Not the type of ride to enjoy a sun-shiny day.
Seems like each ride this week has had just about the same amount
of riders participating. Within a few here and there, the ride size has been
pretty consistent. Tonight was no different.
Starting pretty much right out of the parking lot, the
alpaca was out there and going it alone off the front. The ride was turn off
route10 all together though. Soon enough, Chris C was leading a charge off the
front. Alapaca, Mike McG , The Sernyak, Nuemotion, Rusty and a couple of others
were trying to get off the front. The group swelled a bit as Guido rode into
it, but no one really capitalized leading up and going thru the crap road
section (for good reason), meaning that it would all come back together soon
after.
A new
rider from Danbury Audi (Christian) was slowly working his way up to the front,
looking like business as he made his way up there. He would be one of the
couple of riders pushing the pace up the first section of Mountain Road. Most
everyone else was in a Wait-and-see mode, meaning that strong riders were being
marked, and sneaky stronger riders were waiting for the ideal chance to jump.
More of
the same on Moss Farms. Chris C was one of the first to go, with Alpaca going
up after him. When Danbury Christian, jumped up in pursuit, a couple of riders
tagged along. In strong form Christian would catch the leaders and then
overhaul them, albeit slowly. As the corner loomed, too many guys knew the road
and were therefore reluctant to jump off the front. That meant it was all together
heading into the chicane. The pace there slowed quite a bit as there was a
turning car in front of the charging pack. After that obstacle, Chris C charged
off the front, heading thru the corner with a slight lead. Once again, the
presence of the new, obviously strong rider, would up the game and keep other
on their toes. That lead to a decent sized group getting a gap as the turn for
the short loop was passed. There was some strong pulls at the front of the
peleton ( tall Dennis, Todd H) to bring back the 8 or 9 riders who would certainly
have ridden away with it with the right road conditions. The following section was
then pretty fast, but without attacks.
The light at 322 was green which
made for some tired riders at the back of the pack, without a chance to
recover. The speed stayed high onto Mount Vernon, Chris C and The Sernyak were
up there, trying to get a gap. Next up was Hunter P, who rolled off the front,
taking 3 or 4 riders with him. The pace in the lead group stayed high, while
the response was a little slow. Nuemotion and Special Ed charged across the gap
with one or 2 other riders. The crappy roads there on Mount Vernon slowed down
any organized chase, while the front group was at max throttle, bouncing all
over the place, as guys were looking for a clean path of pavement.
Advantage> Front Group. Soon enough, there was a real deal split in the
field, with 12 or so riders up the road charging hard, 8-10 riders struggling
to connect, some more riders dropped behind that group. Carnage level higher
than normal as the headwind was definitely taking its toll.
The lead group would hit the corner
for Welch Rd with about a 12 second gap. Up front, plenty of guys were chipping
in, helping keep the speed high. For the approach to the corner, Chris C slowly
jumped off the front. Right there was Mike McG. A bit later to answer was
Nuemotion. Those 2 went thru the corner with a 405 second gap. Behind, a group
of 5 or 6, headed up by Jacinto and Danbury Audi was collecting itself for the pursuit.
The trio up the road would get to work, and they made the most of the gap. Just
a few short moments later, it was evident that they wouldn’t be caught. From
within that trio, the prize went to Mike McG, who patiently waited til the right time to jump and take the sprint.
On the downhill, it would all come
back together, although the turnaround hill had further split up what was the
main group. A couple of the subsequent lights were green, adding to the advantage
that the first 10 riders on the road had. By the I84 flyover, there were riders
scattered all over the place. One red light slowed the group down, giving a
certain number a chance to catch back on. The second group on the road,
separated on the false flat of Mount Vernon, was long gone and out of it though.
Jumping off the red light was Chris
C. He took along Christian from Danbury and Mike McG. Those 3 rolled up to
Hunter P, who had snuck thru the red light but was sitting up waiting. Chris C
kept the charge going up to the top of West St and down the backside, which
extended the lead for the front 4. The second group, consisting of 10-13 riders
was held up briefly at one more light. The ensuing gap was all the front 4
needed. They would roll off uncontested, getting the long-ball prize of the
week.
For the Stop n Shop sprint, Hunter
P got it after Chris C started the sprint. For the finale, No one contested
Mike McG as he rolled away with a couple hundred meters to go.
Great ride everyone! Even better than last week! Better bring you’re A-game next as well!
