2012 Palm Springs Century Recap

The sandstorm kicked up wildly scraping the VeloViet Gladiators' faces raw and left them bleeding as if a hundred claws had scratched their tender cheeks. Rider’s carcasses littered the dessert highway and vultures circled high in the sky waiting for this meaty feast.

The hardest Palm Springs Century ever smacked the VeloViets right in their faces, and in the first 5 miles of the ride no less. The Desert Goddess retaliated to the VeloViet's intrusion with all of her might and fury to stop this Army’s assault. Her crosswinds were so strong that it knocked even Dan, our massively muscled rider in the VeloViet pack, around like as if he was a ragdoll. Our lightest rider in the pack, Karen, was bouncing around as if she was walking in bare feet on burning coal.

This is it I thought... this is the end even before it started. All of the preparation was for nothing as I thought back to the weeks prior to this concluding death...

TWO WEEKS BEFORE
The pain etched heavily on his face. He had suffered tremendously in the last few miles, and leaned heavily on his bike similar to a gladiator leaning on his sword after a fierce battle. He is uncertain that he will be able to survive this long battle. He looked back and viewed the tired faces of his comrades.

The battle plan has been drawn months ago. The A1 Team, under the supreme leadership of Cap't Thomas, were to be a fast moving commando team, striking hard and fast into this dessert land, to pave the way for the massive A2 Army. The A2 hard men and women were to sweep and take care of any remaining BARBARIAN HORDE.

But these A2 faces are new, and the A1 Team is long gone. Most of the Army here are virgins to this mighty Century battle. They had came to the VeloViet eager to prove themselves, to show that they are worthy to be with the best of the best. But the preparation has not gone well, his own self included. Plague by a cold, he had sat out on the last two practices for this war, and these were the most critical of practices to survive this weary and long battle. The A2 Army preparation has also been lacking too as A2 Road Captain Toan, the person who normally lead this Army on these practices, has gone to the great motherland to take care of something even greater than this war.

The Gladiator stopped and inspect these tired faces again. He squinted his eyes, under his Oakleys, in the bright sun light and looked closely. Underneath those bloodshot red eyes of these riders still shine a strong will to survive, and a will to conquer the ride. Then he remembered what they had came for.... to fight for HONOR, for PRIDE, and for a sense of ACCOMPLISHMENTS in this life's battle with their VeloViet Brothers and Sisters by their side. Then he suddenly realized... he is not alone... they are here with him.

He turned and face the windswept desert, and lifted his 5-foot long Bianchi Ducati sword. He lifted his face and howled madly at the bright sun. If he were to die... he will die fighting! To hell and back we will go... he swored!

Photo - The VeloViet Gladiator & His Ducati Sword

This Sunday is the final and last PSC preparation ride as a group the VeloViet will take. Please come out and do this ride with your VeloViet teammates if you are doing PSC. We will conquer Palm Springs... or until our legs muscles seize up and we can no longer pedal! We might be weak... we might not be prepare... we might not finish.... but no one can say that we f'ing did not try!

To the Kingdom of the Sun we go my teammates!

THE WEEK BEFORE
The constant battle ravaged the dry parched land and put their tolls on the VeloViet riders. Losing was never in their minds until this past weekend as more and more warriors fell on the wayside.

The first damage report came this past weekend as a sharp blow was given to the men and women on this magnificent war. The greatest climbing warrior of last year, the Mighty Archer Kazu, was injured by a cowardly beast. The VeloViet Gladiators stood in shock and disbelief, and could not comprehend how anyone could have taken out this great warrior. Cussing aloud, they now know that they are dealing with cowardice in their enemy, and only a surprise attack could have taken out Kazu.

The second damage report came during the Sunday ride. The A2 Road Captains fell like dominoes on the seaward way. First it was Long, perhaps the best supporter of the A2 team on epic rides, fell to the Barbarian Horde. Then it was Toan, putting up a magificent fight, also fell kicking and screaming as pieces of his flesh was torn from his limbs. Then it was Phong, who did not gauge his battle fitness correctly, succumb to these ugly barbarians as he had no more strength to lift his Ducati sword. Injured and unfit from lack of battle training, the Laguna Coast swallowed these road captains whole and spat out their carcasses into the ocean's depth only after 40 miles of traveled grounds.

But yet there were glimmer of hopes here and there. The hard battle at Piru was won by the VeloViet's magnificent women as Gladiators Roxy and Kristy conquered the horde and seized the prize. The VeloViet men's team of Haldane, Martin, and David faired well too and captured even more battle prizes, with the seasoned warrior Haldane nearly seized the prize in the highest battle category Cat 1 on the road.

On the South battle front, the San Clemente battle, the A2 warriors trained by battle-hardened master FedEx performed flawlessly. It will have to be these new road rookies that will manned the front at the final battle at Palm Springs. But who will step in and help their wounded commanders? Will the rookies sacrificed their own individual glory, and risk everything, for the sake of the A2 team? Or will it be attack, attack, and attack, as each A2 member will fend just for themselves?

Only time will tell... and it is this larger Palm Springs battle that must be witness in person to fully understood the magnificent of this war.

The final battle begins and the VeloViet Army marches to the epic battleground! For the honor... for the glory... for the team!

THE NIGHT BEFORE
“Release the Kraken” declared Cap’t “Zeus” Thomas!

I pop up awake and looked wildly about the darken room. Where is the Kraken... I must slay it... what is that noise... and then I groaned to myself as I realized that it is just me dreaming of the GMR Epic ride from a few years past. That noise that had awoken me is actually from another beast, Luke, snoring from the floor nearby.

Like every epic rides, I was way too excited to get any sleep. Added to this fact, my body is recovering from a cold and I was way under prepared for this 100 mile journey. So my mind was 110% active throughout this night and I ended up lying awake listening to The Beast snoring in his sleep the ENTIRE freaking night. That’s it I had thought, and wondered at what miles I will bonk in Palm Springs.

The good news is that we were in a great looking house. About 13 members had responded to the Yahoo Group’s poll and e-mail, and we ended up together in Indian Wells at one of BaoAnh’s friend’s house. The beautiful house had a 3 bedroom right next to a golf course. Here are some photos of the "house" crew.

Photo - The "House" Crew

Photo - Cap't and BaoAnh Enjoying DuyAnh's Cooking

After a great 4-course dinner by Chef DuyAnh, we took off to see other VeloViets members, who decided to stay in local hotels near the start line, at the Panera Bread restaurant in Palm Springs. It was great to see Haldane, Kristy, Martin, Greg, Roxy, and Scott in a non-cycling environment. Here too we meet some of Kristy's friends: AJ, Mike, and other cycling friends.

Photo - The "Panera" Guys

Photo - The Gorgeous "Panera" Ladies

After the short visit, it's back to the house to prepare for the epic journey tomorrow. Here, the "rookies" learned all about the performance enhancing "techniques" that the A1 team performed before the night before a ride.

Photo - Luke and His Stash of Performance Enhancing "Drugs"

Photo - DuyAnh's "Secret" Performance Cycling Drink

At this time we divided up and see who is sleeping where. As you have read above, you know how well my sleep went. So onward now my fellow readers to the actual Palm Springs Century ride...

THE RIDE
At the start, we met up with our old and new friends from local cycling clubs. Cap’t Bong was there with his team from River Velo, Mike was ready with his team from Barkada, AJ rounding up his troops from the Audi Cyclists, and Tien from Voz. Our own Captain Thomas rounded up the VeloViet troops for a traditional PSC picture.

Photo - VeloViet and Barkada Cycling Clubs

Photo - VeloViet and RiverVelo Cycling Clubs

Photo - VeloViet and Audi Cyclist Cycling Clubs

Photo - Lilliana, Martin, Haldane, and Kristy Smiling Big for the Camera

Photo - Roxy and Scott Excited to Get Started

We started off! This thrilling Palm Springs journey was to be a combination of unwavering VeloViet camaraderie and unyielding team commitment to reach the finish line together. The chilled desert sun peeked over the distant Sierra Nevada mountain range, making it a picture perfect start scenario for a wonderful journey in this desert land... except for the wind of course!

Initially everyone was extremely festive and we chit chat for the first few miles. Everything was as perfect as it could be, but once we were outside of the protective city zone, around mile #3, the cruel Aeolus Wind Goddess releases her mighty wind and foiled the VeloViet plan. 30-50 miles per hour crosswinds hit the VeloViet Gladiators and their friends with full on force. The ravaging effect of this howling wind across the cyclists can be seen as warriors after warriors from other clubs were toppled from their saddles, and miles long carcasses were littered across the sands. The Goddess' plan worked, and the VeloViet pack was splintered into many pieces even before the fight could start!

Photo - 30-50 MPH Wind Hit the VeloViets Hard

The splitting effect resulted in only a small group of A1 riders was at the front. They included Haldane, Kristy, Greg, Scott, Chanh, John, Luke, Cap’t, BaoAnh, Hoa, Dan, Kevin, and Brian. There was a large gap to the next group that included Dave, James, Karen, Tan, Nancy, DuyAnh, and myself. Another large gap and in the third group, we had Lilliana, Kimberly, Anh Minh, Kiet, and Jonathan. Starting late and in the last groups were Antoine, Hung, Ironman, Uyen, Mo, Ngoc, and Buddha.

The first casualty of this final battle reported was Hung, who fell to the mighty wind only a few miles into the trip. Fearing even more VeloViets will lose this initial fight, Luke and Thomas parted with the front group and sacrificed themselves to stay back and sheltered our lady warriors through this crazy wind. Cyclists of varying sizes and shapes veered all over the highway as though they were just returning from a wild Mardi Gras party. Many even dismounted to walk, and quite a number simply could no longer cope with the unrelenting wind, turned around and abandoned. The remaining VeloViets were determined to win this war though, and they put their heads down and soldiered on.

Angered by this act of defiance from the VeloViets, the Wind Goddess released a new weapon onto the Viets. The Gladiators were now dealing with the abrupt confrontation of the ravaging desert wind storm that now carries sandy particles and debris. These pellets of course sand were scraping these gladiators bloody raw. Cheekbones had torn pieces of flesh hanging as if the Desert Goddess herself had claws the VeloViets into a bloody pulp.

Photo - The Desert Goddess Unleashed All of Her Might and Fury on the Riders

But yet there were glimmer of hope here and there, and they came from the VeloViet Gladiator women. Kristy had tucked in and was able to fight the Wind Goddess using her femme fatale talents. On the power hill, she attacked and left the A1 group. Kristy was riding very strong, was the first VeloViet at Sag #1, but determined to make up time she even skipped this Sag. Another Warrior Women, Uyen, although light in weight, was defying the laws of gravity staying upright on her 46cm Serrota bike and taunting the Goddess for even more. The riders around her could hear her mad crackle of laughter and her determined exclamation of defiance that pierced the wind. "Hah, you call this windy? Ha ha, come on guys, embrace the challenge as we don't want it too easy now, do we?" declared Uyen.

Miraculously the VeloViet Team made it past the windy section and stopped at the top of the hill around the to determine the casualty they had incurred. The initial damage assessment was great though. From the A1 Team still missing were Luke and Cap't Thomas. About half of the A2 Team were no where to be found, including A2 road leaders like Anh Minh, Anh Tan, and Phong.

Photo - James, Dave, Karen, and Others Waiting for The Rest of the VV Teammates

Photo - Brian and Dan

After some waiting, and a quick conference, it was decided that this larger group must go on to try to take down the Goddess and her Horde. The dynamic duo of Haldane and Greg started to chase front runner Kristy, who had taken off earlier from this stop with Uyen, Mo, Ironman, and Allen Bean.

The chase was long and the group split. Most finally regrouped at the halfway mark, and these riders created a second, larger VeloViet pack on the road, containing not only Haldane and Greg, but also Scott, Roxanne, Hoa, Chanh, Kevin, BaoAnh, John, and a few others as well.

In the third VeloViet group on the road, we had Anh Minh, Anh Tan, Nancy, Kimberly, Kiet, Jonathan, and I. It’s been mainly Anh Minh and Anh Tan persistently pulling our lpack, not allowing anyone to give up. Our two ladies were doing well, with Nancy unwavering in her determination, and was like super glue to Anh Tan’s wheels. Jonathan was supporting Kimberly and sticking by her side. Kiet and I were yo-yoing in the middle trying to keep up. The large, dry, desert land have worn us down, but have not completely knock us out due to the unwaivering camaraderie of our stronger teammates who supported us. We finally made it to the midway sag stop, but not in time to catch either the first or second VeloViet groups.

Photo - The Third VV Group at the 30 Mile Sag Stop

Photo - The Crowd at the 50 Mile Sag Stop

Photo - Got Water?

The most exciting battle in this war has got to be the chase by Luke and Thomas to catch the front runners. As you had read, The Beast Luke and Cap't Thomas had sacrificed themselves to protect the weaker riders, and they stayed back for at least 30 minutes to do this. It was disheartening for The Beast as his hopes and dreams of conquering this war was slowly dashing away.

Luckily for these two that reinforcement came in the form of VeloViet Buddha and Ngoc. These two men can see the desires in these two fast men’s eyes, and they offered to sacrifice themselves instead, to protecting the weaker VeloViet riders, and allow the two greyhounds the luxury of the chase. This is VeloViet camaraderie at its finest on display and at the most needed hour.

The action starts! Knowing the A1s were so far up, and about 30 minutes ahead, were disheartening initially for these riders. There were only Luke, Cap’t, and Antoine alone in the chase, but these men know that there were still 80 miles to go, so they put their heads down and went for it!

The relentless wind pounded on their bodies. The Goddess howled in anger as they persistently defies her again and again. The tolls quickly took out Antoine. Now it is just Luke and Cap’t grinding against the maddening wind.

Continuously scanning the horizon for signs of hope to help in their quest, their prayer were briefly answered as they spotted a quick moving team ahead. They latch into an echelon made up mostly of members of the Cash Call Team.

A screeched of anger can be heard from the Desert Goddess, and temptation was made by the Goddess such that after only 10 minutes of fast pacing with Cash Call, this team pulled aside and left Luke and Thomas alone once again in their quest.

The endless agony of cycling solitude went on forever for these two riders. They continued to hammer hard and searching for any signs of the A1 team, but no luck. Then the unimaginable occurred, Captain flatted right before the midway sag stop. All hopes were lost by these two hard men.

But then an angel flew by in the form of their teammate Dan K, who caught up with them as they were repairing the flat. Luke asked Dan to go ahead, and if he happens to run into the A1 team, beg them to wait for the two chasers.

Well Dan did run into A1 at 54 mile SAG. However, the “no mercy” A1 members did not wait for the chasers. Their A1 bodies were pumped with adrenaline, their vision clouded by bloodshot eyes, their minds dulled by the pounding hot sun, and all these A1 riders could only think about was to attack the roads. They can no longer slowed their accelerated attacks. The Animal Scott set the tempo for the front runner by leading the A1 pack out of the sag station, averaging between 25 and 27 mph. This large pack even took turns rotating on the front, and they picked up a few new riders who also did their fair share of pulling. All seemed to be lost for the duo chase crew behind.

But persistency seemingly is a feature of every members of the VeloViet Team, and these two riders continued in the chase. By now though, Cap’t Thomas was weakening significantly, suffering with cramps and barely hanging on.

There was a reason why Luke is named “The Beast” in our club. As it gets harder and harder in their quest, Luke slowly morphed into the beast that he truly is. Similar to those werewolf Hollywood movies, one can almost see Luke becoming bestial. It was as if Luke dropped down onto his hands and knees, claws suddenly coming out from his hands, hairs growing long quickly from his skin, sharp fangs growing from his human teeth, and bones cracking and reshaping into animal form. Tongue hanging from his mouth, Luke howled like a werewolf as if to declare to the desert that he is thirsty for blood, and that they will not give up. Luke’s madness had a positive effect on Cap’t, brought him out from his cramp, and they now rotated at a 2 minute intervals. They were also joined forces by a third rider and these three grind down the chase miles.

Luke and Thomas reverted back to human form at the 75 mile sag stop as they finally rejoined their lost VeloViet family. Luke described it as feeling like two stray dogs that had finally found their home again and were furiously wagging their tails in joy. The trusted A1 locomotives are now back in full action!

For the others, the miles up to the 75 mile sag stop was a constant grind, pulling their battle-battered bodies along the long winding roadways. Phong had felt like abandoning after the midway point but his constant companion would not let him. Road Captains Minh and Tan were like slave drivers, whipping on the battered A2 bodies to get them to move along. Phong stared longingly at the 100-mile escape route (to make it into a 62 mile trip) but no one in his group would take this shortcut. They move on and finally arrived at the 75 mile sag.

Photo - Anh Tan Trying to Revive Nancy at the 70 Mile Mark

Photo - Kimberly is Beyond Reviving

Photo - Strange Yoga Poses to Stretch those Tired Muscles

Surprisingly, the large A1 Crew still have not caught up to Kristy by the 75-mile marker. Kristy originally had rode with a small group of VeloViets, then rode tempo with 3 other female racers, then strike out on her own. To endure the desert pain, she had pumped her bodies full of Advil but the effects were finally wearing off.

Much of the last 25 was dead into the wind again. A1 Luke had morphed back into The Beast, and stayed up front for some of those miles. Haldane also took some strong pulls, and these two drove the pack. Workload too were being shared by Cap’t, Kevin, Chanh, Greg, and others to move the train along. BaoAnh described it as a long picturesque paceline, with all of the VeloViets manning the front, pulling along riders from many other teams. Greg described it as a euphoric feeling knowing that the VeloViet had a very fit group, and there is no doubt in his mind that the VeloViets were one of the strongest clubs in Palm Springs. They even skipped the last sag stop.

On the other hand, the third VeloViet group was overjoyed to see the last sag stop. Good thing we stop as we met Bill Walton, an avid cyclist, at the stop there. Here are some photos.

Photo - Anh Tan Pulling the Pack Around the 80 Mile Mark

Photo - Anh Minh and 6'-11" Bill Walton at the Last Sag Station

The trusted A1 locomotive is still hard at work. Haldane was charging hard at the front, pulled forever, but yet still has the state of mind to remind his fellow teammates to drink by raising his water bottle high in the air for others to see. Chanh, Luke, Kevin, Thomas, and Greg also put in some huge efforts, but the dry heat is sucking the salt out of their bodies, and some felt that their legs was starting to cramp up. At the 92 mile mark, this larger A1 group finally met their goal of catching front runner Kristy at the 92 mile mark.

Then the impossible happened, somewhere within his reserve, Greg “Cavendish” Guthrie found the strength to turned up the pace even higher and started a sprint a long way out. This immediately dropped most everyone except for the 7 strongest riders: Haldane, Luke, Greg, Chanh, Thomas, Kevin, and BaoAnh. These seven magnificent men made it back first, had nothing left in the tank, but had completed the 100-mile journey the fastest ever in our club!

Photo - The A1 Team Dash to the Finish

Photo - The Magnificent Seven Who Finish First

Slowly but surely, the rest of the VeloViets made it back safely. Some had taken the 62-mile route, but most finished the 100-mile journey. Here are more photos at the finish.

Photo - Brian, Uyen, Mo, and Ironman at the Finish

Photo - The A2 Ladies Still Looking Fresh After the 100 Mile Ride

Photo - The Last A2 Crew Made It Home Safe and Sound

The Palm Springs Battle did not rule the VeloViets on this day, and many life lessons were learned. Ironman's eloquent words said it best... that like life, sometimes there are certain circumstances that pose seemingly insurmountable challenges in our path. How we confront these obstacles, these unexpected stumbling blocks in the road, with what kind of attitude, more than the actual impediments themselves, is the crux that will define the context of our journey. In this ride, we saw the strong helping the weak, the weak became the strong, pack drafters came forth and help, and even self doubters developed mental toughness.

But the knowledge that from here on to the end, no matter what may lie ahead, it is together that this VeloViet group, as brothers and sisters of the same family, would reach any distant horizons as one. It is this single unity point in thought, that I and others, knew and used to finish this tough physical and mental battle.

This wonderful trip could not have happened without a few people. First off, we must thank BaoAnh for locating the accomodation for some of us. Special thanks too Chuck and Christine for lending us their beautiful house!

And the food on this trip was simply wonderful! Thanks to Chefs DuyAnh and James for preparing these delicious feasts for the house group.

Thanks to all of our leaders on the roads: Haldane, Cap't, Scott, Luke, Greg, Anh Minh, and Anh Tan. This trip was long, and dangerous with the high winds, and you folks fiercely sheltered us and brought us home safely.

We must say hi to our new friends the Barkada and Audi Cyclist teams, and to old friends the River Velo and the Voz teams. We had fun meeting and riding with you all, and look forward to future rides together.

Finally special thanks to all whom contribute such eloquent words to this recap: Cap't, Luke, Uyen, Ironman, Haldane, Kristy, Ngoc, James, Buddha, Karen, and Dave. Without you, this recap would be only from a single person's point of view, and would not fully capture the event and excitement.

For now, I bid adieu and hope to see you all on a ride soon!

Out,
Phong