THE STORY...
T'was the Year of Our Lord 2014, peace had rule the land these past few years under the Good King Thomas. Birds singing, flowers blooming, love is in the air, and many babies are coming... all in the Kingdom of the VeloViet flourished in this glorious time.
But in this tranquil space grows a heavy heavy heart. Too many battles had he conquered with his Gladiators and Gladiatresses, King Thomas yearn for a quiet contemplace. So when the opportune came, Thomas removed his VeloViet golden crown, leaving that which he thought a stable and peaceful land, and rode off into the good night.
END ACT ONE....
The strike was hard and swift! The blade left a gashing mark on the skin of the VeloViet Warrior and quickly seeps full of coarse blood! The Barbarian grins wickedly and showed his decaying tooth.
It was again the follies and foolishness of Man that had caused this attrocity. Restless and bored, the VeloViet Brotherhood turned upon each other to find the taste of battle, the taste of blood, and the taste of war. Gladiators morphing into ugly Barbarian Hordes as they steal and rape the peaceful land.
Then there were some that stood and fight, but they too crumpled under the massive evilness and despair. The latest casualty being Spatacus himself, a fine and mighty warrior for his golden years, but too he was last seen last week lying in a pool of excrement and blood by the concrete waste side of the battle war.
But yes there were a few successes. It was reported that the VeloViet's "Divas" Battalion were the only ones who seemed unaffected, and are now fighting a good battle against the ugliness of men. But the ladies are far and few among the sea of testosterone horde.
Hope begins to dim... the night lit up by fire pits as bodies burned by the terror of men.
END ACT TWO...
The lone rider stopped and inspect the desolate land above this dark Oakley shades. He had journeyed far, from the Southern Land of Irvine, to see what was it about what he had heard... a kingdom, fine and mighty, ruled by a good king.
Compact and powerful in nature, the man carried only the few necessity for this trip. But as he progress into the Northern Land, he saw the raveling of peace. The man too had to fight to defend himselves. He saw peaceful villagers, ravished by the Barbarian Horde, and he too lifted his sword to defend them. Slowly... a new army is form.
END ACT THREE...
The man and his army arrived at the Kingdom of the VeloViets. The once gold color that adorned the golden palace now tarnished under the evil that had seeped inside. But the palace is now empty as The Barbarian Horde had pulled out to reassembled in the sandy, dessert land of Palm Springs. They are growing in strength and numbers, as the evil multiplies easily in this dry and hot land.
The man pushed open the palace doors, and strode purposefully into its darkened hallway. He approached the throne and spies the golden VeloViet crown and massive VeloViet red cape.
On his body he had wore a thin white tunic that has the number 105 in the back, which had begin to fade out during the travel. He removed this 105 tunic and let it slip to the floor. The man draped his body with the warm, red cape.
He lifted the golden crown, and turned around to face the army. There were those in the crowd that motion for the man to put the crown on. He slowly and hesitantly lifted it above his head... and put it on. The crowd went wild, for now come a new King. There were those in the crowd that openly wept of this sight, for they had lost all hopes.
The New VeloViet King faces East and stared into the far away dessert land. It will be in Palm Spring where he will face his first challenge as the Captain of this Army. He knows this is where he must cut out the heart of the evil foolish and follies that dominated men, to gain control of the vast kingdom.
Now begins a new chapter in the history of the VeloViet, and it comes on the eve of a decade year. Never before had we have a change of the throne holder, and the first epic ride will be the of the most interesting!
THE RIDE...
We had a late start as Paul had a meeting to attend. We met at my house at 5 PM, quickly loaded up the truck, and rolled. Traffic eastbound was the heaviest at 71 and 91 FWY.
Photo - Loading Up the Truck
Ended up at Nhat's house around 8 PM. The party was in full swing and we were rewarded with spaghetti, steak, and pho for our long drive. A nice glass of red wine or a cold beer definitely helped too!
Photo - Ready for a Nice Brew
Photo - Rowan and Tho Excited for their First Century in US
Photo - Dealing Out Wheaties for Next Morning
Photo - Getting Ready for Bed
Photo - House Crew
Everyone woke up early! The excitement was high and most folks could not sleep for long. We were up by 4 AM and getting ready for the long road ride ahead. Of course, we had to take lots of pre-ride photos.
Photo - Ready to Depart for Palm Springs
Photo - VeloViet Ladies of Palm Springs Century
The starting area was a large mass of people. Here we managed to locate a few more of our members who drove up in the morning. Yup more photos...
Photo - Luke, Tiffany, and Brian
Photo - Nhat's Friend, Minh, and Thuan
Photo - Saw Our Friend the River Velo Crew
Photo - Before the Ride Photo
Photo - Palm Springs Cheerleaders Welcoming Riders
Photo - Waiting for the Start
Photo - Anh Thuan Ready to Roll
Photo - Kevin, Chi Lan, Thang, Brian, and Simon
And the ride is on! Lots of interesting sights.
Photo - Saw Faries on the Ride
Photo - Saw Superman Too!
Photo - Wonder if He is Doing 100 Miles on that Bike...
Photo - Rolling in the Dessert
Photo - VV Tandem Crew Were Represented
Photo - Had the Road to Ourselves
The first 50 miles went by quick as everyone had plenty of energy. We had left the A1 Team to wait for Scott, and they took off 40 minutes behind the A2 Team, but had caught up at the 50 mile marker.
So far so good and everyone was safe and in good spirit. The only casualty was Johnny who hit some gravel at a turn and went down. He was ok though and showed us his battle scars.
Photo - Johnny Showing Us His Battle Wounds
Photo - 50-Mile Photo
Mile 50 to 80 were some of the best VeloViet teamwork ever! Led by Brian, this team rotated with a 12-men crew and kept teh pack moving at about 24 mph non-stop for 30 miles. Brian was exceptionally strong, but we had Vu, Dung, Chau, Kevin, Paul, Minh, Simon, Thau, Thang, Phong, and Chi Lan all rotating through and helping.
We were passing a lot of people. Pretty soon, strong members from other teams were latching on, but it was the VeloViets who were mostly in the front. We received a lot of compliments from other teams at the 80 mile reast stop. Kudos to a great teamwork!
Photo - Vu Leading the Pack
Photo - Perfect Synchronization
Photo - VV Young Guns Chau and Kevin
Spartacus had a second or third wind and miles 80 on were good to him. Although he cramped at mile 70, his legs were doing ok. There was a lot of stop and go and many riders cramped, with Simon receiving the worse cramp at mile 90.
And then at a blink of an eye, we were home. 103 miles down and everyone celebrated!
Photo - After Ride Photo
Photo - The Beast Went on a Rampage on the Ride
Photo - Hieu, Nik, and Thang Rolling Home
Hieu's brother Quoc had a hotel room nearby and offered to let us use the shower. Man, it sure felt good to hit a shower immediately after the ride!
And then Hieu, Paul, and I went hunting for a pho place. We found it at Pho 533 which is located nearby. A hot bowl of pho did the trick after a 100-mile ride. We should meet here next year too!
Photo - Post Ride Food
Overall the VeloViet had a great time in Palm Springs and we are thankful that everyone made it back safely. This ride could not have happen without the generosity of Nhat and Jessica, who offered to feed and let us stay at their house, and we are grateful for this. Thank you Nhat and Jessica!
Onward to the next adventure...
Phong
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