Tuesday the 11th

Windy Day = A Strange Ride

There was a big crowd out for tonight's ride. One of the largest this season. There was a gusty wind trying to make up its mind which way it was coming from, but overall it was headwind out, tailwind back.

Dan Smith was the first guy to attack after a slow start. He got out there and dangled a bit but when Alan B and Hacker pushed the pace up front, it came back together. Dan would attack shortly after getting onto South Brooksavle and got a bit more of a gap. Then Hunter P attacked hard, taking Ben Bruce and Alan B with him. That dangled a bit but then a corner reshuffled the deck, leading to Hunter P, Alan B, Dan Smith, off the front getting onto Mountain Road. Behind, the pack was little tied up with cars turning, which allowed the gap to go up a bit. Ben Bruce and The Sernyak were in the gap and eventually made their way to the trio. The larger break stayed away for the length of Mountain Rd and would have been gone, but the light was red, and the pack made it thru the green. 

On Moss Farms, Alan stayed on it, along with Dan Smith, but that was short lived as the pack got up to speed. Then Hacker attacked which strung things out going into the chicane, but the big wind was keeping the front subdued, and everyone behind in the game.

The pace was slowed running by the industrial park. HEadwind cut straight into the speed. Alan B tired, Hunter P tried, Brian Girard tried. All didn't get very far. The light was red going over 322 which would usually have served as a "reset" but this week it was right back to full gas on the other side.

Alan B, The Sernyak, Rich Nadeau, Chris Britts and a couple of others were pushing the pace early on, even before the ride got to Mount Vernon.  Dan Smith held a small gap going onto Mount Vernon, but it was soon back together. The headwind kept everyone together for the most part, although Ben Bruce, Alan B, and Ciocci would have a go trying to get off the front.

Next big attack would come from Hunter P after the false flat section. He built up a 150-meter gap but didn't last too long before the group clawed it back. Hunter P and Ben Bruce would have one more go as the ride got the corner for Welch Rd, but that too was never far off the front as most of the others reacted as soon as it happened. That led to a steady, slightly slower pace down Welch. This gave Hacker a chance to attack hard, and he build up a solid gap by the corner. Back in the pack, heading up the hill to the corner, Little T jumped hard and very nearly took no one with him. 3 or 4 guys were in a place to respond (Chris C, Rich N, Chris Brits, Max A, Hunter P) but going thru the corner Little T kept motoring and was soon separated off the front. He would catch Hacker and then go by to easily take the sprint point. Brian Girard was next over the line, getting past the remnants of the chase and Ben Bruce.

On the backside, with the Tailwind, Chris C sped off the front along with Hunter P. The pace was flat out and a few guys didn't have the gearing or the leg speed to comfortably stay in position. Even a redlight near I84 couldn't reset the ride enough for most involved. Heading up the hill to the intersection for Jude Ln, Hunter P drilled it with Chris C and Alan B on his wheel the light there turned yellow for the 3 leaders, 3 or 4 four made the choice to go under the red, leaving the vast majority of the pack to decide to hold up. It was a tight call, with the responsibility to stop not with the first 2 guys under the light, as there was a gap and they couldn't brake fast enough as the light turned yellow.

After the pack got going (with some grumbling), they would soon find that the leading group (Alan B, Little T, Rich N, Chris C, Hunter P, Dan Smith, Chris Brits, Sean Cahill, and maybe one or 2 others) was not going to be caught.

Up front, Alan B took the Hickory Hill sprint, after attacking early on the hill. Only Sean Cahill responded to that attack as Alan had a teammate in the pack. Cahill dropped off the chase and Hunter p went over the line next. Alan B stayed on it and rode away for the second week in a row. The chase kept him within distance for the most part, but in the end it was Little T going across the final line after Alan B.