Tuesday the 26th

July Goes Out with a Bang

Good-sized group out for the ride tonight. A few of the die-hards were up in East Hartford at the 'Rent. 

 

Early on, Dillon P had an early flyer that was not long for the world, but it got things going. Then Little T attacked after the chicane, which broke off a group of 4 or 5, Steve B was in there as well, drilling the pace but it was not enough to go clear by the light on 322. 

 

Little T took the turnaround sprint ahead of Steve B and Ben Bruce. 

On the greenhouse climb, 3 riders went up the road, but Big Red (pissed from not getting any love in last week's poll) kept it close. Steve  B jumped at the traffic light and got a good initial gap to the rest but it was bit too much too early. Ben Bruce then went for it later, but still earlier than most were expecting. LIttle T was there and came around all with some time to spare, with Ben next, then Steve, reversing the order from the turnaround sprint.

 

Little T kep on the gas and was able to hold off the field past the light on route 68/70. He clung to a lead  about half way through that next road before being eventually caught.

 

There were only some small attacks or surges heading back into Hamden. It pretty much stayed together. Little T was able to cruise to the last sprint, making it 3 on the night. He takes a commanding lead in the points, since Hunter P was not at the ride this week. 

 

Great ride everyone! Next week should be doozy, as there is no race up in East Hartford on Tuesday.

Tuesday the 19th

 Hot enough to burn a polar bear's butt

There was a decent crowd out tonight for the ride. Now that we're done with all that vacation and holiday crap we can get back to the task at hand. 30 or so riders slowly made their way into the back roads of Cheshire. It was hot out today so everybody was in. No rush to get going. Gibertoni, Henk from CVC, Chris C and a couple of riders from Team Mogododan were up there as well. It was good to see Brian Oliver out there from CW. He was up at the front as well pushing through on the early parts. 

On Mountain Road, Brian O pushed off the front on the first slope. Hunter P bridged across on the next uphill taking along Steve B. That made for three up the road fighting hard to maintain the breakaway through the next intersection. Behind the chase was definitely on with Chris C, the Mogododan riders, and Neumotion pushing the pace. The light was red which brought everybody back together for the trip down up Moss farms. 

Steve B kept the pressure on during the second half of Moss farms into the chicane and up into Marion Avenue, but there were no big attacks to create gaps. Hunter P jumped off the front going over the highway and had TF along for company. They barreled towards the light on 322. That light was red also, bringing everybody back together. The pace onto Mount Vernon started slow with no attacks in the early part. The entire ride down Mount Vernon was uneventful. Fast but with no attacks or teamwork to get anybody off the front.

Turning onto Welsh for the turnaround Brian O rolled off the front early on and was allowed to get a gap. He made the turn onto West Street with about 150 m lead. Little T jumped on the hill, taking a long Steve B and a couple of others. Brian O stayed on the gas, fighting hard, but would get caught halfway to the sprint on West Street. Little T was working hard but riders behind him were benefiting. He killed the throttle after going past Brian, leaving Steve B to take the sprint. Second through was Ben Bruce. 

On the back side Hunter P and Neumotion tried to attack hard to get off the front through the highway section but another red light brought everyone back together. Steffen H then tried to attack along with Big Red going up to the second hilltop on West Street. On the back side flying downhill it all came back together again. The pace was high on Atwater but no attacks. The group got the green light going back over, which put TF and Ben Bruce in a good spot to push off the front going towards route 10 but it wasn't enough to get to the light first. It was all together past route 10. Steffen H once again rolled off the front heading towards Cheshire Road and on the hill at the end of West Johnson. Steve B jumped up and joined him. Those two set off the front and were allowed to get a gap. Steffen H came off the pace after putting in big pull for Steve B and dropped back halfway up the hill. At about the same time Brian O and Big Red pushed off the front of the chase. Steve B went through the sprint alone followed by Brian O and Big Red. Those three would group-up shortly after going through the intersection on route 70 making up a trio that would not get caught for the rest of the night. They wrapped up the ride off the front alone. Kudos to the breakaway!

Tuesday the 12th

The breakaway is cursed!

Typical midsummer SGR tonight. Medium-sized group, slow to get going but with its spicy parts throughout the ride. Highlights from this ride include Jason Williams attacking a couple of times in the first half. Jason's strong riding this week and in weeks past have inspired a new poll. Check it out and leave your vote.

CW had the numbers tonight and made their presence felt early on, but there were no long-lasting attacks in the first 25 min. The first main breakaway of the evening was kicked off by TF and Hunter P, who attacked up the hill thru the light on 322 and up the hill before Mount Vernon. Everyone got the green there but not too many people wanted to chase as the pace was fast leading into the green light. TF and Hunter P Put their heads down and kept it going. They nearly got taken out by a truck turning right without a turn signal early on Mount Vernon. The truck slammed on the brakes and turned right into a driveway, forcing Hunter P to dart in front of it onto the grass in order to avoid getting hit. The break is cursed and had to brake! Unphased, the two kept going maintaining a gap of about 200 m.

 Steve B., Aaron B, and Dan S came charging across a kilometer or two later. That made for a powerful group up the road. Something happened with Dan's chain, and he had to drop back. The break is cursed and had to brake!

Undeterred Steve B Aaron B and Hunter P put their heads down and kept at it. The chase from the back weakened a bit, allowing them to maintain a gap and build it slightly. They held it all the way to the turn for Welch Road. On the second half of Welch the pack came alive and started to make progress to the three leaders. Little T jumped hard from the front of the pack with about 100 m to the hill and was able to go around the three. Steve B put his head down and went after Little T. Also jumping from the pack was Ben Bruce. Little T would get the sprint with it going too-close-to-call for second between Ben Bruce and Steve B. From there everyone stayed together down the downhill back towards 322.

On Atwater Street. Dan S and Ben Bruce rolled off the front and was allowed to go. They started for it and low and behold, they got the light on 322. As the pack came to a stop at the red light, everybody assumed it was lights out, game over the two would be not caught. Once everyone rolled onto West Johnson, can you believe it, the leaders were in sight! It turns out there had been a little bit of wheel contact between the two, forcing Ben foot dab hard on the ground. The break is cursed and had to brake!

The wind had gone out of Dan S's sails so the pace slowed down a bit as it made its way to Cheshire Road, heading towards the greenhouse climb. That gave Steffen H a chance to attack and get a healthy 300 m gap heading towards the climb. He had teammates up front of the peleton, allowing him to start the greenhouse climb with a couple of hundred meters lead. Behind TF set a solid pace up the climb early. Steffen H would be caught about halfway up the climb leading to a showdown at the sprint line. TF started it from about 200 m out. Little T was next to come around with Hunter P on his wheel. Hunter P was able to come around and get it by a bike length.

From there everyone stayed together. Heading back into Hamden. There were a couple of moves but nothing stuck. The finale was, as is usually the case, very fast. TF, Aaron B, Noah B, and Dan S got a huge kick early on. There was too much momentum behind little T though who launched it a little bit later and came sailing by with Hunter P on his wheel to go one two for the finish.

Tuesday the 5th

Those are not my nipples, they are my pecks

The tone this week was a bit more relaxed than usual. The Tuesday after Independence Day is usually a mixed bag. Throw in some foreboding weather and there were just 14-17 out tonight. It was great to see Ciocci out tonight. He was riding hard and burned some matches sewing things up after attacks.

Hunter p rolled out of the parking lot quickly, which got the pace going right from the start. There were a couple of surges from Gibertoni, Dan Smith and Hunter P during the first 20 min but nothing stuck. Same story for Moss Farms onto Mount Vernon. Little T had a dig up to Marion, Hunter P had a push off the front on Mount Vernon. The rain started halfway up to the turnaround. It started out light but turned steady after a bit.

Dan Smith jumped first on Welch but it was just to draw out others. On West St, it slowed down a bit. Then there was traffic at the light where everyone usually starts the sprint. Hunter P timed the light and squeezed thru between cars and curb, Little T timed the light and went to the left of the cars. He had a better jump and took the sprint ahead of Hunter and Dan.

Hunter P stayed on the gas after the sprint and dove down toward the highway with Chris C in tow. Those two would catch a light near I84, and with the headwind, and the rain, there was no immediate chase. Dan Smith sensed what was about to happen and jumped across the gap. He joined up with the 2 just as the downhill was starting. The 3 kept it up all the way over 322.

Chris C then decided he had had enough and dropped from the break. That's the way it would end. Dan S and Hunter P rolling clear and staying together until Dan got hit with a flat a couple of miles from the end. Little T soaked up any remaining sprinting to be had from the small group.

Next week should be a good one, since there is no Rentschler Field race that week. Everyone should make sure to sign up to race at the CCNS Kermis on Friday the 15th!

Tuesday the 28th

Smaller Group = Clash of the Sprinters

More than a couple of stronger SGR riders were up at Rentschler Field, leaving just about 20 riders to push off for the ride tonight.

The pace was downright polite for the first 15 min of the ride. Big Red and Dan S finally had enough and started pushing as the ride got to Mountain Rd.

Dan S kept the pace going on Moss Farms. Hunter P and Little T had big efforts getting onto Marion. Despite a smaller group, and some solid pushes, everyone stayed together going over 322 and onto Mount Vernon. A few minutes into Mount Vernon, Dan S pushed off the front with Joe K. That was allowed to roll, and those two built up a decent gap and were holding it in front of a chase that had TF and CCR not chipping in all that much.

Big Red, Rusty, Chris C, Jason Williams and a couple of others were responsible for keeping it close. On the false flat section, Hunter P jumped across the gap, which got TF chasing. That morphed into Hunter P, TF, and Dan Smith off the front powering a real-deal gap with a few minutes left before the turn onto Welch. Dan S attacked the group a couple of times, which broke up the paceline and slowed it down enough to let the pack catch back on.

The pace on Welch was slow, as everyone was catching their breath and trying to figure out what was to come next. Little T jumped hard before the corner at the base of the hill, taking Hunter P with him. Others would fill in the gap. Little T rounded the corner alone and stayed on the turbo. Behind, TF wound it up after the corner and came around Hunter P, but could not catch Little T.

T, TF, HP thru the first sprint in that order.

The pace stayed fast heading over 84 and back towards 322. Dan S and Dillon P each had surges in the usual spots. Dan S had a solid dig off the front heading up to the route 10 crossing, and seemed like he was in a place to make the light but opted instead to discuss cornering principles with Chris C as everyone waited for the light.

On the backside, the action paused until the Greenhouse climb. Big Red once again was done playin, and kept the pace high early on. Hunter P,  and Chris C rolled through a couple of times as well. For the sprint it was a similar outcome as the first. TF got it started, Hunter P kept it going, Little T finished it off. Those three finished order, T, HP, TF.

On the backside Dan S took advantage of the lackadaisical pace and rolled off the front on the climb up Boulder. He pulled off an impressive final 7 minutes of riding to stay away. Behind, there were only 5 or 6 willing to, or able to chase hard on Tuttle. For the finale, TF jumped hard first but Little T had the timing a bit better. He rocketed thru the final couple hundred meters. Hunter P was on this wheel. Those two were in full sprint for 12-15 seconds as they went around TF and came up on Dan S.

Dan S by a couple of seconds. T and HP were too close to call, but leadout points go to Alessio.

Tuesday the 21st

You Chase Him... No YOU Chase Him!
 

There was a smaller than usual turnout tonight for the sleeping giant ride. The weather was a little foreboding, which may have kept some people away despite the smaller size.

Despite the smaller group, the ride got going quickly early on. It was great to see Kieran H back out. Also Costa Rica John has rejoined us. As soon as the ride took off into the back roads. Kevin M, Dan Smith, Brian Suto, and a couple of others were pushing the pace. Leading up into Mountain Road Turner French was near the front and pushing the pace. On the first rise up Mountain Road. Kieran H pushed the pace and led a group of four or five off the front. That set off a stern chase behind and the pace was then rock solid all the way down Mountain Road.

Onto Moss farms. Dan Smith must have been getting bored, as he was messing around with everybody off the front of the pack. Since there were no major attacks on Moss Farms, he was able to get away with it, and it was all good. Going into the chicane it started to heat up a bit at the front. Hunter P lit it up going on to Marion, which dropped a few guys from the pack and spread things out single file. Once it came back together and a reshuffle took place, a small group rolled off the front, being led by Steve B and Ben Bruce. After that there was more hard chasing from those that didn't want to get left behind.

The leaders were back as the ride rolled by the industrial park. Hunter P went off the front again but the light was red at the 322 crossing. After that, Steve B stayed on it and led the charge onto Mount Vernon. For a few tenuous moments, there was a super-strong group led by Kevin M, TF, Kieran H, and Steve B off the front with 50-70 meters.

Hunter P jumped across the gap and in doing so brought the rest of the pack up to the leaders. The pace had gone out of the lead group though, so once it was all back together, things calmed down for a bit.

It slowed down quite a bit on Welch as everybody set up for the turnaround. Costa Rica John launched it into the corner with Jason Williams and Ben Bruce right behind. Costa Rica John started to fade as the top of the uphill came up. Ben Bruce was able to stay on it and nab it in front of it flying Little T, who was charging his sprint from the back. On the back side it all came back together, and despite a couple of surges from Kieran H rolling down West St the pack stayed together. Heading back up to 322 Steve B, Erin Rand and Rusty rolled off the front.

Kevin M would join them after everybody got the green light going over 322. The green light gave motivation for the leaders to stay out there. Hunter P. bridged across on West Johnson and once again, brought more than a few riders across the gap. It was all for naught as the light on route 10 was red.

Things calmed down for a little bit as everybody prepared for the greenhouse climb. Once there, Little T was one of the first to jump with Kieran H and Hunter P right behind. Then Kieran H jumped hard, taking TF. Steve B. And Kevin M. Those four were able to work up a gap as Big Red and Chris C chased from behind. The four upfront became three as TF came off the pack near the light at the top of the hill. The 3 then rolled up together to the sprint, and a late jump by Steve B sealed it, and he took it just in front of Kevin M. Those three would stay on the gas, and they got the green light on route 70 so they had a decent gap heading into the backroads.

Behind Dan Smith, Hunter P. And Little T tried to form a chase but eventually they would get swallowed up by the pack, which was now just 8 to 10 riders. The climb up the greenhouse combined with the fast chase in the backroads did more than a few riders in for the night. The 3 up front would not be caught and Kevin M got his revenge by nabbing the final sprint in front.

Great ride everyone!

Tuesday the 14th

No lack of speed tonight!

There were some fast segment times put down tonight, despite quite a few of the regular fast-men heading up to the 'Rent. Instead of teams attacking each other for victory, everyone seemed content to ride together for strong tempo at the front.

One rider who was still looking to mix it up was Wild Bill, who put in a big attack early on Mountain Road. He worked up a 200m gap, but the chase was on and organized. He held off a hard-charging pack for a good portion of Mountain, but it was all together heading onto Moss Farms.

For the turnaround sprint, Little T and TF jumped the pack late on Welch. No one was able to respond fast enough, and by the time Chris C, Ben Bruce, Wild Bill, and the Badger started chasing, the two were too far up. Little T took the sprint, and it all came back together on the backside.

Wild Bill had a couple more digs off the front as the ride went south, but as it was in the second half, everyone was working well together.

The greenhouse sprint was Little T. He got the jump and stayed in front of Wild Bill.

For the finale it was Little T again for the hat trick, followed by Ben Bruce.