A running account of the "race without an entry fee"..... The Tuesday night ride

Tuesday the 23rd



Motopacing behind storm cells
    The rain ended with plenty of time to spare before the start of another semi-wet SG ride. It was small crew out tonight, not quite 20 riders. The pace for the most was on the slower side. Certainly slower than the last couple of weeks. The usuals were up front early on. Henk P was a notable addition to the action and pace setting this week. He tried to slip away on Moss Farms, Mount Vernon, and West St.
    The first real action came on Moss Farms, when Hunter P took off and initially took Chris C, Henk P and Mike McG. That group made some headway on the pack heading into the chicane. Dillon P tried to slip off by pushing it on the wet roads in the corners and the chicane but there were guys that latched on and that led the catch of the break shortly after the turn onto Marion. Nick Sabatelli jumped off the front after that and held onto a small gap going by the industrial park before Hunter P jumped up and bridged the gap, this time with Rob Dux and Henk P again. It was together shortly after that and all the way onto Mount Vernon. Besides Henk trying to slip off the front early on, Mount Vernon was pretty run-o-the-mill. The smaller group obviously was leading to less overall speed.  
     After everyone turned onto Welch, a couple of guys started getting into position for the sprint. Dan I’m Back Smith jumped up off the front as the hill started, but was roped back in when traffic at the corner slowed him. After the corner, plenty of guys were there to keep the pace respectable. Notably, the Mullaly boys along with Kyle C, were up there drilling it up front and Little T was missing. He had gotten hit with a flat in the choppy roads early on Mount Vernon. For the sprint, Hunter P jumped hard at the usual spot. Mike McG gave chase but Hunter P stayed out in front. That was it for the sprinters. Pescatore brought all others up the hill to the sprint point.
    On backside, everyone came together, including Little T, who took a shortcut to rejoin. Heading back into Cheshire, downed powerlines, or construction, detoured everyone off Atwater St, onto the bike trail. Hunter P broke protocol, and slipped off the front as everyone went neutral for the detour on the empty bike trail. Hunter P kept up the gap until route 10, when a red light right after the corner brought it all back together. From there, no surprises up to the Stop n Sprint, where Little jumped up from 2 or 3 bikes back to easily nab it. Again, Mike McG, giving chase, this time with I’m Back Smith as well.
     Heading thru the center of Cheshire, Henk P drilled it, taking along the Mullalys and Kyle C with him. The old guy and the 3 young kids got to worked pretty hard, and they actually kept up a gap that took some real digs to bring back. Mike McG put his head down after passing Cheshire High and erased the gap. From there it was standard stuff heading back into Hamden. Little T rolled off the front with a little ways to go to the finish. A late regrouping on the front put a group of 3 riders in position to perhaps catch him. Pescatore, Henk P, Keith Mullaly and one other. Little T hung on though for it. The only guys with the Testes enough to head up the Shepard Ave for the uphill finish were Nick S and Hunter P.
     Next week, more riders, more attacks!

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