VeloViet

King of the Mountains Training Ride #2

2012-01-31T07:18:00.000-08:00

Planet Ultra is an organization known in the cycling world as a big promoter and organizer of special long distance bicycling events and tours. Among their popular events is the King of the Mountains Century Challenge. The Challenge consists of three centuries, the Mulholland Challenge (112 miles, 12,375’ of climbing), Breathless Agony (114 miles, 12,000’) and Heartbreak Hundred (100 miles, 8,000’). Anyone who completes all three events will be honored with the title “King of the Mountains Official Finisher” and earn the right to wear the coveted finisher jersey.

To join the rank of a few VeloViets who already earned the KOM title, a small group of riders from VeloViet and TRU Cycling decided to take on this challenge. The crew consists of Uyen Nguyen, Duc Au, Luke Kazu, Mukund Ojha (aka Mo) and myself.

The group had one previous training session on GMR which Chau Nguyen from VOZ Cycling also joined. Having missed the first training session, I was eager to participate in the second. It was set to take place in Malibu on Jan 29th. The route called for an 80 miles ride and 8,500’ of climbing.

Due to schedule conflicts, only Uyen, Chau, Mo and I were able to participate. Mo, Chau and I carpooled from Orange County to meet Uyen at the starting point in Woodland Hills. We arrived at the meeting place in front of the Sky Restaurant and Lounge around 8am. Uyen greeted us with her cheerful smile and treats in hands. She apparently has been experimenting with all natural power bars and eager for us to try her concoction. We each took a sample bite and were pleasantly surprise how delicious they were.

Photo - Uyen with Bike Matching Nails Color

Photo - Uyen Taking Pictures of our Bikes Before Rolling Out

We promptly geared up and departed around 8:30am. We proceeded south on Winnetka and worked our way to Ventura Blvd and eventually Mulholland Dr. The group further warmed up on the slight incline of Old Topanga. We continued to head south and before reaching the coast, the crew turned into Fernwood.

By then we were adequately warmed up so we were quite happy to see the increase in gradient. Let’s start logging some serious elevation gain we said to ourselves as we pedaled uphill. Fernwood is a short stretch of about three miles with occasional gradient in the low teen. It’s the third most difficult of the three major climbs we had that day.

As we were climbing Fernwood, a rider appeared out of nowhere and charged pass us like we were standing still. When we reached the hilltop, we find the rider resting while waiting to regroup with his friends. We instantly recognized him as Jac Devore who along with Haldane held a descending clinic for VeloViet last month. We said hello and exchanged a brief conversation before continuing.

Photo - Uyen Conversing with Jac

Photo - Uyen, Mo, Keith and Chau On Top of Fernwood

We then proceeded toward Pacific Coast Highway by descending Tuna Canyon Road. This was a fast and steep winding descend on a one way street. With total concentration, rider and bike as one, we gave in to gravity and let ourselves plunge down the twisty road toward PCH below. Descending is where Uyen excel so as usual, she tucked in tightly and gradually disappeared into the distance.

We quickly reached PCH and proceeded north bound. Three miles later we arrived at Las Flores Canyon Road, our second and most difficult climb of the day. Although it’s only a measly 3.5 miles, its gradient ranges in the 12 to 14% with occasional surges up to 17%. On this road, 8 to 9% gradient is considered recovery zone and was much welcome by me. This hill is certain to test any climber’s resolve. Determined not to let Las Flores get the best of me, I settled into a rhythm and gradually worked my way upward. I alternated between sitting and standing to put all muscle groups to work. One by one, we eventually arrived at the top of Las Flores.

Located at the corner of the intersection was a fire station and our first watering hole. Uyen proceeded to say hello to the volunteers and her two four legged friends, Blue and Duke. These mild manner K9s have grown attached to Uyen and were very happy to see her came back for a visit. We chatted briefly with Chris, one of the volunteers there. He was shocked to learn that we were in the middle of an 80 miles ride and looked at us like we need to have our heads examined. Before saying goodbye, Chris graciously offered us the use of their rest room and ice machine upon which we gladly accepted.

Photo - Uyen With Blue and Duke

Photo - Uyen, Mo and Chau Refilling Water

Photo - Chau, Keith, Uyen and Mo On Top of Las Flores Canyon Road

We continued on toward Piuma and descended 6.5 miles to Las Virgenes. The group then headed west through the rolling hills of Mulholland Hwy until we reach the famous biker hang out, Rock Store. There we stopped briefly to snack and top off our water bottles.

Photo - Mo Enjoying the Rolling Hills on Mulholland

Photo - Uyen With Fresh Cold Water, Courtesy of Mo

Photo - Mo, Uyen and Keith Refueling

After adequately refueled, we left the Rock Store and sped through Mulholland to PCH. We went south for a few miles on PCH and turned left into Decker Road. At this point, we have completed 62 miles of riding and climbed about 7,400’. The first few miles of Decker were the steepest with gradient averaging in the low teen. After that it tapered off to rolling hills with average of 6% – 8%.

Photo - Uyen Ascending Decker

Photo - Keith Climbing Decker

Photo - Mo Taking on Decker With Standard Crankset

We got back onto Mulholland a little after 4pm. Sensing that we’ll quickly run out of day light, we picked up the pace as we headed home. A casual ride began to gradually turn into a race against sunset. Aside from a quick water stop along Mulholland, we sped non-stop for about 30 miles. We rode the last 10 to 12 miles in the dark as we all failed to bring head lights. Fortunately, Chau brought a reflective vest and rear light so he helped made us visible by being the sweeper. Uyen, Mo and I took turn leading the group back to the cars. We didn’t know what it was, whether it was second wind, fear of riding in the dark without lights, or the jubilant at the completion of an epic ride that gave us the surge of energy to race back.

All in all, we rode a total of 97 miles and climbed about 11,000 feet. We were fortunate to not have any mechanical issues. It took us about 8 hours of riding time or 9 ½ hours total including stops. It was a hard work out but a joy ride at the same time. We all felt good about our performances and a great sense of accomplishment.

To cap off a perfect day, we had a fantastic dinner at Sky Restaurant whose owner is a friend of Uyen. We were absolutely famished so it didn’t take long to finish our meal. We joked and talked about our ride and how we can improve in the future sessions. It was a perfect ride in perfect weather on some of Southern California most beautiful roads. I still can’t believe it went by so fast. We left with many beautiful memories and an anticipation to return to train on the other hills.

Photo - Keith, Chau, Mo and Uyen at Sky Restaurant

VeloViet Site Gets A New Look...

2012-01-28T11:49:00.000-08:00

Our new VeloViet web site was launched this past week. Come check us out at www.veloviet.com!

Out,Phong

Stagecoach Century - 1/14/12

2012-01-15T23:52:00.000-08:00

In order for me to stay on course with my centurion riding plan for this year, I need to complete a century for January. Apparently there aren’t that many organized events for January so I opted for the Stagecoach Century from Shadow Tour. This was a charity event for the benefit of the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund, a non-profit organization set up to provide financial support for injured and critically ill post 9-11 Marines and Sailors as well as members of the U.S. Army, Air Force or Coast Guard who serve in support of Marine forces.

The event was hosted at Ocotillo, a small town approximately 80 miles east of San Diego and slightly north of the border of Mexico. With population of approximately 300 people and a place named Lazy Lizard Saloon as one of only two bars in town, it’s not exactly an attractive tourist destination. Nonetheless, the event attracted over 700 riders including a few Time Trial teams. Because of its distance away from VeloViet’s hub, all members decided to sit it out except Kiet Le. Kiet was nice enough to accompany me after learning that I planned to drive all the way there to ride the century solo.

Not wanting to drive the long distance the morning of, we checked into a modest hotel in San Diego that was affiliated with the event the night before. We arrived at the hotel around 7:30pm to pick up our rider packets. We then had a quick dinner next door and went to bed early.

The next morning, we arrived at the Ocotillo Community Park around 6:30am and were happy to see long lines of cars parked along the road with riders getting themselves and their bikes ready for the start. The event started promptly at 7am with the release of the time trialers. We rolled out about 15 minutes later into a slight head wind and temperature in the high 40’s.

Photo - Ocotillo in the Morning

Photo - Riders’ Cars on Both Sides of the Road

One by one, the riders left the starting point and headed northward. Embracing the tranquility and slight chill of a desert morning, Kiet and I established a tempo to warm up. We rode together for a while and chit chatted along the way. At approximately mile 8, I looked back and did not see Kiet. I slowed down but he didn’t catch up. Fearing he may have suffered a flat, I circled back. I was relieved to see that he didn’t have a flat but was a bit surprised to see him just standing there. As I stopped next to him, I learned that he has been experiencing cramps. At this point, I knew we’re in for a little longer ride so we agreed to adjust from a fast finish to a leisure ride.

Kiet soon collected himself and pushed off with a slower speed and higher cadence. We continued at this pace for about thirty miles.

Photo - Kiet Riding in the Desert

Photo - Me Riding in the Desert

The route was an out and back with most of the first 50 miles being gradual ascends of 2-3%. To mix in a little fun, there were a couple short climbs with pitches up to the low teen which I was happy to see. For miles there was just bare desert charm. It was so quiet that one could hear his own thoughts. Aside from an occasional border patrol helicopter or motor vehicle activity, the road was a perfect venue for meditation.

Photo - A Road That Seems to Go On Forever

This event also has one of the best SAG that I’ve seen. The stops were well attended with very gracious volunteers and stocked with plenty of food, nutrition and liquid. There were a total of 8 stops so no one was stranded without water or fuel. Kiet took advantage of these stops and loaded up on electrolytes and food to make sure the cramps will not recur.

Photo - View of the Route From the Top of a Hill

After seeing that Kiet was doing well, I picked up the pace and charged ahead. Shortly after, I reached the 50 miles mark and turn around point. I got my wrist band stamped confirming destination reached and waited for Kiet. Kiet arrived shortly after and got his band stamped. We refueled and visited with some other riders. We ran into and chatted with Reina who had rode with VeloViet once before. She was with BCI and now rides with Surf City. She sent her regards to VeloViet before heading out with her group.

Photo - Kiet Getting His Half Way Stamp

After an adequate rest, we turned around and began our trek home. The return segment was mostly downhill so it was a lot more fun. Kiet rode much stronger on the second half and before we knew it, we were near the finish line. About 5-6 miles away, we encountered a few miles of very rough road. The road was badly damaged with large cracks and bumpy surface. I’m not sure why they left that section in that condition when the rest of the road is fine. Perhaps they want to give the riders a little taste of Paris Roubaix or they just want them to look alert when approaching the finish line. Nevertheless, the constant search for a smooth path to minimize the vibration was enjoyable.

As with all good things, our ride promptly came to an end. We collected our medals, took some pictures, ate a small lunch and began to head home. For me, it was a nice century to kick off an active year. I’m glad to have taken part in a pleasant ride on this charming road less traveled.

Photo - Kiet and I at the Finish Line

Preparation for the 2012 Palm Springs Century

2012-01-15T19:04:00.000-08:00

I had seen morning like this too many times in these past weeks. It was the kind of morning that was drappy and gloomy, untypical of Southern California's sunny weather, and the kind of morning that makes you want to stay in bed forever. For the life of me, I could not hide underneath the cover today. For today, it is the beginning of the 2012 Palm Springs Century preparation for the VeloViets!

The western horizon was covered with rain clouds, ready to unleashed a torrent rain storm upon the Californians below. I had checked weather.com last night and the site predicted that rain would not fall until 6PM Sunday night, more than enough for us to finish our morning ride. Or so I thought!

The moment I stepped out of the car at MSP, guess what, it rained! The drops were thick but few in between. We debated whether or not to go eat Pho, a Vietnamese noddle soup perfect for this kind of weather. The debate was leaning towards food.

The die-hard riders were there. There was Cap't Thomas in his yellow shoes, Steve C in his black VeloViet uniform, Hoa, Chanh, Minh, James, Kimberly, Rose, Kevin, Brian, Arnel, Donovan, Greg G, Luke, Sang, The Rock Racing Brothers, The Rapha Crew, Tan, Kiet, Keith, The Paris Couple, Dave, Karen, and more. Anh Minh was there showing us his new "Marines" haircut. Roxy and Scott pulled in a bit late. And even our long time friend Billy P came out sporting his red VV uniform.

Photo - Anh Minh (aka Mr Marines today ;-)

I also brought our just arrived uniform order! Our new female members, Kimberly, Minh, and Rose were excited to try on their ware. What do you guys think? How do they look?

Photo - Rose in Her New VeloViet Jersey

Photo - Minh in Her New VeloViet Jersey

Photo - Kimberly in Her New VeloViet Jersey

The rain slowed and we decided to go for it. I prepped my bike and got ready to go. Cap't was giving the sign to hurry and get ready to go, so I had everyone lined up for a photo. Here we are with some serious rain clouds in the background.

Photo - The Gang at MSP

From MSP to Newport Coast, the ride was good. I was really enjoying the ride among passionate cyclists, my VeloViet brothers and sisters. Brimming with energy still, I yo-yo between folks to do some catch up talking. It was all good until...

I struggled as the road steepen on Newport Coast. Tan was going for it from the front of A2 group and I was hanging on for dear life. We manged to get in front of the red light at Pelican Hills while everyone else was trapped by the light. Part way up this hill, I turned and watch all the protagonists struggle up the steep climb far away from me. No way were they going to catch me, I thought. I surged and pulled pass Tan.

At the halfway mark, I turned and viewed the carnage, and was surprised to see two cyclists pedalling up towards me. I expected only Tan. Who was the other?

Then I recognized the red Rock Racing vest. Darn it I thought. It's brother Can and he is moving quick. He must have sprinted to close the gap to Tan. I raised the pace.

And he still passed me! I latched on for dear life yet again as we near the top. Can was spinning madly as he was in a very high gear. Then RR Can cracked. Seizing the moment, I passed Can!

Then I cracked! He pulled alongside and both of us spin madly... and he beat me by a few inches as Can seized the climb first of the A2 team! I stopped to huff-n-puff.

From that point on, I don't remember much. I was too tired and was ready to turn around at the gas station on PCH when someone had a freaking bright idea that we should continue on. I was dazed and confused, and I think I was part of the large grupetto that was blindly following the front wheel as we did not want to get left behind.

On the way back I was with Cap't, escorting our new lady rider Minh. I was thankful to do a much slower speed as there was no way I could have gone faster. And my rear end was really hurting on my bike seat, which felt like a 2x4 but sitting lengthwise. No I have not ridden in a while so don't laugh! You all have been through this at least one time.

In the end, we did 62 miles and I was completely exhausted and hungry. So off to eat with my friends!

Photo - The Gang at Restaurant

We still have alot to do before PSC, but Palm Springs... ready or not... here comes the VeloViets!

Out,
Phong

2012 New Year's Day Ride !

2012-01-01T14:14:00.001-08:00

JUST ADDED !!! VIDEO FROM DAVE M ON BALBOA BRIDGE !!! LOOK FOR RED VV JERSEY ON THE FRONT OF THE PACK ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE VIDEO !!!

It was fast and faster !!!

About 15 VeloViets beat the New Year's Eve "hangover" and came out to test their pack riding skills. Consumming too much alcohol the night before, Captain managed to show up but in his street clothes. A quick safety reminder then we are off!

Bushard was a very nice warmup at about 20 mph. John, Sang, Hoa, and Arnel were manning the front as our usual rolluers were still sleeping off the party night before.

Photo - Warming Up on Bushard

Turning right on PCH we saw that the pack has not come by as folks were still lined up waiting for them. We rolled on.

At around the Balboa Avenue bridge, I turned around and spotted the back coming up. Adrenaline immediately pumped into my veins as I yelled "Here they come!". The VeloViets picked up the ppace and...

We were swallowed into the dark hole! The large pack seemed to even blocked out the sun! There is only the mechanical noise of 1000+ chains rotating in unison. There were no wind as we were enveloped by the 1000 strong. My speed picked up effortlessly to 27 mph. I managed to captured a few photos.

Photo - Inside the 1000-Strong Pack

Photo - Brian Working Hard in the Pack (Luke is Behind him)

Inside the pack, we saw Luke The Costa Rican "Scorpion" (See the VeloVietOCteam Facebook for an explanation!) who started from his house in Huntington Beach. We also saw Steve N and Vegas Matt! Around me, there were a few red and white VeloViet jerseys as the pack had splintered our group into two or three smaller teams.

I was doing okay on the smaller hills, but lost a lot of position on the LARGE hill going into Laguna Beach. Still I managed to held on even as we hit the numerous of hills in mid Laguna.

I completely lost it somewhere in Dana Point as I can no longer hold on to the pace on the hills. Luckily, five of my teammates pulled up. I remembered seeing Hoa, John, Brian, Sang, and Chanh, and I just latched myself onto these folks. They pulled me to the midway point.

Photo - Midway Turn-Around Point: Arnel, Steve, Sang, Brian, and Matt

Here we met up with BigH. He and FedEx were in the front. BigH had stopped but FedEx continued on with the pack. We waited for the rest of the team before hitting Ralph's for a quick break.

Photo - The New Rock Racing "White" Team: Can, Loi, An, and Hoa

Photo - The Classic "Red" Team: Donovan, John, Chanh, Brian, nancy, Steve, and Arnel

On the ride back the fast guys moved off and I rode with Nancy the entire. We had a nice chit-chat on PCH and I was thankful for the break. We reached the rest of the team at the beginning of SART.

Photo - VeloViet Team at Beginning of SART

As we start SART, I told the others to watch for the Rock Racers as they might do their infamous sprint. AnLoi declared it's the new year and they were going to take a break. We all fell for it!

Photo - Going Back on SART

Hoa and John did a really nice pull to the wooden bridge at 21 mph. Accross the bridge, I think it was Loi who came to the front seemingly to take his turn pulling. He even said "no racing"... and then...

Loi turned on the gas! It was from 21 to 26 mph just like that! Me and Chanh hooked on!

When Loi became tired, RR An took over. Darn it! We kicked in the speed again to chase. Then Chanh took over. I could no longer hang and about 5 guys passed me and they moved off. I rode with the devious RR AnLoi and told them that they had us all fooled. No rest even on New Year's Day!

This NYD ride kicked off the VeloViet season nicely. Here we are at the end of the ride at MSP!

Photo - Chanh, Brian, Sang, and Nancy

Photo - After the Ride Photo

See you all soon!

Out,
Phong

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2012!

2012-01-01T11:27:00.000-08:00

Wishing you all brothers, sisters and families have a wonderful year and more to come...

2011 VeloViet Season - A Year in Review

2011-12-19T20:54:00.001-08:00

Dear VeloViet Members, Family, Friends, and Fans...

First off... a very Happy Holidays to you and your family from the VeloViet Family in Orange County, California! Special greetings to Captain Quang and our VeloViet Brothers and Sisters in Blaine, Minnesota!

The holiday is in full swing. Here is a photo of the festivity at my house. Hope to get some nice bike stuff under the Christmas tree this year ;-)

As the new year approaches, it is the time again for us to reminisce and remember the VeloViet events of 2011. Here is a brief recap...

2011 has been an quite a year for the VeloViets, filled with the highest of the highs, and the lowest of the lows. First the low... the VeloViet Family experienced deep sadness and conflicting emotions in the loss of one of our own. Never before have the club been through the internal conflict (caused by external influences) that occurred with this single tragedy. Through it all, the club persevere, members united, and we came out of this with eyes open wider, a new sense in the appreciation of life, and with a new found strength stronger than ever before! Thank you to those who helped us deal with this event, and also to those members who publicly and privately supported the Leadership Team.

Now to the highs... 2011 brought some great memorable rides! In February, the A1 team dominated Palm Springs, with special thanks to Lilliana who captured some vivid and exciting photos. In to April, our best climbers shoot it out in a friendly competition with local clubs on GMR. VeloViets Kazu and Luke captured the Baldy crowns in a one-two finishes. Special thanks to Broadcom, RiverVelo, and other cycling clubs for making this ride so fun! Then to LA GranFondo, Malibu, and 9/11 Ride, where our members bonded and be more united on these epic journeys!

We are ever so gratefull to have members such as FedEx and Haldane in our cycling club. These two brought their professional knowledge and hosted 3 bike clinics for the VeloViet in 2011. First it was the Bump-n-Ride, where our members had so much fun trying to knock each other off their bikes (on the grass of course). Then there was the Climbing Clinic, where we did drills and more drills on Pelican Hills. Then there was the Descend Clinic, where we learned how to handle the steep curves downhill and were taught by some of the best descenders in the business. Special thanks to all of our clinic instructors and their support staff!

The VeloViet rolled out spanking new racer kits for 2011, designed by our talented designer Dashaan. Our members now even look sharper and faster sporting the new Black/White and Red/White kits. We are grateful to the sponsors who supported us and allow getting the new cycling uniform a reality. Thank you California's Terriyaki Grill, CDM Capital, Image Dental, VoiceStep, and Bicycle Chain!

The highest high of 2011 have got to be our membership growth. We are now a whopping 90-member strong in the OC. We also set a new VeloViet record in both the youngest member (17 years old) and the largest pool of talented female cyclists ever (13 Ladies). These VeloViet Ladies not only can ride, but are absolutely gorgeous on and off the bikes!

With this rapid membership growth, the Leadership Team was overwhelm with the number of club related tasks we have to performed. Note again that VeloViet is a 100% volunteer based organization, and the leads all have jobs and families to tend. We are still under staff, but a few members have stepped up to help and have assumed leadership roles in certain areas. For this we are grateful, and we look forward to develop a much fuller leadership group in 2012.

As usual, the 2011 VeloViet season ended with an over-the-top Christmas party and last ride of the year this past week. The party was so much fun, and sorry I did not recognized some of you without your cycling kits! The last ride of 2011 was hard and fast, and we achieve a new record on the last section of SART. It is nice to see the front group not just a handful, but are now about 15 rider strong! Congratulations to everyone on your 2011 cycling accomplishments!

With that said, 2012 is going to be a massively exciting year for the club. We have commitments to have more fun, to provide more to our members, and we will venture into areas new to us. These details and more will be shared in the next few weeks by Captain Thomas. But before we leave 2011, here is a short Recap Video that I put together the last few nights. Enjoy!

Peace and see you all on the road in 2012,
Phong

The 2011 VeloViet Descend Clinic

2011-12-12T08:01:00.000-08:00

Dear VeloViet Family and Friends,

We definitely end the year with a lot of fun! First it was the XMAS party and yesterday, the VeloViet hosted another fun bike clinic, the Descend Clinic. The goal for this bike clicnic was to stress safety in the art of descending, and to teach our new and current members the right technique in going downhill. Master Racer Haldane conducted the Descend Clinic.

Master Racer brought a top-notch training crew with him. Assisting Haldane is Jacques DeVore, an accomplished cyclist and endurance coach to professional sport teams, Luke "The Beast", our best descender in the VeloViet club, and Cap't Thomas, our leader of the VeloViet club.

It was freaking COLD in Malibu!!! I had on 3 layers, plus a newspaper stuff behind my jersey, and was still freezing! Note to self... don't forget to bring the full-finger gloves next time!

Here are some photos of Haldane in action instructing us at the meeting point.

Photo - Haldane Drawing Out Details of a Downhill Turn

Photo - VeloViet Members Listen Intently

Our lightweight climbers and world-class descenders were especially excited about this clinic, as this is an opportunity to showcase their strengths to the Veloviet club. Climbers like Uyen "The Puma" and Rock Racing Trio sharpen their claws and prepare their gameplan for a mass attack uphill.

Photo - The Puma Posing Before the Attack!

Photo - Rock Racing Crew

Photo - Kristy and Nancy Ready for the Climb

A customary photoshoot before we depart.

Photo - Pack at the Bike Clinic

Photo - The Gorgeous Ladies at Today's Clinic

Photo - The Guys in Multiple Layers of Cold Weather Clothing

Game on and the climbing starts! Man was it cold in Malibu! I was shivering early in the climb and thought I should have brought that extra jacket. I sure don't know how Quang and our VeloViet Minnesota Crew can even ride in colder weather than this!

I resorted to sprinting uphill trying to warm myself up. Certain folks I noticed were so happy in the climb, especially our 2011 Queen-of-the-Mountain Kristy. Kristy was grinning from ear-to-ear on these hills while the rest of us were gritting our teeths mashing up the Piuma hill.

Photo - VeloViet Pack Climbing Up Piuma

Photo - QoM Kristy is Looking the Happiest on the Climb!

We regroup about a quarter up the climb. Here, Haldane and Jacques dishes out additional instructions on the descend. Tips like inside leg up, push down on outside leg, brake before the turn, entering the turn farthest from the apex but not go over the yellow line, etc...

Photo - Group at Wait Point #1

Photo - Descend Instructors - Cap't, Haldane, Jacques, and Luke

Then we did a number repeats on descend, climb, descend, in small group, large group, and individual. Instructions and additional critiques were given each time as we climb back up to do the descends again. Race Photographer Allen Bean were situated near the bottom and was taking video and photos of us. Allen got nice photos of some of the folks. Here are some below.

Photo - Cap't Leading the Pack Downhill

Photo - Master Descender Luke "The Beast"

Photo - Jacques Giving Tips to Kevin

Photo - BaoAnh and Guest Garry Leaning into the Curve

Photo - Kevin and Hoa Looking Ahead into the Turn

Photo - Steve Extending His Knee Out into the Turn

Photo - Kiet Looking Sharp Going Downhill in His VeloViet Uniform

Photo - Anh Minh Descending While Riders Climb Uphill

We graduated at this lower level in the hills and climbed to the halfway point of the climb. At the top here, we all had a good laugh as someone mentioned Anh Minh had like 150 psi in his tubular. Haldane mentioned that this high pressure should be reserve for the Velodrome and on the road we should be running only 100 psi.

Photo - Haldane Instructing Anh Minh on Tire Pressure

We did a couple more repeats at this distance, but first even more photos.

Photo - Group at Wait Point #2

Photo - Kristy About to take the VeloViet Ladies Down the Hill

A few of us graduated top-of-the-class and we went all the way up the top of Piuma! Throughout this clinic, I was most impressed with Billy and Co, who not only climbed in their tandem, but also climbed to the top of Piuma!

Photo - Yes... Tandems Can Climb Too!

Photo - Uyen, Phong, Billy, Co, and Luke at Top of Piuma

Bike Clinic over, we return to the car park and went to get something to eat. This is the best time as we got a chance to gossip with each other. I went with the first group to the Pita House and had delicious beef and chicken kabobs. Afterwards we met up with the second group at Canyon Burgers.

Photo - Group #1 at the Pita House

Photo - Group #2 at Canyon Burger & Grill

Photo - Male Models Posing on the Steps of Canyon Burger

A real fun and rewarding day today with the VeloViet Crew! Special thanks to Master Racer Haldane for coordinating and leading this 2011 Descend Clinic. And of course, much thanks to the support staff of Jacques, Luke, Cap't, and Allen.

Signing Out,
Phong

The 2011 VeloViet Christmas Extravaganza

2011-12-04T07:06:00.000-08:00

Lights... Camera... Action!!!

The 2011 VeloViet season officially ended last night with a Hollywood-themed, end-of-year, Christmas party at Mac's bachelor pad. The men and women of the VeloViet Cycling Club came out dressed to "thrill" and brought along their dancing shoes. Here is how the party went...

My family and I arrived at 7 PM and the party has just got started. I honestly did not recognized some members without their cycling kits as people came up to me and said hi. I quickly break out the camera and took photos. Here are pictures of some of the members in their party gear.

Photo - Brian, Larry, DuyAnh, Kevin, and Guests

Photo - Big Minh, Kiet, and Brian

Photo - Mrs FedEx, FedEx, Guest, Kristy, Sarah, and Haldane

Photo - Keith, Ironman, Ted, and BaoAnh's Date Christina

Photo - Donovan, BigH, Kazu, FedEx, and Brian

Folks were circulating around as you can see from the photos. Here are some more photos of members chatting with one another.

Photo - Steve and Haldance Having a Good Laugh

Photo - Andy and Mac Warming Up to Each Other

Photo - Donovan and Anh Minh Enjoying the Food

Photo - Best of Friends Ironman and The Archer Kazu

Photo - Tuan Rubbing BigH's Bald Head for Cycling Luck

Photo - The 3 Amigos, Thang, Chi, and Steve

There were a few folks capturing the moment. I was taking pictures, along with Jonathan and Kiet, while Cuong was working the video camera. Here we are in action:

Photo - Phong Taking a Brief Rest from Taking Pictures

Photo - Cuong Working the Video Camera

Photo - Photographer Jonathan Resting Prior to a Shoot

Most members brought their significant other to the party. I was introduced to a quite a few spouses and fiances. In between taking photos, I got a chance to talk "bike" with Rose's husband Peter who is a Cat 3 racer. Peter and Rose moved from Chicago, and he was saying that he is surprised folks were not riding in 60 degrees weather as this is still "ridable" temperature to him. I cracked up when I heard this, and mentioned that OC folks won't come out of bed if temperature is in the 60s, let alone ride! We gotta talk to Rose and ask her to bring Peter out soon.

Here are some photos of couples.

Photo - Rose and Her Husband Pete

Photo - Lisa and Long

Photo - Sang and His Wife

Photo - DuyAnh and His Date

Photo - Ngoc and His Wife

Photo - Danny and His Wife

Photo - James and Minh

Photo - Hung and His Wife

Photo - Andy and His Date

Photo - Billy and Our Bartender Amy

Ladies, ladies, ladies... All of the VeloViet Ladies and member's spouses were absolutely gorgeous! Everyone was dressed to impressed as the theme was Hollywood!

I was blown away at how nice some of our gals were looking in short skirt dresses and curly hair. Those cycling kits, helmet, and glasses do not do any justice to our ladies. Check them out below.

Photo - Uyen Posing Hollywood Style

Photo - Kristy and Sarah

Photo - Nancy, Tammy, and Tina

Photo - Minh, Guest, Karen, and Thu

Photo - Sarah and Paulina

Photo - Julie and Co

Photo - Lilliana and Kristy

Photo - Mimi, Minh, and Karen

This is a family affair so kids were present as well. Here is some photos of the future of the VeloViet club!

Photo - Chris, Marcel, Emily, and Sebastian

Photo - KyAnh's Fashionable Son

Photo - Father and Son, Brian and Blake

Photo - Marcel and Mom Lilliana

Photo - Nancy and Her Daughter

Photo - KyAnh's and Family

At 8 PM sharp, the program started with Thomas playing the Master of Ceremony. He talked a little about the club and the rides that we had in 2011.

Next the microphone was turned over to Keith to present the non-cycling awards. There were a lot of members who supported us off the bike and these folks were officially recognized first. Here are some of the recognitions:

Photo - Awards Ready to be Handed Out

Photo - Public Relations, Me!

Photo - Sport Director, Haldane

Photo - Biggest Loser, Steve (Lost 45 lbs Since Riding with the VeloViets!)

Photo - Recruiter of the Year, Rock Racing Brothers

Photo - Contributor of the Year, Cuong

Then came the cycling awards. Everyone have gotten so good this year that the selection were extremely hard. The winners are:

Photo - Best Tandem Crew, Billy and Co

Photo - Mr Century, Keith

The most recognizable cycling awards have got to be the King and Queen of the Mountain awards. To earn this most treasured awards, one have got to have done the epic rides involving the highest catagory climbs.

On the lady's side, Queen Kristy captured the QoM through her accomplishments on the GMR and Malibu mountains. I still remember Kristy putting the hurt to me on those hills in Malibu!

Photo - Our Podium Boy Luke Handing Out the "Queen of the Mountain Award" to Kristy

On the men's side, this award have been held in the past couple of years by the mountain man FedEx. This year though, newcomer The Archer Kazu showed that he is a climbing force to be reckon with as Kazu captured the 2011 KoM. On GMR, Luke Kazu captured the first place prized to the Baldy Village, and in Malibu, he was consistently one of the dominating forces on the front.

I can't wait for 2012 as I believe these two mountain men, FedEx and Kazu, will clash fighting on the high slopes. There too will be a handful of other lightweight cyclists that will chalenge these phenom climbers.

Photo - The Archer Kazu Excited in Receiving the "King of the Mountain" Award

The most outstanding cycling award in the Tour de France is the yellow jersey general classification (GC). In the VeloViet club, the GC too is the most outstanding award, as it recognized a cyclist who not only can climb, but who can perform in all terrain. That award goes to...

Photo - Best Overall, The Beast Luke

Now we get to talk about what to expect next year. Haldane, FedEx, and Luke spoke about the 2012 Bike Clinics, the mid-week bike training, and the need for more volunteers for our growing club. Here are the guys in action:

Photo - FedEx Talked About the New Mid-Week Training Rides

Photo - Luke Talked About Future Volunteering Needs

Photo - Haldane Talked About the 2012 Bike Clinics

Ok all the cycling awards handed out, time to recognized our valuable sponsors. Here are some of our sponsors:

Photo - Steve Getting Recognize for California's Teriyaki Grill Sponsorship

Photo - Keith Receiving the CDM Capital Sponsorship Award

Photo - Mac Doing the Dance for the MacTax Sponsorship Award

Something not on Captain's agenda is our surprise recognition for the positions of VeloViet Co-Captain and Captain. Toan has been Captain's right-hand man, working on the rides as A2 Road Captain and behind the scene at all of the VeloViet events. A well deserved recognition!

Photo - Toan Getting Recognized as Co-Captain of the Year

For Captain's trophy, I told the story of when I first met Thomas. When I met Thomas in 2008, he used to come out to our rides with his color coordinated yellow shoes, yellow kit, and yellow bike. So I used to think of Thomas as Mr. Bling-Bling based upon his appearance.

Then I found out that he can used his legs on the bike as well. In the 2009 Palm Springs Century, Thomas and Scott pulled Long and I around for the entire 103 miles. On those previous Sunday's rides, he used to hurt us Newbies as he was so strong!

As I got to know Thomas in this past couple of years, I began to see his leadership style. he has a quiet and commanding style that works well in a large diverse group like ours. I honestly don't think there is anyone else that can lead the VeloViets but Captain Thomas. Congrats Cap't!

Photo - Captain Getting Smooched by the Podium Girls and Recognized for His Achievement as Captain of the Year

All the awards handed out, all the speeches done, now it is time to get down and PARTY!!!

The live music was performed by none other than the Rock Racing Lam Brothers. These 4 brothers were jamming on the bongos and on their guitars, occasionally accompanied by the female singers that they brought. Man... these guys are talented!

Photo - The Lam Brothers Jamming

Photo - Loi Working the Bongo Drums

Photo - Gorgeous Singers Brought by the Rock Racers

Photo - Party Singer Toasting the VeloViet Cycling Club

Photo - Uyen and Lilliana Enjoying the Live Music

The OC cyclists proved that they can use their legs for other things beside cycling. Here the VeloViet members and their guests got busy on the dance floor in front of the band.

Photo - Guests Ready to Hit the Dance Floor

Photo - Mac Boogying Down

Photo - The Ladies Getting Busy on the Inside Dance Floor

Photo - Captain Showing Us He Can Dance

Photo - The Outside Dance Floor Was Crowded

The 2011 VeloViet season ended with a big Christmas party. Special thanks goes to Billy, Co, and Julie who help lead the pkanning of this party. Once again, camaraderie and friendship were solidify in this festive off-the-bike celebration. It's not just about the bike... but the parties as well ;-)

From the VeloViet Family, and from my family, I wish a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all of our members, our friends, our supporters, and to you all who follow us on the VeloViet Blog. Here is to the 2012 season, and we hope to see you cycling on the OC roads!

Photo - Phong and Family Wishing You a Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!

Out,
Phong

Return of the VeloViets!

2011-11-13T15:46:00.001-08:00

Today was the first "real" group ride for the VeloViets in a long time. It's been raining heavy, and we have been busy with non-riding activities, so have not done a ride together. Most everyone came out to stretch their legs a bit and soon we had a parking lot full of bikes. Turns out Scott laid out a pretty tough course for us and it's 50-60 miles around the hills of Irvine and Laguna.

Photo - Billy, Co, Sang, and Tuan

Photo - Khan Posing in His White Uniform with Matching Red Warmers

On Bushard, initially things were a bit confusing as we had a large pack and seems like everyone forgot how to do a double paceline. Either that or folks were happy to see everyone in the new kits that some did not pay attention to the paceline. It's all good though as there were were no traffic on this road. After awhile, the Roads Captains got everyone in line.

Photo - Chanh and Ngoc Pulling the White Pack

Photo- Black and Red Dominated the Front on Bushard

The Black and Red Kits dominated the front on Bushard. Guys like Luke, Tuan, Cap't, and Greg ramped up the pace. The White Kits settle in on the second group and this was where I was at. We reached PCH.

Here Antoine and his brother Hung hooked up with us and off we went. I rode by Rose who told me she did 50 miles in the rain yesterday. A definite die-hard rider and I think she will do well in the hills!

Photo - Pack on PCH

The San Joaquin hills proved my initial assumption. Rose, a competitive runner, did not seemed to struggle as hard as some of us on the hills. Darn it... time for me to go on a diet as I think I have a good 70 lbs on Rose!

Photo - Rose Riding Uphill as if She Was Strolling Along at the Park

Photo - Toan and Daniel Working Hard

Photo - John and Hoa Riding Nicely in VeloViet Red

You can tell who have been riding as these folks surged up effortlessly, while the rest of us grit our teeth and grind it out. I was loosing it fast as people were piling by me on San Joaquin and Vista Ridge. When all hope near lost, I made it up Vista Ridge! Whew!!!

Photo - The Ones Who Made It Up Vista Ridge First

I waited at the top with Steve N, Sean, and KyAnh, for DuyAnh while others went down Vista. By the time we went down we lost sight of the front group. Later on Bonita we somehow hook up up Toan and the A2 pack. This group climbed Ridgeline and then headed towards CircleK.

On University, I was pulling at about 21 mph when we crested a little hill over the freeway overpass. This split the group up and immediately the Lam Brothers attacked!

Photo - Rock Racers Attack!

The attack was quick and ferocious! I don't know which of the brothers initiated the attack but it was definitely pre-coordinated. The pack was very surprised by this move, and only Toan, Chanh, and I could respond!

Tounge hanging, I struggled to keep up with Toan, who was following one of the twin wolfhounds. I think brother Can got a gap on rest of us, and as we near CircleK everyone slowed. Exciting adrenaline rush and I hoped I still got some juice for the return!

At CircleK we saw the A3 Group, who had taken a short cut and reached there first. From the photos, looked like they partied a bit, and had too much Captain Morgan's rum, before our arrival too.

Photo - A3 Group (aka Party Group) Arrive First to CircleK

Photo - All Current Colors of the VeloViets

Photo - The Captain Morgan Pose... Guys Just Wanna Have Fun!

On the way back we had even more fun. I was joking with the White Kits as again, I saw mainly Black and Red Kits on the front on PCH. These guys were pushing hard too and we soon split the pack. I remember seeing 28 mph on my bike computer. I was hanging on for dear life.

I must have pissed the White Kits off with my jokes, as these folks moved to the front on SART. I remember seeing Sang, Chanh, Toan, and the Lam brothers moving pass Luke and Greg. The Black Kit guys were fighting hard too as both teams rotated, but definitely there were more whites. The pace on SART reached around 25 mph at this time.

The first real move came around the bike trail next to the park area. I remember Greg pulled aside and Luke went to the front. After a short pull by Luke, I think brother Can went around Luke, pulling one of the twins, and pushed up the pace. Luke and I fought hard and I think the other twins were the only one in the back as we open a gap on the others. It was 3 Whites against 2 Blacks!

There was one more rotation I think and the brothers did a move that almost sealed the winner. On the last stretch, Can had just pulled and rotated to the second position and not to the back. He slowed slightly and allowed his brother to gap! The oldest freaking trick in the book!

As one of the twin sped away creating a gap of 20-30 feet, I made an instaneous race decision, go now or not go at all. I jumped to the side and accelerated to the front! Initially I did not think I could catch the brother, but I think he must have slowed and I rocked pass him. I too started to run out of juice and just had enough to hold off the second guy, which turned out to be Luke. Black team captured 1 and 2 :-)

Man we were all happy at the end of the sprint. White, black, and red all high fives each other. Good adrenaline rush! Good times! Kudos to the Rock Racers who executed an almost perfect attack.

Photo - The Boys at the End of the SART Sprint

Excellent welcome-back ride to mark the Return of the VeloViets! The ride was hard for all! Just check out the picture of Lilliana below!

Photo - VeloViet Masseusers Earning Their Keeps

By the way, Sebastian and Marcel charge $50 bucks an hour! Book your VeloViet massage now :-)

See you all in about 2 weeks,
Phong

C'est Si Bon Friday Ride

2011-11-11T14:06:00.000-08:00

C'est Si Bon... a name that I will now know and remember. A ride that is full of delicious flaky croissant and good coffee. Top that off with the attacking style of racer FedEx and you have a nice Friday training ride!

The ride started fast! On SART we went from 0 to 22 mph in like 5 seconds. No warm-up whatsoever as John went to the front and drove the pace. KyAnh and Kevin got into the front as well and the guys rotated. I got some nice shots of us in double and single paceline.

Photo - Nice Double Paceline

Photo - John Driving the Pace While Kevin Trying to Recover

Photo - Single Paceline Action

On PCH, we picked up FedEx, BigH, and Steve. A photo before we start off to Newport Coast!

Photo - BigH, Steve, FedEx, Donovan, BaoAnh, Karen, KyAnh, Kevin, John, Hoa, DuyAnh, and Phong

On Newport Coast, the climbing animal in FedEx could not be contained and he took off! Kevin and Hoa tried to go after him but this guy got too much sleep last night and opened a huge gap!

Halfway up, I was right behind John when a bee flew right into my face. I tried to get the bee off and ended up rubbing wheels with John's. I ended up in the thorny groundscape on the sidewalk and must have like a hundred cuts as the small thorns pierced my nice new white kits and into my skin! I was okay but must have looked funny as I was bleeding all over. Steve rescued me and pulled me out of the thorn patch.

Up and down Newport Coast, up and down Pelican Hills, and up and down Vista Ridge. It seemed as if FedEx was still training for Palomar. In each one of these hills, he would ride with me a bit, and then accelerate a little as if daring me to attack. I was way too tire and kept my grinding at a steady pace!

Photo - VeloViet Brothers Keith and Steve

Photo - Pack on Top of Vista Ridge

After Vista Ridge, we were off to this bakery KyAnh had raved about. Oh... My... Goodness!!! These croissants were delicious!!! We could not get enough of them!!! The coffee was nice nad strong too.

Photo - VeloViet Crew Enjoying Croissants and Coffee

Man I think we gained back all the calories we burned off on those hills. After the hangout, we said our goodbyes to FedEx, BigH, Steve, and Keith. On SART, we let the two strong guys Hoa and Kevin pulled us back to MSP.

Photo - Hoa and Kevin Driving at the Front on the Way Back

Fun Friday ride. Definitely a must do again with all of our VeloViet members. You guys and gals are gonna love the croissants!

Out,
Phong

2011 VeloViet Team Photoshoot

2011-11-06T16:05:00.000-08:00

Decked out like Tour de France racers, the VeloViets sported the team's 2012 uniforms in today's photoshoot at MSP. Even though the forecast showed rain, everyone was super excited wearing the VeloViet's new uniform design. Thanks Dashaan!

The new kit is from Castelli which had a euro-style racer cut. The kit hugged to one's body and you just can't help but feel fast. Check out the final photos.

Photo - Mix Photo

Photo - Red/Black Design

Photo - Red/White Design

Here is a brief recap and some behind the scene photos...

Master Photographer Cuong was there conducting the photoshoot. Cuong brought help in the form of his older brother Hung. Cuong had previously scoped out MSP and he led us to this neat archway which I had never noticed before. Here are some photos of the shoot.

Photo - Master Photographer Contemplating the Shoot

Photo - Let Me Put on My Shoes!

Photo - Cuong Organizing the Riders

Photo - Camera Team at Work

Photo - Best Photo of the Photoshoot!

Photo - Posing Like Super Models?

The rain had came down hard near the end of the photoshoot. What do cyclists do when they can't ride? They eat of course!

The team drove to KyAnh's restaurant Quan Hop. If you have not try this reaturant yet, you have to! The food is delicious!

Photo - We Are Hungry!

Photo - Ladies! Ladies! Ladies!

Photo - Cap't, Martin, Greg, David, and Keith

Photo - The Team Packed into Quan Hop Restaurant

Photo - Team Bonding Time!

Photo - Cap't Working the Crowd

Photo - Host KyAnh Made Sure Everything was Great

Photo - Yes Haldane... We Saved Some for You Too (Unless Kristy Ate Them on the Way Home)!

Photo - Cap't Thomas Giving A Speech Thanking Cuong and the Rapha Brothers

Although we did not ride, it was a Great VeloViet Day! Special thanks to Cuong and his brother Anh Hung on capturing the moment for us at the team photoshoot. Please check out Cuong's website for more amazing photos of his work at www.cpphotography.net.

And also special thanks to KyAnh, BaoAnh, and DuyAnh for taking extra care of us at the luncheoun. Please go and sample some of their food at the Quan Hop restaurant on Brookhurst.

Out,
Phong

Mark Leones Memorial Moment from VeloViet Minnesota Team

2011-10-31T08:54:00.000-07:00

Hey Mark!
It was chill here in MN on this ride so U know we rode but our goose bumps were showing all over while calling your name. LOL!
You know we are willing to do anything for one of our bro/sis in VV right? :)
You are in a good place now but many of us still feeling the lost of having you around or on email about the Road ID [was your last email I get to read].

VV family,
From all of us to all of you 2000+ miles away.
Special Editing work done by Seth Phillip.

Mark's Memorial Ride

2011-10-30T20:52:00.001-07:00

The emotion came out in floods as I drove to MSP today. I had held my emotion in check the past 2 weeks, as I hated to cry, and felt that I must be strong for the VeloViet Team... but something opened up in me today and I cried for the first time in this two weeks. I cried in memory of my VeloViet Brother Mark.

I drove to Cap't house and together we quietly rolled to MSP. Initially when we first rode up to MSP, there were only a few riders. Slowly but surely more cars drove in as ride time approaches. The VeloViets had invited a few local cycling clubs, and all together we had 70 riders at MSP at 8 AM.

Photo - 70 Riders Attended Today's Memorial Ride

VeloViet Captain Thomas started speaking and made a very touching tribute in memory of Mark. You can tell that he was also trying to stay strong for the club and his voice was full of emotion. He was trying to hold his emotion in check and everyone was trying to hold back their tears.

Photo - VeloViets listened to Cap't Tribute to Mark

Photo - VeloViets Were Trying Hard to Hold in Tears

Thomas recounted a bit of Mark and noted that Mark was passionate about sports, especially cycling. Cap't too stressed the importance that we learned from this event, but also the need to move on with our lives.

After his memorial speech, the mood picked up a little as everyone got ready to roll. On PCH, I am reminded that this is a "memorial" ride and not a "mourning" ride and everyone remembered Mark by doing the thing that he loved to do... and that is cycling! I did my "IronLegs" sprints and captured some photos.

Photo - VeloViets Ready to Roll

Photo - Roxy and Cap't Manning the Front

Photo - Rock Racers Bringing Up the Pack

Photo - Ted and Keith

Photo - Toan and Khanh

Photo - BaoAnh and John

Photo - Jonathan and Kiet

Photo - Nancy and Ngoc

Photo - David and Chi

Photo - Candy's Tandem Crew and Scott

Photo - The Pack was about a Block Long

As we rode from dense fog into the bright sunlight, it was as if a new page was turned, and a new chapter started in the history book of the VeloViet Cycling Club.

Photo - Foggy from the Start of the Ride

Photo - Later Riding into the Bright Sunshine

After the ride, VeloViet members met at the Memorial site, where IronMan and Keith had set up a roadside memorial for Mark. At the site, John explained details of the event and everyone listened and learned from this tragedy.

Photo - John Described Some of the Details at the Memorial Site

Photo - Cap't Attaching the Plaque to the Dedicated Bike

Cap't made another speech and reiterate again the importance to remember Mark, to learn from this event, but also the need to move pass this tragedy and continue with our lives. We all listened and understood his messages.

We said our goodbyes to Mark today, but he will forever be remembered. Master Racer Haldane said it best... "Non Omnis Moriar". Mark shall not wholly die and will be always in our VeloViet hearts. Rest in peace Mark.

Phong

The OC Gran Fondo Oct. 8th, 2011

2011-10-10T18:55:00.000-07:00

I thought it was just like another century that I've been through, no more excitement like the very first one or second...I went to bed at 9:30PM and fell to sleep so fast that I didn't even know. Then at 1:50AM, I suddenly woke up and could not gone back to sleep again...lying on bed feel the anxiety and excitement rushing through my airway & blood stream until 4:30 AM. I could not take it any more...That was it, I got out of bed and went out to prepare...

I finally realized that it wasn't just another the century! it is happening in the VeloViet's soil, in our territory, in our own back yard...it means a lot to me, that was why my body reacted so darn quickly in the early morning!

I got to the park around 5:30 AM, I thought I was the earliest one to arrive...No, Donnovan, farther & son Lieu have already there, then a few minutes later Chanh pulled in, he told us that he was here earlier but saw no one so he drove to the church & back! We all happy to see each others...the camaraderie was building up, it was a little bit cold for the early morning of the first week of the October, but the friendship warmed up the air with hand shakes, jokes & laughter...Later Kiet, Keith...more and more VeloViet members along with guests showed up...Now, all were super excited!

1) Getting ready - Johnathan, Luke, Steve & Kiet

2) Getting ready - Tandem team (Billy & Co)

3) Sang, Sarah & Keith

4) Chatting before roll out...

Around 6:50AM we left the parking lot heading to the start line where a few more hundreds riders already lined up and ready to roll, no time for greeting, riders moving out slowly to the street. All VeloViet members & guests together riding out with an easy speed, the entire street had blocked for the peloton, police officers were everywhere making sure the peloton move freely before entering the trail.

5) Happy VeloViet riders.

The trail was full of riders in both directions you know how chaos it was...We all realized if we want to move out of there in one piece we need to pay extra careful with a slower pace. Out of the Backbay into the PCH then back into the Santa Ana River trail we were still doing around 18 – 19 mile/h no more no less...riders still all over the place, weaving in & out as expected...We continued hold our line steady. When we were about to reach to the bridge near by the golf course around the Santa Ana area, we saw 2 ambulance vehicles & 3 police cars, we immediately knew something bad had happened...sadly, 3 cyclist were down and being carried out on the stretchers, one of them must be from the Broadcom's team, their whole team gathering around the scene.

6) Peloton approaching the bridge

We moved on...the 1st group leading by Luke & Sang took off fast after that, the rest of us continue with an easy speed we just want to get out of the trail without any more incidents! Then we all met up at the 1st rest stop (Honda Center), it was super crowded for this tiny place! Man, VeloViet OC very familiar with this rest area...2 Men & 2 Women rest room for a few hundred riders...Yikes! Half of the men there decided to go “up against the wall” behind the restroom building...you know what I meant!

7) Everyone was still fully charged at the 1st reststop.

8) Red Jerseys covered the area...

9) The VV "Big Engine" Chanh, Thang & Larry

We pulled into the Jamboree/Chapman rest stop to wait for the rest...but just for a few minutes Luke & Sang just wanted to move on...perhaps, their blood were still boiling & perhaps they did not want to spare any mercies to the riders a long the way, the “Beast” needed to be release! moving on boys, moving on!....Keith, Thang & myself decided to wait for our last riders at this rest stop...however, most of Velo Viet riders skipped this one, only Tandem team (Billy & Co), Johnathan and a few V-Locity riders arrived. We re-fueled & moved on...

10) A2 Road Captain Keith & "Break Away" machine Thang.

Our last team stretched out thinner & thinner at the Santiago Canyon climb...Keith & I paired up with a strong rider from Rock & Road Cyclery on his training ride, he was very nice enough asked for permission to draft with us and gave a nice compliment about VV...3 of us rotated & working all the way through 10 hilly terrain miles...We passed by the 2nd OCGF SAG stop and noticing the Rapha group, Larry and a few more riders were about to leave, we immediately joined in & rode on. We again thinned out at the Live Oak Canyon climb...the Rapha group drifting away ahead further & further...left behind one of the Rapha's cousin & myself huff & puff through out this climb, Larry was no where to bee seen from behind. Later, I found Bao Anh by himself taking a break in the shade but I can not stop for him...sorry brother! I know myself if I stop in the middle of the climb I will not be able to pedal again...I continued on.

The end of the Live Oak Canyon rd. one of the Rapha's cousin and I together working all the way to our VV SAG stop. When I saw food on the table, I could not believe my eyes...this is not SAG it must be for a picnic party! Everyone there was so excited & happy like kids see candies on table after the Halloween's treat. Everyone open the conversation, jokes & lots of laughing...Sooo relax! (Not to mention moments ago we were so the intense with headwind, climbing...everyone heads down, muscled curling up, mouths opened wide not laughing but begging for air). Even quite a few random riders stopped by & thought that this was OCGF SAG stop they went in and serve them self at will! We also invited 5 – 6 Vietnamese riders to join us, they also commented that they could not believe how good the SAG was! Yes, indeed...It was a Best SAG of the year! THANK YOU Tammy & Kiet!

11) Karen & Queen of all SAGs Tammy.

Party was over, fully charged, fully hydrated...we moved out...and just the end of Ridgeline decent the whole team had witnessed the most heart stopping moment...Blake went down hill with full speed, he had tried to brake but somehow the braking system did not response well enough...he passed the group ran through the red light and was about ran into the wall on the other side of the street...My dear lord! luckily at that moment of life & death situation his brake system seem engaged he jumped off the saddle and stopped immediately right before he hit the wall! We were all speechless & horrified what was happened. THANK GOD! Someone was watching over him at that moment! Donovan & Brian stayed over to check Blake's brake and insisted the rest of the team to move on. It wasn't a good day for Brian & Blake, Brian himself got problem with his rear derailleur, chain came off frequently so he stopped and gone like crazy!

Fixie Girl, Keith, Kiet, Donnovan, Larry, myself and a few others head back to the same Santiago Canyon hilly, it wasn't that bad like the way in, most of the time were down hill so Fixie Girl, Keith, Kiet, Larry & myself were able to re-united at the corner of Jamboree/Santiago Canyon...However, we have seen no sign of Donnovan, Brian, Blake & others, we moved on...Later we decided to stop at the corner of Culver & Jamboree to wait for them...for a long while a couple of newbie showed up but still had no sign of Brian, Blake & Donnovan...I soon called Brian & found out Donnovan got 2 flats, he got no more tubes to spare he had to call his brother to pick him up...Brian & Blake waited for Donovan too long they decided to move on in hope that will meet up with us, unfortunately we could not wait that long we decided to roll out without them.

At the corner of Barranca/Alton Fixie got a flat we pulled over and took care of it right away while “customer” Fixie looked on and checked out the cars driving by...JK. She worried, indeed! On the other group, Ky Anh also got 2 flats & John got one, Tan got flat at the finish line, too! What was it? that was a lot of flats on this ride...I remembered on the 9/11 ride we got only one flat for entire 120 miles...

12) See what I meant...

13) Look at this, too! Steve was grinding his teeth to get thing done while Ky Anh enjoy the view...

Later we decided to cut short because it was late and everyone was exhausted. We got back to the parking lot around 1:30PM. Tan and Karen got back later, Long, Sang and Thu came in right after that then the rest Ralpha team. They all had spaghetti and called off for the day, a WONDERFUL day!

Congratulations to Blake, Larry (and others new members I forgot names) finish their very first Century with courage, strengths & spirits. Job WELL DONE you guys!

The Fondo Preparation - A Brief Recap

2011-10-03T10:11:00.001-07:00

This weekend was all about training for the GranFondo! The VeloViets started out on Friday with a SART ride ending with the Kodiak hill climb! The Rapha Team, Rock Racing Team, Donovan, Ngoc, Karen, Phong V, John, and I represented the VeloViets. We had some of KyAnh's cousins and friends as well in James, Phil, Mimi, and Minh.

Photo - SART Riders

Then about 50 to 60 riders came out this last Sunday, as this is the weekend before the OC GF epic ride. Again we also had a bunch of guests, as well as VeloViets who have been MIA. VeloViets Fixie Girl and Billy P came out of hiding and brought their "A" game to this ride!

We had all "die-hard" ladies on this ride. There were VeloViets Fixie Girl, Karen, and Nancy, but also Thu, Trang, and Mimi too. These gals are tougher than some of our guys! Read on...

So many cars on at MSP and so many new faces. There were 3 guys in the 3T uniform whose names I failed to catch. KyAnh's cousins Phil, Mimi, and Thu. There was Dan K, the world-class surfer and Luke The Beast's friend and also Billy's brother-in-law, and a few others. I think about 50 riders here at MSP.

So on Bushard, guess what? Flat! RR An picked up a large nail on this rear tire. Rock Racers, Dan, Toan, and I waited for An. Cap't had to turn back home due to a family emergency.

Man we started off this ride with a hard chase after the flat repair! Everyone was rotating and we rolled at 22-23 mph into a head wind! Dan was strong, and help pull the pack. Made it to PCH.

On the stop, folks were admiring BaoAnh's new 13.5 lbs toy. Gorgeous!

Photo - The New Time Machine

Photo - BaoAnh Trying Out His New Toy

On PCH, we picked up BigH, FedEx, and even more guests. I think about another 7-10 riders. Way way way big on PCH and we must have been half a block long!

The A1 boys went to work and gapped. Of course the A2 Team sacrificed and help pace the Newbies ;-) Surprisingly the Newbies held at a pace of 22-24 mph on PCH. Tough crowd!

The hills on Jamboree did NOT broke apart the pack like usual. There were gaps, but riders in the back chased back on along University. EVERYONE arrived at the CircleK at about the same time. Folks were PUMPED as the very large VeloViet group rolled in together. Great feelings of camaraderie!

Photo - The Ladies at CircleK Stop

Then the short but freakingly steep Saddleback climb! Not everyone made it to the top! Here is a photo of those who did!

Photo - The Group That Conquered the Saddleback Mountain

Mimi and Thu, the 2 guest ladies, were pumped! You can see the excitement in their eyes in their conquest! The gals said they have been riding for 10 months, but I don't think they have EVER been challenged like this before. KyAnh have been secretly grooming and training them for this introduction to the VeloViets. I must say he has done a great job on these ladies!

The ride back was tough! First off, 6 of us were caught at a red light, Toan, Phil, Mimi, Thu, Kiet, and I. Toan and I were pacing at 20-22 mph on Back Bay and PCH and everyone was handing tough. On SART, we were caught by Anh Minh, Rock Racers, and a few others and Phil took off with them. Down to 5 riders.

I was in the front motoring at 20-21 mph on SART, while Toan was monitoring the back to make sure no one was dropped. Realized folks that we already did over 55 miles so this was a hard pace. I remember constantly looking back to make sure the girls were okay, and seeing Thu, who was behind me, fiercely concentrating and sweating buckets. Behind her, Mimi was gritting her teeth, pumping her legs to just hanging on to Thu. I remember thinking these 2 were tough!

Back to MSP, I congratulated Phil, Thu, and Mimi. There gals were extremely tired but was so happy with their accomplishments. They thank me and Toan for escorting them back safely.

I think the team is ready for the OC GranFondo. The 2 Road Captains for that century, Keith and Toan, are ready. Okay here comes the VeloViets! Do come up and say hi to us if you see us there!

Out,
Phong

9/11 Epic Ride - "We Remember" Ride

2011-09-12T11:55:00.000-07:00

Two epic rides... synchronized and completed this past 9/11 Sunday by both the California and Minnesota VeloViet groups. Special thanks to all who participated and supported these two wonderful and memorable rides.

Here is a video from Jonathan to start things off!

Video - Jonathan's "We Remember Ride" Video

And here are the VeloViet folks and their guests who participated...

Photo - California's 9/11 Ride Crew

Photo - Minnesota's 9/11 Ride Crew

2 WEEKS BEFORE...

Within a lifetime, there are those few dates that have special meaning to us: our birthday, the day our children was born, or the day that our love ones passed away. It is the actions and events on these dates that defined who we are, that shaped the person that we have become, as they solidifies our past and present, and even to show us a possible future. September 11th was that date for many people, of all ethnicity and background. On that very day, out of the ashes and chaos, rose those few who were exceptionally strong, those that overcame mighty hurdles and became heroes to other. Those are the ones who sacrificed all, who stood on the edge of darkness, and still be able to see the light through the dark cloudy murk.

The upcoming weekend of September 11th again will have a special meaning to the VeloViets. It is on this weekend last year that the VeloViets celebrated this special day with rides in both California and Minnesota. This team synchronization promises unity and a common bond, as VeloViets in both the OC and MN encountered pain and suffering on that same day, but yet they also tasted a life's moment in the glory of accomplishing 100+ mile rides. And yes... there were heroes and there were those who were exceptionally strong. In California, members step up and help those who fell, and there were the strong two who did double century rides on consecutive days!

September 11, 2011 mark an even more special date, as it will be a decade since the horrific tragedy. It is on this very weekend that the VeloViet members again will embark on a truly special epic century ride. It will be a ride that promises wonderful memories, and it is these type of epic journeys on the bike that are often self-discovery journeys in life. It will be on these rides that each one of us, as a cyclist and a human, will find out who we are and what we are made of.

We will discover who are our heroes, those who will help us in a moment of need, or even discover that the heroes can also be ourselves. Yet again we will test that dark side, the side that we often hide away, the weak side that we shove in the closet and hide from the world, and the side that does not allow us to take on a life's challenge. I guarantee that this dark side will come out for some of you if you decide to participate on this 9/11 ride with the VeloViets, but these are tests that we must make often. The question is... are you strong enough to overcome?

These epic moments are few and far between. Come out and embrace these life's moments. Please be not someone who stands by the side of the road, and only to look on as people passes you by. Be the ones who are moving and looking at the static people on the side. September 11th is almost here. Take the first step this weekend and join us Sunday in the preparation for this wonderful moment. See you all on this moving journey of life!

1 WEEK BEFORE...

September 11, 2001... I remember staring at the TV screen at work not believing at what I am seeing. What looked like dots drifting slowly down were actually people who had jumped from the World Trade Center buildings. With the camera zoomed in, I saw that some were holding hands as they jumped. It was crazy to see people seemingly floating down and it did not make sense to me at that time. Then my wife was 8 months pregnant with my son, we have a 2-year old daughter, and this was suppose to be one of the most happiest times for us. How could this happen in this world and at this time. I also had wondered what courage did it take for those people to take that leap... for some, a leap of of faith.

September 11, 2011... I am ready to take that leap while holding my friend's hands on this 9/11 Epic Ride. By no means does this ride even compare to what happened 10 years ago, but I do note that it does take some sense of courage, a search for self discovery, a way to remember that tragic day, a way to honor those who sacrificed their own lives, while trying to save others, or just simply a joy to be able to bike with your friends. I know some of us are emotionally closer to this significant decade old event, or even may have love ones that were affected by it. The VeloViets will be there with you... and we will hold your hands on this jump.

This weekend is the last group training ride before the 9/11 Ride, an epic ride as much as one could make it emotionally and physically. Although we will do this ride together, you will need to be mentally and physically prepare for this 120 mile journey... a journey of strength, stamina, courage, and faith in yourself and of your friends.

THE DAY BEFORE...

I feverishly clean and tune my bike. I wanted every single mechanical pieces on my bike to move friction-free and smoothly. I needed to conserve every ounce of energy and did not want to waste it on an imperfect motion that can be cause by a piece of dirt, or a grain of sand, caught on the gear. I put extra lub on the chain.

Around 10 AM, the sky became cloudy and a flood of water poured from the sky. There were so much water that it sounded to me like hail. I opened my garage door and looked out, and noted it is just as well that the sky clear itself out from all of the urban impurities before our rides.

I kid you not... but exactly at 11 AM the rain suddenly stopped like heaven had turned off its water faucet. I remembered this time because the sound of the rain suddenly stopped, and I had looked at the clock to find out what time it was. I wonderered if the rain stopping at 11 AM, and our ride on the date 9/11/11 were somehow inter-related in some ways. The number "11" keeps on repeating itself, and the rain stopping exactly at 11 AM, was it a symbol of some cleansing, of some new start, that we are going through?

I filed this thought away and proceeded to finish my task. Thuy-Van, the gorgeous "On The Move" Reporter from SaigonTV, is psyched for this ride and have been pumping us e-mails conveying her excitement. This is going to be Thuy-Van's second ride with us and she was stoked! Her energy on the e-mail in-turn caused me to be more excited and I could not keep still for these past few days. I have been too excited and have been burning a a lot energy. I hoped that I have saved enough for tomorrow... but I am ready. My team mates are ready. So let's get this ride on!

LETS GET READY TO.... RRRUUUMMMBBBLLLEEE !!!!!!!

THE MN 9/11 RIDE...

The Minnesota VeloViet Team had a head start on the epic rides due to the time zone differences. MN 9/11 Ride was a trek of near 70 miles, with approximately 3000 feet of elevation. Here are some photos...

Photo - MN VeloViet Riding Along the Beautiful Countryside

The team had its share of challenges, including 1 flat and 1 broken spoke. Hey... while we are waiting around for Todd to change the flat, why not have some BEER!

Photo - Beer Anyone?

Photo - How Many VeloViets Does It Take to Fix A Flat?

Photo - The Answer.... Two! One to Fix the Flat and One to Cheer the Guy Fixing the Flat!

All happy hearts and tummies at the end with a BBQ coordinated by Mike's fiance Vanessa. Lots of time to chat and catch up on ride stories! "MOST WONDERFUL RIDE for the MN VeloViet Ever" declared by Quang!

Photo - Muscles!

Photo - Yummy BBQ!

THE OC 9/11 RIDE...

The MASSIVE 50-rider OC pack started rolling into MSP as early as 6:30 AM. A cloudy of red and black uniforms dominated the parking lot on Brookhurst. The energy was already buzzing and alive as I drove in at about 6:45 AM.

Newbies, newbies, newbies! There were so many of them that I lost count. Members brought in their families and friends, and we have riders as far as from Las Vegas. I shook everyone's hands, but gave up trying to remember all the guests and Newbies' names.

Photo - Guest Mark and "The Puma" Uyen

Photo - Guest Rider Chau Giving the Thumbs Up Before the Ride

Photo - DuyAnh, Guests Dave & Karen, and Sang

Thuy-Van drove up at about 7 AM sharp, and immediately started to conduct the interviews. Cap't and Toan did most of the talking while I posed for the camera. Check us out below!

Photo - Thuy-Van Interviewing New Members Chanh and Kevin

Photo - Thuy-Van Interviewing Phong, Toan, and Cap't

A quick traditional group shot is needed for this epic moment. It was not really quick either as we had so many people to try to squeeze into a little space for the camera. But here is the result photo.

Photo - The Pack Posing for the Camera Man

Afterwards, Cap't gave the traditional "before the ride" speech, stressing safety. Toan pitch in too to talk about the Laguna area, a stretch with very narrow roads and lots of cars, that we will be riding through.

Photo - Cap't and Toan Speak While the Camera Rolls

Photo - Reporter Thuy-Van and Camera Man

Photo - Thuy-Van Listening to Cap't Speaks

Photo - Safety is Stressed by Toan

Photo - The Pack Listening Intently

Yeah... all speeches done... all photos taken... time to roll! But wait... we have to line up for the camera to capture this departing moment first!

Photo - The Pack Ready to Roll

Photo - Waiting to Leave MSP

Easy stretch with lots of gossips! Here I practiced my "IronLegs" sprints (named after our very own IronLegs Cuong) to captured photos of the pack. I was beat after 10 minutes of this!

Photo - The Massive VeloViet Pack

Photo - Cap't and Vegas Matt

Photo - RR Can and Simon

Photo - Tan and Guest

Photo - Keith and Thanh

Photo - Guest Bill and Vegas

Photo - Roxy and a Super Excited Scott

Photo - Reporter Thuy-Van and Cap't Thomas

Photo - Photographer Jen Working Hard from the Sag Car

At the first PCH stop, we picked up even more VeloViet riders! Here BigH, Kazu, FedEx, Ironman, Candy, and a few more guest riders joined the VeloViet pack.

A quick intro between Ironman, our flag bearer, to Thuy-Van for an interview. This will be interesting on TV and Ironman just might develop a fanbase with this heroic gesture!

Photo - Thuy-Van Interviewing "Flag Bearer" Ironman

Photo - Part of the VeloViet Crew When First Started in 2004: Thanh, Billy D, and Billy P

Photo - Guests "The Diesel" Mark and Susan

Photo - Guests, Martin, and Chanh

Photo - RR Loi, Tuan, Can, Guest Nghia, RR An, and Tan

Photo - VeloViets Riding Away from the Darkening Sky into a Brighter Day

The giant VeloViet pack rolled out from the rest stop and the pack immediately disintigrate! Report from The Gear Tuan indicated that the A1 Team started out as a nice steady paceline set by Scott and Greg, but that all went away once they hit the rolling hills of Laguna Hill and Dana Point. The A1 Wolves came out with claws and sharp teeth as these mortal men morphed into the werewolves that they are. The pace spiked up like the afternoon heat of the Summer's sun.

The pent-up energy from these past few weeks were finally allowed to be released from these riders. This rippling effect causes bloody tears, and it is this smell of blood that caused an explosive reaction from the other hungry wolves. Luke and Fedex attacked relentlessly on the hills.

Photo - Luke Gritting His Teeth and Driving Up the Pace

In Dana Point, Fedex ran over some big rocks and got flats on both front and rear wheel. That was the only thing that kept Fedex from continuing the attacks. The Gear Tuan noticed the flat and stopped to help FedEx, while the rest of the Wolf Pack moved on with hardly a glance as they were so fixated on the wheels in front. The Sag Car, who was following the second A1 pack, came up to help. They provided a pump to help with the flat repair.

Photo - Takes 3 Flats to Slow Down FedEx!

The second A1 group, lead by Capt and the most of the A1 team, had got stuck at the light on the uphill toward Jamboree. They came along as Tuan and FedEx just finished changing the tire in the rear. But as FedEx and Tuan started rolling again, FedEx realized he had a flat in the front too. They stop to attack that flat repair.

Photo - Cap't Leading the Second A1 Pack

By this is, the front A2 pack came along, and this pack is where Phong was with. Phong yelled out "Are you okay?" to FedEx and Tuan, and they waved us on as the Sag car was already with them. Later on, FedEx got even another flat! Tuan and FedEx finally met up with front A2 pack at the Ralph's in Dana Point. Here though, Tuan and RR Tan had to head back as they had to be home before noon.

In the front A2 pack, Phong remember Postal Ngoc was often working the front. A2 Road Captain Toan too were helping pace the group. The pace was probably around 24 mph after the hills of Laguna.

Photo - Simon and Anh Minh Leading the VeloViet A2 Crew

Photo - Rock Racers in the Pack

Photo - Second Stop in Dana Point

Photo - Kiet, Keith, and DuyAnh in the Pack After Dana Point

Photo - Co Looking Like She is Enjoying the Ride While Billy is Working Hard

Everyone arrived to the San Clemente stop. Here we did more interviews and photos!

Photo - The TriCrew... or is it The Quad Crew?

Photo - San Diego Sean and Cap't

Photo - Crew at San Clemente Stop

Photo - Postal Team Ngoc, Thang, Danny, and Chi

Photo - Thuy-Van Interviewing FedEx

Report from The Archer Kazu shows that from Carl's, Fedex and Kazu took turns pulling the group as 3 of our fast A1 guys, Luke, Scott, and Greg, had to return to MSP as they had to be back by noon. FedEx and Kazu set an aggressive pace and everyone kept up through the base. Kazu did a quick glance and saw that the wolfpack had a certain gleam in its eyes that told Fedex and Kazu to maintain the 30mph pace. The pack were slicing through the road at a phenomenom pace!

Hearts pumping, tounges hanging, foams began to appeared at their mouths, these mad men kept this pace high and for a long time. Wolf Leader Cap't Thomas had to yell commands to keep safety as a priority and cautioned the group to prevent crashes. The Peloton heard and adjusted, but kept up the pace.

Report from Toan indicated that after the San Clemente stop, the A1 group took off so fast that the A2 pack tried to chase after them but it was too late. The A1 Team dusted the A2 without mercy. This in turn caused a domino effect as the second group broke into several pieces.

A couple of miles into this stretch, Phong was somewhere in the middle of the A2 pack when he noticed Sang on the side of the road. He pulled over as waves of A2 members passed by. Sang had broken his rear derailluer!

Photo - What is Wrong with this Picture?

Mark, Susan, and Candy also stopped to help. Looking at this damage, there was nothing we could do and we waved down Ted, who was following the last riders of the A2 pack. Ted loaded Sang's bike and Sang into the car. Mark, Susan, Candy, and I moved out.

At this point in time, the four of us are tens of minutes behind the last riders of the A2 pack. I was thinking that there was no way we can catch up to anyone now. You know what... I was wrong!

Mark (aka The Diesel) went to the front and lifted the pace to 24-26 mph! At first glance, most riders might say "oh I can do that". But can you do it for 10 miles straight into a strong headwind? Because that was what he did from San Clemente to Camp Pendleton! Susan, Candy, and I did not take the front at all in this stretch. All we could do was to hold on to this moving locomotive! Awesome display of power!

Photo - "The Diesel" Mark Hard at Work

We passed a bunch of VeloViet members. Most could not latch on as we were moving way too fast. The only riders who was able to latch on was BigH and Martin, both of whom had dropped off from the front pack. This group caught up to the team with the flag bearer a mile before the base.

Report from Toan indicated that front A2 group, including Ngoc, Sean, Tan B, Minh Ly and Toan, rotated at the front to shelter the man who was carrying the flag of our nation. The VeloViet's mission was to protect the flag bearer at all cost!

Report from the flag bearer Ironman himself indicated that Ironman initially was glued to Captain Thomas' wheels, who had led the disparate pack through much of the windy segment of Oceanside. Nevertheless, hauling the flapping flag in 12 knots wind was equivalent to "pulling the Rock Brothers in tow with flat tires" according to Duc. Ironman started to slow and the pack split in the heavy wind.

When all hope seems lost, and Ironman is about to go down carrying the burden, the VeloViet's camaraderie stepped in and Hoa rode up and literally pushed Ironman along for at least a mile. Here John joined in by pushing Hoa, who is pushing Ironman, to lessen the heavy load. This chain of unity provided a much needed boost of energy at a crucial time, and their quiet act of unity in helping a comrade in distress inspired Ironman to briefly rest and to gain the energy to push onward to final destination. Together, this group rode with the flag bearer to Oceanside Harbor.

Photo - Flag Flying Free and Proud

Photo - Ironman Made It to Oceanside

Report from Keith, who was in the second A2 pack, Long and Keith took turn pulling and sweeping a group of Newbies through Camp Pendleton. Coming out of the base, they got lost as there were some communication error. There was about 5-7 riders and they traveled a few miles more before learning that they were on the wrong route. Turning back, this group saw another 5-7 other riders coming from the opposite direction and they signaled them to turn around.

Photo - So Where Do I Turn Again?

Phong also learned at Oceanside that this was not the only mishap. The Puma Uyen came in with a scraped up legs, right arm, and right shoulder. A quick conversation revealed that Uyen had touch wheels with her Guest Mark, and went down at 25 mph. This brave woman did not quit, but wanted to go on even when she is bloodied and battered. Check out the damage to Uyen below.

Photo - Shoulder and Arm

Photo - Hand

Photo - Legs

At Oceanside Harbor, we all were swapping stories of the ride. I sat with the TriCrew and they were telling jokes and cracking me up! Here are some photos.

Photo - Steve, Ironman, and FedEx Sharing Some Good Stories

Photo - Vegas Matt, Steve, and Kazu Enjoying Some Fish Fry

Photo - Thuy-Van Contemplating On Her 9/11 Story

After a quick lunch, the pack said goodbyes to Thuy-Van and the camera man, as they had another engagement. The main VeloViet army moved off and a few of us waited for those who had arrived late and were still eating lunch.

Going back from Oceanside, Kazu reported that the front A1 group, containing Fedex, BigH, and Kazu charged through the base. The ride turned into a TriCrew breakaway, with Fedex and Kazu alternating. With the strong headwind, they were only able to maintain a 20 mph pace.

Upon exiting the base, they were joined by a solo rider who tagged into their paceline without asking. As if risen from the dead, and angered by this sudden intrusion, BigH got in the front and started pulling at 25 mph! Fedex and Kazu looked at each other unbelievably not knowing where BigH got the sudden energy. The fourth rider finally decided to work and this 4-man break that topped off the speed at a 27 mph paceline.

The A1 pack finally made it to Carl's and they had no more energy left, giving it all on the stretch to San Clemente.

John and Toan reported that after Oceanside, Hoa, Chanh, Kyanh and John pulled the A2 pack. These four rotated in the front every 15 seconds going aabout 18mph, but even then, the tired pack could not keep up. The four riders slowed down to 15-16mph, the pack moved up, but eventually still drifted back in the heavy head wind.

A new breakaway group formed, with John, Hoa, Chanh, Kyanh, Kevin, Sanh, Mark, and a guest. All 8 of these riders paired up in a double paceline formation, rotating every 15 seconds and at about 18-20mph, all the way to Carl’s Jr in San Clemente.

The riders who broke off from John's pack were the 4 RR Brothers, BaoAnh, DuyAnh, Long, Duc Au, Guest Karen, and Toan. Together these riders fought through the headwind heading back. Here, the RR brothers had shown their power and camaraderie by taking turn helping pull the exhausted comrades. Halfway to San Clemente, the flag pole needed to be removed because the fierce wind has destroyed the tie-wraps that keep it tight to his bike frame, Long stay back helping Duc Au the rest moved on.

Long reported that Ironman took down the pole, and secured the flag in his jersey pocket and these two moved on. By now, Duc was severly tired bearing the burden of the flag. By now Ngoc caught up, and Ngoc and Long sheltered him and rotated and pulled Duc to San Clemente.

Phong was with the last group out from Oceanside Harbor, having waited with Captain for the last riders to leave Oceanside. There was Cap't, Phong, Tan, Guest Chris, Guest Mark, Uyen, and Kiet in this group.

It was immediately apparent that there was something wrong with Kiet. Out of the harbor, Kiet immediately slowed as we approached the base. Initially Phong thought that it was all due to the slight up hill climb and the head wind the group was riding into. The pack slowed to 12 mph to let Kiet catch up.

When Kiet did not catch up, even on the flat section, Cap't turn around and went back to check on Kiet while the rest of the group waited a little further on. Cap't and Kiet pedal up, with Cap't pushing on Kiet.

Photo - Kiet Said to Thomas on this Stretch... "The Legs Stop Working Cap't"!

Kiet had told Thomas "The legs stopped working Cap't". This was a major issue as the group was in the base, in the middle of the desert, and with no sag support in sight. The team did the only possible thing and that was to band together. Guest Mark and Uyen let the way, Tan and Phong acted as the human wind shield for Cap't and Kiet, Cap't pushing Kiet, and Guest Chris patrolling the back. In this formation, the pack was able to increase the pace to 16-18 mph.

But Kiet was not alone in his pain, Uyen was fighting ferociously to maintain her position on the bike. Her injury to her hand did not allowed her to grip the handlebar at all and she had to ride in an aero position with her arm resting on the handlebar instead.

Photo - Uyen in an Aero Position as She Can't Hold the Handlebar with Her Injured Hand

The pressure of the massive workload on Cap't was soon apparent. Phong repeatedly look back to check if Thomas and Kiet had fell out of the human wind shield, and Phong can see the stress developing on Cap't face. Cap't was gritting his teeth, as both his arms and legs were getting tired, but he would not let up on pushing Kiet.

Tan also noticed this too, and immediately slowed to drop back to push Kiet and allowing Cap't a moment of rest. These two riders proceeded to rotate and push Kiet for the 10 miles or so. Phong still remembered a section where there was a steep hill, and it took both Tan and Thomas to push Kiet up this hill.

Photo - Both Tan and Cap't Pushing Kiet Up the Hill

This pack made it back to the San Clemente stop.

Photo - The Last Group to Arrive to San Clemente

Photo - Mark and Uyen Celebrating Making It Back to San Clemente

In San Clemente, the TriCrew of FedEx, BigH, and Kazu were the first to roll out. Report from Kazu indicated that FedEx pulled most of the way. BigH and Kazu had to constantly remind this fast man to slow down as they were weary from expending so much energy from the ride. They made it back to the OC first.

John's pack is now the second A1 pack, and after a brief rest they roll out too. This pack had formed a new pack with 3 more additions: Steve, Sean, and Martin. Once again, they worked as a team and rotated. A little further on, this group dropped Mark, Sean, and Kevin as these three could no longer hold the ferocious pace.

The remaining riders rolled on. Chanh left crank got loose when they got to Bushard. Pedalling on one pedal, and being pushed by the others, this group made it back and is the second collective group to arrive to the OC. There were only 7 riders in this pack: Hoa, Sang, Steve, Kyanh, Chanh, Martin, and John. Sang must have borrowed Danny's bike at San Clemente to ride this portion.

Photo - Martin, John, Hoa, KyAnh, Steve, and Chanh

Phong choose not to eat in San Clemente and was with the next crew out of San Clemente, probably the largest group, consisting of about 20 riders. He was somewhere in the front five riders when the large pack hit the PCH section of Dana Point.

This section was a little confusing, with bike lanes on both sides of a divider. Donovan was pulling in front and he took the bike lane on the left of the divider. This lane was closer to cars, but was a valid bike lane. Toan was in second and he took the lane on the right of the divider.

Phong was in third and followed young Donovan. The remaining 17 riders went right and followed the A2 Road Captain Toan. Phong looked back and noted this. He moved past Donovan yelling "let's go". These 2 riders attacked hard on PCH!

The game is on!!! Initially the two packs were even, separated by a road divider. Surprisingly, the Phong and Donovan group started moving ahead of the group of 17. When the divide in the road ended, and the two bike lanes merged into one, a clear separation had occurred in these two groups. Phong and Donovan started rotating to keep this constant gap.

Phong was in front when he looked back and noticed a single VeloViet rider had attacked the 16-group wolf pack and was moving up to Donovan and Phong. Phong slowed to allowed Brian to latch on creating a 3-man breakaway. Brian looked exhausted but was working the front hard! Brian was morphing into a ferocious attacking wolf!

Phong's group caught up to a pack, led by Tan, who had left earlier. At a stop light in Dana Point, the remaining 16 riders joined. This large pack starts to attack the hills of Dana Point and arrive to the stop in Laguna.

Photo - BaoAnh's Secret Energy Food at the 90 Mile Mark

Cap't reported that the Sag Team was busy from San Clemente on. Keith, arriving late in Oceanside and not eating, had no more reserve. Donovan's knee got tweaked and got picked up. Simon bonked and was forced to take the Sag Car ride.

For Phong's group, the run in from Laguna was another exciting ride. The hills here shredded most of the 25-rider pack, leaving only a small group in front. 10 miles from the start of SART, and as we crested over the last hill, the Rock Racing Team took over.

On this section of PCH, the group justed crested the last big hill and everyone was breathing hard. Phong was near the front and heard 2nd big brother Can yelling some instructions to the twins. RR An and Loi started moving to the front.

Sensing an imminent attack, Phong immediately latch on to the oldest brother Ngia. RR Can opened a switch and blazed a hard pace. It was as if the go/no-go sign changed to go and these four riders took off like a rockets. It was a planned attack, and the twins and Can rotated taking turns on PCH. One can see that they have been hard practicing this, as the fourth Brother open a gap and allow the ratating riders to ease back in. Awesome display of team work and show what the VeloViet A2 pack can do!

This pack made it back to SART, with only Phong, Toan, and Steve able to follow the Rock Racers. A lot of high fives were given to the Rock Racers! After a brief wait, with no other arriving, this group moved on.

Photo - Rock Racers Celebrating After the Hard Pull

On SART, the Rock Racers continued the attack, but now join by Toan in trading the pulls. Here is a photo from behind.

Photo - Behind Rock Racers and Toan on SART

The small pack made it to the Segerstrom exit. After saying our good byes to the Rock Racing Brothers, with more promises of hard riding in the future, we rolled back to MSP.

Photo - Uyen Celebrating with Mark and Sang on Completing the 120-Mile Ride

The last group arrived about 15 minutes later. Time for some chow at KyAnh's restaurant! KyAnh, BaoAnh, and DuyAnh arrived to say hi to us. KyAnh even made us his special iced tea, The Iced Tea KyAnh. Man... this tea is good and is a great order after a long ride! It is refreshing and with a hint of mint.

Not only the food were appealing to look at, they tasted wonderful! I ordered the Vietnamese dish called Bun Rieu which is a shrimp noddle soup. Yummy! If anyone have not try out KyAnh's restaurant, you have to do so. Call KyAnh too so he can make you his special tea. Thanks KyAnh!

Photo - VeloViet Crew at KyAnh's Restaurant

Photo - Yummy!

Photo - Double Yummy!!

Photo - Special Drink "Iced Tea KyAnh"

THE END...

It is the end of the day, and I am very tired but satisfied. I made the 120-mile journey without bonking! Here is a 3-part video as a summary of today's event...

Video - The 9/11 Epic Ride

This experience reminded me why I cycle in the first place. It was not just for the exercise, or a way to relieve life's stress, but it was the sheer joy of pushing myself to my limit, and the solidarity of that act with people who shared similar interests as I. This ride reminded me again that life is not just about going through the daily struggles, about trying to get ahead, about how many bike races you won, or about how many dollars per hours you earned. Life is about balance, finding the time to be with your families, friends, and alone time. It is about simply being alive, being on the bikes, enjoying a beautiful day with your friends, and testing yourself to find out what your limits are. The reward is not in the medal you won, or what placing on the podium you got, it simply is about trying your best.

The rides in both California and Minesota could not have been accomplished without support personnel. In California, we wish to give a BIG THANK YOU to Ted, Jonathan, and Jen for taking the burden of driving the sag cars and taking photos. Without you folks, there would have been VeloViet riders left stranded on the road.

Photo - Steve and Super Sag Crew Ted

Photo - Photographer Jen and Super Sag Crew Jonathan

In Minnesota, I believe it was Vanessa who help and prepared all the food for the hungry riders afterwards. Thanks Vanessa!

Photo - MN Vanessa Presenting the Food to the Hungry MN Riders

The numerous of solidarity and bravery that members showed on this ride is what makes this ride so memorable, and give us an understanding why the VeloViet club have flourished and developed to the size it is today. It could have been so easy to call for sag support and abandon Kiet on the roadside to wait for the sag car. And it could have been so easy for Uyen to call it quits in Oceanside.

But this VeloViet Team would not do that. The group would not leave a hurt man down, and injured member would not give up. These simple acts of selflessness and bravery is similar to those actions taken by New Yorkers in the 9/11 event a decade ago.

And it was not just one man carrying the flag of this nation, but instead was a collective unified efforts of many VeloViets members to helped "carry" the flag throughout the century ride. The burden of the flag for one man was too hard to bear, and no one person could have done it alone in the time that it took. The flag would have fallen to the ground if others did not step up taking turns sheltering the flag from the fiercest wind.

It is the hope of the VeloViet club that this ride and gesture shows that we did not forget, that we remember the 9/11 tragedy a decade ago, and that we honor those who have fallen sacrificing themselves for saving others.

It has been a good ride my Veloviet friends. Thanks to all who sent me recaps and photos. Like the ride, this recap could not have happen without your help. For everyone viewing this, please take a little time to post your comments. We love to read them and no Blog account is require to post comments.

Here is a toast to a bright future and many more epic rides to come! Onward to Lady Palomar!

Out,
Phong

Photos of 8/28 Ride - Preparing For the Epic

2011-08-30T22:47:00.000-07:00

Folks must like a good challenge as today was one of the harder route and we had like 10 Newbies! Here are some photos of 62 miles of hard riding....

Photo - VeloViet Crew at MSP

Photo - KyAnh and His Newbie Crew

Photo - Rock Racing Green Team

Photo - Dashaan and Luke

Photo - Luke About to Attack Mark and Roxy

Photo - Nancy Looking Happy Riding Her Bike

Photo - Chanh and Cap't Pulling the Pack

Photo - Chi at the Front of the Pack at the Stop

At the PCH stop, we collected even more VeloViets! Ironman, The Archer, The Warrior, Daniel, and BigH met us here.

Photo - The Gorgeous Ladies from Today's Ride

Photo - New RR Toys!

Photo - The Warrior Came Out to Ride with the VeloViet Crew

A2 Team had a 10-15 minute lead on A1 team from the stop. A1 caught up somewhere on Newport Coast with guys like Kazu pulling at 30 mph on PCH. Those animals!

A2 Team then burn itself trying to match A1 team. Some were successful and took off pass CircleK, while the others had to stop for rest and water. But the A2 Team never quit, and even rallied and encouraged the Newbies to continue, made to teh top of the Portola climb as A1 Team was descending.

Photo - VeloViet Crew Near Halfway

Photo - Roxy and Crew at Top of Portola

Photo - Blake Looks Completely Wiped Out

The customary flat occurred and allowed everyone to group back together. Some are completely wiped as you can see.

Photo - Flat!!!

Photo - Duc Looks Tired... while Nancy is Ready for Another 60 Miles

Photo - Cap't and RR Crew

Photo - Budha Out of Juice

Photo - Luke Sleeping on the Job

Photo - Kiet and Luke

Photo - Crew Near the End of Ride

Smoothie with the VeloViet folks. Chit chat and talk about Xmas party.

Photo - The 3 Amigos Enjoying Some Smoothie

Enjoy!
Phong

VeloViet SEAL Team 6 - The Hunt in Malibu

2011-08-21T18:30:00.000-07:00

FRIDAY
Okay VeloViet Sunday Brothers and Sisters... we are going into home turf of the A1 crew (aka the Saturday Malibu Crew). The Saturday Crew have been training on the Malibu hills for a few months now, they will have an advantage of scoping out the terrain on Saturday without us, they have massage ladies after their Saturday ride, they have a sag car filled with steaks and eggs on their Saturday ride, they will sleep an extra 1-1/2 hour on Sunday, and they will be strong!

But we Sunday Malibu riders have heart and determination! We will hunt and attack these Saturday animals until we catch 'em all on the hills. We will be a larger army than they are. We will go into Malibu stealthly and take out the heart of the Saturday Crew, just like SEAL Team 6 with Bin Laden. You can run Saturday Crew...but you can't hide!

So Sunday Brothers and Sisters... come on out to Malibu and help! Do not fear.... we will not leave an injured rider behind. We have the sag car on Sunday too. Do not fear good pain... embrace it!

ATTACK... ATTACK... ATTACK!!!

SATURDAY
The Saturday Crew enjoyed a day of relaxation, full body massages, and wine by the sea, while the Sunday Crew burned in the Sun working hard to clear the local bike trail full of rocks. Here is picture of some of the Saturday Crew dining by the stars at Duke's restaurant.

Photo - The Gorgeous VeloViet Ladies

Kidding!!! I think the Saturday Crew did a tough ride. I did not ride but perhaps folks whho went can tell us a bit about it.

SUNDAY
ATTACK... ATTACK... ATTACK!!!

Unfortunately, I was on the receiving end of the attack. Those Saturday riders were still strong! Both Lukes (The Beast and Kazu) were here today and they were going nutz on them hills. Both the guys were feed off each other's energy and lit up the first hills of Latigo!

Photo - The Sunday Attack Crew

Photo - Front Riders Luke and Luke

Photo - The Pack Chasing

The pack chased hard after these two, and contained some of our best climbers: Billy, Gerardo, Arnel, and Hoa. This front group disappeared quickly as the roads turns steeply upward.

Photo - Gerardo focusing on the Climb with Arnel Following

Photo - Second Pack Chasing

Kristy (aka Queen of the Mountain) was all serious on the climb. She had her game face on and up the pace on the steeper section of Latigo. She had all the guys, including me and Cap't, scrambling to respond.

Photo - Kristy... All Focus in the Climb

There were a total of 2 sag vehicles: Master Photographer Allen and Haldane in the car and Yvonne, Chanh's wife, and his daughter in the van. Allen and Haldane were hopping back and forth on the route, stopping to take photos or passing a rider a drink, while Yvonne were carrying the main food and drinks. Both sag teams performed flawlessly!

Photo - Haldane Giving Toan a Push

Photo - Haldane Delivering Water to Kristy

Photo - Sag Van and the VeloViets

A little later, it was Thomas throwing down the hammer and gunning for it. Hoa and I was nearby, and only Hoa was able to respond to this acceleration.

Photo - Thomas Making a Move on Hoa

Photo - Ironman Practicing His "Top of Climb" Winning Gesture

At the halfway mark, we enjoyed a little rest at the Biker Bar. I had a chance to snap a few more photos.

Photo - First Crew to Biker Bar

Photo - My Ducati is Faster than Your Ducati!

Photo - That is a NICE Bike!

Photo - Uyen and Roxy

Photo - VeloViet Crew at Halfway Point

We proceeded back up Latigo. Everyone was slowly going away from me and initially I thought I was just tired. A little later, I started bouncing on the road and looked down. Darn it... an almost flat tire!

As I was changing, a few VeloViets came up and I waved them on. Uyen and her friend though was adamant in staying and making sure I had no other mechanical issues. Thanks Uyen!

Off we went again and reached the crew in front who waited for us on top of the hill. Seems like there were a couple of cute bikers there and the guys wanted any kind of excuses to stop and chat with these folks.

Photo - Keith Chatting with a Couple of Cute Bikers that We Met

We quickly descend Latigo and rolled back to the car. Time to eat!

Photo - Time for Some Lobster Tail!

Photo - Hey... That is A Lot of Shrimp!

Photo - Master Photographer Allen Bean On The Other Side of the Camera

Photo - Paulina and Cap't Preparing to Order a Feast

Photo - Sang and Uyen Getting Ready to Order Some Chow

Having a brew after a hard ride is the best! We all toasted to Anh Minh (aka Ride 4 Beer) who could not joined us today. Here is to you Anh Minh!

Photo - Anh Minh... Here is a Toast to You!

Photo - Duc and Billy Enjoying a Brew

Of course a good ride must end with some group photos. Well here are some!

Photo - Tom Cruise and Kristy

Photo - VeloViet Beach Team

Photo - Beach Group

The kids had a great time playing in the sand, while the wives gossip. My wife Tina had a great time hanging out at the beach with Tammy, Kiet's wife. These two were the only ones on there as the other ladies were probably out shopping!

Photo - Going to Find Me Some Treasure!

Photo - Burried in the Sand

Photo - Marcel and Sebastian of Team 6 Found and Slay The Beast

I thought today's ride was actually easy... but I did not do the ride yesterday which I was told was a lot harder. These folks who rode both days were absolutely beat after today's ride. Here is a photo that described what they felt!

Photo - The Vultures Came Out for a Feast on Today's Casualties

Special thanks again to Allen for those gorgeous photos, Haldane for pushing us up those hills, Yvonne for carrying food and water to us, and Yvonne's daughter for supporting her mom in the van. All the e-mails are buzzing back and forth already from riders voicing their appreciation to the #1 sag team!

See you all on the road soon! I hoped you enjoyed the brief recap and pictures!

out,
Phong

1989 Tour de France Time Trial

2011-08-19T17:49:00.000-07:00

The stage that got me hook on cycling. LeMond beat Fignon on the last TdF stage by a mere 8 seconds.

After watching this on TV in '89, I went out and got a $600 bike. My first ever road bike, a green celeste Bianchi. As much as I try, I got whip by Long each and every time we climb Sierra Madre Blvd in the Arcadia and Pasadena area. He rode a red Schwinn.

Gonna visit Malibu Hills this weekend. Let's see if Long and I can revive the old rivalry and the good old times. Likely he will still whip me on 'em hills!

What got you into cycling?

Out,
Phong

8/14 Malibu Preparation Ride

2011-08-14T16:30:00.000-07:00

So... how do you break in a Newbie... you take them on a 60-65 miles, 3500-4200 feet climb ride of course! Hey we got high standards ;-)

Today's ride was broadcasted as the preparation ride for the Malibu Epic Ride next week. On paper, it sure looked like it was HARDER than the Malibu ride itself! Interesting was that our route planner was conveniently not available to do this hard ride with us!

For some reason or another, the hard route attracted Newbies! They came out in droves today! Here are some photos at MSP:

Photo - There Are Four Rock Racing Bothers!

Photo - Guest Anthony and His Truck Full of Bike Toys

Photo - Line Em Up "Newbie" Riders!

Photo - Neat Ford Outfitter Car that Can Hold 3 bikes Upright. I Like This Car!

Seems like the A2 team dominated this route. Luke, Steve, and Arnel was there representing the A1 team but they were dwarfed by all the A2 muscle power that showed up for this hard ride.

Photo - David, Martin, Guest, John, Hoa, Sang, and Mark

Photo - John, Hoa, Anh Minh, and Blake

Photo - Cap't (he thinks he can out run us) and Ted

Here are some nice photos on Bushard...

Photo - Mark and Anthony

Photo - Mac Giving the A-Okay Sign

Photo - Anh Minh and Can

Photo - Ted and Luke

Photo - Steve and Billy Strategizing on Attack

Photo - Sang and John

I have to say the Newbies did pretty darn good. You can tell that they are new to pack riding, but seems like they do have cycling experience. There was a lady guest rider who held her own riding in the pack of strong guys too. Great job!

Photo - Man... That Pack Looks Heavy!

Photo - She is Probably Thinking... "You Guys Are Not Going to Leave Me Behind!"

Photo - Oldest RR Brother Did Pretty Good for Someone Who is New to the Bike

Here are some photos at the stop:

Photo - Steve, Vegas, and Steve's Bro

Photo - Pack at the Stop

Photo - Vegas Crew Checking Out Their Equipment

Photo - BigH, Jimmy, Mathew, and FedEx

Photo - KyAnh and Hoa Talking About Bike Equipment

As for the rest of the ride? Let's say that everyone was trash talking our route planner! Man this route was hard! I was in the second group and we got lost! Took an extra 4 or 5 miles past the Crown Valley turn and ended up somewhere deep in Dana Point.

We turn around and found Crown Valley. Turns out on this street had a different name if you turn right. I think we were pushing hard around here somewhere trying to catch the front pack and must have missed the sign.

Found the front pack on Crown Valley, but lost the pack I was with. The guys went on to Bluebird while I went with Ted, Mark, and Chanh to see if we can catch up with the A2 somewhere on PCH.

We did catch up with a bunch of folks. I ended up escorting 3 or 4 of the guests back to MSP. They were beat but excited to finished. There was one rider who could not and Billy was nice enough to get his truck to bring the rider back to MSP.

Hard ride, but a good preparation for Malibu. Come on out to Malibu folks. I am going to focus on riding this hard route next week and will not be able to recap. See you then!

Out,
Phong

August 7th - The Fit Kit Ride

2011-08-07T16:03:00.000-07:00

Short but hard ride today. Cap't announcement that today's ride was going to be an easy, paceline practice ride did not deter those howling A1 and A2 wolves from attacking. Speed reached clode to 30 mph on the flats as everyone was trying to chase down FedEx!

Photo - At MSP

Photo - Pack on Bushard

Photo - Blake and Guest Reina

Photo - Mark and Cap't

Photo - Ngoc and Thang

Photo - A Super Excited Anh Minh and New Member Chanh

Photo - An and Luke

Seems flat is a common thing on our rides today. There were 3 flats all together. Luckily none of the flats came from Steve C (aka Mr Tubular, aka Mr Flat). I think if Steve had another flat on our ride, we all would just leave him!

Photo - BigH, Guest Chris, Birthday Boy Sang, Guest Brian, Steve, FedEx, Keith

Photo - Loc, Big Minh, RR Brothers, Donovan, Thang, Tan, Anh Ming, Ngoc, Greg, and Chanh

Photo - Toan, Long, Loc, and Duc

Photo - Hoa, John, Mark, and Gerardo

Photo - Ironman, Khanh, Brian, Kiet, Blake, Reina, and Vegas Matt

Photo - Roxy, Scott, Cap't, and Luke

FedEx went into "bazooka" mode and blasted everyone on Back Bay. The chase was on all the way to CircleK and speed reached near 30 mph on University. Most of the A2 folks hang tough.

The way back was tougher and the pack split. Still, there were at least 15 riders that stayed together. We rode hard to MSP. The picture below depicts the hard tempo on today's ride!

Photo - The Guys Trying to Catch Their Breath

Out,
Phong

MN Tour De Tonka

2011-08-06T20:36:00.000-07:00

Minnesota's VeloViet HPTeam completed the Tour De Tonka this morning! It was an awesome event with great success. Check out the video and pics on Facebook. But here are 2 before and after the ride.

This ride got 2750 riders and 300 did the 101 miles 3000 ft. VeloViet A1 team did 100miles and 9 ranked in the top 20 ... Wow!

3 VeloViet came in 5th, 6th, and 7th together then 4 more none VV, then 6 VV together after. Looking really good! VeloViets pull the entire peloton for over 20 miles. The moving red sea!

Ride time was 4hr 31 min and elapse time 4:48 with 2 stops and one crash [due to road shoulder dissapear into gravel]. Other than that this event was success for VV MN! Everyone were happy with the result... now we just relax and have fun the rest of the year.

Here are the photos:

Photo - MN VeloViets at the Start Line for Tour De Tonka

Photo - The Team After the Ride

Recap from Quang and posted by Phong.

Out,
Phong

2012 VeloViet Uniform

2011-07-28T13:13:00.001-07:00

Photo - Courtesy of PezCyclingnews

Glad you spotted the difference... yup we will be numbering our VeloViet jersey so that we don't loose anybody on our rides!

The guy in yellow represent what Cap't Thomas would wear, since he likes yellow clothing so much!

Noticed the near perfect triple paceline formation that we will be practicing in 2012!

2011 VeloViet Climbing Clinic

2011-07-24T16:42:00.001-07:00

OC VeloViet's 2nd Bike Clinic happened today and man it was hard work! In this session, the VeloViet's targeted one of our favorite on-bike discipline - climbing! All of our lightweight riders came out to party with clinic's instructors FedEx and BigH.

Photo - Mark, Hoa, John, and Anh Minh

Photo - Ngoc, Randy, and Long

Photo - Sarah and Uyen

Photo - Guest Paul, Toan, Tuan, Cap't, Co, and Billy

Photo - Guest Bert and Uyen

We even had a few MIA folks showed up, Mac and Trang. Mac has been busy "adventuring" around Southern California with his kids for the Summer, and it was nice to see him on the tandem with Trang. Check out his "Mac-Mobile" below.

Photo - Sarah, Trang, and Mac Daddy

Photo - The "Mac Daddy" Party Mobile

Rolling out of MSP, we did not get very far as a big pop was heard from the back of the pack. David got a flat and Tuan was fast to help. Less than 10 minutes later we were off!

Pop! and yup it is David rear wheel again as we only got as far as half way on Bushard. Again Tuan is quick to react and we had the flat changed again. Let's hope it holds this time!

Photo - Donovan Rolling Out from MSP

Photo - Pack Waiting for the Flat Repair

The wheel held up and we got to PCH. Here are some photos along Bushard and at the PCH stop.

Photo - Lilliana and Luke

Photo - Hoa and John

Photo - Uyen and Sarah

Photo - Arnel and Duc

Photo - FedEx and BigH Preping Everyone at the Stop

Photo - Pack on PCH

Ok now for some serious work. Three repeats on the tough Pelican Hills. FedEx explained first the climbing technique that he wanted us to use, a high cadence of at least 85 rpm with occasional shifting down a gear or two and standing.

Off we went. I had FedEx next to me on this first hill and he explained that I should do a throwing motion of my legs as if I was throwing them over the handlebar. I was holding consisted at 85 rpm up until teh last stretch where it was absolutely impossible for me to keep at 85 RPM. This section was way too steep.

At the top we rested for about 5-10 minutes and down we went for the second repeat. Bert, Uyen's friend, was a monster on the hills as he attacked on this repeat. Bert is training for the Berlin marathon and his endurance on the hills was amazing. This guy can climb!

Hoa and John were going nutz on the hills as well. I was amazed too how Nic climb, as he had like 30 lbs over me. He just cruized on by while I suffered on this repeat. BigH was riding up and down yelling encouragements to us all.

The third repeat had Captain Thomas going totally ballistic on the hills. It's those yellow shoes he is wearing! Billy and I snapped some photos at the top.

Photo - Kiet and Donovan Suffering

Photo - FedEx Explaining Cadence at the Top

Photo - Pack at the Top

Photo - Best Climbing Buds Tuan and Sarah

Rolling home, the Big Boys opened it up on PCH. Tuan, Luke, Thomas, Greg, Duc, John, and Hoa pressed the pedal to the metal and the pack split. This was a sudden change for everyone as we went from 8 mph climbing to like 26 mph on the flat. This first pack got to SART quickly.

Photo - First Pack back to SART: Luke, Thomas, Duc, Greg, and Tuan

A short while later, the second group came. Here we found that one of the guest had a crash as someone had turned in front of them. Luckily he was okay. The third and final group arrived.

Coming back on SART, Sarah was in mid pack and at the left turn from the wooden bridge, she slip out. Her bike must have hit some gravel and lost traction on the turn. Luckily we were going real slow and she got just a slight scrape on her arm. Everyone was real concern though as she was on the ground for a while. Sarah said she was reassessing her body, while she was on the ground, to make sure everything was okay. Sarah made it back to MSP intact.

Photo - Everyone Making Sure Sarah was Okay

Photo - Luke and Bert Escorting Sarah Back to MSP

Photo - Lilliana and Her Scrape

Photo - Lilliana, Sarah, and Uyen Safe at MSP

Now for the good stuff! Some of us decided to go out and eat at this great Vietnamese restaurant. I had a dish that I never had before. Yummy!

So after this meal, we went to get even more food! FedEx's and BigH's climbing clinic really burned calories and we were packing it all back in!

Photo - This Place Has Great Vietnamese Xoi and Che!

Photo - Uyen, On a "See-Food" Diet, Not Getting Enough Food is in Line for More!

Photo - Uyen Debating with Sarah on What Else to Buy

When I got back home, I passed out on the couch for a few hours. This climbing thing is really hard!

All who came out had a great time, especially those who hang out afterwards together. BIG THANKS to our climbing instructors FedEx and BigH for conducting today's class. We will go out and try out our new found techniques!

Out,
Phong

Flight of The Contador - GMR Recap

2011-07-23T09:37:00.001-07:00

Phong dances on his pedal... and put the hurt on FedEx. It was time for the student to teach The Teacher! FedEx groan as he tried to match Phong's acceleration... but the inevitable happened as it had in this week's Tour de France stage... Phong began to gapped FedEx!

BEEP... BEEP... BEEP... BEEP... BEEP...

Phong groaned as the alarm woke him up from his sleep. He groaned even harder as the physical and mental pain revealed themselves once again on his body and mind. The GMR ride yesterday did not quite turn out as rosy as that of his dream. Here is what really happened...

The Magnificent Seven riders of Scott, Roxy, FedEx, BigH, Billy, Hoa, and myself showed up to ride GMR today as a preparation for this Sunday's climbing clinic. Although I have not climbed for over a month, my mental well being made me think that today was going to be a great day for me on the hills of GMR.

FedEx and BigH arrived late, so the rest of us decides to get a 15 minute head start. I was thinking that this was additional padding exactly that we need to put the hurt on these climbing men. The start was fun, as we chit chat among ourselves. We also found out that today was Roxy's birthday and she was celebrating it in an epic style. Happy Birthday Roxy!

Photo - 2011 Rookie Contender Hoa

Photo - 2008 KoM Billy

Photo - Birthday Girl Boxy

Photo - A1 Road Captain Scott

Photo - The Front Pack

2 miles up GMR and KoM contender Billy and Rookie Contender Hoa took off and disappeared from our view. We were already traveling at 8 mph, and I could not get anymore speed out of my body, so I settle in with Scott and Roxy.

So in this year's TdF, Andy Schleck attacked Contador and Contador could not respond. In an email to the Viets, I dubbed FedEx "Alberto Contador" as they both had this dancing style of climbing. I also asked our members to test our FedEx as we have not seen him in a while and I wanted to see if we can have an "Andy" among today's GMR crowd.

Well around 5 miles up, any hopes of me becoming an Andy Schleck shattered as in the back distance, I spotted FedEx coming up fast! FedEx had spotted ourselves and he zoned in like a cruise missile. Check out these pics.

Photo - Oh.. No.. The Attack Is Coming!

Photo - Here He Comes!

Photo - There He Goes!

8 miles up and here comes BigH. BigH was so silent in his attack that he surprised Scott, Roxy, and I when he charged pass us. I did not even have time to pull my camera out as BigH disappeared from our view.

9 miles up and I had hoped that we would have a break at the East Fork. Nope not today as everyone elected to continued on. Okay, I thought, it's do or die as the second half of GMR is harder than the first half.

15 miles in and I bonked BIG TIME! By this time, I was alone and was crushed physically and mentally. I was crawling along at 4-5 mph and was contemplating stopping for a rest. When I spotted Hoa coming back down, as he had to go to work, I was strongly contemplating turning back as well. Seems the body and mind forget the suffering of a true mountain climb like GMR, even as short of a duration of 2 weeks, if you don't go out and climb. I am now paying back big time for that month of no hills.

Good thing the last 3 miles of GMR is a slight downhill. I reached this part and knew that I could finish. Scott and Roxy also waited for me at the notch and escorted me up to Baldy Village.

Photo - Billy Describing the Roads to the Ski Lifts

Photo - The VeloViet Crew at the Village

We had a great time talking at the top. Turns out FedEx time was 1 hour and 26 minutes. Yikes!

I decided to turn back with most of the guys while Scott and Roxy continued on to the Ski lift to finish celebrating her birthday in epic style. Here they are...

Photo - Roxy at the Top

Photo - Scott at the Top

Today's ride was brutal for me. The Contador took flight and dusted us all! Billy and I chatted at the parking and Billy noted that FedEx was the one who was willing to suffrered the most. Even when his heart is at 190 bpm when he caught up with Billy, he stood up and pushed himself even more! Lady Palomar will be extremely interesting. I think the climbers will have to gang up if they want to dethrone this mountain man.

A2 folks come out this Sunday and attend the VeloViet's climbing clinic. Although the suffering will not be as extreme as yesterday GMR ride, I promised that you will learn a whole lot from these phenomenom climbers.

Out,
Phong

Vive Le Tour !!!

2011-07-17T16:09:00.001-07:00

It's Le Tour Time Baby!!! Time to come out and RIDE HARD!!! Celebrating The Tour de France, 45 VeloViet riders showed up and rode super hard on today's exhilarating ride.

The VeloViet Club has been busy, with remote rides and bike clinics, and it seemed we have not had a ride together from MSP in a great while. The atmosphere at the parking lot was energetic, as folks were catching up with each other. A2 Cap't Long, who we have not seen for a long time, also dusted his bike and came out. I was excited and went around and shook everyone's hands.

The lot quickly filled up. There were a number of guest riders. They included Dan, Luke's surfer friend, and Charles, Kiet's brother-in-law. Our Newbies were out in force too, with Martin and Mark wearing their new VeloViet jersey proudly. Here are some photos at the park.

Photo - Kiet, Guest Charles, and Jonathan

Photo - Daniel, Anh Minh, Thang, Toan, Lilliana, and Arnel

Photo - Kiet, Steve, Brian, Tan, Blake, and Jonathan

So how could we celebrate Le Tour without something French... well how about French-Canadian? The Animal brought out his friend Roxy, a proud French-Canadian lady that is super sweet and friendly. Not to be outdone, The Beast brought out his gorgeous wife Lilliana. These are the two ladies from today's ride.

Photo - The Ladies from Today's Ride: Roxy and Lilliana

A quick intro... and we are off!

Photo - Riders Preparing to Roll Out of Miles Square Park

Photo - Keith and the VeloViets Rolling Out

On Bushard things went well. The team was focus on trying to practice the lessons that we learned from Master Racer Haldane last week, and we were rolling slow to allow the leg muscles to warmup. Also we were all tucked behind each other in the drafting position trying to keep a close-knit pack.

Photo - Thomas and Scott

Photo - The Front Pack on Bushard

Photo - Paceline from Behind

Photo - David and Martin Attacking the Hills

Photo - Roxy and Billy

Photo - Lilliana and Greg

We arrived at the PCH rest stop and met up with Kazu and BigH. These two brought out their friend Brian. Everyone chit-chat and I went around snapping photos.

Photo - Roxy, The Animal Scott, Lilliana, and The Beast Luke

Photo - The VeloViet at the PCH Stop

On PCH, the ride excitement escalated ten-folds! There was a stretch where Greg, Tuan, Sang, Luke, and John had gapped the rest of the pack. These five guys were like 100 feet in front of the pack, who was traveling at 24 mph. From the corner of my eye, I saw a white and black flash of color slingshot from the rear of the pack and passing us in the front of the pack at a great speed! Turns out this was The Archer Kazu in his white jersey and black Rock Racing bibshort. This was an incredible display of power as Kazu must have kicked above 30 mph to catch up to the front five guys! I sense a restlessness in the peloton with this move.

A right turn on Bayside and yup out come Brian and BigH letting loose some energy. This pair also shot away. The remaining riders settle down and started grinding away on the 3 hills on Jamboree. There were a few other accelerations, but none stick as before. A little later on, we regrouped with the front pack after a right on University.

Photo - Practicing Lessons Learned Last Week from Master Racer Haldane

Photo - Regroup on University

At the stop, Cap't Thomas encouraged riders to come up and share the workload. The Viets responded! This next stretch on Barranca was some of the hardest work we have done in the past few weeks. Guys like Scott, Greg, Kazu, Thomas, Brian, Tuan, Duc, Sang, John, Arnel, and BigH were laying down the hammer and we were traveling around 27-30 mph. I was near the back and noted that there were no mercy from these guys as it was a sprint each time we stop and then start. This is actually good as everyone were working hard even though not everyone made it to the front.

Surprisingly, the VeloViet pack did pretty darn good! The A2 guys have been training and were hanging on tough. Roxy was super as she held with the A1 big boys. Roxy had me thinking that if we hook her up with Yahoo! Girl Kristy, and if we get Fixie, Uyen, Sarah, and our other lady riders to the racing circuit, we would have a pretty darn good Lady Racing Team!

We made it to our halfway stop, the CyclePro shop in Irvine. Juan, the owner, had graciously open up his shop for us. Juan also set out water, gatorade, bagel, and cream cheese for us. Excellent! Thanks Juan!

Here we met Master Mechanic Arturo and staff Armando. Cap't Thomas noted that CyclePro is one of the shop that VeloViet is strongly considering to partner with, and noted that Arturo is a excellent bike mechanic, and will do what is needed even if you need your bike built overnight. Juan and his staff were extremely friendly, and CyclePro looks like a great bike shop.

We took a photo with the CyclePro guys. Here it is.

Photo - Greg, Roxy, Kiet, and Charles Resting at CyclePro

Photo - A2 Cap't Toan at CyclePro

Photo - KyAnh at CyclePro

Photo - CyclePro Staff Armando and Arturo

Photo - VeloViets at CyclePro

The ride back was even more exciting than the first half as cap't Thomas declare a "Fast" group and a "Faster" group. I was barely hanging on with the Faster guys as they really pound the pedals on the return! I think the group had shrunk to less than 10 guys at this point. We even lost the super strong French-Canadian Roxy! Scott drop back to help pull Roxy and the second group.

On SART, the speed was crazy! Super-human Greg G was going nutz at the front! Greg pulled for a long time at 30 mph and we all scrambled to keep up. Greg finally pull out and we all took turn at a more reasonable 26 mph. After just a few minutes, Greg could not take it anymore and came around us and took over again and raise the speed back to 30 mph! This guy was an animal!

At MSP, we came in first. The next group rolled in like 10 minutes later and the final group another 15 minutes after that. Le Tour had brought additional excitement on today's ride. Everyone had watch the race in France this past week and was looking forward to today's ride.

Thanks everyone who came out and made this ride fun! Thanks to all of our guests who came and share this excitement with us, and special thanks to Roxy for giving today's ride a "French" flavor!

Vive Le France! Vive Le Tour!

Photo - Go French-Canada !!!

Out,
Phong

A Hello from the Vancouver Velo Vets

2011-07-12T21:28:00.000-07:00

VeloViets,

The Velo Vets folks from Vancouver, Canada saw our (similar) name on the GranFondo link. They send a picture of their team and a warm hello to us.

Photo - Vancouver Velo Vets

Members of the California and Minnesota VeloViets would also like to extend a greetings to members of the Vancouver Velo Vets, and hope that maybe some day we can share our passion for cyclist riding together on the same road.

Out,
Phong

Bump-n-Ride Bike Workshop

2011-07-10T16:46:00.001-07:00

Hi VeloViets and Friends,

VeloViet had its first ever bike workshop today, whooo... hooo!!! The workshop was hosted by Cap't Thomas at his new house! Parking spaces went quickly as lots of folks came out for this event. Here are some photos before the clinic got started.

Photo - No More Parking Spaces so We Started to Double Park!

Photo - John, Jonathan, Hoa, Anh Minh, Randy, and Billy D

Photo - Steve, Blake, Toan, Daniel, Keith, Sarah, Brian, and Anh Minh

Photo - Cap't Bike Arsenal

To kick off the workshop, Cap't first introduced the instructor, our very own Master Racer Haldane! Cap't noted that Haldane joined the VeloViets in the first quarter of 2011, and he brought in a new "pro" feel that our club have never had. Since 1976, Haldane has won 30 gold state championships and a silver medal at the United States Olympic Trials. He was a member of the United States National Cycling Team from 1989-1993 (the youngest member at the time), as well as a five time national medalist. In 1992, he took 2nd in the U.S. Olympic Trials in the Team Pursuit.

In 2006, Haldane became the General Manager of the Rock Racing professional cycling team, where he was largely responsible for building it up from the ground floor which lead to four national cycling championships in 2008. Haldane is currently the Director Sportif for the Yahoo! Cycling. Team Yahoo! Cycling just won the Mount Hood Cycling Classic! Man... the VeloViets are lucky to have this wealth of bike experiences in person!

Haldane opened the session talking about bike etiquettes, drafting, paceline riding, and all sorts of bike topics. Members were busy asking all sorts of questions, simple topics from nutrition to the more interesting topic of sex before an epic ride. All sorts of topics were covered!

Photo - Sarah Asking a Question

Photo - Members Listed Attentively While Haldane Point Out Bike Tips

Photo - Anh Minh Asking a Question

Photo - Members Listening to Bike Tips

After the classroom session, we went to the hands-on session. This have got to be one of the most fun times we had on the bikes! Check out these photos!

Photo - Double Paceline Session

Photo - Single Paceline Session

Photo - Toan Getting Fresh with Sang

The the fun really got started as we moved onto the grass. Here folks were really letting out their agression as they literally try to "bump" off another riders. It was really fun to watch as folks were flying every which way.

Photo - BigH Taking Out FedEx with an Elbow

Photo - Lilliana Trying to Take Out Ted

Photo - Hoan and Jonathan taking a Tumble

Photo - Randy and Steve Were the Two Most Agressive Riders Today!

Photo - I am Taking You Out!

Photo - Going Down!

Photo - Arnel Trying to Take Out Duc

Photo - Yet another Fall from Jonathan

The workshop ended with a great BBQ party back at Cap't house! We had Korean style ribs, various Korean dishes, BBQ chicken, salad, and other goodies. Members had a great time chatting with each other about all of the bike lessons.

This was a most successful workshop! Thanks to all who attended, but special thanks to our instructor Haldane! We learned a lot today and much appreciate that you took time to share your experiences and knowledge with us! Looking forward to VeloViet's bike workshop next year!

Photo - VeloViet Workshop Attendees

Out,
Phong

2011 Los Angeles GranFondo

2011-06-27T13:32:00.000-07:00

The OC VeloViet Team conquered LA this past weekend in what turned out to be one of the most challenging rides so far in 2011 for the club. The LA GranFondo was harder than the Palm Spring Century and GMR!

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 Colnago

Then 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 start

Besides 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 start

The ride starts! Here are some more photos.

Photo - Cap't and Fixie leading the pack

Photo - Rolling out

The 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 Piuma

Piuma 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 Piuma

Up 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 Team

For 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 ride

Not 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 mark

Input 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 Steve

The 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 Party

This 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 start

Signing out,
Phong

LA River Century Ride 2011

2011-06-08T23:38:00.000-07:00

The past few days have been a blur. It all started when VeloViet Keith sent out an email earlier in the week asking if anyone was interested in doing a century ride on Sunday, four days from now. What?! OK, I’m game. At the drop of a hat, 20 riders committed to go. That’s VeloViet in a nutshell.

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)

VeloViet LA River Ride 2011
Video by Kiet Le

Slayers of the Barbarian Horde - Malibu Hills Recon Recap

2011-06-04T18:12:00.001-07:00

Last Night
The lone figure is hunched over his Colnago steed on top of the Malibu Hills. His majestic red and black kit is shredded in multiple places, with tattered pieces of red and black cloth hung here and there, barely covering his body. Blood were seeping from the hundreds of scrapes, flowing more openly from deeper wounds. Luke is losing his precious energy fast.

Down below the hills, the ugly Barbarian Horde scampered and fought each other to get to this lone warrior first. The blood thirsty and honorless greed showed on the faces of the Horde. Their multitude of boring colors, on their different non-matching kits, is no match for that of the single warrior’s shiny Capo red and black kit, with red stitching no less. The strong red kit had helped deflect the blades of these scavengers, but this one lone man can no longer stand above the thousands of barbarians that the Horde comprised.

Luke had sent out his call for help months ago to his VeloViet warrior teammates, the best cycling team in Orange County that $35 a year can provide. But Luke knew that most of this massive army is preparing for another battle and suspect that no help will come. The Beast had stopped on the Malibu Hills to make his final stand. He would kill a lot of the Horde before falling himself.

Suddenly... off in the distance... a sound can be heard. Like drums of escalating voices, this sound materializes into one of multiple mechanical sources. Early fog still surrounds the high mountain, but were swirling away violently from the center of this sound source. Slowly one can make out distinct red figures.

Leading the oncoming group, rode The Archer. Fresh from his GMR assault, Kazu was attacking the road aggressively and closing the gap to the Barbarian Horde. On his side, the lean and sinewy FedEx dances on his pedals. These two riders stood out from the oncoming pack.

Second line of this oncoming offense is the warriors Toan and Phong. These steadfast and age-harden warriors are here to do battle, to support Luke, and to enjoy the glorious show.

But... out of this foggy mist... appeared the most magnificent warrior... none other than the Commander in Chief himself Cap’t Thomas. Astride on his Trek yellow steed and his yellow shoes, it is he who will commandeer this attack and defense.

Six Warriors against the Thousand-Strong Barbarian Horde! Will this few defenders be enough? Will there be more compatriots that will come out and help them?

We will see...

Day of the Ride
The battle was fought fiercely the night before. The Barbarian Horde had made a pre-dawn attack on the six warriors. None survived except for strongmen Luke and Phong. The two would make the final stand on their own.

Desperate for additional man-power, Luke and Phong knew that they need more help. So what did they do? They recruited the women and kids of course!

Photo - The New Recruited Helpers

Photo - Barbarian Horde or Defenders of Malibu?

Photo - Luke and Phong Before the Malibu Battle

This ride was a 40-mile rolling ride, with an option of an additional 20-mile loop. At first, it seemed easy enough, as the gradient of the climb was only around 6%. But my mistake was to try to match Luke's speed. 5 miles into the climb, I eased off and let him go!

Photo - Luke Attacking on the First Hill

The scenery was gorgeous! The first 10 miles were just rolling hills and there were hardly any cars. On Latigo, the view turned into these fantastic million-dollar houses.

Photo - Gorgeous House in the Valley Below

Photo - What a HUGE House!

Photo - It's a House Folks!

The ride was a series of rolling hills, never letting one fully rest. Luke was attacking the hills and then circling back to pick me up. We saw a lot of riders heading in both directions.

At the halfway mark. the view offered us the Pacific Ocean. Luke said that there is a small beach nearby that has great views and natural sheer cliffs. Hmmm... beach BBQ?

Photo - View of the Pacific Ocean at the Halfway

We circled back and the views are now of wineries that we missed when we were bombing down the hills.

Photo - One of the Many Wineries

We got back to the car and man my back and legs were sore. We rode close to 3 hours with only one 10 minute stop at the halfway mark. After locating his family, we said our goodbyes and look forward to when we do this ride again with the entire VeloViet group.

Folks... this is an epic ride. Get ready! It's hard but an absolutely gorgeous ride!

Out,
Phong

VV Ladies' Slideshow

2011-06-03T11:58:00.000-07:00

VV Ladies from cuong pham on Vimeo.

2011 ReUnion Ride Recap

2011-05-30T06:22:00.000-07:00

Cycling isn't all about racing, being the fastest, or have the coolest bike... it's the friendship that you make along the way. The friends that I have made through VeloViet has brought joy to my life. I'd like to thank the riders for helping the sport grow and encouraging new riders to come out and have F-U-N! Thank you VV for allowing me to mentor the newbies and being a part of your group.

- VeloViet Kristy M

These words from Kristy were what the ride this last Sunday was about. It was a memorable ride about renewing old friendships, strengthening existing friendships, as the current VeloViet members, past VeloViet members, and their friends got together for a fun ride. Here is how the 2011 ReUnion Ride went...

A whooping 90 people showed up at MSP this Sunday! I could not believe my eyes as cars quickly filled up the parking lot after 7:30 AM. There were so many bikes in the lot. Here is who showed:

First off, from Minnesota comes Thai, a rider that I have met once before. Thai was here two years ago with Quang, Captain of the MN VeloViet Team, and I remembered him as a very strong rider who likes to attack all hills. Thai came down as a guest of Anh Minh. I could not wait to introduce him to our OC VeloViet climber Fed-Ex!

Photo - MN Thai and Kristy

From TRUCycling, based in Chino Hills California, Captain Sang V brought out most of his racing team. This team is mostly Cat 2 to Cat 5 racers who races local Southern California crits. I recognized half of the guys here as I had ridden with them a few times before. At MSP, there was the 3 juniors racers, one of their dad, Don, Sang, and about 3 guys whom I have never met. I went over to introduced myself and shook their hands.

Photo - TRUCycling Team Posing at MSP

From United Velo, based in San Jose California, Captain Phuc N brought down what seemed to be the entire UV team and their families. This team had rented a multi-million dollar 8-bedroom house in Newport Beach, and this southern trek is one that they make every year. A special member on this team is a 74-year young racer who used to raced back in Viet Nam from 1952 to 1965. Rumor has it that this racer still has powerful cycling legs. Man I sure hoped he doesn't drop me on the ride today!

Photo - Anh Minh and Some of the United Velo Riders

From Ventura County, Thanh "Danielson" brought out his riding crew. These guys have been training together in the hills around Ventura, and have just completed the Solvang century so were in good shape.

Photo - Thanh's Ventura Crew

And of course, based in Orange County California, the OC VeloViet Team were led by none other than our own Cap't Thomas. I have been pumping the team about this rides for a few weeks, and all the VeloViet riders were excited!

Photo - VeloViet Team at MSP

And from seemingly everywhere else, we had a ton load of guests! There were folks from Vegas, folks from Northern California, and local folks. I have no idea how words of our ride got out, but I was happy and excited to see everyone faces.

We waited and waited to see when people would stop coming, but cars were still pulling in 20 minutes after our scheduled start time. Riders who had parked elsewhere, or riding from their house, were rolling in on their bikes as well. Finally I had to coordinate everyone for the photo session or else we might now make it out of the parking lot. Here are the photos!

Photo - Group Shot at MSP

Photo - Group Ready to Roll from MSP

Cap't Thomas counted 80 people at MSP. Someone mentioned to me Cap't did not count the 10 or so people who were late. I have no idea how many people but I knew that it was probably the BIGGEST group that ever rolled from MSP.

The fast team were off first. Cyling in this group were the VeloViet's A1 team, Thai, and most of the TRU guys. I would help Toan with the intermediate second group, and Cap't and Long would handle the social group. After about 5 minutes after the fast team went, Toan and I took with with the second group.

Our group consisted a mix of riders. There were about 3 or 4 TRU cyclists, a few UV riders, 4 to 5 VeloViets, and a mix of guests. It started simple enough, a little talking on Brookhurst then Warner. I think I was next to Daniel, our newest VeloViet member, who was telling me he had only cycled for 3 months.

Photo - Second Group Rolling Along

Then the next thing I knew, we were on SART and someone in our group fired the first shot. The speed quickly moved up to 22 to 24 mph!

There was no warning, no shouting, just a quiet escalation of pure adrenaline speed. The "intermediate" pack went from a double paceline to a thin and strung-out single paceline. The belabored breathing of this pack, barely audible as the mechanized motor sounds of chains churning loudly in circular motion.

I remembered there was a United Velo jersey working the front. I don't know who it belonged to as I was working hard to try to warm-up my motor. Then it was a TRU rider working the front for a short time. After this rider, Toan took the front and pulled for a very long time. I was about third in line at this point and could not believe how long Toan was at the front. I remembered thinking that I hoped Toan don't blow up.

After Toan, I think Keith was there working the front. Keith just completed the San Diego century and probably have developed enough reserves to probably go for hours. Man we were flying and all the talking have completely stopped. So much for the social ride! I took over somewhere around the wooden bridge.

We went so fast we blew by a rider changing a flat alongside the road. We later found out that this rider was our own Yahoo! Girl Kristy, whom we did not recognized because we are used to seeing her in the Yahoo kit. Kristy was wearing another jersey, to get color coordinated for the photo, as her VeLoViet kit is on order and has not arrive. Luckily Tan and a few riders in the back of our group recognized her and stopped to help.

Our second group caught up to the first group who were waiting at the restroom on SART. A quick chat with The Animal and we decided to stick together as a group. This large combined group rolled out.

The seriousness in the rider's faces was a preambled to this friendly competition. On Taft, everything seemed okay as I remembered still having energy to chit-chat with FedEx, BigH, and Kazu. I was joking with Kazu not to let FedEx out of his sight when the hills showed. Then I was joking with FedEx not to let Thai out of his sight on the hills too. But then... the hills showed up...

The incline on Taft was deceiving as it was just a baby of a hill, enough to make a rider breathe hard but not really enough to drop a competitive cyclist. I looked around and only saw guys with big thick quads and I wondered why the heck am I in this group? Then I spied Toan and Daniel and gave a relieve knowing that some of my second group compatriots are still with me.

Santiago came and threw in a monster of a hill. It seemed that this route was slowly tightening its grip on the riders, slowing cracking and crushing our rib cages as everyone labored and struggled in the climb. The pack had diminished in size and only racers and hard men are now in this front pack fighting this magnificent battle. Even while laboring, I remembered thinking how cool it was that I was still in this pack and have not been dropped yet.

And then... I got dropped on Newport. This hill is even more of a monster than the last, and weaned me out of my energy. I remembered being in the pack of a rider who got gapped. One of the TRU junior jumped and made the gap. Then another junior jumped and made it as well. By the time I made the "racing" decision, and a racer I am not, the gap had grown too great. Luckily though, I was not the only one who got drop so there was a regrouping in front and the pack rolled into the halfway mark.

Photo - Kazu, Thai, BigH, and FedEx At the Halfway Stop

Photo - Pack at the Halfway Stop

Photo - Riders at the Halfway Stop

There was a lot of chit-chat going on at the stop. There was one rider who wanted to go on, but everyone else was thankful for the breather and a chance to talk to folks. Everyone was still on an adrenaline high and excited at the friendly competition. I managed to snap a few more photos.

Photo - Tuan's Guest and Gerardo

Photo - The VeloViet Crew at the Halfway Stop

More people rolled in and the group size build up at the stop. We rolled out after about 15 minutes more of story swapping.

On the ride back, a couple of TRU riders in the back of the pack got a flat so their Cap't Sang went back to help them fix the flats. The front guys rolled on. Keith and I also stayed back with Nancy to escort her back.

The ride back seemed worst than the first half to me, as we were dealing with a strong headwind and I did not have the large pack to shelter me. Keith and I traded turns at the front and we managed to complete SART intact and hook up with the front group who stopped at the Warner exit. This group rolled back to MSP together.

At MSP, we saw the social group as they had shorten the ride and finished first. A short time later, the TRU riders who flatted and TRU Cap't Sang rolled in. The folks there and were still talking about the ride and trading old time stories.

A quick change and we were off to the VeloViet picnic. Man the food looked good! I was so hungry and was excited to see tables filled with delicious food. Here are some photos.

Photo - Chef Steve Showing the Hungry VeloViet the Food!

Photo - Haldane Working on the Watermelons

We had fried rice, white rice, Vietnamese style chowmein, Vietnamese beef stew with french bread, BBQ chicken, egg rolls, Vietnamese pork rolls, chicken enchiladas, salads, and so many other main courses. Of course the desert table was filled too! I loved the moist chocolate cake, but the cupcakes were to die for. They were brought out by the Rock Racing Brothers, and must have meant for the kids... but man I will fight the kids for one of these cupcakes! Luckily for me, there were plenty of cupcakes!

Photo - Yummy Cupcakes!!!

It was great to see my VeloViet Brothers and Sisters relaxing with each other. Here are some great photos of the picnic courtesy of Kristy.

Photo - RR An, Loc, Danny, Thang, and New VeloViet Members Brian and Blake

Photo - Keith, MN Thai, and Scott

Photo - Toan, UV Guest, Sang, MN Thai, and Phong

Photo - Kristy and Haldane Showing that Using the Chop Sticks is Easy

Photo - Guest Sarah, Nancy, Co, MN Thai, Brooklyn, and Kristy

Photo - RR Can, Anh Minh, RR Loi, Ngoc, Donovan, Tan, and Duc

Most everyone brought their families too! Here are some great family shots.

Photo - Hoa and His Family

Photo - Big Minh's and Co's Families

Photo - David, His Wife, and Greg's Wife

Photo - New VeloViet Member Daniel and his Family

Photo - Steve and His Family

Photo - Jonathan and His Wife

Photo - Tan, his Gorgeous Wife, and Friends

Photo - "Beauty" Lilliana Taming "The Beast" Luke

Photo - Cap't and His Wife Paulina

And there were kids there too! Here are some kid's photos.

Photo - KyAnh's Son and RR Can's Daughter (right side)

Photo - David's and Greg's Sons with Matching Haircut

Photo - KyAnh's Dogs Were Popular with the Kids

Photo - The Dogs were Popular with the Adults Too!

The United Velo Crew must have brought in their entire family! Here are some shots.

Photo - United Velo Crew and Families

Photo - 74 Years Young UV Cyclist Telling Toan and Captain Stories of His Racing Days in Viet Nam

Near the end of the picnic, UV Cap't Phuc and Some of his team members came up to thanks us for the picnic food and to say goodbye. We all shook hands and said we would see each other on the 2012 ReUnion Ride.

Cap't Thomas then gave a speech discussing the VelloViet's club ethics and honor. He indicated that we, as members, should represent the VeloViet club on and off the bikes, regardless of whether or not we wear the club's jersey at the time, but most importantly when we are wearing the jersey.

Cap't indicated he saw some unsafe manuever in the pack today, and announced that Master Racer Haldane will be conducting a VeloViet bike clinic for the club. We are to learn more of bike safety and etiquette. I am most excited about the "bump-n-ride" session that Haldane will be teaching, and can't wait to do a "friendly" bump on some of the A1 riders to take my frustration out on all those beatings they have been dishing to me. Just kidding!

Photo - VeloViet Group Checking Out New Sticker

Photo - Cap't Discussing the VeloViet Club's Credo

In the end, it turned to be a memorable ride again. The VeloViet Club would like to thank Cap't Phuc for bringing down the United Velo Team, and Cap't Sang for bringing in his TRUCycling Team, to ride the 2011 ReUnion Ride. It was a great ride and we hoped to see you and your teams again in 2012.

Special thanks to Toan for organizing the picnic, Steve for organizing the food, Greg for all the tables and chairs, Haldane for the Yahoo flag and mastering the watermelons, Cap't wife Paulina for saving us the spot, and all of our VeloViet members who contributed and brought food! It was a great picnic with lots of great food and greater memories! Here is the last photo of the group at the picnic.

Photo - Group at Picnic

Hoped you all enjoy reading this! See you all on the road soon!

Out,
Phong

Descents & ToC Stage 7 Videos

2011-05-23T19:16:00.000-07:00

Courtesy of Luke "The Beast". Enjoy!

Video - Luke Catching Phong on the Descent

Video - Luke Going for the 1 Hour and 28 Minute Ascent

Video - Radioshack Lead Peloton Chasing Breakaway

Video - Peloton On The Way Back Up

Out,
Phong