "Baker's Dozen" and tried to get all the prizes on the night. Hunter P was able to out kick him up the hill in front of Tall Dennis and Chris B.
The weather looked ominous but it didnt stop a hardy crew of about 25 from hitting the soaked tarmac. The pace out of the lot was pretty quick as everyone wanted to get it started to take the minds off of the rain. Thank fully the pace wasnt too fast for Guido and The New Tommy D to catch on. They were a little late and had to use the length of Route 10 plus a little to catch up with the group. Up front, the ride was quickly made fast by Hunter P and Chris C. Those 2 plus Tall John would trade attacks/surges for the opening 20 minutes or so. Gaps, when they happened were brief, never more than 30-50 meters. Guys like Todd H, The Full Nalini, Pescatore, Rusty, Little T, Ciocci, and maybe one or 2 more were up there, keeping the pace high behind the guys who thought they could escape.
The ride moved onto Moss Farms where Chris C kept the pace high and when Learner's Permit Tommy moved up and started to pitch in, it was enough to split a group off the front along with Ciocci and Pescatore and Special Ed?. That would be brought back a little before the Chicane and the next one to go was Hunter P who took off halfway up the hill He was allowed to go up the road for a bit but was reeled in as the ride was heading over the overpass.
Once the ride was past the light on 322, Guido moved up and pushed the Mount Vernon intro pace along with Special Ed. Hunter P took off again after the left and no one went with him. He would get maybe 8 meters up the road and held it for a little while. Tommy D, Guido and Chris C were the ones to do most of the chasing and it was all together as the ride came up to the false flat section. Little T and Hunter P led the group up thru that section and after the false flat, Rory D found himself alone in the headwind. He put his head down and rode out a gap as the rest of the pack seemed to be re-grouping. Central Wheel Paul soon jumped up and bridged to his teammate, making it 2 up the road. That got things going with quick responses from Ciocci, Pescatore, Chris C and others. It would come back together 500 meters later and when it did, Special Ed, Chris C, and Hunter P jumped off the front. They were joined by Rusty and the group of four started to work on a gap as the turn loomed ahead. The field wouldn't take it lying down and it was brought back to a couple of seconds as everyone when thru the corner. Hunter P kept on the gas and led all the length of Welch with Ciocci the only other one touching the wind. Hunter P opened it up on the hill but was it was soon Chris B, Chris C and Little T getting up front and making their way on West St. Chris B would end up leading out Little T straight into backed up traffic which minimized the sprinting action. Even tho there were plenty of riders cued up behind Chris B and Little T, it was easily taken by Alessio.
There were a few guys up there ready to keep the pressure on and sure enough Chris C and Rory D got a good hand and made it thru a light that was turning. It stopped the field aaaaaand put the group in contact with an irate driver who didnt like having to watch out for the pack as we all went over the highway. Plenty of car horns were sounded. The riders in the pack responded like any self-respecting SG rider would.... By more disrespectful riding! It was soon a distant memory and everyone resumed chasing the leaders down. Hunter P, Tommy D , Chris B, all drilling it down the hill and on to Atwater St. The pace was enough to split the group and that situation was only exaggerated by Chris B and Hunter P hitting it hard as the ride came up to 322 again. Hunter P got a gap on the hill by the underpass and he made it up to the 2 leaders just in time to be stopped by the red light on 322, where both groups of the peleton came back together.
French Casey got things going as the ride got to Peck lane, more drilling it by Chris C and Hunter P split a group of 4 off the front ( HutnerP, Chris C, The Full Nalini and Tommy D). That made for a dangerous group up the road and the field responded as such. Nearing the top of the false flat on Peck, wit the lead group shedding a rider or 2, the peleton caught back on. From there it was status quo getting back onto Route 10 and heading up to the sprint. Guido and Chris B made no attempt to hide their solid leadouts and it let Little T get another as he went unchallenged for the sprint point there.
On the backside of the sprint effort, Todd H hit the front to get the jump on the group as the deadly lights of Cheshire came up next. As per usual, cars and lights kept the action sedate and everyone rolled thru together. There were no surprised heading back into Hamden. For the finale, more strong riding up front from Chris B broke off a little gap for a couple of guys. It looked like Nuemotion and The Full Nalini would run away with it but the wind left the sails just as quick as it came.... That gave a chance for Little T to ride up thru plenty of riders and use the momentum to get to the final meters first.
Up The hill, Little T went for the unheard of "Baker's Dozen" and tried to get all the prizes on the night. Hunter P was able to out kick him up the hill in front of Tall Dennis and Chris B.
Tuesday the 4th
Garmin Sharp! What the wha?
It's not everyday a "pro" shows up to the SG ride. Before everyone starts poppin stiffys, let's keep in mind that was a 16 yr old Cat 3 (?!) on the Slipstream DEVO team. Still, it was pretty cool to have CT's Tom Dudzik out on the ride tonight. As one would expect, he was watched like a hawk, but still managed to mix it up off the front a bit and he ended up riding off the front late in the game.
But back to the start, there was a pretty good crowd out tonight to get revenge on the bad weather of last week. It started out quick enough, with a group early on trying to get a gap before the crap road section. There was some more aggression showed on the early sections of Mountain Rd with Little T, Guido, Sasha from CCB, Timmy Hip, Pescatore, and maybe a couple of others getting an early gap. Mike McG was mostly responsible for shoring up the 40 meter gap soon after. From there it was all together. Hunter P tried to sneak off before the light but it was red, so all together for the jump onto Moss Farms.
Another group started to ride off the front early on, Dillon P, Danbury Audi, The Full Nalini, Rusty, Thomaas B and a couple of others, it was short lived though as the pace ramped up behind with Tommy D, The CCB Toss-up, Hacker and others coming up quick. No one was really punching it when it counted, so it was all together going into the chicane and up to Marion. Once again, a small group would soon after split from the front as the ride got to the short loop turnaround. This time it was Gregg F and Dillon P covering the gap. Hunter P again tried to get something going off the front but with no takers, had to settle for rolling up to the red light alone.
The pace stayed decent on Mount Vernon. There was some surges, some interesting gaps, some weaknesses shown in the peleton... The pace was disrupted by further construction on the false flat, and Mike McG wisely brought the ride to a more neutral pace to get thru the dangerous section. After that it all together for the last miles into the headwind. Hacker tried to sneak off a little ways before the corner. Hunter P was along for the ride and despite the 2 trying to get a gap, there was no way that was going to be allowed by the front of the field. Guido, Mike McG, The Full Nalini, A couple of Central Wheel guys etc, were mostly responsible for the brief chase.
Hacker kept up the assualt as everyone turned onto Welch, and he had a couple of guys there to try to convince to work at the long ball. The gap was never that much though as the peleton slowly ramped up the speed and ticked off the final 350 meters to the corner pretty quickly. Hacker went thru the corner first with CCB Sasha and maybe one other guy, but by that point everyone else who had worked to keep up the gap was checking out. From the field LIttle T jumped hard at the base of the hill on Welch, and then Hunter P. Those 2 had some traffic to get around, and soon it was just Little T and Sasha chasing down the short gap remaining to Hacker. Hacker tried to jump on once they came by but couldnt really make the latch. Little T has little problem jumping up from there to get the sprint. Those 3 kept up the attack on the backside, and a group of 7 or 8 had come together after the sprint hill and were just joining them when a light coming up to the I84 interchange stopped the group, or else it would have been tough to chase them down. It's hard the get the traffic light dice right thru this section though. So everyone was allowed to jump back on, gruppo compacto and with the tail wind, most were able to sit in and catch their breath.
The ride back into Cheshire was more of the same. Tommy D, Mike McG, and one other (Rusty?) broke off a little gap near the top of the riser on Peck Ln, but it was short lived. Once the peleton got onto Route 10 and up the first hill, it started getting a little more interesting up front... Sad to say it was mostly due to lights, and not hard riding. It started with Rory D getting under a changing light alone right after the hill by Cheshire Park. He kept up the solid pace, looking to get up the road. Then, a small group of about 6 or 7, motivated by Hacker, Jacinto, Guido and backed up by Pescatore, Gary from Central wheel (otherwise known as the bad guy shape shifting cop from Terminator) and Mountain Man slipped under the next light as it was changing. The rest of the field stopped. Once it got going, there was some initial quick response to try to bring it back the 8 or so up the road, but it was not going to happen. Up in the very front, Rory D was fighting tooth and nail to get to the stop n sprint point but Hacker got to him halfway up the hill and took it from there. Not satisfied with that, he easily convinced the young Garmin gun to keep up the onslaught, along with Jacinto and Thomaas B. With a couple of lights in their favor, they were gone in moments, not to be seen again. Hacker and Garmin Tommy would shed the others en route to finishing the ride off the front.
Behind, the peleton was trying to sort out who would perhaps form a chase group and there was plenty of guys willing to drill it thru the center of Cheshire, but subsequent red lights brought the field together, that's the way it would stay for the rest of the ride. There was the usual jockeying for position in the final k, and a few guys went hard for the end like they normally do. But, the marbles were being takin by the guys up the road.
Good ride everyone.
It's not everyday a "pro" shows up to the SG ride. Before everyone starts poppin stiffys, let's keep in mind that was a 16 yr old Cat 3 (?!) on the Slipstream DEVO team. Still, it was pretty cool to have CT's Tom Dudzik out on the ride tonight. As one would expect, he was watched like a hawk, but still managed to mix it up off the front a bit and he ended up riding off the front late in the game.
But back to the start, there was a pretty good crowd out tonight to get revenge on the bad weather of last week. It started out quick enough, with a group early on trying to get a gap before the crap road section. There was some more aggression showed on the early sections of Mountain Rd with Little T, Guido, Sasha from CCB, Timmy Hip, Pescatore, and maybe a couple of others getting an early gap. Mike McG was mostly responsible for shoring up the 40 meter gap soon after. From there it was all together. Hunter P tried to sneak off before the light but it was red, so all together for the jump onto Moss Farms.
Another group started to ride off the front early on, Dillon P, Danbury Audi, The Full Nalini, Rusty, Thomaas B and a couple of others, it was short lived though as the pace ramped up behind with Tommy D, The CCB Toss-up, Hacker and others coming up quick. No one was really punching it when it counted, so it was all together going into the chicane and up to Marion. Once again, a small group would soon after split from the front as the ride got to the short loop turnaround. This time it was Gregg F and Dillon P covering the gap. Hunter P again tried to get something going off the front but with no takers, had to settle for rolling up to the red light alone.
The pace stayed decent on Mount Vernon. There was some surges, some interesting gaps, some weaknesses shown in the peleton... The pace was disrupted by further construction on the false flat, and Mike McG wisely brought the ride to a more neutral pace to get thru the dangerous section. After that it all together for the last miles into the headwind. Hacker tried to sneak off a little ways before the corner. Hunter P was along for the ride and despite the 2 trying to get a gap, there was no way that was going to be allowed by the front of the field. Guido, Mike McG, The Full Nalini, A couple of Central Wheel guys etc, were mostly responsible for the brief chase.
Hacker kept up the assualt as everyone turned onto Welch, and he had a couple of guys there to try to convince to work at the long ball. The gap was never that much though as the peleton slowly ramped up the speed and ticked off the final 350 meters to the corner pretty quickly. Hacker went thru the corner first with CCB Sasha and maybe one other guy, but by that point everyone else who had worked to keep up the gap was checking out. From the field LIttle T jumped hard at the base of the hill on Welch, and then Hunter P. Those 2 had some traffic to get around, and soon it was just Little T and Sasha chasing down the short gap remaining to Hacker. Hacker tried to jump on once they came by but couldnt really make the latch. Little T has little problem jumping up from there to get the sprint. Those 3 kept up the attack on the backside, and a group of 7 or 8 had come together after the sprint hill and were just joining them when a light coming up to the I84 interchange stopped the group, or else it would have been tough to chase them down. It's hard the get the traffic light dice right thru this section though. So everyone was allowed to jump back on, gruppo compacto and with the tail wind, most were able to sit in and catch their breath.
The ride back into Cheshire was more of the same. Tommy D, Mike McG, and one other (Rusty?) broke off a little gap near the top of the riser on Peck Ln, but it was short lived. Once the peleton got onto Route 10 and up the first hill, it started getting a little more interesting up front... Sad to say it was mostly due to lights, and not hard riding. It started with Rory D getting under a changing light alone right after the hill by Cheshire Park. He kept up the solid pace, looking to get up the road. Then, a small group of about 6 or 7, motivated by Hacker, Jacinto, Guido and backed up by Pescatore, Gary from Central wheel (otherwise known as the bad guy shape shifting cop from Terminator) and Mountain Man slipped under the next light as it was changing. The rest of the field stopped. Once it got going, there was some initial quick response to try to bring it back the 8 or so up the road, but it was not going to happen. Up in the very front, Rory D was fighting tooth and nail to get to the stop n sprint point but Hacker got to him halfway up the hill and took it from there. Not satisfied with that, he easily convinced the young Garmin gun to keep up the onslaught, along with Jacinto and Thomaas B. With a couple of lights in their favor, they were gone in moments, not to be seen again. Hacker and Garmin Tommy would shed the others en route to finishing the ride off the front.
Behind, the peleton was trying to sort out who would perhaps form a chase group and there was plenty of guys willing to drill it thru the center of Cheshire, but subsequent red lights brought the field together, that's the way it would stay for the rest of the ride. There was the usual jockeying for position in the final k, and a few guys went hard for the end like they normally do. But, the marbles were being takin by the guys up the road.
Good ride everyone.
Tuesday the 28th
Rainy Tuesday... Feels like Monday... Maybe people didnt get the memo.
The rain was on and mostly going off but it was enough to keep almost all the riders away from Sleeping Giant today. There were some that were not scared off by a little H2o. Mike McG, Mountain Man, Dillon P, The Full Nalini, a new guy on a Merida, French Casey, Hunter P, Rondo and a Yalie who we've seen before ( Adam T? ). Aidan and Dan-the-careening-Caridi from the Aetna / CCAP team also done show'd up due to the 'rent race being cancelled. Because everyone is programmed to hard on tuesday, the ride was pretty quick from the get-go. A couple of guys checked out before the end of Moss Farms due to the small group/hard pace. Caridi, Aidan, Mike McG, and Hunter P mostly were responsible for the nail driving. There were a couple of moves that looked like they may stick. The Full Nalini did his fair share of chasing and herding the cats, chasing down a lot of aetna+1 other moves off the front.
Mike McG once again pulled hard up the false flat on Mount Vernon, followed up by Aidan for half the distance to the turn around. Everyone stayed together on Welch until Aidan jumped at the base of the hill. Hunter P was the only one to go with him and he got a great lead-out from the "General" to get the sprint. Everyone sat-up on the backside to let the stragglers catch back on. From there it was status quo. Hunter P jumped hard again going under 84 on Atwater St, Mike McG and Aidan eventually responded and chased with the Full Nalini bringing up the rest of the remaining guys. Everyone rolled thru the light over 322 together but the motivation was still there by the uphill drag to the top of Peck ln. Aidan lit the match there and split the field with a strong pull. It would have been for good but once onto Route 10, everyone decided to spin back into Hamden and that there is how she ended.
The rain was on and mostly going off but it was enough to keep almost all the riders away from Sleeping Giant today. There were some that were not scared off by a little H2o. Mike McG, Mountain Man, Dillon P, The Full Nalini, a new guy on a Merida, French Casey, Hunter P, Rondo and a Yalie who we've seen before ( Adam T? ). Aidan and Dan-the-careening-Caridi from the Aetna / CCAP team also done show'd up due to the 'rent race being cancelled. Because everyone is programmed to hard on tuesday, the ride was pretty quick from the get-go. A couple of guys checked out before the end of Moss Farms due to the small group/hard pace. Caridi, Aidan, Mike McG, and Hunter P mostly were responsible for the nail driving. There were a couple of moves that looked like they may stick. The Full Nalini did his fair share of chasing and herding the cats, chasing down a lot of aetna+1 other moves off the front.
Mike McG once again pulled hard up the false flat on Mount Vernon, followed up by Aidan for half the distance to the turn around. Everyone stayed together on Welch until Aidan jumped at the base of the hill. Hunter P was the only one to go with him and he got a great lead-out from the "General" to get the sprint. Everyone sat-up on the backside to let the stragglers catch back on. From there it was status quo. Hunter P jumped hard again going under 84 on Atwater St, Mike McG and Aidan eventually responded and chased with the Full Nalini bringing up the rest of the remaining guys. Everyone rolled thru the light over 322 together but the motivation was still there by the uphill drag to the top of Peck ln. Aidan lit the match there and split the field with a strong pull. It would have been for good but once onto Route 10, everyone decided to spin back into Hamden and that there is how she ended.
Tuesday the 21st
The rain held off!
Southerly winds kept the rain up north but didn't help get the ride get going any faster than normal. Nothing really happened for the opening 20 minutes tonight. The pace was decent but all-together a bit boring as everyone seemed to be taking their time adjusting to the heat. Better get used to it, we're stuck with it for a while y'all.
Fast forward through the backroads... The only notable was Larry M taking a flyer that he held for most of the way to Mountain Rd. No one seemed to be in much of a hurry to catch and he was rolling with the punches and not really caring to stay away much either. The trip down Mountain was quick and there was no one, 2 or even 3 specific riders going above or beyond.
Onto Moss Farms where a small group ( Dillon P, Dana R, Nuemotion, Thomaas B, Timmy Hip, The Sernyak, and maybe one or 2 others) was allowed to ride off the front. Again, the response was lethargic and slow. The lead group had broken down to just Nuemotion and Timmy Hip by the hill up to Marion. Just as Nuemotion was jumping off the front of that, going thru the corner alone, Hunter P jumped hard off the front of the field and joined up with him soon after, making for the first "maybe-we-should-take-this-seriously" break of the day. Even still, the response was a bit slow and the 2 leaders quickly got a gap of about 50-60 meters.
Approaching the corner for the short loop, as the field was bearing down, the 2 leaders blew by a slow moving tractor and collected the dickwad move of the night award. Unbeknownst to them, the field was close behind and naturally, had more trouble getting thru the 3 feet between said farming device and the yellow center lines. It allowed for a little more life to the break and an opportunity for opportunistic bridge attempts. Young Suto and Special Ed were up to the task and quickly made their way up. It soon became just Special Ed, being chased by Hunter P and Young Suto, but it was all for naught as the light at 322 was red.
Once onto Mount Vernon, the action subsided again and it was status quo up-till about 500 meters before the false flat section. There is where Mike McG turned up the heat. Mike still puts the booties in the seats as it were as plenty of guys took note and bought tickets to the show. It became Mike McG, Chris C, the new guy on the Red Specialized ( for the love of a saddle-sore-free-taint, someone please get a name on that guy - Rusty Dave! thx), Hunter P and maybe 2 more charging up the false flat. That surge turned into a decent looking break by Chris C, Mike McG and Joe K, who shuffle-stepped his way into the move. That was allowed some room as Cheshire Cycle riders came up and rode some defense. It took some strong jumps from a new Central Wheel rider, The Full Nalini and Timmy Hip to start the process of regrouping. That turned into a brief exodus off the front by Jordan Lynn and Special Ed but they must not have felt good about the cards they were holding as they throttled back well before the turn onto Welch.
Gruppo Compacto heading toward the turnaround and boy-oh-boy was it slow. That gave plenty of guys a chance to jump when Chris C, Little T, Larry M and Jacinto took off toward the corner. Their prize for getting there first was a solid smack in the face by the headwind now popping a stiffy. That let even more guys get on board for a run to the sprint line. But the cream always rises to the top folks. It soon become a 3 horse race ( Little T, Jacinto, and Joe K ) with Little T easily taking it after Jacinto was stuck in the front too soon, too far out. Behind, Larry M got stuck in no-mans land and The Full Nalini led the peleton over the crest of the hill.
Joe K kept up the assault on the backside and got a light in his favor initially, but then was slowed by a red light, but then jumped up off the front anyway and then got another light in his favor. He rolled off the front, but in proper gentlemanly style, didn't really hit it until after the turn onto Atwater St. Once he did, he was gone out of sight. A few riders started up the pace behind. Young Suto, New specialized guy Rusty Joe, Pescatore, Thomaas B etc. Hunter P jumped hard off up the front as the ride went underneath the overpass and was allowed to go free. He would come up to Joe K waiting at the red light on 322 just as it was turning green. Behind the field was starting to chase back and this is where it gets interesting.
There was a group of about 8 or 9 with a slight gap who pushed it at the last moment when it was apparent the light was green. That surge was enough to create a gap to the peleton that forced them ( rightly so ) to stop at the light which was, by now, red. Did a couple guys go thru a red light? Yep. Were they following guys who went under a yellow light? Yep. This group was made up of Both elder and young Suto, A new yalie, Dillon P, Mountain Man, Thomaas B, The Sernyak, Central Wheel, The Full Nalini, New guy on a Calfee, and maybe one or 2 others. When they caught up to Joe K and Hunter P it completed the group that would stay away for the rest of the ride.
For the remainder of the night, up front, the Stop n Shop sprint was contested by Dillon P and Young Suto with the Youngster clawing a bit longer at the pedals to get there first for a well deserved win. During the run-in to Hamden, the shenanigans started with Hunter P and Young Suto trying to break the field up with The Full Nalini and Central Wheel sewing things back up in time for the sit n sprint. Young Suto opened that up, with The Full Nalini giving chase. Hunter P rolled thru though and got to the corner first. Up the hill went only a couple from the break, with Mountain Man gettin to the top first with little problem.
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