4/01 Ride Report - GMR Recon Mission

All my hopes and dreams of any GMR domination shattered into little pieces on the roads to the sky today. I was crushed... physically and mentally crushed... I had no energy left at the end of the ride as I have given my all in the last 5 hours. What was supposedly a casual 2-hour recon to the halfway point turned into an attacking, all out assault to Baldy Village. Here is how it went...

I showed up 7:30 AM at the meeting point. There early were also Keith and Hoa. Long pulled in shortly after. I should the 3 VeloViet member's hands and then proceed to unload my bike. Guess who showed up next? Anh Sang pulled in with his Time bike in the back of his truck. Long, Keith, Hoa, and I looked at each other and said "the ride just got harder". Sang is a member of our elite A1 Werewolves, where the strongest VeloViets hang out in a pack. With an A1 member we know that we could not relax on this ride.

As we adjusted mentally to this new change, our blood quickly races to boil with the arrival of the next VeloViet members. The Kraken Beast himself arrived... and with help! FedEx and BigH pulled into the parking lot. I heard, from the rest of the VeloViets, a slight groan as we know not now what is in store on this ride. Accepting our fate, we rode off once Toan arrived and unpacked his bike.

Photo - The VeloViets Ready for the Recon Ride!

I felt pretty good the first 5 miles, and was all talk. I was up front chatting with FedEx about the other climbing contenders, and we were debating what were some of the ways that folks will try to attack him.

As we got close to the actual start of the GMR climb, everything changed. The talking stopped as FedEx made a slight acceleration at the steep climb right before the gate. He disappeared from view along with Sang and BigH. This was the last we saw of them until 9 miles later.

Photo - The Is The Last I Saw of the Front Three VeloViets Until the Halfway Mark

Photo - The Quarter Mile Before the GMR Gate is One of the Steepest!

Photo - Toan and Keith Before the GMR Start Gate

The first half of GMR was not bad for me. I was feeling good, but was in "no man's land" caught between the front trio and the last four riders. My mind was busy, accelerate through the various scenarios that could happen when the actual climb day comes, and my body was just going through the motion churning out the 60-70 rpm needed to sustain approximately 8 mph. I reached the Edison Building where FedEx, BigH, and Sang were resting. They made it up in that order. Soon after the Hoa, Toan, and Keith came.

Photo - Keith and Toan Closing In to the Halfway Mark

Photo - Toan and Keith Sprinting up to the Edison Building

Photo - Recon Riders BigH, Keith, FedEx, Toan, Sang, and Hoa

We waited for about 15 minutes, but no Long. That was when we realized the first sacrifice must have been made to pleased the Mountain Gods. Hoa mentioned that Long was suffering tremendously on the slopes. Texted mail received later revealed Long had dropped out and could not bear the pain of GMR on this day. The group moved out.

And immediately Sang made an acceleration to try to distance himself. FedEx and BigH quickly responded. I caught up with them on the slight descent at the East Fork.

Photo - Sang Attacked Quickly from the Edison Building

Photo - Toan, Hoa, and Keith Chasing Hard After the Front Pack

Photo - Big H All Smile After the Halfway Mark and Still Full of Energy

As we crested the climb after East Fork, Sang again threw all his energy into yet another attack. This man had no fear of The Kraken Beast and were determined to give it his all, but again the Kraken effortlessly responded to Sang's attack. This time though, only Sang and FedEx moved on as BigH could not responded to the acceleration.

Photo - Sang Gave Another Acceleration After East Fork

Photo - FedEx Quickly Responded to Sang's Attack

I was with BigH, but not for long. He gave an acceleration and disappeared from my view. Again, I was in no man's land struggling alone in this peaceful setting.

Roughly around the 19 mile mark (of the entire ride), I noticed Hoa behind me. With the few months he has been riding with VeloViet, Hoa is quickly becoming a strong rider. Jonathan, another member who joined at the same time as Hoa, said Hoa is the strongest of the PBK group.

We struggled silently for the next three miles together. At the 21 miles mark, I no longer can sustain the brutal pace and had to grop back to 6 mph. Hoa quickly disappeared from my sight as he continued on at the same pace.

It is said you have not really rode a bike until you do a climb such as GMR. Pain racked my lower back as my lower core muscles are being beaten by this brutal mountain. My neck and legs hurts as well, and I won't talk about my sore behind!

Around the 22 or 23 mile mark, a relieve came in the form of a slight descent. My prayers worked! This short rest gave me a little energy and I made the final climb to Baldy Village. The mileage here was 26.5 miles.

Photo - BigH and FedEx Posing at Baldy Village

Photo - Phong, Keith, FedEx, Hoa, and Sang

All the riders showed up except for Toan. We waited for 15 minutes but no show. Here too, we recognized that the second human sacrifice was made. Toan had succumbed to the GMR Gods as his body was racked with pain. Texted e-mail received later showed Toan abandoned the climb somewhere in the second half.

The return had us suffering as we climb back up to the notch, but the down hill was sweet! I think we descended like 1 hour straight! I got to practiced my leaning just like how The Gear showed me. Man, my neck though was in pain as I maintained a low position on the bike while keeping my eyes on the road.

We got back to the parking closer to 1 PM. Near the end, I could no longer pushed my body and had to limped back to the start.

At the lunch hangout, the consensus was that this climb was harder than Palomar. If Lady Palomar was sensual in her curve, GMR was even more voluptuous in her steep slopes.

Photo - Yes Folks... FedEx Eats Like the Rest of Us!

In the end, we were so thankful that Sang, BigH, and FedEx came out to join us. We got an exceptional workout and now know that if we can endure today, then we definite can endure on the actual ride day.

But wait... note that we did not ride the entire route, as the final 3 miles to th ski lift awaits us. Looking at everyone's bikes today, I know now that I must do something about my gearing in order to ascend this harder slope. My standard crank and 12-25 cassette will not do it with the body weight that I have.

By the way, Sang showed us a little today what it will take to conquer the Kraken, and that is a little bravery and a lot of heart. It's going to be hard though to beat this 135 lbs climbing monster. Maybe our 125 lbs climber Geraldo is the answer.

We will find out on April 17th! Don't miss this experience live folks as there too will be 4 other invited bike groups and their climbing champions. If I was a betting man... my money is on The Kraken Beast!

Photo - The Man Who Would Be King.. King of the Mountain That Is!

Hope you had enjoyed this recap, and love to read your replies to this post.

Out,
Phong