King of the Mountains Training Ride #2

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