Tuesday the 20th

Week 2 !

Perfect weather for the 2nd week out. Everyone had the recent racing tragedy in mind, and the starthouse was a little less jovial cause of it. There were more helmets on then usual…. Let’s just leave it at that.

      The start of the ride was calm. Everyone rode together for the opening miles. Brooksvale Ave looks like its been thru a microwave and there are now many rim-destroying holes on the section leading up to Mount Sanford Rd. Sure enough, a couple of guys got hit with flats as everyone else broke formation to get thru it slow and safe. One would have to imagine that crews will be out to patch it up soon but till then, we’re going to have to use more caution.
    Shortly after that, MoMoney and BlackTie Sports ( name? ) rolled off the front. BlackTie was on a bender for the first half of the ride, throwing off attack after attack. Hunter P brought the bunch back and it was all together turning onto Mountain Rd.  BlackTie would hit it again on the initial part of Mountain, with Young Suto giving chase. A rider in Green (?) took off and made it up Black Tie, but by then it was all coming back together. For a brief moment, Hunter P, MoMoney and Black Tie had a gap, but that didn’t last long and it was all together to the light on 68.
     The trip down Moss Farms was un-exciting. Black Tie would hit it again after the chicane, heading up to Marion Ave. This time DJ Dan and a CVC rider would give chase.  It turned into a small group getting off the front. CCR Owen, Zierhoff from Stage 1 and CVC. Back in the pack, with Stage 1, Team New Haven and CCR represented up front, there was no hurry to reel them back.  Heading into the industrial park, MoMoney and the Dark Yalie would jump up to the group and that was enough to bring it all back together. Turning onto West Johnson, Hunter P hit the front. That lead to Little T, Young Suto, and the rider in Green off the front with a long ways to the corner for Reinhard. Little T, in an uncharacteristic move, rode away from the rest as the hill started to bit and was all in for the sprint. He had a good gap, but still had to ramp up a sprint to hold off Joe K and Eric M, who were closing but didn’t have enough road to overtake T as he took the first breakaway sprint of the year.
     On the backside, Joe K stayed on the gas and went solo off the front up to past Peck Lane. BlackTie, Rondo, and Huinter P doing the work on the front of the peleton. From there it was all together as the headwind took its toll and brought the speed way down. For the run in to the Stop N Shop sprint, Young Suto, Antonio D, the Dark Yalie Nick G, Jacinto and 1 or 2 others were in position to strike. Jacinto jumped first as Hunter P came from the group back and was able to go past Jacinto to get the sprint.
     The ride back into Hamden was normal. The most exciting thing being the return of Chris B, who flew up through the front in a last kilo bid. Apparently he was lurking in the shadows all ride long, watching like an Afghan revolutionist, spying out the forces' weakness. He came up short but it was good to see him out. He lives nearly an hour away now but has promised to be around more often to make the SG ride difficult for all.

For the finale, Jacinto and the CVC rider went toe to toe to the line. Up the hill went the usual suspects, but Hunter P got a head-start and got the top first.

Tuesday the 14th

Get out the GoPro's, 250 gram tubulars and your best socks... The Sleeping Giant Ride is back!

2012 kicked off last night with about 35-45 riders & in proper Tuesday Night World's fashion, the ride had a tail wind as it went North. Everyone was happy to be out, but the absence of Peter K's glistening, chiseled, embro soaked legs was definitely felt. Get well soon Pete...... We'll be looking out for you on the road soon.

     Right off route 10, the trouble makers for the night stood up. Chris C, Joe K started it off, which rolled into a good push off the front by MoMoney and Hunter P. After that, as the ride got close to Mountain road, Tall John, Jacinto, a rider from BlackTie Sports, DJ Dan, and a CVC rider hit the front. Joe K and Hunter P would keep it close as they negotiated the gap but after the initial sections of Mountain it was all coming back together. DJ Dan kept on the gas along with a Yalie in dark colors ( Nick G? ) and that shot off another group. Jacinto, Chris C, Little T and 2 others, making a strong group of 6 or so flying down Mountain. Rondo tried to get across but pulled back. Hunter P made the jump across and went to work in the group but it was all brought back by the red light on route 68. The group rolled the dice with the light but came up empty. Green light = gone for the night no doubt this time.
     On Moss Farms, everyone took a moment to recollect. Heading into the Chicane, DJ Dan started up again near the front, which got everyone's attention, including the 2 hot chicks that were on the ride (nice job ladies). That surge turned into Chris C, The dark Yalie, Hunter P and Jacinto off the front shortly after the corner for Marion . The foursome punched it toward the industrial park and was clear, rotating well and sharing the workload all the way to halfway up West Johnson. The peleton, led by Mike McG, Tall John, BlackTie, etc brought it back just before the hill started to bite. Antonio D and Black Tie got a dig in to clear the group as the ride turned onto Reinhard. Little T punched it for the sprint and was clear, despite a long chase by Joe K, who had the best look at the sprint besides T.
     On the backside, it all came back. The headwind took its toll on the group on Peck and onto Route 10. Speed stayed low all the way to the lead in to the Stop a Shop sprint, where there were a bunch of guys up front to drive it. DJ Dan, MoMoney, Tall John ( ? ) and others, causing Little T to push for the front. Mike McG was already there and punched it first, and nearly lead-out Little T to the line, In the last 20 meters Little T was able to come around for sprint point #2 on the season.
     The rest of the ride was pretty sedate, as the group had to deal with lots of red lights and the headwind. For the finale, after a killer kilometer leadout by Cheshire Cycle's newest future Cancellara, Owen Fowler, Jacinto, dark yalie, Mike McG, and Little T were in the best spot to finish it up. Mike McG gets a bit of revenge, as he out punches the Yalie to the final corner. There were a couple of guys to finish it off like men, up the hill. MoMoney, Dennis-head-up-Display and one or 2 others.
     Good ride everyone!

Sleeping Giant Tuesday night mayhem at 5:30

See you all out there. 5:30 sharp

Tuesday the 11th

The last ride of 2011

There was a stalwart group of about 25 out on the ride tonight. Right off route 10, Hunter P went on the first of a bunch of attacks. Joe K went with him this time and the 2 built up a good gap by the time they went over the crap road section. One street later, it was just Hunter out there alone and he hung on to a gap as the pack seemed content to bring back Joe K and then let the ride run its course. Hunter would eventually come back by the first risers on Mountain Rd. Then it was Special Ed, Little T and Justin Neuman and pushing the pace on the next set of risers. Chris "safety never takes a vacation" Crowle and Hunter P were left to sew up the short gap to that group. After that is was all together to the light on route 68.
    Hunter P and Little T looked ready to rock n roll for Moss Farms, but it ended up just being Hunter peeling off another training interval. This time Justin N bridged up and it was 2 up the road. They worked the short gap up a little more before Justin N packed it in, leaving Hunter out there. He got caught during the run into the chicane but was soon off the front again chasing Dillon P up the hill to Marion. Another interval that lasted a kilo or so and Hunter was caught before the corner to the industrial park.
    Everyone stayed together for a little while but then Special Ed, Gregg F and MoMoney rode off with no one really responding. Little T was late to jump on and got stuck in no mans land before sliding back to the peleton. The trio built up a gap and rolled onto West Johnson with 10 seconds or so. They kept on the hammer and the gap went up for a bit but as the risers dug in, they started to come back. It certainly didn't help that Special Ed had peeled off at some point, going straight instead of turning so that he could head home. Chris C, John Gregory, Eric M were keeping the pack close on the run in to Reinhard. Koski made a push to get across the gap and he was followed immediately by Jacinto and the Amity rider on a Trek. Mike McG was also up there and he ended up playing the familiar role of leadout for Little T. The leaders had fractured by now with only Justin N fighting to get the sprint. Little T got another win, going about 20-5 on the season for the midway point sprints. Eric M and Joe K put in digs but it T was never in danger of losing this one. He rolled down Peck ln and thru the construction zone all alone as the guys who were going to punch it next were sorting themselves out. Little T ended up being chased by Justin N, Joe K, Hunter P and MoMoney. It quickly turned into just Justin and Hunter as they passed Little T, each working hard going the rest of the way up Peck all alone. They would get caught shortly before route 10 as the field was being led by MoMoney, Koski, Chris C and Mike McG.
     It was all together going onto route 10 and with the increased traffic, it was an uneventful and kinda slow ride back to the center of Cheshire. Heading into the Stop n Sprint, Red lights, traffic and a flat tire coming from the front ( Dillon P ) slowed the action down. Jacinto still managed to get into a leading group, although there wasn't much of a gap. Little T jumped, this time with Mike McG trying to come around him. It ended up being a close gallop between Jactino and Little T, but T slid by and stayed there.
     From there the ride back into Hamden was decently quick. Extra traffic made it a but dicey at times. After rolling thru some utility work trucks in Hamden, Hunter P and MoMoney jumped to bring back Justin N, who had snuck off as the pack came up to the blinking lights. That made a trio off the front. They had a long way to go though and the pack brought them back a couple of minutes later. Just in time to square up for the final kick, which was crowded this time. Too dark to call, and no one is talking.

So that's it. 2011 in the books. It was very much a great year for the SG ride. Thanks to all the new faces that came out and made pretty much every week a little interesting. Thanks for reading. Thanks for your ever insightful anonymous comments. Thanks to the drivers of Cheshire who put up with our crappy road manners. We'll be sure to post news from the Sunday morning ride as it comes in. Everyone should try to make it out to Cheshire Cross, Nov 19th. Cheshire Park, route 10. Come have a beer in the woods, just like freshman year of high school. Heckle the dumb racers. Although we hear that Eric M will race, so you know its gotta be pretty cool. And the day will probably end with Little T going shirtless up against Crowle in some yard game duel.

Tuesday the 4th

The rain brings wrecks another week of SG fun

Unless you are the Snoopster... Then its you kicking everyone off the ride because you have deemed them too weak to ride in such conditions. Ratatatat and Jacinto got an invite and so it was just the 3 of them riding tonight.

Let's all hope that next week bring redemption.

Sunday the 2nd

Let's all hope the rain holds off for tomorrow.

5:30 start.

There was only a handful of riders out for the Sunday SG ride. Most Everyone chose to participate in the Petit Foundation Ride for Justice.

Tuesday the 27th

Let's out-run and out-ride the darkness

     A couple of guys were in the lot hoping for a last minute glimmer of common sense fomr the rest of the group, but alas, the ride left at 6 after a congregation's worth of of guys rolled in from Stop n Shop at 5:56. They made everyone else late. Everyone was a little disappointed to not see Rondo's lovable mug up in the group.
     Gregg F and Dillon P got things going quick smart right after route 10. Hunter P was up there too along with Mike McG and John Pescatore, signalling to all that tonight was gonna be brisk. Going thru the crap road section, LIttle T and Koski charged off, but they would be rounded back up after everyone stopped for traffic turning onto North Brooksvale. Kudos to those that were able to whip out their smartphones and click on the SG blog advertisements in those few seconds.
     The rest of the way toward mountain road was quick. Jelle Snoop was setting a good tempo followed by Mike McG. Some traffic turning onto Mountain road slowed most of hte field down so Hacker and Hunter P took advantage of that by immediately stepping on the gas once onto Mountain. Mike McG came along for the ride and by the end of the risers it was Mike and Hunter with a decent gap on everyone else. Tall John crushed the gap shortly after and joined up to make it three up the road. Behind the speed was ramping up with Little T, Snoop, Hacker and Jordan coming up. The 3 stayed out front for kilo or 2 and when they were caught a pause gave a chance for a new group to get up the road. Jordan, Antonio, Hacker, Little T, Special Ed, and Jacinto were working well to try to get to a green light before everyone else. Dillon P, Tall John, and Hunter P were all at different points stuck in no mans land but a red light at route 68 brought it all back together.
       Once the light went green, Hacker went straight off without much response from anyone. He opened up the gap on the initial sections of Moss Farms and it took a little while before anyone would spear-head the chase. A bunch of different guys were up front and Hacker still maintained his lead. He would go into the chicane with about 7 seconds gap. That would finally get erased on the hill up to Marion. After the corner, Tall John was going good enough to get a gap with Jordan, Special Ed and Hunter P. That gap would get closed moments after everyone turned into the industrial park. Snoop hit the front and kept tempo up followed by Special Ed, Jordan and Jacinto.
     Tall John would have antoher go once onto West Johnson and he had Antonio for company but they never made it very far off the front. The peleton barreled along at a reasonable clip toward the risers and Rienhard. MoMoney led all onto Reinhard and there was minimal jockeying for position behind him. Mike McG picked it up from there with Jacinto, Hacker, Little T, Dillon P and Hunter P right there. Mike started the sprint out but wasn't in it to win it. Hunter P went first as Little T had to get around some traffic. Jacinto, Hacker also fired the jets but it was quickly a 2-up with Little T right on Hunter P's wheel and T was able to come around with some room to spare. Hacker and a new guy with a Virgina U kit ( Justin Neuman ) kept it going on the descent and had a gap rolling down thru the cut up roads. They were soon joined by Tall John, Snoop and a new guy in a CVC kit (?). The new lead group was well organized and rolled onto Peck ln with a 6 or 7 second gap. The response was slow behind, with everyone taking it down a notch as the leaders were hammering it up Peck Ln. Back in the field, Hunter P came up on the false flat along with Antonio D and the 2 took a couple of good pulls to close down the gap to 40 meters or so. Up front, Tall John and CVC got disconnected leaving Hacker, Snoop and Justin N up front. Those 3 hit route 10 with a good gap and kept on it enough to stay out front going up the hill ( location of Cheshire CX 2011!!). Koski, Mike McG, Hunter P, Tall John, etc chipped in up front but the trio had the legs to stay out all the way to the base of the sprint. Just like a flat TDF stage the breakaway was sadly eaten up by a well timed kilometer chase from the pack. Within the field, Little T was able to keep aero behind bodies, surfing up to the front just in time to jump easily to get the Stop n Shop Sprint.
    Any efforts to get off the front after the sprint were negated by red lights. It was time to roll the dice with the traffic and head back to Hamden in the dark. Plenty of lights and blinky things kept the peleton out of trouble for the most part... ( who flatted at 32 mph?! Thank you for not crashing). It was an interesting, semi-quick ride back into Hamden and after Dillon P flared out off the front with a couple hundreds meters to go, it was anyone's ballgame. Well, not anyone.... Maybe just 3 or 4 guys. Kudos to Antonio D for getting up there again after a strong ride. 5:30 next week. Don't listen to Mike.


PS - everytime you check out an SG blog advertisement Chris Horner finds another watt in his body.