Tuesday the 11th

Where’d everyone go!?
The rain must have been casting a long shadow tonight because only 14 or 15 riders were out. There was some wet road sections but for the most part it was dry out there yet again.

     The ride was dictated mostly by Chris C, Jordan L and Mike McG. Also chipping in during several sections was the rider on the cervelo who reminds everyone of Silent Steve but who is not silent Steve. Dan Smith and Special Ed were up there as well. Tommy K chipped in several times as well.
     Playing the part of instigators for the ride was Burgess and Hunter P. Hunter P attacked toward the end of Mountain Rd and was rewarded by being the only one thru a green light on route 68/70. He held onto that gap all the way to the route 322 crossing, where the light was red. From there, the pace stayed reasonable. Burgess took off early on Mount Vernon and lasted a couple of kilo’s on his own. From there it was reasonable riding up front as the work load was shared by 5 or 6 riders.
      Heading to turnaround, Burgess was pushing it on the front and Mike McG was right there. Chris C, Hunter P and Jordan L was up there as well. After the turn onto West St,  Burgess started the leadout train fast enough to whittle it down to Mike McG, Chris C and Hunter P. From there Chris C, lead it out the rest of the way, letting Hunter P take the sprint point. Those 4 started rolling off the front of the reduced pack but a couple of red lights let the rest reconnect. From there it was an uneventful ride back into Cheshire. Chris C punched off the front on Peck Ln but the rest were quick to jump on and respond.
    For the run in to the stop n shop sprint, Dan Smith tried to get the early jump on everyone but some quick response from the mystery rider on the cervelo and the not-so-new guy on the Trek kept his gap to a short leash. From there, Hunter P was able to jump up and out of the draft with plenty of time to get the sprint point.  The rest of the ride into Hamden was uneventful but quick. Everyone just wanted to ride a nice high pace and share the workload. Mike McG picked up the final prize of the night, ripping thru the final 200 meters with relative ease.

Tuesday the 4th

Another slow start for the SGR…

     High humidity, temps, and tailwinds = the slow ride out to the back roads. There were about 30 riders out tonight with the Mullaly’s showing up strong and John G adding the modern flair of a white POC helmet to his collection of wool jerseys and Ti frames. Everything was pretty leisurely until Ciocci, Crowell Sr., Mike McG and a few others fired up the horsepower going past Brooksvale Park. The group stretched out but a few were quick to react and let no gaps open. Up the knoll Gibertoni took off with Gregg F with the two holding a small gap until just before the corner to Mountain. At that point Crowell applied the pressure on the front, ejecting a few riders off the back. The pace was solid for the rest of the Mountain with the usuals on the front (Sernyak, Ciocci, Rob Duxx, Chris C, Mike McG) and a few others covering the small gap and a solid pull from Little T to get things back together before the corner.
     A couple of lights, Moss Farms, Mt Vernon…ehh... Enough with the "cobbles" already! At Welch the pace picked up with Casey and Pinky Rapha (?) let the run up of the group with T, Rob Dux, Ben Bruce and Mullaly II putting in solid efforts. BB’s hill sprints up Mt Washington paid off as he cruised to the first crown of the night. West Street…ehh. Cross 372…ehh… on Peck Chris C jumped on the riser taking Gibertoni with him. Special Ed rolled up and it looked like those guys might make something happen, but Rob Duxx and crew were there quickly to make sure that didn’t happen. The ride back through Rt10 was pretty ho hum…with T and Ben Bruce going head to head at the Stop n Sprint point with Little T coming out on top.
      A couple of lights on Rt.10 and in to the finale…like the finish of the 2015 Tour de France, it was neutralized after a section 13-8A of the SGR rules book was violated by Rob Duxx with a full on Andre Greipel out of the saddle sprint. To complicate the finale, we had 8 riders wide on Rt.10 which made a few bright minded sprinters back off this week’s finale.

C’mon ladies…keep it classy.

Tuesday the 28th

Crowells on a cruise = subpar SG ride…

It was a light crowd out tonight on the TWC. Vacations and the return of a dry Rentschler field crit meant that there was only 25 or so out tonight. The humidity meant that everyone was on the sluggish side, a least to start out. The opening 3-4 miles was 2 abreast and lesierely in pace. Hacker and Nuemotion got things going midway to the light on route 68. The light there was green, which gave a chance to Gibertoni, Hunter P and Hacker to try to slip off the front on Moss Farms but that wasn’t going to be allowed by the pack. The Keltic boys (O’Shea and John Morgan) , Ciocci, Tall Dennis, and a couple of others all chipping in to get the pace up there. Even still, after a reshuffle up front, that same 3 was up there along with a couple of others as the ride dove into the chicane. The pace slowed up the hill to Marion though.
     Heading to the light on 322, Gibertoni was attentive and he broke off a slight gap…. 10-15 meters or so. The timing was in his favor at the light as he and Dan Smith squeezed thru a green>red light fair and square. Burgster and Nuemotion took liberty to go thru the red light but when protest erupted from the pack that was braking hard, they spun around and waited to reconnect. The 2 up front continued with their gap, rightly so. They were just out of sight as the field crested the hill after the light. The 2 worked well together, and stayed out of sight for most of the ride down Mount Vernon. With 1000 meters to the turnaround, and the leaders in sight and coming back, Jordan L jumped up to slip across the gap. That brought a pickup in the pace and with 250 meters to the corner, it was all done for the 2 up front. Jordan L kept on it though. Hacker then jumped hard, taking Mike McG and Hunter P. Response to that was affirmative and it led to a speedy trip down the firs part of Welch. Halfway down, a trio rolled off the front in pursuit of Jordan L and the one rider that was with him. Nuemotion, Burgster, and Rob Dux hit the corner and soon were up to the leaders. Behind, Hacker jumped hard, Little T was next to go but it was quickly apparent that the 3 had a good enough head start and were motoring. From that trio, Nuemotion had little problem taking the sprint point.
     They kept on the gas on the backside and it looked like they may escape. The pack was one red light away from missing out. Everyone sailed thru the lights by I84 and the leaders were held up at the light on riser by Jude Ln. From there it was all together back into Cheshire. Hunter P attacked going under the overpass on Atwater. He held that gap till the red light on 322.
     Onto Peck, where Burgster and Gibertoni tried to sneak off as everyone slowly came off the 4-way intersection there. Hacker was having none o that. He jumped hard, taking 11teen guys with him up to the front. From there French Casey tore off a gap with The Sernyak and Hunter P as the ride went up the false flat. That trio would carry a gap all the way to route 10, but no one was going to let it get out of control.
     On the first parts of Route 10, Hacker was sensing weakness around him. But at the top of the hill, everyone had clawed their way back on. Mike McG then picked up the slack, as well as the Keltic boys, leading to a fast and pure run-in to the sprint. 3 or 4 jumped, but Little T jumped hardest and had little trouble cresting the hill alone. From there, the ride stayed its normal fast all the way back into Hamden. A speeding bus with 300 meters to go made more than a few guys choose between sensibility and a shot at the front. French Casey jumped into the draft of the 25 ton vehicle and as Little T chased em down, the sprint ended up being negated because that bus just wasn’t going fast enough!
    Good ride everyone. Let's take this moment to wish Kyle C a speedy recovery from a fractured elbow sustained when he tried to beat up a section of asphalt somewhere in the Redding area during the recent CT Challenge charity ride. Kyle, don't eat too much on the cruise. Your dad tho can have all the donuts he wants, right Rondo?

Tuesday the 21st

The weird summer of 2015 continues.

It’s Tuesday so there must be a high probability of thunderstorms. Today though, the ride would be unaffected, unless you had a long ride home afterwards, in which case you got wet.
There was a decent sized group out tonight and everyone seemed ready to rock n roll. Right off the bat, Chris C led a a group off the front along with Big Red and ABurg. That group of 5 or 6 would be caught within a kilo or so. Just then, a young rider veered into Matt Waz going around an uphill bend. Both went down but were fine. Matt is a trackie, and trackies know how to beat up the floor without taking on too many hit points.
    Once it got going again, the speed slowly ramped up as guys went to chase down Chris C. Onto Mountain Rd, where a lull on the slights risers allowed Hunter P to escape with The Sernyak. Moments later, Aburg and Big Red closed the gap down, making it four up the road. The light on 68 was green for the break but the rest of the chase was able to squeeze in under a changing to red light.
    Moss Farms was standard stuff. No attacks, no drama. Likewise for the long run down Mount Vernon. There are promising signs that the road will be repaved soon, but until then, everyone was ducking for cover and dodging BigMac sized holes.
      For the run into the Sprint, the pace down Welch stayed high thanks to Keith Mullaly, Aburg, Greg Ciocci, The Sernyak, Nick Sabatelli and a few others. Hacker jumped along with Aburg, Keith M, Hunter P and a couple of others. Once a few more bodies joined up after the corner, Sean Cahill hit the front hard and got a gap well before anyone would be sprinting and blew the doors off the rest, taking the points  without a struggle from behind.
      Everyone had a chance to recollect on the backside and there was nothing outstanding to report on the way back into Cheshire. Once over 322 again, Aburg and the Sernyak snuck off the front and lit the afterburners when they saw they had a gap. 30 seconds later Sean Cahill and Big Red led a group up to bridge. Mike McG and Kyle C were along for the ride as well. That made a strong group up the road as the ride hit Peck Lane. Response from the pack was slow, allowing the gap to go up even more. By the time everyone cleared the long riser up to Peck, the break had a solid 100meter or more. Some solid chasing was put in by Stephano Z and Special Ed, bringing the gap down heading up the initial hill on route 10. The break slid thru the light at the top of the hill and everyone else had to stop. It looked like a done deal for the break but they then were held up by a light briefly, for the final 500 meters into the Stop n Shop sprint, it was close. Hacker and Tall John were busting down doors on the front, trying to close the gap down. Up front, the break collectively decided to not sprint, but instead keep the paceline going strong. The hill took its toll all the same, breaking up the lead group. The catch was on from behind anyway.
     From there the ride stayed nice and fast all the way to the end. For the finale, Sean Cahill ripped thru the front with a few seconds to spare and rolled thru the last in front of Big Red.
     Great ride everyone !