Saturday, May 21, 2011

Stage 7 GMR Super Ride

VeloViet takes Stage 7! VeloViet wins on Mount Baldy!

I woke up with a start from my dream, with my hands in the air as if I was doing the victory salute. I looked at my clock and groaned. It's only 5 AM and now I am wide awake. Oh well... might as well get ready!

I got to Glendora High School parking lot and it was filling quick with cyclist with the same goal as I, to ride up GMR to see Horner, Levi, and other pros duke it out on the high mountain. Within 15 minutes, the parking lot were filled with cyclists!

Photo - Lots of Riders at the Parking Lot

On our epic Stage 7 ride today we have Don, Ted, Martin, Luke, and I. After a brief introduction, we are off! Here are some photos of the guys.

Photo - Ted and Don

Photo - Luke with his Camera

On the way to the gate, Luke asked me about Fed-Ex time of 1 hour and 27 minutes. I gave him the details of where the clock was started and where it was stopped. Luke seemed determined today in testing himself and I thought he would post a good time.

Casualty struck even before the gate as Martin had a flat and had to go back to the car. Ted went back with him while Luke, Don, and I continued on.

As you might have guess, Luke took off fast! I settle in with Don and chit-chat with him and with riders around us. We saw so many interesting characters on the ride. Here are some photos:

Photo -Check Out that Mustache

Photo - Had A Good Chat talking with this Couple, Who was Lugging a lot of Weight Up Hill

None of us stopped at East Fork. We all charged on. Near the top, Luke had finished and came back down to escort me up. I stopped at the Notch and Snap a Picture of the Radioshack Camper

Photo - RadioShack Camper

Photo - Amgen Lead Car

At Baldy Village, The Beast announced:

1 hour and 28 minutes!

I looked at Luke with glazed eyes, my mind swirling with thoughts. Hey this is not bad, and only seconds shy of FedEx's record. Man... what could have been if FedEx showed on the epic ride. Luke and I chatted a bit more on this topic.

Photo - Martin, Ted, and Luke

Guess who we saw at Baldy, none other than Cap't Bong and the River Velo crew. There were so much cycling teams here and everyone was in their club kits. Luke and I represent VeloViet well in our VeloViet kit and people were asking about our club. We even saw VeloViet member David M who was there with his family and cheering for us as we rode by.

Luke and I got hungry so we went in search of a burger. Man did the burgers at Baldy Village Restaurant taste good! After we fill our tummy, it's back up the slop to the KOM where we would wait for the pros. Here are more photos!

Photo - Phong Posing on GRR

Photo - Yup! It's Spongebob, Me, and the Gorilla!

Photo - HTC Smurf and an American Cat?

Photo - Luke Posing on GRR

Photo - Expensive Bikes Were Scattered All Over The Hills

After a 15 minute wait, we saw the breakaway group far down below. They were about 1 to 2 minutes in front of the main pack. As they got close, Luke and I acted like the thousand other frenzied fans. I never had so much fun screaming at the top of my lungs.

Photo - Hincapie (BMC) in the Breakaway Group

Photo - Radioshack Protecting Race Leader Horner

Photo - Radioshack Car Following the Main Peloton

Photo - Tom Danielson Surrounded by Garmin Riders

Photo - Group After the Main Peloton

Man they were fast up that hill! Once past, we proceeded down GRR and GMR where we hoped we can catch a glimpsed of the riders again as they make their way up GMR. My legs were hurting badly as we were standing on the side of the road for a while. Luke still had lots of energy and were sprinting back and forth filming me on the descent. Then Luke went to the front and went kamikaze on the curves.

Nearer to the end of GMR, we were stop by CHP as the pack were coming up. Perfect timing!

Photo - Breakaway Group Still in Front

Photo - Radioshack Dominated the Front of the Main Pack

Photo - Horner in the Peloton

Photo - Peloton Stretches Thin

Photo - Cars Following the Pack

Photo - (Cyclingnews) Horner and Levi on the Climb to the Ski Lift

Photo (Cyclingnews)- Radioshack Dominated Today and Took 1-2

Today was such a fun and awesome ride. Seeing the pros attack some of the same hills we struggle with was humbling. Seeing the thousands of people cheering on the street was inspirational. Folks even rang their cowbells for me as I rode by. Time to do more climbs and practice my victory salute on GMR!

Out,
Phong

10 comments:

  1. Great photos. Wish I was there to cheer.

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  2. Hi Sean, it was fun! Come on up mid July to ride with the team and pick up your uniform. Capo Forma said it should be in by then!

    Phong

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  3. Great recap phong! It's great to do every ride twice: first with all the pain and agony, then the 2nd time reading your prose relaxing on the sofa with a cup of coffee! I'll try to edit all the video I took from my helmet cam to something not so long so everyone can get a feel for what it was like. I've got good footage of the real tdc riders going by ad well as footage of my own amateur descents and climbs. The best footage I think is the part coming over the last peak and going on the final descent to the village. It was here I realized I had a chance of getting near fedex's time and was doing everything I could to sprint through the crowds of people! That was a blast!

    Today I paid dearly. Greg and Scott were out for blood pulling us all at 30+ sometimes and I could still feel the burning in my legs. Everyone worked really hard as a team and somehow I barely managed to hang on.

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  4. Great recap Phong...So exciting when seeing the pictures
    of Levi & Christopher leading the pack again. I was watching the race last night, trying to locate you guys along the way but could not find it! ;-)

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  5. Phong,

    I am uploading a bunch of video footage to youtube. For now, check out this view of the descent down GMR from my helmet cam:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGtQHZaCRx8

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  6. Thanks for the excellent recap of the event Phong. There were so many unique pictures of the racers, teams and fans to give us a taste of what it was like. Where about were you guys standing? I was looking for the red VeloViet jerseys while watching the race on TV.

    @Luke, that's an exhilarating video of your ride down GMR. I had to hold my breath a few times, lol. You were passing the other cyclists like they were standing still. Amazing!

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  7. Luke,

    This video is awesome! And scary too!

    Keith,

    We were near Baldy Notch where one of the KOM sprint finishes is placed. Luke and I were screaming and jumping up-n-down like mad men when the pack rolled by.

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  8. Did you guys get any autographs for the VeloViet year book?

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  9. I wanted to tackle down a pro rider at Baldy for autograph, but Luke didn't want to bail me out of jail!

    Maybe Uyen did. She was at the Claremont village at the start where they were signing autographs.

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  10. OK, as I mentioned, here are more links to video taken with the dork-o-cam while enjoying the day at Stage 7 of TOC. The first link is the one you saw already (long descent down GMR), so skip that and start with link #2.

    GMR Descent.MP4
    GoPro helmet cam footage of my descent down Glendora Mountain Road near from Mt. Baldy. Taken on the day of Stage 7 of 2011 Tour of California. Descended until ramming head on with the peloton coming up!
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGtQHZaCRx8

    Last GRR Ascent to Top and Finish.mp4
    GoPro helmet cam footage of final ascent and short descent to finish down Glendora Ridge Road near from Mt. Baldy. Taken on the day of Stage 7 of 2011 Tour of California. As I reached the top before the last descent to the village, I realized there was actually a chance of matching FedEx's time of 1:27:50. That got the adrenaline pumping enough to push hard over the crest on to the speeding descent. Even with all that, missed it by 10 seconds! Man Fed Ex is fast!
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSlwvR-MA4c

    Garmin GPS data taken on the way up to the village, gate to gate time:
    http://connect.garmin.com/activity/87131342

    East Fork Crossing on Ascent Edited.MP4
    GoPro helmet cam footage on Glendora Mountain road ascent past the East Fork Road. Taken on the day of Stage 7 of 2011 Tour of California.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKjghTa1iYg


    GRR Descent and Phong.MP4
    Phong descending Glendora Ridge Road. Taken on day of stage 7 of 2011 Tour of California.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJE6wfJXd3E

    Breakaway Group to KOM1.MP4
    1st Breakaway group to KOM1 in 2011 Tour of California
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcldLGS2zVw

    Peloton and Chase Groups to KOM1.MP4
    Peloton and Chase groups nearing KOM1 in 2011 Tour of California.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NSiKaR5gDw

    Peloton Back up GMR.MP4
    Peloton climging back up GMR in 2011 Tour of California
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjORmCNOq9k

    GMR Descent to End.MP4
    Final descent down GMR to the end. Taken on day of stage 7 of 2011 Tour of California.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRrLZiQ2Jso

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