One of VeloViet's wettest and wildest ride occurred today as we rock-n-ride, but more like slip-n-slide due to the rain, to our now favorite bicycle shop - The Rock N' Road store in Mission Viejo!
But first, we got to meet a well known personality in the Vietnamese community, Trinh Hoi. A quick bio of this gentleman - He left Vietnam and came to Australia as a refugee, and graduated at Melbourne University Law School. After receiving the 1999 Young Australian Lawyer of the Year
award, he was then chosen for the Chevening-Oxford Australia Scholarship
that allowed him to complete his Master of Studies on International
Refugee Laws and Policies. Currently, Trinh Hoi is working in Manila, the Philippines assisting
some 2,000 stateless Vietnamese refugees with resettlement.
Photo - Cap't and Trinh Hoi
Trinh Hoi then made a quick speech, indicating that he is also a cyclist, and would like to join the VeloViet for a ride next time he is in the States. Thanks Trinh Hoi for coming out and meeting with the club!
Photo - Cap't Giving the Speech
Photo - VV Team Listening In
Photo - Kevin Giving the Pre-Ride Victory Sign
Photo - Mac and Kym Hanging Loose
Photo - Larry and His Wife
It was nice and dry at Mile Square Park, but little did we know what was in store for us. The ride to the PCH stop was extremely nice. There was a lot of chatting and catching up between members on Bushard.
At the rest stop, we with up with Rock N' Road Mission Viejo store manager John. John is an x-racer from Delaware who is a resident of California for the past 5 years. I got to talk to John during parts of the ride and he seems to be a genuinely nice guy. He knows a lot about bike repair too as he have me a tip for getting a stuck chain unstuck when I was changing my flat tire. Thanks John!
We also saw Kimberly, who have been busy and could not ride. She seems to be in shape and ready to go.
Photo - Karen, John, Kim, and Dave
During the next stretch of the ride, we must have really pissed off Mother Nature as she dump loads and load of water on the VeloViet pack. It was full-on rain hitting the 40+ riders!
Besides the rain, I was behind The Turbo and she must have been putting some force into those pedals that made so much water to fling from her rear wheel into my face. I was like a drowned rat just trying to keep my head above water! Of course the water also carry gravel and I got mouthfuls of sand, dirt, and grime!
At CircleK, half of our riders could not deal with the rain condition anymore and decided to turn back. There were 20 of us, the die-harders, that would not quit. We moved on.... and I flatted. Darn it! A quick repair job and we are off!
Seems whomever Mother Nature was upset at was not in the current group. We rode out of the rain and into one of the most gorgeous riding conditions ever! The road became dry, the sun slightly peeking over the clouds, it was cool, not hot, and became one of the best cycling condition you would want!
This brought out the smile on the VeloViet's faces. Check them out!
Photo - Kevin and Esteban Leading the Way
Photo - Dave and Cap't
Photo - Kim and John
Photo - That's A Nice Jersey John!
We made it to the Rock N' Road store! John had called ahead and there was hot coffee waiting for us. Perfect drink for this cold weather. Thank You Rock N' Road Mission Viejo crew!
This store was nice! It is a Specialized Concept store so they have top-of-the-line Specialized bikes there. Everyone was drooling at the $18,000 McClaren handing on the wall. Check out the photos.
Photo - Rock N' Road Mission Viejo is a Nice Store!
Photo - Great Christmas Presents Folks!
Photo - You Know You Want it... The McClaren on Top
Photo - Need Wheels?
Photo - Helmets Galore!
Photo - I Got Cross-Eye Just Staring at ALL the Nice Bikes!
Photo - Nutrition Anyone?
Photo - Need a New Jersey to Replace My Rain-Soaked One!
Photo - Thanks for Hosting Us Rock N' Road!
It was hard, but we had to pull away from all the nice bike stuff and say goodbye to Rock N' Road with the promised of a return soon. The VeloViet pack started home.
The guys let it loose on the ride back. Dave S and Kevin were working the front, and then Anthony and Brian took over. The pace was a nice 24 mph and we rolled quickly to PCH.
On PCH, Dave S went absolute kamikaze and the peloton were moving along at about 27 mph. We started shedding riders and as we near SART, Brian somehow found some energy to kick it on even more. I could not believe this as Dave was keeping the pace really high. We later found that Brian went up to 31 mph on this sprint!
Photo - Rolling on University
Photo - Still Had Some Energy Left for a Quick Photo
Photo - The VeloViet Guys All Pumped Up After the Sprint
So how to you celebrate a hard ride? At Quan Hy on Bolsa of course! Hands down the best Salmon Noddle Soup, but I had to try the Bun Bo Hue today. Man was this stuff good! I don't know what Chef DuyAnh does but his food is the best in Little Saigon. Thanks DuyAnh and BaoAnh!
Photo - Preparing to Feast at Quan Hy
Photo - All Smiles at the VeloViet Table
Today's ride was extremely fun! The rain made it wet-n-wild, but allow for a change of pace from the usual ride. Here is to more rain-soaked, slip-n-slide, all-fun ride with my fellow VeloViet teammates!
Out,
Phong
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