GMR Report - Return to Witch Mountain

1 hour and 27 minutes!

I stared down at the ground blurring past. My feet, a constant state of circular motion, became my focus of the real world while my mind is in a state of haze. The roads seemed familiar but my mind is not working. Where am I? Have I been here before? What's happening to me?

What's happening to us is that we bore the full brunt of the Kraken's attack. The Beast released its full might on us on this slope, angered from the near fatal wound that it received from The Archer Kazu. Here is what happened...

Taken out by the mighty archer, Kazu though made the mistake of not finishing the beast. Kazu had left the Kraken lying by the wayside a month ago with an arrow in its heart. Later that night, the Kraken had crawled to a nearby cave where it licked its wound for a full month. Today, the Kraken FedEx reared his head and once again put his stamp on this witch of a mountain.

The start of the ride the brave VeloViets were well prepared. VeloViet Steve C, unfinished from the ride a month ago, had sworned to complete the ride this time and had brought a bevy of delicious sag food for us. A quick photo and we are off!

Photo - Delicious SAG food courtesy of Steve

Photo - VeloViets At the Start

Immediately no-nonsense Veloviet member Postal Ngoc went to the front and drive a blistering pace. There were NO social zone here, and this is a ride that marked as a "I am not your friend today" ride.

Young Donovan responded to Ngoc's pace and these two riders splintered the pack. We are not even 5 miles into the ride!

Photo - Ngoc and Donovan Splintered the VeloViet Pack

We met up with VeloViet BigH and The Kraken FedEx near the GMR gate. FedEx asked me some of the details of Kazu's achievement a month ago. Satisfied that he understood what is needed to capture the VeloViet's GMR time trial, FedEx declared he was ready.

Photo - The VeloViet GMR Crew

We took off, and IMMEDIATELY FedEx attacked! His acceleration was so vicious that this is the only picture I managed to snap of him before he disappeared into the fog. We would not see him again until the East Fork.

Photo - FedEx Attacking the Slope while Ngoc and BigH Responding

Photo - Donovan and Steve

Photo - Long and Randy

I figured I might as well settle in and take it easy as we still have 25 miles to go uphill. During the way up, I met 15 years old Elizabeth who was training for the Ride Across America in a 8-person team. Elizabeth is new to cycling, but was so excited on the upcoming RAAM ride that she infused her energy into me just talking to her. I think she will do a great ride. Look for her "Lifechanger" team in June!

Photo - Donovan and Elizabeth

Photo - BigH, FedEx, and Ngoc were the first to Reach East Fork

After the East Fork, we started to see all the riders from the Le'Tape ride going the opposite way. Another rider told me that over 1400 people signed up for this ride. There were mobs and mobs of riders and this seemed to infuse some sort of energy into FedEx. As you might have guess, he attacked!

"Go, go, go!", I told my legs. I even attempted to stand on the pedals to increased my speed. I was successful in separating myself from most of the VeloViet pack, but can't seem to catch up with BigH and FedEx. Tired, I sat back down and proceed at a more reasonable climb.

Photo - Ngoc, Randy, and Long Responding to My Attack

Photo - The Guys Caught Up and Passed Me As I Tried to Recover from My Acceleration

I started to zone in and out. First I am there with my Veloviet friends, then the next I seemed to be somewhere else. The legs were a tired rhythm as I continue to push towards my destination. We started to come upon the dense wodded areas of the climb and the sunlight pierced through my vision. Le'Tape riders were descending and they were like blurs in my dense and hazy state. The next thing I knew, we were at Baldy Village.

I immediately asked FedEx what his time was. After replying that he was still sore from racing, and that he did not have his Vietnamese fried rice (FedEx's secret training food) this morning, he said "one hour and twenty seven minutes". At this statement, I went glass eyed. Man this is close to Kazu's! What would happen if Kazu and The Beast were here? So here are the details of FedEx's performance for those who wish to challenge the Kraken next time.

Photo - Summary of The Kraken's Climb

Photo - FedEx's Heart Rate and Cadence During the Climb

Photo - VeloViets at the Top

While we were resting at Baldy Village, Le'Tape riders were making their way to the ski lifts. We got excited as we spotted pros from HTC and other pro teams climbing by. They were preparing for the Tour of California race next week.

The descent was a blast as usual. There were so many Le'Tape riders climbing up and half of them had the glazed eye look. We had to periodically yell out as tired riders were riding with their heads down, looking at the road and riding on the wrong side of the road.

We got back to BigH's car and stop to chat a bit with him and FedEx. After saying goodbye, we made it back to our car. Here we enjoyed a feast of food including coconut juices (we saved it for the end Haldane!), bananas, and cookies. Steve also brought beer but we did not want to drink beer in this public place.

Photo - The Tired VeloViet Crew

In the end, it was an exciting but rewarding ride. Steve thanked me for arranging this as he was not sleeping for the last month thinking about how he did not finished the ride the last time. I bet Steve will sleep like a baby tonight!

Again I wanted to remind the climbers... 1 hour and 27 minutes! See you on Palomar!

Out,
Phong