Saturday's ride in the Hammock was fantastic! The weather could hardly have been nicer for the last week of January. We started on time from Firestone and Summit with about 10 or 11 riders. Before we even made it out on to Summit however, we had some controversy. Apparently, Gianni Bugno "discovered" a fairly large slice in the rear tire of Happy's machine, thus causing the sprint points leader to abandon before the ride ever got going.
This was met with no small amount of suspicion as Gianni holds second place behind Happy in the sprints. After frisking the Bugno for any sharp objects that could have produced such a clean cut on Happy's tire, we headed down the road with guarded confidence that the cut was caused by something other than Gianni. (Hmmmm...now that I think about it we didn't check the surrounding shrubbery for a ditched knife.)
The pace out to the Hammock was easy and quite enjoyable as we were all basking in the warmth of the winter sunshine. As we turned off Mobile Hwy the strategy of one Left Lane became very apparent. No more than a kilometer from the left hander onto Buelah Road and he throws down quite the cheeky move! He hammers up the final climb on the, you guessed it, left side and was off on his little adventure towards the finish line for the Hammock Sprint. By the time the peloton reached the same corner, Left Lane was out of sight. (But, not out of mind)
As we now headed towards Hurst Hammock itself, a little chase group of four developed to track down the runaway bandit. These four had some serious power and would make it nearly impossible for the Leftist Laneist to stay away. The four were Earl "Semper Cy(cle)" Page, The Foxinator, Gianni and yours truly. We put the hammer down and soon had the errand boy in our sights. With about 50 meters to the catch, we agreed to let him "simmer" a bit before reeling him in. This worked for a few hundred meters until Left Lane figured out what we were doing and just pulled over...actually, I think he was pretty much toast.
The 4 of us continued on and as we got closer to the Hammock Sprint Line, the tactics became evident. Now, with just 500 meters left, Semper Cy was on the front with yours truly right behind and Gianni and The Foxinator at the rear. This was shaping up to be a fantastic sprint! The pace had quicken a bit as we came around the final curve and the line came into view. I call out to Earl like Cippolini to Fagini to "Stomp on it!" He sits up and asks. "What?" I yelled back, "Stomp on it!!!" Again, "Stomp!!!" Just then he hits the brakes and says, "Stop?" I cry out, "No, Stomp!!!" But, it was too late...there goes The Foxinator out of the saddle, head down...doing his version of "stomp on it"...and with Gianni Bugno right on his wheel! With 50 meters to go, Gianni came around him for the win and bragging rights for the week. Congrats to John "Gianni Bugno" Duke!
As we were riding back out of the Hammock, Earl and I were laughing about the miscommunication. I'm yelling stomp and he's hearing stop. Regardless, it was great fun and I'll get Gianni next time! In fact, I did. In the final sprint down Maygarden, The Foxinator had done most of the work to get us up over the final hill. Just then, the Bugno, who must be thinking he is pretty much invincible against the bigger Clydesdale boys, jumps hard with 300 meters to go. Around the final curve we go, Gianni with me in tow...I love this kind of stuff! With 50 to 60 meters left, I clicked a gear and went around him for the Clydesdale Revenge Victory! (CRV) O how sweet it is!
I know what you are thinking...Gianni has been participating in the dreaded Double Secret Workout Regiment. Further, he was sure that the only threat to his early season prowess was Happy. In the group before we left that morning, was Gianni lined up right behind Happy...perfect position for sabotage of Happy's rear tire thus sending him home with no chance to challenge the Bugno! Others, have come to the same conclusion. (A full investigation is underway) When reached, Gianni had no comment. Stay tuned for more details as they become available.
Good fun and a great ride! The Hammock never disappoints!
Now, for some schedule housekeeping:
Saturday morning's ride has been delayed one hour and will now start at 9am from Fish and Wildlife. We will either be going to Fort Pickens or Soundside, depending on the wind. Temps are forecast to be chilly with bright sunshine. The temps are cause enough for the delay, but we also have the Double Bridge Run crossing 3 Mile Bridge as well and we do not want to interfere with our 2 footed brethren.
Sunday's ride will start at Firestone and Summit at 2pm instead of 3 pm. Several of you mentioned that you have plans for the Super Bowl so we thought it best to give ourselves a bit of room by bumping the start time by one hour.
As always, you can find all the details on the Rides Calendar at the bottom of this Blogazoidal. And, I will...
See you out on the road,
Bob
The Hammock Ride was awesome,as usual, even if the Left Lane Breakaway came up short. Knowing that I can not outkick you guys on the final leg of the sprint I had to give the breakaway a shot to try and claim the only prize in local F&S cycling that has eluded me! Maybe next time the winds will be more favorable or I can enlist the help of a wingman. Perhaps if we came up with a suitable name for the Hammock sprint trophy that would be enough added incentive to win it an put it up on the mantle next to all those fried twinkies and fried oreos!!
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