Tuesday the 5th

Aprils Fool weather for the SGR..... Sucks......

Cold and slightly wet for the ride tonight. It was a smallish group. No more then 30 out. Notably missing was Eric M, most of the Stop n Shop Crew, Little T, a few guys from CCR and of course.... Rondo. But on the other hand, we got Hacker and a cadre of Yale riders, 4 or 5 of them.
   As soon as the ride turned off Route 10, Guido took control up front and the Yale guys were right with him. Chris C, Hunter P and MaHoney were up there too. The initial couple of miles were brisk, with the Yalies taking turns off the front and the others sitting up and blocking. A couple of times it looked like gaps were gonna stick but it always came back together. Guido seemed determined to guide his young Whiffenpoofs thru the cobbled section way off the front and out of trouble. Can't really argue with that logic. Once onto Mountain road, the pace settled down and more guys got involved up front. Aidan was up there and so was the Germanitor. Hacker, Jacinto, THX-1138 and Mike McG also came up and thru. BenGe too (?).
   Weaver got things going on Moss Farms, but the pace wasn't back-breaking. Guido and Jacinto were allowed to ride off the front and the Yale guys just sat up and let their New Haven compatriots ride away. Maybe that's how they do it in D2, round these parts though that doesn't pass muster. Hunter P jumped up and bridged the 100 meter gap and that got everyone going and chasing. The now trio kept up a gap for maybe a kilo, making it thru the chicane alone, but would be caught on the run-up to the corner for Marion Ave. German Bob, Aidan and Mike McG leading the peleton. There was also a new guy on an older Litespeed (?). Aidan punched it after the corner good enough to spring a group free. Jacinto, Aidan, Litespeed, Hunter P and Hacker. But that group would be caught as they turned into the industrial park. A A Aidan kept up the pace though as the cross winds started to bite.
    Once onto West Johnson, Mike McG took control up front along with THX1138 and Mahoney. Cross wind became a tailwind and the front scampered up the climbs on the way to Reinhard. Mike McG peeled off, then Guido, then a couple Bulldogs. Aidan hit the front again with clear plans to pound out a big one. Mike stayed with him briefly but then retreated as the group started on Reinhard. Jacinto followed Aidan and the 2 quickly had a decent gap of 75 meters. Mike McG rolled up and grabbed Hunter P for a sprint dash. Mike got the sprint started, leading out Hunter and letting him loose with maybe 50 meters to close on the 2 up front. Hunter caught and passed them with room to spare pretty much uncontested. Hacker had gotten a flat at the start of Reinhard and Guido, always the gentleman, stopped to provide impeccably styled german assistance. On the backside, everyone rolled up back together, although Mountain Man suffered a flat at the top of the false flat of Peck Ln. Chris C and Aidan were bent on making the others hurt, pushing the pace for the way back onto Route10. THX1388 and Mike McG also chipping in.
    The very first light immedialty on route 10 was red, but as soon as it changed, Aidan lit it up like it was a cyclocross race. The sting of the hill, plus the cross wind was putting everyone into the red. With no knowledge of any upcoming sprint, the Yalies buried themselves in the name of sport, and that was enough to tear the peleton into 3. Mike McG made the gap along with CxC and a couple of others. Behind, guys ( and Robyn ) had their hands fulls getting it sorted out. Not even Chris C could bridge the gap to the now smoothly working front group. They hit the stop n shop sprint rolling strong with no time or desire to sprint it out. The red light at the corner of Route 68 was the only thing that kept them from doing the rest of the ride alone.
      So gruppo compacto for the rest of the way to hamd-...... nope, Lux et Velocitas back up front and drilling it thru Cheshire. 3 of them had a gap for a little while but Aidan, Mike McG,, THX 3811, Chris C, and Hunter P erased that quickly. There were a couple of more individual attacks from the Yalies, with some more subtle-as-a-sphinx blocking from the teammates. All in all, it was fast ride back into Hamden, with Jacinto using Chris C as a launch pad to ride the last few hundred meters all alone.

Tuesday the 29th

Windy day at S.G. brings out the best in everyone.... 

     A big ol North wind greeted everyone for the ride tonight. Somehow it made things a little more interesting then usual. It wasn't the largest crowd, not more than 35 riders. Right from the get-go, a small group pushed off the front. Koski, Bob German, Weaver (?), Suto, Chris C and a couple of others. Guido then jumped up to the group and that started the chasing behind. Meanwhile the ride is less then a mile from Route 10 and blasting into the headwind, so there was plently of guys seeking refuge wherever possible. Eric M made the jump and that really whipped everyone into shape. Alas, a corner with some traffic slowed the front group and brought it all together for the ride to Mountain road. A new guy in a Verizon vest would hit the front a couple of times and pick up the pace. There was also a new guy in all black ( Cervelo? ), a new guy in a CVC kit and the great Peter Petrillo as well. So between the new faces and the wind, the ride wasn't routine.
      The Mountain rd section was a steady pace with a good group of guys pushing the pace. Eric M looked antsy a couple of times and surged off the front. Ratta, Tim, was also up there turning the screws. Chris C rode into a gap with Thomaas B and a couple of others toward the end of Mountain road but the light was red.
     The pace slowed down on Moss Farms as the front of the pack grew weary of the wind. Same thing for the chicane and the rizer up to Marion. Guido once again pushed the pace there and towed along a group of 5 or 6. Chris C, Jacinto, the Frenzilli Monster, Hunter P, and the Verizon dude all were up there but no one followed thru after the corner it all got rounded up for the ride into the industrial park. Chris C was active up front all the way down Knotter and rolled off the front with a couple of New Haven guys and the Verizon dude. After a little game of "Who's on first" at the front of the peleton, Dillon P and Peter K took matters into their own hands. They charged off the front, chasing down the group in time for the corner of West Johnson, doing a good job of setting up teammates, Rattatatat and Hunter P for the sprint. The Verizon dude kept up the attack after the corner and was waitin for no one! Hunter P rode up and thru the group but got stuck in the middle of the growing gap to the lone leader and the field behind, now led by Guido at a respectable pace. Verizon dude started to slow and was sliding back to the group with about 100 meters to the corner of Rienhard. Rattatatat and MaHoney were now leading everyone up and thru the corner and into the base of the climb. Ratta started the sprint but was no doubt gassed from setting the strong tempo. Eric M, Little T and Peter P were the ones to jump, and it quickly turned into a 2 horse race with Peter P getting gapped with 100 meters to go. Little T had the position battle and was able to come over Eric M, but needed pretty much the whole drag to do it. On the backside, Guido kept the pace up and rounded up everyone before the turn onto Peck Lane.
     The tailwind was Peck was epic and it was easy for the group to charge up the false flat there at almost 30 mph. Verizon dude wasn't satisfied with that crap and attacked. Chris C, Jacinto, Eric M, Hunter P and a couple of others were up to the challenge and went with him. The tailwind made sure no one was cracking tho and it was back to all together as everyone went over the old train tracks. The tailwind kept up the pace once back onto Route 10 and it all stayed together for the run-in to the Stop n Shop sprint. There was a couple of guys up there driving the train for the sprint, Koski, Weaver, CxC (?) and a couple of others. Ratta jumped from about 3rd wheel and took along Eric M. It was another good sprint, with Tim able to stay out in front of Eric just barely.
    Everyone was keyed up on the tailwind heading in thru Cheshire and it was full on ( cars or no cars!) the whole way back to Hamden. A couple of guys had a go at the front with attacks. Dillon P and Ratta most notably with 750 meters to go. Eric M, Bob, Jacinto, Chris C and Guido covered it and went thru to the end, with Little T slugging it out with Eric for the final push. For the hill finish, there was only a couple of guys that went up Shepard. No one wants to finish with a true climb apparently.

Tuesday the 22nd

      It was a cold grey day for the ride today and that matched the prevailing mood at the parking lot. Ron's health ( like it or not Ron ) was on most people's mind. That said it was nice to see Robyn out and smiling. Despite calls to have everyone go ride over to the Fantano's with last year's Giro on DVD, pizza, beer and Eric M's travel kit for a night of fun with Ron, everyone instead slowly rolled off into the headwind.
     Once off route 10, Guido, Jacinto and Dillon P got things going. The ride collected all the late StopNshoppers and then it was Benje's turn to hit the front for a bit. Iden was up there and so was Mike McG. Jacinto looked like he was a little frisky early on but no doubt the headwind kept him close. Cosmo C and MaHoney were next in the cue up front. Aiden started turning screws once on South Brooksvale and it briefly got strung out for the lead in to Mountain raod. Everyone stayed together onto Mountain, and there was a consistent long line of willing guys at the front. Pace was respectable if not slightly faster then usual. Aiden, Guido, Eric M, Hunter P, CXChris, Mike McG, Chris C etc, got it going once onto Moss Farms and it was pretty quick thru there too. All in all, with the wind and the speed, no one was eager to attack.
      Guido once again pulled a little extra out of his account going up to the Marion Ave corner after the chicane. This time, Aiden, Silent Steve, Jacinto, Hunter P and a Devils Gear rider all followed suit. Aiden and the Devils gear rider rode into a gap for a little bit but Tim Rattatattat and the Rivet Racing dude were there to close the gap so it was all together heading into the industrial park. The changing wind put a little zip into everyone step and it ticked up a bit heading to the corner for West Johnson Ave. Joe K was pushing it and finally got Aiden to come off his wheel thru the corner. Joe was all in for the sprint and he quickly tore off a 75 meter gap. The pace was still decent behind him as a couple of CCR riders ( Cosmo, Hunter P ) got up there and tried to give Joe as much breathing room as possible. As the road started to bite 300 meters from the corner to Reinhard Joe still had a decent gap and was looking maybe 50\50 that he could pull it off. Jacinto was keeping it real up front with Eric M right behind. Rattatattat hooked on to Merrill's wheel and the 2 jumped up in pursuit of Joe K, who was cobbling together a sprint but would need to stay on the gas the whole way up to stay off the front. Eric was able to catch and pass him with some room to spare but the Big Balls Award of the night goes to the Joe "imagonna break this bike" Kubisek. 
    It all rolled back up together on the descent. The speed heading to route 10, thanks to the tailwind, was quick. Some more punches from Aiden almost split the now reduced field in two but the turn onto route 10 was slow enough so that everyone caught back on. It was a good uninterrupted run-in to Stop n Shop. After Ratta and Larry M put in some good turns up front, everyone got to see a good duke-A-roo with a few guys. Eric M, Little T, Mike McG, Chris C, Jacinto, and maybe one other. Little T had a solid jump and was able to take this one.
    As everyone rolled thru the center of Cheshire, Chris C snuck his way off the front, this time taking Rattatattat along with him. They dangled out there for a little bit as everyone was at warp 8 behind them and then got held up by a light. Those same 2 managed to sneak off the front like 3 times during the run into Hamden which if nothing else kept everyone on their toes. There was a crap load of guys all there for the ending. Guido and Eric M rocking their butts in the saddle strongly at 37 mph for the very last of it. MaHoney, Cosmo and Hunter P turned up Shepard ave for the road racers finish, MaHoney toughed that out. Good job.
    Everyone missed Rondo. Maybe next time the weather sucks we will all get around to the Giro marathon.

Tuesday the 15th

Welcome to the 2011 Sleeping Giant Ride!

aka: The Throwdown , The Sword Fight, The Plainville Training Series Midweek Race , The Tuesday World  Championships , Luigi's Ride , The Amity Bikes ride , Crazy and Stupid.....

Whatever you call it, it's back and better then ever.

    There was a good size group out for the ride tonight. Maybe 35 riders. No, there was no celebrity rider out today. Right off route 10, Mike McG and Brian Suto rolled off the front and were soon joined by Guido, Chris C, Antonio D and a couple of others. They built up a gap of 12 seconds before the counter moves started. The catch was made right before Mountain road, thanks to some power riding by Jacinto, Joe K and Hunter P. Soon after that Eric M and Rondo got on and it became a good sized group barreling down Mountain Rd. With everyone ( mostly the guys who have been racing on the weekends ) taking turns up front, they quickly moved out of sight of the Peleton. It didnt help that power-house Dillon P got a flat on Mountain and couldn’t contribute to the chase. The light on route 68 stopped the front group and gave the ride a chance to regroup. With no red light, the group was gone for the day.

     Rondo got things going on Moss Farms, and a couple of rider rolled off with him. A sudden attack from Mike McG nearly ripped the peleton in 2, as he drilled it 120% for a brief moment to get across the gap. Everyone stayed on for the most part though and it was all together for the chicane and the run into Marion Ave. Guido was the only one to test the frigid waters off the front, and he stayed off the front for half a kilo or so once onto Marion. The front runners started to look antsy again as the ride was preparing to turn onto West Johnson, but it stayed civil, with mostly new haven guys ( new face? ) up front.

     For the run up to Reinhard, Rondo rolled off the front but it was others cuing up behind who were going to be contesting it. It started off lazy enough but Eric M hit the gas from the very base of the hill, taking Joe K along with him. Eric pulled away at first but its a super long drag and Joe got him self back into it, pulling neck and neck and then rolling thru the corner first... But it was nearly a tie. Jacinto, Chris C and one or 2 others were the ones well behind but still off the front of the main group.

     Everyone got their composure back and the ride back onto Route 10 was normal. There wasn't any funny business till the Stop N Sprint, where it was Zane's in the familiar role of keeping the speed high for Eric M. Eric again started the sprint first, this time with the reliable Anthony, back-in-the-saddle-Alessio right on his six. Little T was able to pop around for the flowers there.

     Heading into Hamden, Chris C and the Mountain Man tried to get off the front but that didn't last too long and it was all together for the ride back. For the sit sprint finish, Eric M scored some points, getting there first, besting Guido and Dillon P, who rejoined after fixing his flat.

The kick-off

5:30 roll time for tomorrow the 15th
DONKEY KONG TIME

Tuesday night fun is coming soon!

The time change is just around the corner.

Are we excited yet?

Tuesday the 12th

The TWC serves up one more week of fun

The weather looked good and there was some yet still ansty legs out there so the ride continues for one more (last?) week. There was about 16 or 17 guys out for the ride.

Eric M, hot off a solid 5th place in Jamestown yesterday, was doing a lot of work tonight. The Rivet racing dude was up there early on. Joe K, Hunter P and Gregg F for Cheshire Cycling. MaHoney along with BenGe etc etc.

Chris C joined up midway thru Mountain Rd wearing a nuclear shade of neon yellow, sure to be visible to a blind person at midnight, and went straight to work, continuing his late season form.

Stefano attacked on Moss Farms, East Johnson Ave, and on Peck lane. Hunter P chased him down each time.

Chris C attacked on the hill to Marion with Antonio D from CCR and then when on to hold the a gap over the ho hum chasers up to the industrial park.

Joe K was forced to lead out Little T for the Rienhard sprint and didnt really have a chance in the end. Little T would also take the Stop n Shop sprint over Hunter P and Eric M.

See ya'll next year.