Tuesday the 26th

The weatherman was only half right today. 

                The usual crowd was out tonight. A couple of new faces were mixed in, replacing a couple of regulars who were missing (Little T, Guido, Hacker, The Full Nalini, etc) Right off the line, there were a couple of jokers who set out ahead of the pack down route 10. They didn’t stay out there too long once onto the backroads. The initial pace was put down by a pair ERRACE doods (Jordan L and Rusty) and College St Cycles (The Sernyak and Jacinto). Soon enough Chris C and Mike McG were up there as well and the speed stayed high throughout the opening 20 min or so. On the lead in to Moutnain Rd, a new guy (Bontrager gear, specialized bike?!) hit the front and did a great job contributing but not getting in the way with the unknown corners.

                Mountain Rd, the pace slowed a bit at first but ramped up behind ERRACE (Rory D and Jordan mostly) and French Casey. A couple of guys shot off the front for the light (HunterP and The Senryak) but it was red. Once onto Moss Farms, French Casey stayed on it and took off with Jordan L in pursuit. Those 2 dangled out there while the rest sorted themselves out behind. Nuemotion, Ben Bruce, Ciocci, Bontrager Mix-up and Hutner P all steadily ramping it toward the chicane. Jordan L stayed up there and led all thru the corner. Heading up to Marion, Hunter P jumped hard and strung things out, Seryack, Nuemotion, Chris C and a couple of others responded and it quickly created a gap to the rest of the field. The lead group stayed on the gas for a kilo or so but it would all be brought back together when the sharp end of the break broke.

                Over 322 and the pace stayed steady, but no one was looking to attack. Rory D started things out on Mount Vernon with a brief jump off the front. The rest of the way down Mount Vernon was steady and a bit slow as most riders were just trying to avoid flatting on the crap road. Heading past the broken up roads and leading up to the false flat, Sean Cahill showed the ride the most deliberate attack we’ve seen in a while. Most riders at the front didn’t know how to respond, so he rolled away. A new head wind formed thanks to the storm clouds, and it pushed him back on the riser. Cahill would be caught shortly after the climb as lot’s of guys got involved up front to help push things along.

                Steady pace all the way to the corner to Welch… Once thru the corner, more rotation up front meant the speed stayed decent, but it def started to slow as the corner and hill loomed. Chris C was the first to jump, with plenty of time to spare to the corner. Lots of guys responded and it made for a crowded turn. It quickly sorted out to just Chris C and Jacinto with a decent gap on the rest. The main chase would become Sean Cahill, Mike mCg, Nuemotion, The Sernyak, Hunter P and one or 2 others. The chase would close down on the leaders with a couple of seconds to spare for the sprint, which Mike McG opened up in earnest. Only Nuemotion would respond and it was a 2 horse race to the end, with Nuemotion pulling ahead in the final 30 meters or so.

                Lots of guys in position to peg it on the descent, and with the rain starting to lightly fall, there was plenty of reason to giddy-up toward the lighter skies to the south. No attacks until the short hill going underneath the highway, where Rory D, The Gibertoni and Hunter P jumped, but the response was quick and sure, bringing all to the red light on 322 in a bunch.

                The only rider to roll of the front on Peck was the Berlin Bike rider in the Dux helmet (name?) but that was short lived as everyone wound it up again for the long drag to Route 10. No real action as the ride got close to the Sprint point. A red light at the base of the hill slowed everyone down considerably, making the sprint awkward… Mike McG, Jacinto, and a couple of others jumped all the same, no doubt to work on their CX race starts. Mike gets this one back over Jacinto in a long fight to the line.

                The ride back thru town was slow and cumbersome as the high school fields were clearing out en masse, no doubt in response to the lightning coming quick. The pace picked up once past all the lights for a standard run-in back to Hamden. For the final kilo, A small group split off in the final 700 meters, with Jacinto in the best spot to roll away with it. Mike McG nearly sped across the gap and thru all but came up a bit short to Jacinto’s wheel.

Another great ride everyone! Thanks to the new guys for being good sports and chipping in when they could.

Tuesday the 20th

Not the type of ride to enjoy a sun-shiny day.

              Seems like each ride this week has had just about the same amount of riders participating. Within a few here and there, the ride size has been pretty consistent. Tonight was no different.

Starting pretty much right out of the parking lot, the alpaca was out there and going it alone off the front. The ride was turn off route10 all together though. Soon enough, Chris C was leading a charge off the front. Alapaca, Mike McG , The Sernyak, Nuemotion, Rusty and a couple of others were trying to get off the front. The group swelled a bit as Guido rode into it, but no one really capitalized leading up and going thru the crap road section (for good reason), meaning that it would all come back together soon after.

                A new rider from Danbury Audi (Christian) was slowly working his way up to the front, looking like business as he made his way up there. He would be one of the couple of riders pushing the pace up the first section of Mountain Road. Most everyone else was in a Wait-and-see mode, meaning that strong riders were being marked, and sneaky stronger riders were waiting for the ideal chance to jump.

                More of the same on Moss Farms. Chris C was one of the first to go, with Alpaca going up after him. When Danbury Christian, jumped up in pursuit, a couple of riders tagged along. In strong form Christian would catch the leaders and then overhaul them, albeit slowly. As the corner loomed, too many guys knew the road and were therefore reluctant to jump off the front. That meant it was all together heading into the chicane. The pace there slowed quite a bit as there was a turning car in front of the charging pack. After that obstacle, Chris C charged off the front, heading thru the corner with a slight lead. Once again, the presence of the new, obviously strong rider, would up the game and keep other on their toes. That lead to a decent sized group getting a gap as the turn for the short loop was passed. There was some strong pulls at the front of the peleton ( tall Dennis, Todd H) to bring back the 8 or 9 riders who would certainly have ridden away with it with the right road conditions. The following section was then pretty fast, but without attacks.

The light at 322 was green which made for some tired riders at the back of the pack, without a chance to recover. The speed stayed high onto Mount Vernon, Chris C and The Sernyak were up there, trying to get a gap. Next up was Hunter P, who rolled off the front, taking 3 or 4 riders with him. The pace in the lead group stayed high, while the response was a little slow. Nuemotion and Special Ed charged across the gap with one or 2 other riders. The crappy roads there on Mount Vernon slowed down any organized chase, while the front group was at max throttle, bouncing all over the place, as guys were looking for a clean path of pavement. Advantage> Front Group. Soon enough, there was a real deal split in the field, with 12 or so riders up the road charging hard, 8-10 riders struggling to connect, some more riders dropped behind that group. Carnage level higher than normal as the headwind was definitely taking its toll.

The lead group would hit the corner for Welch Rd with about a 12 second gap. Up front, plenty of guys were chipping in, helping keep the speed high. For the approach to the corner, Chris C slowly jumped off the front. Right there was Mike McG. A bit later to answer was Nuemotion. Those 2 went thru the corner with a 405 second gap. Behind, a group of 5 or 6, headed up by Jacinto and Danbury Audi was collecting itself for the pursuit. The trio up the road would get to work, and they made the most of the gap. Just a few short moments later, it was evident that they wouldn’t be caught. From within that trio, the prize went to Mike McG, who patiently waited til the right time to jump and take the sprint.

On the downhill, it would all come back together, although the turnaround hill had further split up what was the main group. A couple of the subsequent lights were green, adding to the advantage that the first 10 riders on the road had. By the I84 flyover, there were riders scattered all over the place. One red light slowed the group down, giving a certain number a chance to catch back on. The second group on the road, separated on the false flat of Mount Vernon, was long gone and out of it though.

Jumping off the red light was Chris C. He took along Christian from Danbury and Mike McG. Those 3 rolled up to Hunter P, who had snuck thru the red light but was sitting up waiting. Chris C kept the charge going up to the top of West St and down the backside, which extended the lead for the front 4. The second group, consisting of 10-13 riders was held up briefly at one more light. The ensuing gap was all the front 4 needed. They would roll off uncontested, getting the long-ball prize of the week.

For the Stop n Shop sprint, Hunter P got it after Chris C started the sprint. For the finale, No one contested Mike McG as he rolled away with a couple hundred meters to go.

Great ride everyone! Even better than last week! Better bring you’re A-game next as well!

Tuesday the 13th

The SG ride... Maybe the most unselfish thing you’ll do all week!

   The usual crowd + some not so usual faces were out for the ride tonight. The most eventful part of the start  to this week’s ride was the motorbike rider who was hanging around repeatedly. It didn’t look like Tall John on a nice new touring moto but who knows. Maybe someone can fill us in. Anyway, with the temptation to draft in a couple of places, there were more than a couple of guys looking to snooker the bunch behind the engine. Nothing came of it though.

    The first real move happened and Chris C split a group of 5 off as the ride sped toward Mountain Rd. Once Guido got up to ride across, the rest of the ride responded and it was all together making the turn onto MTN. Hunter P attacked up the hill but was alone and with Chris C chasing hard up the first risers, didn’t stay out there too long. From there the ride was all together to the light, which was green, allowing all through. The lack of a break would spell a bit of trouble for some riders in the back who would go on to get unhitched later on Moss Farms.

     Back in the pack, Hacker used the green light to get a jump on the bunch. He rolled off a bit of a gap before Chris C jumped in pursuit. Then Keith Mullaly (who may or may not have finished 3^rd at the rent the week before) also jumped to bridge the gap. Neither chasers were making up much ground on Hacker, who was using the tailwind to set down a pretty vicious tempo. After a bit, Hunter P and Mike G jumped hard, going by and collecting the 2 chasers on their way to Hacker. Young Mullaly couldn’t cut it and dropped back leaving 4 up the road. That group went thru the chicane with a solid 6 or 7 seconds on the pack. From the back, Nuemotion came flying up and thru all to get to the lead group before the riser to Marion. After the corner, the gap started coming down and by the turn for the short loop it was all back together. Hacker and Chris C would keep on it though but they would again be corralled before heading over 84. Little T countered with a good attack that send him off the front in chase of green light on 322. It indeed turned to green as the ride came up to it, but by then it was gruppo compacto. The only one who really used the chance to keep the attacks/surges going was The Sernyak. He split off the front for a quick bit but was brought back by the corner onto Mount Vernon.  

    From there the next to go was Sasha from CCB and Hacker. Those 2 hit the front hard and got a gap of 70 meters or so before the rest started to wind it up. The 2 up the road, benefiting from the tailwind, kept up a good pace that made pack cohesion start to wither. The crappy roads didn’t help the chase and the 2 up front stayed out there all the way to the false flat section. There was lot’s of gaps opening up in the chase as the riser came up but then the gas ran out up front. As Hacker and CCB sat up, the rest took the cue and also slowed down, probably more out of necessity than laziness.

     The Sernyak kept on it though, as did Tall Dennis. The Sernyak gets the “most combative award” for the night as he managed to stay out there all the way to the corner for Welch. The chase behind wasn’t full gas, but was decent, especially as the corner came up. Credit Rory D, Julio L, Chris C and Hutner P with last minute pulls to get the field going again. Hunter P led it out on Welch, followed up by Chris C and a couple of others. The speed was high for the whole stretch of the road, but not so high that Hacker couldn’t attack and find daylight. He took along Ben Bruce as well and those 2 rolled thru the corner with 15 seconds or so. Behind, Nuemotion, Chris C, Jacinto, Hunter P, Little T and maybe 1 more were quick to drill it. That made for a chase group of 6 that was quickly pushed back by the wind. The gap to the leaders came down, but then it went up as it was evident that whoever sprinted from the front 2 would be able to get it. Instead, Hacker and Bruce just stayed on the gas and Ben Bruce ended up rolling thru first without a contest from his more aero-helmeted companion.

        On the backside, there was some effort to roll away, but red lights allowed all to catch back on. From there, the ride back was uneventful with the headwind. Jacinto and The Sernyak again tried to get away by the highway but that was brief. Once on Peck Ln after crossing 322 again, Guido would attack, but traffic at the intersection there stopped that. From there, it was mostly everyone just sharing the workload into the wind back onto and up Route 10.

       For the Stop n Sprint, red lights caused a bit of a cluster funch for the run-in. There was about 8 guys in a group all in a position to slowly sprint for it. Little T jumped out halfway up the hill to take it from Nuemotion and Jacinto. From there, back into Hamden, the ride was fast as the headwind seemed to stop being such a nuisance. For the final 500 meters, again, there was a crowd in place to go for it. Little T again rolled away with a final surge that no one was able to answer.

Great ride everyone! Lot’s of “let’s keep it fast because it’s better fast” riding out there!             

Tuesday the 6th

Forget the Circus! The SG Ride is in Town!

    Decent sized crowd out for the ride tonight. The Training series up at the 'Rent started tonight so that no doubt lured a few riders from up north. It was not cool to see Little T get hit with a flat shortly after turning onto Whitney Ave. He would fix it and back track but wouldn't get back up to the group until a little ways during the way home. The ride started out slowly once into the backroads and it stayed somewhat neutral going thru the crap road section. Chris C was amoung the first to get things going. His second surge after the corner onto South Brooksvale was answered at first, allowing a gap to open up on the way to Mountain Rd. The Sernyak and Jacinto (who were all over the ride tonight, riding like 4 guys not 2) started out to close the gap along with Ben Bruce (we think) and a couple of others. The chase became a lead group of about 5 when Guido got involved. It was great to see Guido back on the ride tonight, like he never skipped a beat. Anyway, when the peleton realized that the break was moving up the road, everyone went into full on chase. It was single-file spread-out for 2 football fields as the ride came up on Moutnain Rd. It re-collected but no one really pushed the pace after that so it gave everyone a chance to recollect.

     The headwind really started to bite after the initial risers on Mountain. Hunter P was allowed to roll up the front, taking along the Gibertoni. Those 2 worked up a gap on the second set of risers and nearly kept it all the way to the light. Behind, the peleton was not really killing it into the wind and the gap yoyo'd. Once Guido started to charge across the gap, everyone started to ride hard. Guido, Todd H and Nuemotion made their up to the leading 2 but the field was close behind and the light was red from a distance, slowing the front down and giving the rest a chance to catch back on.

The light actually turned green at the last moment, letting everyone ride thru. Hacker jumped up and thru the section onto Moss Farms. Chris C and Hunter P were with him as well. That trio wasn't given as much space though and there were enough chasers to keep it together for the start of Moss Farms. Halfway thru that section, Joe K rolled off the front, despite the headwind and a reasonable tempo. His gap kept going up all the way to the downhill leading into the corner. Chris C had jumped out in pusiut but was stuck in between. Joe K would go thru the chicane with about a 40 meter lead and he kept on hammering away at it into the climb up to Marion. Chris C was also still going hard and was the first to reach Joe right after the corner. Those 2, with a small gap, went to work to extend it as there were Cheshire riders playing a bit of defense in the pack. Joe K and Chris C kept the break going nearly to the I84 overpass. Hacker was the one that went balls deep to bring them back. Mike McG and Hunter P were there with him and that meant that no one behind was going to let them roll away.

     Once it was all back together, Hunter P countered and had a gap going to the light. It was red tho, giving everyone a chance to collect themselves. Once onto crap road section#2 (aka Mount Vernon), Guido was the one primarily responsible for getting it going again. College St riders also, along with Mike McG and the new rider with the Dux helmet. No real action on Mount Vernon this week as the headwind was really tamping down the aggressive riding. Towards the end, Hacker was spied moving up and there was some strong pulling from Chris C, The Gibertoni and Nuemotion.

Turning onto Welch, it was Chris C, Mike McG, Joe K, and Hunter P up front. Mike put in a good pull to come up to the base of the climb, leaving Chris C in a good spot to jump. Jacinto and Hunter P went straight with them and Hacker also joined them after the corner. Those 4 would quickly start to pull away with the help of the tailwind. Chris C did pulled for a while. Then Jacinto took over at the very front. Chris was the first to jump for the sprint but Hunter P quickly went around with Hacker on his 6. Hunter P narrowly held on for the long drag race to the mailbox.
    On the backside, a group of 6 or 7 came together due to the big gaps from the climb. Red lights stopped their progress though. That led to an all together ride all the back to the light on 322. After the light, Christian high-cadence Duncan was allowed to roll off the front. Guido was the next to go and he took along Hunter P. Up front, C.D. was building a gap despite the chase but traffic at the corner of West Johnson slowed him down. Guido and Hunter P kept on it though and those 2 stayed away past the false flat on Peck. Behind, the chase had split off a group of 5 riders (Mike McG, Chris C, Nuemotion, The Sernyak, Hacker, maybe 1 more). That group rolled up to Hunter P and Guido, making it a strong lead group riding away. A turning car at the intersection slowed the lead group to a near stop, letting the peleton catch back up. Hacker and Chris C kept on it though but they couldn't break free on the hill with everyone cruising thanks to the push in the back.

Coming up to the Stop n Sprint, another red light slowed the pace but Guido fired up the engine right after, taking along just Jacinto and Neumotion. Behind, the chase started up brielfy but it was soon evident that the front 3 would get it. Guido pulled and then pulled off, leaving Nuomtion to start the sprint out. Jacinto clung to the wheel for a while but then killed the engines, and Nuemotion salied on to take the sprint.

     The ride back into Hamden was started off with Hacker trying to sneak off the front but there was enough guys to cover the gaps. Green lights thru town made it nice and quick and the ride back was equally fast. For the Sit n Sprint, Nuomtion grabbed it, making it 2 on the night.

Great ride everyone!