Tuesday the 30th

Pressure Upfront Goes Up a Notch

    The weather was better this week, which means that even more riders were out for the ride today.  There were three women out today on the ride as well, which was cool to see. Kudos to Patsy, Lochner, and Lisa Stanley for coming out to roll with the SGR. They had a bit of a challenge this week, as there was a huge tailwind. The whole pack roared up route 10, which can be a bit intimidating for new riders. Even so, they reported afterward that they had a great time, and they are looking forward to coming back. They will be riding a modified loop that will keep from going all the way north but will reconnect with the rest of the ride on the return back into Hamden. Hopefully, more women will come out as well!
Once the ride was into Cheshire, the pace picked up a bit. There was an incident where a new rider upfront was unsure of which way to go at Mount Sanford, which led to crossing wheels with Sernyack. Mike was relatively ok, and the ride got rolling after a 1 min pause. Then, down the road, Wild Bill S was on the front as the corner for Mountain Road came up. He went straight and didn't realize it for a handful of seconds. He tried to give chase after turning around but came up a bit short by the end of Mountain Rd.
    Upfront, the pack made it through the light without stopping. From there, Aaron B, Hunter P, and Chris C punched it off the front, and only a handful of riders that were attentive at the front made it into the group. Dan Smith, Little T, Nic V, and one or two others were clutching the back of the attack. The move def had the legs, and it took a hard chase from the back to draw it close by the chicane. Shortly after turning onto Marion, the rotation in the break broke down as a couple of riders skipped pulls. That let the peleton chase back, so it was all together going into the Industrial Park.
    Dan Smith accelerated from the front, and he was allowed to roll off the front. Kieran H and Hunter P kept the pace high after the corner onto West Johnson, and soon the ride was all back together again.
After crossing route 10, it stayed together. As the ride made its way to the Greenhouse Climb, Dillon P rolled off the front, and everyone was content to him go as well. As everyone hit the base of the "climb," Dillon P was only a few meters off the front.
     Up the hill, the usual suspects hit the front. Keiran H took a bit of a dig, but the strong headwind kept the eager beavers sitting tight in the draft. Then Aaron B rolled to the front and pulled everyone up the climb. Hunter P took a late pull, then Chris C brought everyone up to the sprint. Little T jumped first, but Curly Huesman was sitting in the entire time waiting. He was able to come around Little T by the end, and he kept on the gas as well.
     Curly rolled off alone towards the light and was able to get thru unimpeded. That was the springboard he needed to make a run at finishing the ride solo. Behind, the chase got going, organized and fast. There were a couple of new riders up front chipping in. When the ride hit the climb up Tuttle, Curly was about 20 seconds ahead. Chris C and Hunter P pulled hard up to the intersection, then a couple of the CW guys hit the front and closed down the gap even more.
     Curly was caught with about 1 mile to go. From there, the sprinters came up and drove the pace. Little T jumped first but had Aaron B, Hunter P, Dan Smith, The Sernyak, and Curly right there. T held on for the sprint, with it being super tight between the rest of the "top 5."

Besides the incidents, it was a good ride. The next few weeks, before racing starts at Rentschler Field starts, should be great!