The who’s who of CT cycling (central CT at least….. But
where Mike McG?!) continues to come out in full support of hard training and exemplary
ride manners on Tuesday night!
It was great to see the Mullaly clan out for the ride. Keith
and Kyle are crushing it out there and deserve kudos for their rides tonight.
We had a blast from the past with a one Dan Smith back on the cycling wagon. It’s
good to see a dude throw himself right into the deep end of the pool and have
him not drown. Also out for the first time in a while was Alec Cunningham,
visiting home, with his ski goggles, from college.
As the ride got going, the first ones to put a fast foot forward
were Jordan L, Chris C and Hunter P. No one was letting that roll though and so
it made the opening 2 miles off of route 10 pretty quick. Hacker and The Burgess
hit the front a couple of corners later and kept the pace high. There was a
small group ld by Hacker on the early riser of Mountain Rd but by the stop sign
for Higgans, the rest of the pack was ramping it up enough to catch them and
regroup. From there it stayed pretty much all together with the usual guys
drilling it up front.
Hacker got the jump thru the light on route 69 and rolled too fast onto Moss Farms, aka Joe & Ben Boulevard. He was held up by vehicular traffic, although Hunter P and Jordan L were right there to keep it going. There was plenty of willing guys to follow, leaving no room for attacks of any sort. Pace stayed high into and thru the chicane. Hunter P rolled off the front after the corner for Marion and the Burgess was there to go as well. Chris C chipped in 3rd but there was enough of a pickup from behind to keep it all together. (Nuemotion, Groome, Little T, Alec C, a new guy a plain white jersey). Hacker kept on the gas going over the highway, as well as Chris C, leading to a small group getting a brief gap, but the Burgess chased and brought it all back together before the light.
Groome kept on it after the light, as well as Jordan L, but no one was getting any real gap all the way down Mount Vernon. There were a couple of points were the speed dropped down quite a bit. Turning onto Welch, Hacker jumped first again, and only a couple responded to the challenge. Chris C at first, then Ben Bruce. Behind there were a couple of guys in between but it quickly became a race for second place, at least to the corner. The 3 leaders went through with a small but substantial gap of 4 or 5 seconds. The Burgess worked into the wind to bring a couple of riders up close but not close enough. For the leaders, they worked evenly and had a good line at sprint. Each of them jumped but it was Hacker who had the kick needed to come around. On the backside, there was plenty of fast riding downhill to try to start something but a red light stopped any escapes.
The ride back south stayed pretty plain-jane. Jordan L and Chris C got the pace going on West street after the zigzag lights. Special Ed rejoined after an early flat and pushed the pace after everyone went under the overpass. The light back over 322 was green, leading to Hunter P trying to sneak off with Chris C, The Burgess, and a couple of others thru the milled roads there between 322 and West Johnson. Great to see that section of road being re-paved. No one was having it and instead, the pace stayed high all the way back onto Route 10. Not too much by way of action leading into the Stop n Sprint. Hacker tried to jump early but he had the trio of Chris C, Ben Bruce and Hunter P along for the ride. After the reshuffle with only a couple of hundred meters to go, Hacker and Ben Bruce still tried to jump, but Little T had been lying in wait in good position and was able to come around with little fuss.
Ben Bruce would get his chance later on for the finale, as he jumped up and past a handful of riders (great to see Kyle Crowell up in the mix as well) to be first to the corner.
Hacker got the jump thru the light on route 69 and rolled too fast onto Moss Farms, aka Joe & Ben Boulevard. He was held up by vehicular traffic, although Hunter P and Jordan L were right there to keep it going. There was plenty of willing guys to follow, leaving no room for attacks of any sort. Pace stayed high into and thru the chicane. Hunter P rolled off the front after the corner for Marion and the Burgess was there to go as well. Chris C chipped in 3rd but there was enough of a pickup from behind to keep it all together. (Nuemotion, Groome, Little T, Alec C, a new guy a plain white jersey). Hacker kept on the gas going over the highway, as well as Chris C, leading to a small group getting a brief gap, but the Burgess chased and brought it all back together before the light.
Groome kept on it after the light, as well as Jordan L, but no one was getting any real gap all the way down Mount Vernon. There were a couple of points were the speed dropped down quite a bit. Turning onto Welch, Hacker jumped first again, and only a couple responded to the challenge. Chris C at first, then Ben Bruce. Behind there were a couple of guys in between but it quickly became a race for second place, at least to the corner. The 3 leaders went through with a small but substantial gap of 4 or 5 seconds. The Burgess worked into the wind to bring a couple of riders up close but not close enough. For the leaders, they worked evenly and had a good line at sprint. Each of them jumped but it was Hacker who had the kick needed to come around. On the backside, there was plenty of fast riding downhill to try to start something but a red light stopped any escapes.
The ride back south stayed pretty plain-jane. Jordan L and Chris C got the pace going on West street after the zigzag lights. Special Ed rejoined after an early flat and pushed the pace after everyone went under the overpass. The light back over 322 was green, leading to Hunter P trying to sneak off with Chris C, The Burgess, and a couple of others thru the milled roads there between 322 and West Johnson. Great to see that section of road being re-paved. No one was having it and instead, the pace stayed high all the way back onto Route 10. Not too much by way of action leading into the Stop n Sprint. Hacker tried to jump early but he had the trio of Chris C, Ben Bruce and Hunter P along for the ride. After the reshuffle with only a couple of hundred meters to go, Hacker and Ben Bruce still tried to jump, but Little T had been lying in wait in good position and was able to come around with little fuss.
Ben Bruce would get his chance later on for the finale, as he jumped up and past a handful of riders (great to see Kyle Crowell up in the mix as well) to be first to the corner.
