The Return of Rondo!
Ron Fantano is back and boy does he sure know how to steal the scene! His triumphant return to the SG ride was enough to make the internet crash for the 2nd day in a row.
It was great to see him back out. The rain (and cold!.... Booties for June 2nd?!?!) kept this week's ride from being a true throwdown. Only 14 riders left the parking lot with a couple more meeting up on the roads. As far as the ride hot-spots are concerned, Ben Bruce continued his trouncing of the rest, taking the sprints. Chris C was mostly responsible for giving him his competition tonight. Other that that, it was a decent ride on mostly dry roads. Rondo even got up in the mix, taking a couple of pulls throughout the night.
Tuesday the 26th
GOING FAST AND LOOKING GOOD!
The ride tonight started out pretty tame, but it got going a
couple of corners in. There were not too many surprises and revelations up
front as the ride got going. The new Yalie (Jason?) took off on Mount Sanford
but that was corralled pretty quickly. Chris C was the next to go right as
Mountain Rd hit. Hunter P went with him and those 2 kept up a gap for 750
meters or so. They were eventually joined by Nuemotion, Mike McG, and a couple
of others but the rest were not too far behind.
On Moss Farms, Hacker, Nuemotion and Hunter P were on the
front but the tail wind was helping everyone stay in contact. Ben Bruce would
hit the front for a bit but that too was short-lived. Heading into the Chicane,
Chris C and Special Ed were drilling it and they split off a gap that would be
kept up to the turn into the industrial park. Big Red and Hacker kept on the
pressure going over the highway but the light was red at 322.
Big Red stayed on it after the light but things didn’t get
going until onto Mount Vernon when Special Ed took off the front. The response was
pretty quick to that move, as there was plenty of riders to jump into the gap.
The tail wind was aiding and abetting the ride north. A brief slowdown as the
front was corralled allowed Nick the Tail Railer Sabatelli to jump hard. He
took Hunter P with him and a chase group was quick to respond and form. Big
Red, Chris C, New Yalie, John Pescatore, and 1 or 2 others. That group worked
well but the chase behind was fast once it got going. When Chris C sensed
hesitation on the part of a couple of the breakaway riders, he went rabid,
attacking off the front, which allowed the rest to catch back on by the false
flat section.
From there it was a solid run in to the turnaround. On
Welch, Hacker jumped but when he saw 4 or 5 guys go with him, he eased up.
Chris C would then jump up. He got thru the corner alone but the rest was close
behind. The Headwind slowed down rider quick smart and it became a game of hide
and seek with the wind. Ben Bruce, who is quickly having an MVP season, took
the lull as an opportunity to jump. He steadily build up a gap and hit the
final rise before the sprint point with 75 meters or so on the a group of 5 or
6 chasers. He put in a good sprint, and it was apparent that there was no point
in trying to gun him down. On the backside, it all came back together as red
lights stopped the front 20 guys.
Heading back toward 322 into the wind, Rob Dux tried to
sneak off thru the intersections. No dice there. Special Ed rolled off the
front after the underpass and rolled up to the red light with 2 additional
riders in Big Red and Chris C, and the rest very close behind. After getting
thru the milled road on Peck, Chris C and Nuemotion tried to sneak away in a
half-hearted kind of way. Then Hunter P attacked going by the greenhouses,
taking along only Rob Dux. Those 2 maintained a gap up the rise on Peck but coming
up to route10, it was all together again. The Pack timed their weekly illegal
approach onto Route 10 perfectly, cutting off the coolest Cheshire Police
Officer in existence. No reaction from the cop, even as he stopped in front of everyone
at the light at the base of the Cheshire Park hill (where’s Todd H been?!?!)
Faced with certain infractions, the group was slow to get up
the hill there, but once it flattened out, things got going kind of. Special Ed
and Big Red used the lull to escape. Then it was Chris C jumping off with
Nuemotion and Tiny Kyle in pursuit. Up front, the 2 leaders rolled slowly up
the stop n shop hill, allowing Tiny K to put in the sprint of his SG life and
nearly pick off Special Ed, but the youngster got there a moment too late. A+
for effort though.
That five-some had a healthy gap that was
further aided along with the peleton got a red light in the center of Cheshire.
The chase would resume once all the lights were done but there was not catching
the lead group. Great ride everyone!
Tuesday the 19th
The who’s who of CT cycling (central CT at least….. But
where Mike McG?!) continues to come out in full support of hard training and exemplary
ride manners on Tuesday night!
It was great to see the Mullaly clan out for the ride. Keith
and Kyle are crushing it out there and deserve kudos for their rides tonight.
We had a blast from the past with a one Dan Smith back on the cycling wagon. It’s
good to see a dude throw himself right into the deep end of the pool and have
him not drown. Also out for the first time in a while was Alec Cunningham,
visiting home, with his ski goggles, from college.
As the ride got going, the first ones to put a fast foot forward
were Jordan L, Chris C and Hunter P. No one was letting that roll though and so
it made the opening 2 miles off of route 10 pretty quick. Hacker and The Burgess
hit the front a couple of corners later and kept the pace high. There was a
small group ld by Hacker on the early riser of Mountain Rd but by the stop sign
for Higgans, the rest of the pack was ramping it up enough to catch them and
regroup. From there it stayed pretty much all together with the usual guys
drilling it up front.
Hacker got the jump thru the light on route 69 and rolled too fast onto Moss Farms, aka Joe & Ben Boulevard. He was held up by vehicular traffic, although Hunter P and Jordan L were right there to keep it going. There was plenty of willing guys to follow, leaving no room for attacks of any sort. Pace stayed high into and thru the chicane. Hunter P rolled off the front after the corner for Marion and the Burgess was there to go as well. Chris C chipped in 3rd but there was enough of a pickup from behind to keep it all together. (Nuemotion, Groome, Little T, Alec C, a new guy a plain white jersey). Hacker kept on the gas going over the highway, as well as Chris C, leading to a small group getting a brief gap, but the Burgess chased and brought it all back together before the light.
Groome kept on it after the light, as well as Jordan L, but no one was getting any real gap all the way down Mount Vernon. There were a couple of points were the speed dropped down quite a bit. Turning onto Welch, Hacker jumped first again, and only a couple responded to the challenge. Chris C at first, then Ben Bruce. Behind there were a couple of guys in between but it quickly became a race for second place, at least to the corner. The 3 leaders went through with a small but substantial gap of 4 or 5 seconds. The Burgess worked into the wind to bring a couple of riders up close but not close enough. For the leaders, they worked evenly and had a good line at sprint. Each of them jumped but it was Hacker who had the kick needed to come around. On the backside, there was plenty of fast riding downhill to try to start something but a red light stopped any escapes.
The ride back south stayed pretty plain-jane. Jordan L and Chris C got the pace going on West street after the zigzag lights. Special Ed rejoined after an early flat and pushed the pace after everyone went under the overpass. The light back over 322 was green, leading to Hunter P trying to sneak off with Chris C, The Burgess, and a couple of others thru the milled roads there between 322 and West Johnson. Great to see that section of road being re-paved. No one was having it and instead, the pace stayed high all the way back onto Route 10. Not too much by way of action leading into the Stop n Sprint. Hacker tried to jump early but he had the trio of Chris C, Ben Bruce and Hunter P along for the ride. After the reshuffle with only a couple of hundred meters to go, Hacker and Ben Bruce still tried to jump, but Little T had been lying in wait in good position and was able to come around with little fuss.
Ben Bruce would get his chance later on for the finale, as he jumped up and past a handful of riders (great to see Kyle Crowell up in the mix as well) to be first to the corner.
Hacker got the jump thru the light on route 69 and rolled too fast onto Moss Farms, aka Joe & Ben Boulevard. He was held up by vehicular traffic, although Hunter P and Jordan L were right there to keep it going. There was plenty of willing guys to follow, leaving no room for attacks of any sort. Pace stayed high into and thru the chicane. Hunter P rolled off the front after the corner for Marion and the Burgess was there to go as well. Chris C chipped in 3rd but there was enough of a pickup from behind to keep it all together. (Nuemotion, Groome, Little T, Alec C, a new guy a plain white jersey). Hacker kept on the gas going over the highway, as well as Chris C, leading to a small group getting a brief gap, but the Burgess chased and brought it all back together before the light.
Groome kept on it after the light, as well as Jordan L, but no one was getting any real gap all the way down Mount Vernon. There were a couple of points were the speed dropped down quite a bit. Turning onto Welch, Hacker jumped first again, and only a couple responded to the challenge. Chris C at first, then Ben Bruce. Behind there were a couple of guys in between but it quickly became a race for second place, at least to the corner. The 3 leaders went through with a small but substantial gap of 4 or 5 seconds. The Burgess worked into the wind to bring a couple of riders up close but not close enough. For the leaders, they worked evenly and had a good line at sprint. Each of them jumped but it was Hacker who had the kick needed to come around. On the backside, there was plenty of fast riding downhill to try to start something but a red light stopped any escapes.
The ride back south stayed pretty plain-jane. Jordan L and Chris C got the pace going on West street after the zigzag lights. Special Ed rejoined after an early flat and pushed the pace after everyone went under the overpass. The light back over 322 was green, leading to Hunter P trying to sneak off with Chris C, The Burgess, and a couple of others thru the milled roads there between 322 and West Johnson. Great to see that section of road being re-paved. No one was having it and instead, the pace stayed high all the way back onto Route 10. Not too much by way of action leading into the Stop n Sprint. Hacker tried to jump early but he had the trio of Chris C, Ben Bruce and Hunter P along for the ride. After the reshuffle with only a couple of hundred meters to go, Hacker and Ben Bruce still tried to jump, but Little T had been lying in wait in good position and was able to come around with little fuss.
Ben Bruce would get his chance later on for the finale, as he jumped up and past a handful of riders (great to see Kyle Crowell up in the mix as well) to be first to the corner.
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