Rained out except for a few knuckleheads!
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. Dillon P was there as
well Chris C 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 Dillon P. Ed A, Chris C 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.... Dillon 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 Dillon P Chris C and ED... 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 Dillon P ( 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. Ed 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 ( Ed, Chris C, Dillon, Chris, Special Ed, etc ). As the
ride came up on the turnaround, Chris C rode off and was allowed to go.
Chris C 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 Dillon P and the 2 rolled off a gap, went up and over Ed and
extended it nearly the whole way to the hill thanks to Chris C'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 Dillon P? did jet off the front right before the
hill kicked. Up front, the 2 leaders worked well together and Dillon P
easily got the points as Chris C 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. Dillon P 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, ( Dillon P, Chris C, Chris C, Dillon P,
etc ) Chris C was back at it and this time he brought Dillon P up
across the gap, Dillon P 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, Chris C fired things up on the front and then Dillon P 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. Chris C Dillon P ended up in front of the
remains, with Chris C taking it with a last minute surge, coming out of
Dillon P's shadow. Up the hill Dillon P took it over Everyone Else Who
Didn't show...
Good ride everyone!
