Tuesday the 26th

The weatherman was only half right today. 

                The usual crowd was out tonight. A couple of new faces were mixed in, replacing a couple of regulars who were missing (Little T, Guido, Hacker, The Full Nalini, etc) Right off the line, there were a couple of jokers who set out ahead of the pack down route 10. They didn’t stay out there too long once onto the backroads. The initial pace was put down by a pair ERRACE doods (Jordan L and Rusty) and College St Cycles (The Sernyak and Jacinto). Soon enough Chris C and Mike McG were up there as well and the speed stayed high throughout the opening 20 min or so. On the lead in to Moutnain Rd, a new guy (Bontrager gear, specialized bike?!) hit the front and did a great job contributing but not getting in the way with the unknown corners.

                Mountain Rd, the pace slowed a bit at first but ramped up behind ERRACE (Rory D and Jordan mostly) and French Casey. A couple of guys shot off the front for the light (HunterP and The Senryak) but it was red. Once onto Moss Farms, French Casey stayed on it and took off with Jordan L in pursuit. Those 2 dangled out there while the rest sorted themselves out behind. Nuemotion, Ben Bruce, Ciocci, Bontrager Mix-up and Hutner P all steadily ramping it toward the chicane. Jordan L stayed up there and led all thru the corner. Heading up to Marion, Hunter P jumped hard and strung things out, Seryack, Nuemotion, Chris C and a couple of others responded and it quickly created a gap to the rest of the field. The lead group stayed on the gas for a kilo or so but it would all be brought back together when the sharp end of the break broke.

                Over 322 and the pace stayed steady, but no one was looking to attack. Rory D started things out on Mount Vernon with a brief jump off the front. The rest of the way down Mount Vernon was steady and a bit slow as most riders were just trying to avoid flatting on the crap road. Heading past the broken up roads and leading up to the false flat, Sean Cahill showed the ride the most deliberate attack we’ve seen in a while. Most riders at the front didn’t know how to respond, so he rolled away. A new head wind formed thanks to the storm clouds, and it pushed him back on the riser. Cahill would be caught shortly after the climb as lot’s of guys got involved up front to help push things along.

                Steady pace all the way to the corner to Welch… Once thru the corner, more rotation up front meant the speed stayed decent, but it def started to slow as the corner and hill loomed. Chris C was the first to jump, with plenty of time to spare to the corner. Lots of guys responded and it made for a crowded turn. It quickly sorted out to just Chris C and Jacinto with a decent gap on the rest. The main chase would become Sean Cahill, Mike mCg, Nuemotion, The Sernyak, Hunter P and one or 2 others. The chase would close down on the leaders with a couple of seconds to spare for the sprint, which Mike McG opened up in earnest. Only Nuemotion would respond and it was a 2 horse race to the end, with Nuemotion pulling ahead in the final 30 meters or so.

                Lots of guys in position to peg it on the descent, and with the rain starting to lightly fall, there was plenty of reason to giddy-up toward the lighter skies to the south. No attacks until the short hill going underneath the highway, where Rory D, The Gibertoni and Hunter P jumped, but the response was quick and sure, bringing all to the red light on 322 in a bunch.

                The only rider to roll of the front on Peck was the Berlin Bike rider in the Dux helmet (name?) but that was short lived as everyone wound it up again for the long drag to Route 10. No real action as the ride got close to the Sprint point. A red light at the base of the hill slowed everyone down considerably, making the sprint awkward… Mike McG, Jacinto, and a couple of others jumped all the same, no doubt to work on their CX race starts. Mike gets this one back over Jacinto in a long fight to the line.

                The ride back thru town was slow and cumbersome as the high school fields were clearing out en masse, no doubt in response to the lightning coming quick. The pace picked up once past all the lights for a standard run-in back to Hamden. For the final kilo, A small group split off in the final 700 meters, with Jacinto in the best spot to roll away with it. Mike McG nearly sped across the gap and thru all but came up a bit short to Jacinto’s wheel.

Another great ride everyone! Thanks to the new guys for being good sports and chipping in when they could.