Photo - Keith (left) with his let's-do-a-century-ride-four-days-from-now smile and me, Randy (right)The event was organized by the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition (LACBC) and this was their 11th Annual Los Angeles River Ride. The LACBC is the only non-profit organization representing the over 3 million bicyclists in L.A. County, working county-wide to improve conditions for bicyclists while building community life in the area. Proceeds from this event will contribute to LACBC's efforts to complete the L.A. River Bikeway from the San Fernando Valley to Long Beach, and to make bicycling safe and enjoyable for everyone. Sounds like a good cause to me.
The starting line was at the Griffith Park Autry Center and the century route was to start at 7 AM. This venue shares the same hill as the LA Zoo, the Griffith Observatory, and the Forrest Lawn cemetery where Michael Jackson is buried. Parking was going to be limited so Thang (aka “Buddha”) suggested that we parked at Bob Hope Park a couple miles away. Just to make sure we didn’t get lost, Thang took the time to make a VeloViet sign and post it at the freeway exit. Thang was looking out for us before the ride even started. What a guy!
Photo - Thang aka "Buddha"I met up with everyone at the park and to my surprise, Simon was there. The last time I saw Simon was at the Tour de Palm Springs a few months ago where he surprised everyone by showing up there too. He said he hasn’t been riding with us on Sundays because he’s been busy with work and family. I can understand that. It was good to see him again.
As usual, Steve brought a bunch of bananas for everyone to enjoy for breakfast--it’s good to know someone in the restaurant business. It was Steve’s first century so we wanted to make it a memorable experience. We took some pictures and headed for the starting line.
Photo - L to R: Keith, Kyanh, Mark, John, Chino, Dat, Arnel, and Simon
Next to the starting line, there were about 20 vendor and registration canopies set up on the lawn. Looking around, there were a lot of cyclists in line to get registered and even more were congregating behind the starting line. Over on the street, I could see two KABC satellite news trucks parked in the nearby parking lot. I was thinking the news reporters might mistake me for Tom Cruise. (No wait, that’s Haldane.) I also saw a KFWB news reporter interviewing folks for AM news radio. Wow, this event is the real deal.
Photo - Starting line
Enough dilly-dallying. I grabbed a route slip and looked at the map. The route took us from Burbank through the streets of East LA to where SAG 1 and SAG 2 were located. Then we would jump on the river trail that ran along the 710 freeway to Long Beach. Once in Long Beach we would visit the Long Beach SAG, where the 70-mile riders would turn around. The century riders would continue along the beach trail until the San Gabriel River Trail where Seal Beach starts. From there it was a 6-mile ride inland to El Dorado park where the route would loop around and return all the way back to Griffith Park.
Excitement was definitely in the air as we all gathered at the starting line.
Roll call: John, Mark, Keith, Kiet, Sky, Ngoc, Thang, Danny, Jimmy, Randy, Steve, Arnel, Simon, Patrick, Ken, Steven, Greg, Gerardo, David, Kyanh, Sang, Hoa (20 VeloViet riders, 2 guests). We were all raring to go.
I noticed John Le was sporting his new light blue Felt and matching kit. Very nice.
Photo - Dat (left) and John (right)
As usual, Greg, David, and Geraldo, were ready to take names and kick some butt (or vice versa).
Photo - L to R: Geraldo, David, and Greg
Kiet had his camera mounted to his handlebars and was ready to document his first century ride.
Photo - Kiet (center) and Steve (right) excited to start their first century
Dat had his water bottle boombox pumping out some fast tempos. People all around us were digging it and were getting amped up. I imagine Quang, our Minnesota VeloViet Captain, cranks up the same music during his grueling winter spin classes.
Photo - L to R: Patrick, Ken, and Stephen
We were ready to start. We could barely hear the announcer at the starting line, but we could see a small handheld sign that read “Stop” and when he turned it around, it read “Slow.” We were off. The time was 7:20 AM.
The beginning of the route took us around the local neighborhoods. The streets were quiet except for the roar of bicycle wheels chopping the air. The pace was fast, but safe. There was very little traffic so we commandeered the whole right lane. I was trained on Arnel’s signature yellow helmet and followed it like moth to a porch light.
Photo - Riding through LA
The plan was to skipped SAG 1 and regroup at SAG 2 at around the 31 mile mark. The pace was still fast, between 22-26 MPH (fast for me), but I felt like I was only pedaling at 20 MPH. I love a big peloton.
Unfortunately, if you blinked, you would have passed SAG 2 because it was not well marked. And of course, most of the VeloViet team passed it. A few of us had to stop because nature was calling. At the SAG tent, we filled up on water and bite-sized Clif bars. We tooks some pictures and we were off again. Chino, Ngoc, and Danny only had time to go this far so they headed back.
Photo - At SAG 2
Keith reported that those that missed SAG 2 were Sang, Ken, Patrick, Steven, Kyanh, Steve and himself. They took turns pulling and along the way picked up a few passengers. One tall rider also chipped in and pulled them for a while. The teamwork made the ride to the third SAG effortless. Before they knew it, they reached the Shoreline Park pit stop by the beautiful Long Beach bay at mile 42.
Meanwhile, John, Hoa, Mark, Kyanh, Simon and I departed SAG 2 and pressed on. John and Hoa turned the dial to 11 and set a fast pace to catch up to the first group. Simon dropped early. Kyanh fell back to help Simon. I could only hang on for about 5 miles before I succumbed to battle the wind myself.
I finally regrouped with everyone at the Long Beach SAG stop. Kyanh soon rolled in followed by Simon.
Photo - At mile 42 and still smiling
As I looked around, I noticed Kiet’s wife and daughter were there to cheer him on while he attempted his first century. They cheered for the rest of us too.
Here is also where Uyen met up with us. Uyen is a member of VOZ Cycling and has ridden as a VeloViet guest once before. We socialized for a bit and took some photos.
Realizing that not everyone can keep the same pace, we decided to split into two groups for the return ride. The first group consisted of Sang, Greg, Arnel, Gerardo, David, John, Hoa, Mark and Keith. Sang and Greg took off with Uyen drafting behind. The remaining seven in the first group misread the directions and took a short tour of the park before getting back on track. The second group consisted of Kiet, Thang, Steve, Ken, Stephen, Patrick, Simon, Kyanh and me.
The Queen Mary was docked right across the water and made a perfect picture backdrop. I pulled out my camera to take some pictures that Cuong, our team photographer, would be proud of. Fill flash on. Check. Rule of thirds. Check. Get the Queen Mary in the picture. Check. I guess I spent too much time taking pictures because before I knew it, the first group was gone.
Photo - The second group ready to roll
For about four miles, we rode on the bike path along the sandy beach. The view of the ocean was nice but we had to pay for it by fighting a headwind. We eventually got off the bike path and rode through some streets along the marina before getting on the San Gabriel bike path that took us to El Dorado Park, which was the mid and turn around point for the ride.
Photo - 4 miles along the beach
The seven riders of the first group were riding along and they suddenly saw Sang changing a flat by the side of the path. John, Hoa and Mark stopped to assist Sang while Arnel, Gerardo, David and Keith continued on. After they reached El Dorado Park and turned around, they were riding directly into a headwind. Unable to match the trio’s pace, Keith eventually got dropped after a few miles and rode solo for the remainder of the bike path until he reached Marina Drive. Here he waited for Sang, John, Hoa and Mark. They eventually regrouped and forged ahead.
Photo - Hoa, John, and Sang approaching Marina Drive
As for the second group, we finally turned onto the San Gabriel River Trail and saw the first group come barreling toward us. They were probably 10 miles ahead of us and had already past the turnaround point. I remember seeing Sang for a split second with a big grin on his face as he zoomed by us.
We stopped at the turn-around point for a few minutes and we were off again.
The first group briefly regrouped at the Long Beach pit stop at mile 66 and found that Greg and David were missing. Assuming they had pushed on, Sang, Arnel, John, Hoa, Gerardo, Mark and Keith set out for the ride back to Griffith Park. Everyone rode together for a while with Sang, Arnel, John, Hoa and Gerardo actively took turns pulling. As they worked their way through the crowd on the narrow bike path, Mark and Keith fell back a little. Not wanting to give chase, Mark and Keith decided to ease off and ride with the other riders. They drafted behind some riders for a few miles until the pace slowed at which point they moved on trying to maintain a 20+ mph pace.
Meanwhile, after battling the fierce headwind on the San Gabriel River Trail, we in the second group decided to stop at Albertsons along the route to refill our water bottles and get some food. A vendor was out front selling $1 hot dogs. How could we pass that up.
The route back did not take us back onto the beach. Instead we rode though the bustling Belmont Shores on 2nd St. where Long Beach had recently made the the right-hand lanes into sharrows lanes. It's basically a big green stripe in the middle of the lane with the sharrows symbol painted on it and it encourages cyclists to take the lane. There’s a lot of street parking on 2nd St., so it’s a lot safer for cyclists to be in the lanes and out of the way of getting doored. I hope they get sharrows lanes in Laguna Beach too; they need them.
Photo - Sharrows lane by laist.com
We finally passed the Long Beach SAG stop and jumped back on the bike trail heading toward LA. Ken and Thang floated to the front to set a pace our slowest riders could keep up with. Since we were the last group, Ken wanted to make sure that we didn’t drop anyone.
As we plowed along the trail, the twins, Patrick and Stephen, were busy yelling commands like, “LINE UP,” “ROLLING,” “SLOWER,” “FASTER” and I swear I heard "HOT DOGS" one time.
Photo - Patrick and Stephen regulating the pace
Keith recounts that on one of the ascents from under a bridge around mile 84, he and Mark heard a loud crack from Mark’s bike. A quick check revealed a broken spoke. They removed the spoke, reset the wheel to clear the brakes and continued on with the wobbling wheel.
Mark managed to ride at a pretty good pace despite his untrued wheel. They eventually reached the last SAG stop where they met up with everyone in the first group. They took a short break and rode back to the park and arrived at the finish line a little after 2pm with a total riding time of about 5 ½ hours.
Photo - The first group finishes
Back at the second group, with only a mile until the finish line, we suddenly realized that we were missing two of our teammates: Simon and Thang. Ken made the executive decision that we would stop and wait for them. It was important that we finish the ride together so we could celebrate together. We waited for a few minutes until Thang and Simon came into view. As they rode toward us, I could see Thang had his hand on Simon's shoulder and was literally pushing Simon forward. We later found out that Simon bonked and could barely pedal. We all clapped and cheered for Thang as they passed us. We followed them to the finish line.
Photo - Thang to the rescue
We finally finished at around 3 PM. I remember hearing Steve yelling, “We did it!” He was obviously elated that he completed his first century. 100 miles. Awesome job Steve. And a big congratulations to Kiet for completing his first century too. The joy in everyone's faces was priceless.
Photo - Congratulations to Steve and Kiet for finishing their first century!
In the end, this ride was all about small teams bonding and a big group celebrating. I know this is a recurring theme, but it’s not the event that makes lasting memories, it’s experiencing it with your friends. We could have all done this ride by ourselves, but it wouldn’t have been nearly as meaningful without the company of your friends. I’m glad we did it together, and thanks to Ken and Thang, we finished together.
Photo - The second group finishes
Finally, thanks to Keith for organizing this ride and I look forward to the next one--even with only four day’s notice.
Recap written by Randy (second group) and Keith (first group)
As usual, Steve brought a bunch of bananas for everyone to enjoy for breakfast--it’s good to know someone in the restaurant business. It was Steve’s first century so we wanted to make it a memorable experience. We took some pictures and headed for the starting line.
Photo - L to R: Keith, Kyanh, Mark, John, Chino, Dat, Arnel, and SimonNext to the starting line, there were about 20 vendor and registration canopies set up on the lawn. Looking around, there were a lot of cyclists in line to get registered and even more were congregating behind the starting line. Over on the street, I could see two KABC satellite news trucks parked in the nearby parking lot. I was thinking the news reporters might mistake me for Tom Cruise. (No wait, that’s Haldane.) I also saw a KFWB news reporter interviewing folks for AM news radio. Wow, this event is the real deal.
Photo - Starting lineEnough dilly-dallying. I grabbed a route slip and looked at the map. The route took us from Burbank through the streets of East LA to where SAG 1 and SAG 2 were located. Then we would jump on the river trail that ran along the 710 freeway to Long Beach. Once in Long Beach we would visit the Long Beach SAG, where the 70-mile riders would turn around. The century riders would continue along the beach trail until the San Gabriel River Trail where Seal Beach starts. From there it was a 6-mile ride inland to El Dorado park where the route would loop around and return all the way back to Griffith Park.
Excitement was definitely in the air as we all gathered at the starting line.
Roll call: John, Mark, Keith, Kiet, Sky, Ngoc, Thang, Danny, Jimmy, Randy, Steve, Arnel, Simon, Patrick, Ken, Steven, Greg, Gerardo, David, Kyanh, Sang, Hoa (20 VeloViet riders, 2 guests). We were all raring to go.
I noticed John Le was sporting his new light blue Felt and matching kit. Very nice.
Photo - Dat (left) and John (right)As usual, Greg, David, and Geraldo, were ready to take names and kick some butt (or vice versa).
Photo - L to R: Geraldo, David, and GregKiet had his camera mounted to his handlebars and was ready to document his first century ride.
Photo - Kiet (center) and Steve (right) excited to start their first centuryDat had his water bottle boombox pumping out some fast tempos. People all around us were digging it and were getting amped up. I imagine Quang, our Minnesota VeloViet Captain, cranks up the same music during his grueling winter spin classes.
Photo - L to R: Patrick, Ken, and StephenWe were ready to start. We could barely hear the announcer at the starting line, but we could see a small handheld sign that read “Stop” and when he turned it around, it read “Slow.” We were off. The time was 7:20 AM.
The beginning of the route took us around the local neighborhoods. The streets were quiet except for the roar of bicycle wheels chopping the air. The pace was fast, but safe. There was very little traffic so we commandeered the whole right lane. I was trained on Arnel’s signature yellow helmet and followed it like moth to a porch light.
Photo - Riding through LAThe plan was to skipped SAG 1 and regroup at SAG 2 at around the 31 mile mark. The pace was still fast, between 22-26 MPH (fast for me), but I felt like I was only pedaling at 20 MPH. I love a big peloton.
Unfortunately, if you blinked, you would have passed SAG 2 because it was not well marked. And of course, most of the VeloViet team passed it. A few of us had to stop because nature was calling. At the SAG tent, we filled up on water and bite-sized Clif bars. We tooks some pictures and we were off again. Chino, Ngoc, and Danny only had time to go this far so they headed back.
Photo - At SAG 2Keith reported that those that missed SAG 2 were Sang, Ken, Patrick, Steven, Kyanh, Steve and himself. They took turns pulling and along the way picked up a few passengers. One tall rider also chipped in and pulled them for a while. The teamwork made the ride to the third SAG effortless. Before they knew it, they reached the Shoreline Park pit stop by the beautiful Long Beach bay at mile 42.
Meanwhile, John, Hoa, Mark, Kyanh, Simon and I departed SAG 2 and pressed on. John and Hoa turned the dial to 11 and set a fast pace to catch up to the first group. Simon dropped early. Kyanh fell back to help Simon. I could only hang on for about 5 miles before I succumbed to battle the wind myself.
I finally regrouped with everyone at the Long Beach SAG stop. Kyanh soon rolled in followed by Simon.
Photo - At mile 42 and still smilingAs I looked around, I noticed Kiet’s wife and daughter were there to cheer him on while he attempted his first century. They cheered for the rest of us too.
Here is also where Uyen met up with us. Uyen is a member of VOZ Cycling and has ridden as a VeloViet guest once before. We socialized for a bit and took some photos.
Realizing that not everyone can keep the same pace, we decided to split into two groups for the return ride. The first group consisted of Sang, Greg, Arnel, Gerardo, David, John, Hoa, Mark and Keith. Sang and Greg took off with Uyen drafting behind. The remaining seven in the first group misread the directions and took a short tour of the park before getting back on track. The second group consisted of Kiet, Thang, Steve, Ken, Stephen, Patrick, Simon, Kyanh and me.
The Queen Mary was docked right across the water and made a perfect picture backdrop. I pulled out my camera to take some pictures that Cuong, our team photographer, would be proud of. Fill flash on. Check. Rule of thirds. Check. Get the Queen Mary in the picture. Check. I guess I spent too much time taking pictures because before I knew it, the first group was gone.
Photo - The second group ready to rollFor about four miles, we rode on the bike path along the sandy beach. The view of the ocean was nice but we had to pay for it by fighting a headwind. We eventually got off the bike path and rode through some streets along the marina before getting on the San Gabriel bike path that took us to El Dorado Park, which was the mid and turn around point for the ride.
Photo - 4 miles along the beachThe seven riders of the first group were riding along and they suddenly saw Sang changing a flat by the side of the path. John, Hoa and Mark stopped to assist Sang while Arnel, Gerardo, David and Keith continued on. After they reached El Dorado Park and turned around, they were riding directly into a headwind. Unable to match the trio’s pace, Keith eventually got dropped after a few miles and rode solo for the remainder of the bike path until he reached Marina Drive. Here he waited for Sang, John, Hoa and Mark. They eventually regrouped and forged ahead.
Photo - Hoa, John, and Sang approaching Marina DriveAs for the second group, we finally turned onto the San Gabriel River Trail and saw the first group come barreling toward us. They were probably 10 miles ahead of us and had already past the turnaround point. I remember seeing Sang for a split second with a big grin on his face as he zoomed by us.
We stopped at the turn-around point for a few minutes and we were off again.
The first group briefly regrouped at the Long Beach pit stop at mile 66 and found that Greg and David were missing. Assuming they had pushed on, Sang, Arnel, John, Hoa, Gerardo, Mark and Keith set out for the ride back to Griffith Park. Everyone rode together for a while with Sang, Arnel, John, Hoa and Gerardo actively took turns pulling. As they worked their way through the crowd on the narrow bike path, Mark and Keith fell back a little. Not wanting to give chase, Mark and Keith decided to ease off and ride with the other riders. They drafted behind some riders for a few miles until the pace slowed at which point they moved on trying to maintain a 20+ mph pace.
Meanwhile, after battling the fierce headwind on the San Gabriel River Trail, we in the second group decided to stop at Albertsons along the route to refill our water bottles and get some food. A vendor was out front selling $1 hot dogs. How could we pass that up.
The route back did not take us back onto the beach. Instead we rode though the bustling Belmont Shores on 2nd St. where Long Beach had recently made the the right-hand lanes into sharrows lanes. It's basically a big green stripe in the middle of the lane with the sharrows symbol painted on it and it encourages cyclists to take the lane. There’s a lot of street parking on 2nd St., so it’s a lot safer for cyclists to be in the lanes and out of the way of getting doored. I hope they get sharrows lanes in Laguna Beach too; they need them.
Photo - Sharrows lane by laist.comWe finally passed the Long Beach SAG stop and jumped back on the bike trail heading toward LA. Ken and Thang floated to the front to set a pace our slowest riders could keep up with. Since we were the last group, Ken wanted to make sure that we didn’t drop anyone.
As we plowed along the trail, the twins, Patrick and Stephen, were busy yelling commands like, “LINE UP,” “ROLLING,” “SLOWER,” “FASTER” and I swear I heard "HOT DOGS" one time.
Photo - Patrick and Stephen regulating the paceKeith recounts that on one of the ascents from under a bridge around mile 84, he and Mark heard a loud crack from Mark’s bike. A quick check revealed a broken spoke. They removed the spoke, reset the wheel to clear the brakes and continued on with the wobbling wheel.
Mark managed to ride at a pretty good pace despite his untrued wheel. They eventually reached the last SAG stop where they met up with everyone in the first group. They took a short break and rode back to the park and arrived at the finish line a little after 2pm with a total riding time of about 5 ½ hours.
Photo - The first group finishesBack at the second group, with only a mile until the finish line, we suddenly realized that we were missing two of our teammates: Simon and Thang. Ken made the executive decision that we would stop and wait for them. It was important that we finish the ride together so we could celebrate together. We waited for a few minutes until Thang and Simon came into view. As they rode toward us, I could see Thang had his hand on Simon's shoulder and was literally pushing Simon forward. We later found out that Simon bonked and could barely pedal. We all clapped and cheered for Thang as they passed us. We followed them to the finish line.
Photo - Thang to the rescueWe finally finished at around 3 PM. I remember hearing Steve yelling, “We did it!” He was obviously elated that he completed his first century. 100 miles. Awesome job Steve. And a big congratulations to Kiet for completing his first century too. The joy in everyone's faces was priceless.
Photo - Congratulations to Steve and Kiet for finishing their first century!In the end, this ride was all about small teams bonding and a big group celebrating. I know this is a recurring theme, but it’s not the event that makes lasting memories, it’s experiencing it with your friends. We could have all done this ride by ourselves, but it wouldn’t have been nearly as meaningful without the company of your friends. I’m glad we did it together, and thanks to Ken and Thang, we finished together.
Photo - The second group finishesFinally, thanks to Keith for organizing this ride and I look forward to the next one--even with only four day’s notice.
Recap written by Randy (second group) and Keith (first group)
VeloViet LA River Ride 2011
Video by Kiet Le
Very nice recap Randy, detail and lots of good pix. We had a fairly big group, every one was on time and ride with nice pace. My contact lens came of " I got trouble with it before the ride" and every thing was blurry after that, so I decide to turn back at mile 30. Dat and Chi were waiting for me but some how they did not see me, so I just keep going back. Big congrats to Kiet and Steve for their first Century and many more to come.
ReplyDeleteYou were in good Buddha's hands Simon, that was very nice that the whole team finish strong, safe, and no one left behind.
Now is time to train for LAGF, will be exiting ride.
Ngoc.
Great recap Randy!!! Reading this I feel so special to be a member of the Veloviet family...Proven that how we are, not just the jerseys that make us proud but behind also are a long history of teamwork, supportive, friendship & bonding those remain shinning & last a life time...Good job everyone...Good JOB!
ReplyDeleteRide on...
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteVery nice to relive the ride through your recap Randy. Great job!
ReplyDeleteBig applause to Simon for being a fighter and completed a century after being off the saddle for a few months.
Big congratulations to Kiet and Steve for completing your first century!
Huge thanks to Ken and Thang for looking after the second group and to make sure that everyone finish together.
I'm proud to be a part of this great team. You all rose to the challenge with a short four days notice and walked away in style. Bravo!
Let us step it up and take on the upcoming LA Gran Fondo. The level of interest has been strong so far and will only get stronger as the ride date is near. I'm so much looking forward to doing a big ride with everyone again.
See you all on Sunday...
Excellent Recap!!! Great job Randy and Keith!!!
ReplyDeleteLoved reading the stories about Thang pushing Simon, RR Can captaining the A2 group, and RR Twins yelling ride instructions!!!
Ok... now we gotta push Kristy on LA GranFondo for that QoM award!
Phong
This is my brother comment after reading this post:
ReplyDelete"There's absolutely no limit on what one can and will accomplish, just a matter of time...alone is great, together is even better!! Way to go KIET and VeloViet. Looks so much fun. I'm shopping for a roadie tomorrow. Let's get the VV team to ride MTB downhill at Big Bear, and to join us on a Mammoth trip during winter? I'd also like to join the VV family! Congrats on your very first Century. What's next, Race Across America? Count me in! Good detail and pix from VV site, and thoroughly enjoyed the video as well. Way to go Kiet and VeloViet!!!!
Charles Nguyen 11:04pm Jun 9"
Again thank you very much for all the support from our VV, I'm a rookie but everyone treats me well and I'm appreciated it very much.
Get your bro out on the Sunday's ride Kiet!
ReplyDelete