8/8 Ride Report - The Wall

We don’t need no education...

We don’t need no thought control...

No dark sarcasm in the classroom...

Teacher, leave them kids alone...

Hey, teacher, leave them kids alone...

As I slowly succumb to pain and hurt that road was dishing on us on last Sunday’s ride, my mind fought to remember the words to Pink Floyd’s Another Brick in the Wall. This distraction technique was my effort to get my mind off of the immediate event. I failed miserably in my quest. Let me start from the beginning...

There were 35 of us who showed up at MSP. What’s important to this recap is that 3 of the 35 riders were named The Animal, Fed-Ex, and Greg R.

Let’s start with the first guy, The Animal. Scott must have read the Blog last week and have been building up stored energy to unleash it on us. If you remembered, we trashed him hard as he was a no show to his own designed hilly course 2 Sundays ago. Well it looks like The Animal was not kicking back with a beer in hand, but has been putting away some extra carbo for this ride.

The second guy, Fed-Ex, we all know of Palomar and GMR fame. This guy is arguably the strongest Vietnamese cyclist in the OC. He has been MIA on the roads of OC as he is helping his wife with their new born, but must also have read the same Blog posting and decided to come and loosen the legs up a bit. Hmm… there seems to be theme here. I should probably stop the recap as this is causing me too much pain!

The third guy, Greg R, is a new comer to VeloViet but definitely is not to the OC cycling scene. I have met Greg before at the Lee’s Sandwich Ride, and am told Greg is a Cat 3 USCF sanction cyclist. Yikes!

So the first word when I saw these 3 riders on Sunday was... Ouch! My second word must have been ouch also! And yes, ouch ouch it was on the ride. For me that is!

Originally I thought I would stick to the A2 group, and was trying hard to think of any excuse to give to the A1 group, so that I don't get too many backlash. I did really have a sore left hamstring, and was feverously choosing my excuses. Unfortunately my mind, usually very quick with words, failed me miserably today as Cap’t waved to me at the PCH stop to join the A1 ride. Darn!

Just as I suspected, on PCH it was a no-nonsense 26 to 29 MPH average. There was no time to think, to pause, just a pure instinct act of cycling aggression to stay with the pumped group. I could not even look up so don’t know who was driving the front, but I suspect the trio mentioned earlier was in the mix.

A sudden surge and we lost Phillip. Jimmy went back to get him. Everyone else continued on. It was a no-holds bar ride today. We waited for no one!

Finally at the Alta Laguna Park we stopped. I plopped down on the cold concrete sidewalk trying to suck in as much air as possible. My mind wanders...


All in all, it’s just another brick in THE WALL...

All in all, you’re just another brick in THE WALL...

Pink Floyd’s words hold deadly true on this part of the ride. We were just another brick, a small piece of nothing, riding up to this MASSIVE piece of concrete that must have been something like 35 or 40% gradient. I swear that when I first looked at “The Wall”, in my dizzy and confuse state, I originally did think that it was a real wall. I remembered yelling out to our route designer Scott “You Have Got To Be Kidding Me!” when I realized what it was.

By the way, that was the junior wall. The real one is a less steep, but much longer, 20% mountain road right behind the first wall. I had no more gears left for this climb, was wishing that I had listened to Tuan and bought compact crank instead of standard. What kept me going here was just a continued focus on the red jersey in front of me, which I think was Greg G, to keep me going. Here is a nice picture taken by Tuan I think. These were the only folks who made it to the very top.

Photo #1 - The A1 Riders on Top of the Wall. From left: TZ, Fed-EX, Luke, Greg R, The Animal, Cap't, Sang, Phong, and Greg G

Coming down this mountain was a blast. We hooked up with everyone in Laguna. More climbing on Newport Coast, but this was a piece of cake compared to what we just went through.

PCH was again blazing fast, a thrilling chase to stay with the front runners. On SART, Mathew showed us that he has been practicing his sprints as he unleashes a couple of surprise attacks on us.

I am still tired from the ride, was not planning to recap at all, but had to thank Scott, the route designer, for this wild but fun ride! Good thing we are not riding next Sunday, but are lazing by the lake instead, as I sorely need a rest before the September epic ride. I am going to find a nice shady spot at the party and settle down for a nice nap! After the BBQ feast of course!

Hey A2 riders, you guys have got to try The Wall. How did your ride go? Heard Candy snapped his chain!

Out,
Phong