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!