The assault started on Saturday when the VeloViets invaded Beverly Hills, California for the bike expo! Here are some photos of the group that went.
Photo - VeloViets at the ride start/finish
Photo - The Italian Billy D meeting Mr Italian Ernesto ColnagoThen on Sunday, almost 30 VeloViets showed up for the 72-mile ride. Everyone was so excited to be here and to be riding on the famous Rodeo Drive. Here we are at the start.
Photo - VeloViets on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, California
Photo - Cap't and Guest Rider Uyen meeting for the first time
Photo - VeloViet A2 group at the startBesides finishing, one of the goals on this ride was to support Yahoo! Girl Kristy on her Queen-of-the-Mountain conquest. We had our best climbers, Luke, Billy, Arnel, and Sang, in the front with Kristy to support her in the QoM challenge. They made it to bike radar front page. Check it out at:
http://www.bikeradar.com/news/article/gran-fondo-usas-2011-gran-fondo-los-angeles-30752
Photo - VeloViets Luke and Kristy in front before the race
Photo - VeloViet Luke and Kristy about to startThe ride starts! Here are some more photos.
Photo - Cap't and Fixie leading the pack
Photo - Rolling outThe main "HoC" climb on this ride was a mountain called Piuma, located from miles 31 to about miles 37. The climbing actually start pretty early about 10 miles into the ride. It was obvious who was in climbing shape as Cap't, Gerardo, John, Daniel, Ngoc, and Thang starts to distance themselves on the hills. I was in mid-pack with Keith and Toan. I had not done a ride over an hour in duration in the last 2 weeks, due to foot injury, so this was going to be the big test for me.
Test pass after the 1 hour mark! I am still good as we stop for our first sag at the 30 mile mark right before Piuma. There we waited for like 45 minutes for the 3rd group as these folks had stop at the 19-mile sag station. Ok here comes Piuma...
Photo - John, Thang, Phong, Keith, Cap't, and Uyen at the sag before PiumaPiuma was actually not too bad for me, but I wasn't pushing myself too hard because I wanted to finish this ride and was still not so sure about my foot. On the top, we cheered as VeloViets after VeloViets finished the climb. Cap't Thomas was working hard on Piuma as he was pushing Simon up Piuma AND Cap't was riding on a standard crank with a 11-21 cassette!
Young gun and lightweight climber Gerardo lit up the slope. This 125 lbs phenom went hard from the start, and blazed a speeding trail up the slope. For this effort, Gerardo was awarded 2nd in his age catergory. Excellent work Gerardo!
Photo - Kiet, John, Keith, Toan, Thang, and Ngoc
Photo - Riders rolling in on Piuma
Photo - On top of PiumaUp front, VeloViet's A1 Team was being supported by Race Director Haldane and Photographer Allen Bean. This group had lined up at 6:15 AM, got the front row, and got great publicity for our club as mentioned. Input from Luke indicated the A1 team were 2 bike lengths behind the police escort, blast through all red lights under escort, and quickly reached Topanga.
The race starts! Riders started jockeying for position on this narrow, single lane road, and Luke was about 75 yards or so front the front riders. This front pack snakes up the first steep winding ascents of Topanga as if it was a giant long snake making its way through the canyon. The ride had a real pro tour feeling!
About half way up the first part of Topanga, a lead group split off! The Beast Luke was blocked and a gap developed. A second chase group quickly formed, and this pack worked together to try to chase the front pack. Initially the front pack disappeared, but the hard word was rewarded with the second pack gaining visual sight of the front pack again.
At this point, The Beast went absolutely kamikaze and made a hard attack. No one in the second pack could match this acceleration and Luke crossed the gap alone. He is now with the front runners as this pack reaches Mulholland!
Here the speed really started increasing on the moderate rolling hills of Mulholland. The front riders all rotated quickly and took turns. When this pack reached Piuma, The Beast uttered a beastial roar and did his second kamikaze attack of the day. The Beast ended up to be the 8th rider to get to the top of Piuma first, 19th rider to get the fastest time, and 4th in his age category!
Yahoo! Girl Kristy was being escorted by the rest of the A1 team. Input from Kristy indicates she was having a blast at the front, especially rolling off with the CHP escorting after Ernesto Colnago’s count down in Italian. The view was amazing and enjoyable as the front was neutralized to Topanga. Yahoo! Girl wanted to ride according to her planned overall effort, which meant staying in her prescribed heartrate and conserving for the climbs.
Then, the A1 riders split up early and a gap was created between Kristy and the front. Mr 2008 KoM saw Kristy in trouble and Billy D accelerated and came up to help. There was a rider on Billy's wheel and Kristy had to fight for position behind Billy. We know Kristy how tough she is, and yup she won out this battle.
Once the climbing started on Topanga, Kristy dropped back and let the fast and furious battle it out on the front. Our next A1 rider Arnel then came up and pull Kristy for a short time. He accelerated to try to pull Kristy back to the front and after some time Kristy drop back to stay within her zone. Kristy reached the sag before Piuma.
The climb starts and the QoM contender started to pace herself, with help from our next A1 rider Sang. Temperature soared and baked this racer. Sweat poured openly from Kristy's face as she put effort into the climb. Kristy effort was rewarded as she captured 5th place in her age bracket!
Great job VeloViet's KoM Luke and QoM Kristy! Great support Arnel, Billy, and Sang!
Here Race Director Haldane fueling up the A1 riders on top of Piuma to make sure they have energy for the remaining ride.
Photo - The Beast Luke attacking Piuma
Photo - Race Director Haldane fueling up the A1 TeamFor the A2 team, this ride was brutal! From the on-line ride profile, we thought all of the climbing was going to be in the first 40 miles. Wrong!!!
The A2 pack was split up after Piuma as the hills were relentless. They kept on coming and coming, and took their toll on the A2 VeloViets. It was a struggle just to maintain contact with the front 4 or 5 riders who were working hard pulling the pack. We finally reached the 50-mile mark!
Photo - Everyone was tired at the 50-mile mark on this brutal rideNot all riders made it to this mark as Kiet, Danny, and Simon were missing. We tried calling their cell, and waited for them as long as we could, but finally decided to move on. We later learned that these riders had missed a turn off and did an extra 9 miles.
Photo - The A2 VeloViet pack rolling out of the 50-mile sag
Photo - Rock Racers stripping down at the 70-mile markInput from Randy showed that the A2 pack split again at around the 60-mile, David and Randy got pinched off on the last decent by a couple of slow riders. As they turned onto Sunset and started to climb, David started cramping up. They managed to reach to the top.
And this is about where they saw Steve on the corner of Sunset and Swarthmore. Steve was fixing his front tubular tire. While he was waiting for the sealant to kick in, David noticed Steve's rear tire was also flat too! Steve's dream of riding into the finish line with his friends was crushed by 2 flats!
A ride official stopped and try to call one of the support vehicles to get Steve back. He gave Steve a long lecture about riding on tubulars for an event like this, which Steve was not too keen on hearing. The official could not get a hold of anyone, and Steve had to take a city bus back. Steve was only 8 miles to the finish line!
Photo - A very painful lesson for SteveThe fastest A1 riders finished about an hour before the A2 team. Kristy was escorted by Haldane and Allen Bean for the rest of the way, and she was doing kamikaze descents. Race Director Haldane drove along side Kirsty yelling out “dance on pedals” and breaking the route down for Yahoo! Girl as he drove alongside his most favorite rider. Kristy found some fast riders and latch on to the finish.
The A2 pack endured and the first A2 group completed the ride at about 1:30 PM. The next A2 pack finished about 1/2 an hour later. The lost A2 pack finished around 2:30 PM.
Photo - We made it!After the ride, we went to Uyen's house for some Bun Bo Hue and Thai massages. First off, Uyen has a gorgeous house with a pool. I got to see her huge fish tank and quail shell artwork. Nice!
The food was delicious! The Bun Bo Hue was cooked by Uyen's mom and grandmom and it was yummy! We had a VeloViet who ate 3 bowls! On top of this there was a ton load of other food as well. I went to work putting on all the calories I lost during the ride!
As if this was not enough. We had Thai massages provided by two masseuse ladies named Supak and Napat. Supak worked on me and she was bending me this way, then that way, and cracking my bones. She even climbed on me a couple of times and place her entire weight on my backside. Man this was good pain, and well worth the pain expended on the ride!
Photo - Hanging out with the Team
Photo - VeloViet Team at Uyen's PartyThis ride was a huge success for the VeloViet Team! Although most of us were no way prepared for this ride, we endured and completed the ride with everyone making it back safely.
A special thanks have got to go out to the following people: Luke for convincing us to do the ride, Keith for organizing the ride, Kristy for giving us a goal on the ride, A1 team for supporting Kristy, Cap't for the leading the A2 pack, and Haldane and Allen Bean for supporting the team during the ride.
But... a thank has got to go to Keith again for the massages! And thank you Supak and Napat!
And... the biggest thank has got to go to our hostess Uyen, and her family, for welcoming the VeloViet Team to her house and sharing her food! We are most grateful for your generosity and we hope to be able to do more rides with you soon!
Photo - The Author at the startSigning out,
Phong
Another great, inspiring recap Phong! We should all save these stories for our grandchildren some day!
ReplyDeleteDon't forget Gerardo who did an outstanding job and captured 2nd place in the young whoopersnapper age category! That's a great achievement! Felicidades a Gerardo el Reycito de Las Montanas!
What an exciting event! The route from the posh Beverly Hills to the majestic hills of Malibu was absolutely fantastic. The climbs were those of cyclists’ dream. The descents were so exhilarating. And the view was so breath taking.
ReplyDeleteVeloViet was well represented by nearly 30 riders in red on that day. Our vivid color provides a stark contrast from the rest of the crowd. We also received several compliments on our group and jersey along the way.
I love the splendor of Malibu’s curves and the challenge of her slopes. It was a special ride for me and being able to ride with my fellow VeloViets made it even more special.
Congratulations to all for your personal accomplishments! It was a challenging ride and you all had walked away triumphantly.
Thanks for Phong for the recap that will allow us to relive this moment for many years to come. Thanks Uyen and her family for the fun party and delicious food. Thanks everyone for supporting VeloViet by participating in this Gran Fondo. You guys were just awesome!
Beautifully written Phong! It's amazing how quickly you can post a recap. I had fun participating in the Grand Fondo. It's not everyday you get to take the whole street and ride with police escort. I'd like to extend a thank you to the A1 riders and my coaches Haldane and Allen Bean for their support. It would have been a much harder ride without them.
ReplyDeleteIn addition, I'd like to commend the A2 riders for their bravery. The challenging climbs were not easy, especially for those who were not able to train for the event.
Congrats to our Gerardo!
Thanks for all for the memories and looking forward to the next climb! :-P
See you on the bike!
Kristy
Thank You very much for a great RECAP Phong, I admired you for putting together such nice recap in one day, where can you find the time to do it. We appreciated it very much. It was my second long bike tour with VV and I'm glad that I took the long route, originally I though I could only do the short route (what a chicken I was). The ride was very challenging for my ability but in the same token it was a very rewarding for my efforts. Somehow I and Danny now are very T-Mobil (stick around and get lost together), it was a great experience and amazing friendship. Capt Thomas helped pushing rider up the Piuma hill PRICELESS.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the speedy recap! Needless to say...you are the best, Phong! Loved it!
ReplyDeleteThe achievement of each and individual of Veloviet riders who participated in this event was EXCEPTIONAL, MAGNIFICENT & EXTREME!
Addition to this journey, I think Fixie Girl may become one of the Woman Veloviet racer. The way she blasting off the last hill on the Piuma...Hung on with the guys on the way back to the finish line...I was amazed! She must have got so much power & strength for doing so. Good job, Fixie!
There was no match for any teams a long the way...The Red/White/Black had dominated the 2011 Gran Fondo. You can see riders of other clubs scattered here and there but VV Red jersey always came in one pack, either in double or single pace line. We had working together from the start to the finish so darn well! It just unbelievable teamwork from the A1 group to the 2 A2 groups! I am always proud of what I saw & what I heard along the way the compliments from other riders...Thank you all for me to have an opportunity riding with you!
Ride on...
Good job Phong. Congratulation to all VV for finishing the ride together. at Sag 50miles, a rider told us that we were like a freight train at Palm Spring, we were so fast to zoom past everyone and he had a great time drafting us for a while. We are well-represent and thank you the captain to pull us for the whole day.
ReplyDeleteA. Phong, thank you for putting this together in such a timely manner. Your dedication to VeloViet is very inspiring.
ReplyDeleteGran Fondo LA 2011--the official beginning of my journey with VeloViet. As I opened my doors to welcome you all...I also opened my heart and mind for some life-long friendships with many brothers and sisters. I'm grateful for a new chapter in my life with VeloViet....looking forward to our continued teaming and growth...
Another awesome recap Phong, thank you for your time and dedication to V V as always. Thanks Capt and Gerardo work hard in front and the one really surprised me is Nhung(Fixie), I know she is strong but I did not know that she is very, very strong all the way until the last hills. Way to go girl!. Ride after ride, like Hoa, John proved to be a very strong rider at any terrain.
ReplyDeleteCongrats to Luke, Gerardo, Kristy and all V V for big achievements at LAGF, it was a challenging ride, and we did it beautifully.
What is next? just throw it to V V and we can do it. Very happy and proud to ride and be part of V V team.
Ngoc.