In 2009 and 2010, it was the Lady Palomar that captured our hearts. The gorgeous Palomar… she is like your first girlfriend, who caresses you on her rolling hills first, before showing you her steepest slopes. It was her champion warrior FedEx that captured the KoM magic in these two years.
In 2011, came the death of the Kraken. The most feared beast slain by a magic arrow from The Archer. The KoM award snatched away as the bloodied beast lies by the side of the GMR slope. Triumphantly, The Archer holds the KoM for that entire year.
2012 promises an even more epic battle.The ranks of the VeloViet have deepened, with new even stronger riders.No longer does the VeloViet have a few warriors that have potential to challenge. No… riders such as Mo, Chau, Anthony, Lily, Kristee, and Nicole have the right strength-to-weight combination that can attack, attack, and attack on the higher slopes.The battleground has too changed… come and see the magic of the Crystal Lake!
CHAPTER 1 – THE BEGINNING
In ancient Greek mythology, the God Zeus released the most feared Beast, called the Kraken, onto mortal man.The Kraken was so powerful that the Gods themselves feared this Beast.The only way to tame the Kraken was to sacrifice the virgin daughter of the King.
But in a magnificent battle of 2011, the Kraken was defeated by The Archer and virgins were saved from this fearful death.Slowly their numbers grew, and grew, such that in 2012, the largest, most gorgeous, and purest ladies are in the ranks of the VeloViets.To never again be victims of any Kraken beasts, these ladies have train to be fierce female warriors.Wielding their Cipollini and Dogma swords, they posed not a victim, but a threat on all cycling battles.
Constantly in search of new battlegrounds to train on, the VeloViet heard rumors of a magical lake.Rumor the magic within the lake can transform the mortal man who reaches it first to be the most magnificent and handsomest Warrior.One who would rule like a King, and command men among men in his Army.
But the first lady who reaches the lake will captured its most precious treasure. To be a Queen whose beauty cannot be describe with mortal words.A Queen who controls and rules every men’s hearts as if she was the Siren of the Lake. A Queen to be treasured by all!
THE RIDE
I arrived to Encanto Park an hour before the start. Already there were Donovan, Brian, and Cap't Thomas. A quick greetings and the guys started their preparation for the ride. I saw all sorts of "secret" ointment being applied to help with warming up the leg muscles.
Shortly after, our SAG Teams started rolling in. Our SAG Lead, Steve B, was definitely prepared with 15 gallons water loaded in his truck, along with all sorts of candy bars, drink mixes, suntan lotion, and salt pills. Steve was supported by Dave S in the first SAG car.
Long and Billy were in the second SAG car, carrying more water, gatorade, bananas, fig newton, and more! The third SAG car was driven by Vu's brother Nam. Two additional cars, each separately driven by a photographer, Allen and Luke. A total of 5 cars supported our riders in this vision quest.
I arrived to Encanto Park an hour before the start. Already there were Donovan, Brian, and Cap't Thomas. A quick greetings and the guys started their preparation for the ride. I saw all sorts of "secret" ointment being applied to help with warming up the leg muscles.
Shortly after, our SAG Teams started rolling in. Our SAG Lead, Steve B, was definitely prepared with 15 gallons water loaded in his truck, along with all sorts of candy bars, drink mixes, suntan lotion, and salt pills. Steve was supported by Dave S in the first SAG car.
Long and Billy were in the second SAG car, carrying more water, gatorade, bananas, fig newton, and more! The third SAG car was driven by Vu's brother Nam. Two additional cars, each separately driven by a photographer, Allen and Luke. A total of 5 cars supported our riders in this vision quest.
Photo - SAG Car Ready to Rock-N-Roll
Photo - SAG Team Relaxing Before the Ride
Photo - Master Photographer Allen, Kristy, and Haldane
Photo - Guest Roger, Anthony, Sang, and Mo
Photo - Ironman, FedEx, Kevin, and BigH
Photo - VeloViet Posing for the Camera
Photo - VeloViet Pack at the Start
The pre-ride speech was delivered by Cap't Thomas. A quick pose for Sport Photographer Allen and we are off!
The start was such a beautiful sight! We were on this bike trail and the view in front of us was hugely scenic and majestic. We can see the steep challenge that lies in front of us.
Photo - The View Before the Kill
Photo - Ted and Anthony Leading the Pack
The warm-up was short lived. About 3 miles into the ride, the gradient climb quickly upward. The VeloViet Brothers and Sisters were still full of energy and confidence, and attack the hills with gusto. Three groups quickly emerges from the one pack.
Photo - Chi and Anh Minh Fighting the Slope
Photo - Nicole Having A Great Time on the Climb
Photo - Phong and Dave
Photo - Nicole Having A Great Time on the Climb
The front group hosted about 25 riders. From the photos, we can see that this front pack was dominated by the usual A1 Crew. In this mix too were our QoM Contenders Karen and Kristy.
I was somewhere in the middle by myself most of the time. I remember Keith and Chau passing me real quickly near the bottom of the hills. Along the way, I rode with Dave, Tri, and a few others.
Photo - New VV Member Kevin Showing His Climbing Form
Photo - QoM Contender Karen and Her Royal Guards
Photo -SAG Crew Working Hard at the Stop
The first break came at the 10 mile marker and just in time. I actually was not that far behind the front group and knew that these guys were feeling each other out and playing possum. Steve and Dave were there filling up everyone's water bottle while Allen were snapping photos away.
Photo - Halfway Stop
Photo - Front Group at Halfway Mark
Photo - Ready to Roll!
Photo - Dave Filling Up Water Bottles
Photo - Pain Showing on the Faces of Chanh, Ted, and Brian
Photo - Cap't Thomas in Fine Climbing Form Today
Photo - Cap't Thomas in Fine Climbing Form Today
The sign here claimed that we were 14 miles away from the top. The fireworks began!
2 miles into this second half, Ted indicated that 9 men moved quickly away and he was the 10th rider. Ted struggled mightily to maintain his position, but was passed by Haldane and another rider. Later on, Ted managed to pull back some positions as riders were quickly getting dropped by the strongmen in the front.
Photo - Cap't Thomas in Fine Climbing Form Today
Clearly the top-form riders appeared. It was "Fab 4" consisting of Anthony, Guest Roger, FedEx, and Thomas. The four took over the race and set out to find the magic of Crystal Lake.
Mile 16 was to be the miracle mile. It was here that a pivotal move was made! It was here that the long lost King return and seized his throne!
The Kraken, King of the GMR Mountains, has been brewing quietly for a year. Shackled by the pain of a piercing arrow, he came to the Crystal Lake to find the magic that would heal him, and to bring him to the majestic glory that he once was.
Roaring loudly, the King made a bold move that we have never seen before. Challenged by the best of the best Kraken Hunters, FedEx exerted his highest effort to distance himself from the other riders!
The 3 riders knew that this was the critical moment, but the distance still grew to about 100 feet! Quickly Anthony and Roger formed an alliance to chase down FedEx. They rotated to try to conserved energy and to chase back on. No such luck.
In the end, we know this. For one solid hour, FedEx outputted 272 watts average, and his heart
never fell below 181 beats per minute during this time! He cover this last leg in about 1 hour and 15 minutes, and was approximately 1 minute in front of the next rider up Anthony.
Photo - FedEx On the Attack
Photo - Anthony and Guest Roger Chases Hard
Photo - The Distance Between FedEx and the Chasers
On our Ladies side, the race was neck-in-neck all the way to the end. It was crystal clear that the ride would be taken by either Karen or Kristy. They matched pedal for pedal and neither let the other out of their sight if one riders moved ahead. In the end, Turbo Karen had enough of a kick left to out sprinted Kristy for the QoM glory!
At the top, everyone who reached the top was so psyche out that they made this hard ride. There were much laughter and a strong camaraderie feeling flowed into the group, bonding them in this common achievement.
Photo - The Pack on Top
The Magic of the Crystal Lake brought out a wonderful and memorable ride for the VeloViet club. The Super Sag Team of Steve, Billy, Long, Dave, Vu's brother Nam, Luke, and Allen made this ride successful on the road. The Super BBQ Team of Kiet, Tammy, John, Hoa, and Chanh made this ride so memorable afterwards at the BBQ. Thank you all!
Congratulations to all who made it to the top. Thanks to the KoM and QoM contenders who made it so memorable, and two big thumbs up to FedEx and Karen for capturing first in their respective categories.
Folks... I had a blast on the ride. Thanks everyone!
Out,
Phong
Thanks for capturing all of the precious moments and cranking out such exciting recap of this “totally” epic ride.! I say, this was the toughest team VV ride of this year. Seriously, I have never ridden on any ride that when you see ½ more mile to the destination and that took sooo freaking long…
ReplyDeleteThanks to the awesome SAG Team; Long, Steve B, Dave S, Billy D & the Top notch Photographer Team; Allen B & Luke B.
Last but not least…Hale to our KING & QUEEN!!!
Ride on…
No other VV member could match Phong's prolific chronicle of all historic club rides with vivid imagery and dramatic tension. The Crystal Lake's suspenseful summary is no exception. All members owe Phong couple bowls of pho for the entertaining synopsis. Indeed, Phong is as much an endearing asset to VV as Tammy is its most cherished member. On a separate note, while the KOMs and QOMs have certainly earned their legendary status for conquering Crystal Lake in a blazing display of potent athleticism, a round of standing ovation and applause goes out to less heralded members who completed the strenuous climb in spite of the insurmountable challenges. To summit Crystal Lake was a foregone inevitability for talented Fedex and the rest of A1 and A2. But, for a large majority of new members, like Kevin K, Hieu T, Nicole and Tri Quach and others, the meandering ascent to the withering zenith was a complete unknown, an uncertainty, a gripping story be written with no definitive ending, yet. We are truly inspired by their uncommon courage in tackling the indomitable climb with all the purity of intention and unwavering commitment to the endeavor similar to Hemingway's Old Man (and The Sea). In many ways, these members' heroic efforts and tenacious will-power to reach the top, came what may or whatever finish placement, represented the very best humanity inside all of us.
ReplyDeleteThanks Phong for usual awesome recap, I agree with co-cap't A Toan,hardest ride in 2012 for most of V V. Big Congrats to all specially the Rookies, you kmow who you are, and to strong guys and gals who made to the top first.
ReplyDeleteThe ride and the scenery was so beautiful and fun, definitely we will ride to Crystal Lake again .
I can't wait to do another Epic ride with V V Bros and Sis .
Keep on climbing !
Ngoc