(upbeat music) (crowd chattering) (crowd continues chattering) (crowd continues chattering) (announcer speaking in foreign language) (group speaking in foreign language) (whistle blows) (spectators cheering) (lively music) (lively music continues) (lively music continues) (lively music continues) (lively music continues) (lively music continues) >>Both my parents are from Cambodia.

They fled in 1979 to escape the Khmer Rouge genocide.

My mom, dad, and older brother left everything they knew and ended up at a refugee camp in Thailand.

Later that year, they were sponsored by a local church and ended up in Richmond, Virginia.

By the time that I was born, they weren't rich by any means, but I grew up in the burbs, nice public schools.

Honestly, pretty typical American home.

I had the best of both worlds.

(reflective music) (people chanting in foreign language) >>Growing up, we had a lot of big family gatherings.

Sometimes it felt like every Khmer person in Richmond was there.

It was easy for us to find a reason to get together.

My ma yeay, she was the glue.

She passed away when I was in my early 20s.

The years that followed, I saw the family kinda lose touch a bit.

♪ Happy birthday to you (pensive music) (crowd chattering) >>Hi.

(crowd chattering) There's me, young Johnny.

(reflective music) Is this a shoes-off house?

>>Well, today it's a shoes off house, yeah.

>>I respect that.

>>Thank you.

>>Wow.

>>Tapping into my Cambodian roots.

>>Wow.

Shoes off.

I, I'm proud of you, dude.

>>Thank you.

>>What's up, man?

>>And we want it to feel very conversational.

Like, we just want it to be as if like, I don't know- >>Yeah.

>>You and I are just friends, which is, going to be hard to fake.

>>It's hard.

>>Yeah.

>>So, I don't like Joey at all.

Are you asking me if cycling is gonna, like, help me be successful in a way?

Like, what do you mean?

I've been homies with Joey since 2006.

We've lived together, we've traveled the world together, we were in each other's weddings, we even work at the same office.

We've done a lot of life together.

>>If I'm grasping at straws here, you kinda showed up and you were like, "There's Cambodia," like, "I've heard about this place."

Or were you like, you just, like, get off the plane and like just start weeping and, like, falling to your knees?

Like, what happens?

You know, my parents are from Buffalo, New York.

It's like I don't go to Buffalo and I'm like, "Oh, my god, these are my people," like, "This is it."

>>Yeah.

I just imagine you getting off a plane in Buffalo, New York, and just running to the nearest chicken wing spot.

>>Yes.

>>Just biting a buffalo wing being like, "Culture!

This is it!"

>>Yeah.

"This is it.

These are my people."

(Johnny laughing) (bike whirring) >>I got my first road bike in college just to get around campus.

Then I joined a weekly summer race series at Bryan Park.

The people there, they become a huge part of who I am today.

I will be home at maybe 5:00-ish.

>>That's fine.

>>Is that fine?

>>Yeah.

>>Okay.

>>I thought it was gonna be later.

>>Oh, all right.

It might be later.

I have no idea.

>>Now it's 7:00.

(laughs) >>Yeah.

It's eight o'clock now.

(Maddy laughs) All right.

Do you need anything?

Bye-bye.

Bye.

Love you.

Bye.

>>Love you too.

>>Bye, bye.

(crowd chattering) >>Some people, like, get pumped up and, like, talk things out and stuff before a race.

I honestly get quiet and just process, I guess.

(pump squeaking) >>I think I've got four.

(cyclists chattering) (cyclists continue chattering) >>Are we gonna be able to find those pictures after the race from you?

>>It's a video.

>>For you?

Cambodia stuff?

Cool.

I'm Danny, by the way.

I'm new to Richmond.

And I follow you on Instagram.

>>Okay.

All right.

Okay.

All right.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

All right, all right.

I'll hit you back back.

I had never met you before.

It's good to meet you.

>>Starters ready?

(upbeat music) (whistle blows) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) >>Hey, everybody.

>>Hey, hey.

>>Hey.

>>Mike Jordan in the house.

>>23.

>>Yeah.

>>Wow!

(upbeat music) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) >>In February of 2020, my wife and I traveled to Cambodia for the first time.

The language, food, smells, it all reminded me of hanging out with my family back home in Virginia.

I met up with a Cambodian national team rider who encouraged me to reach out to the National Cycling Federation, so I did.

Then in March of 2021, I was invited to join the Cambodian national team for the 2021 Southeast Asian Games, basically the Olympics for the 11 Southeast Asian countries.

There have been a couple, like, articles written about me in, like, the media there.

I was, like, super scared to, like, check out the comments 'cause, you know, like, they may say something bad about me and I would be discouraged.

But judging by the emojis that people leave, it seems pretty, it seems pretty positive.

Some things that felt like put a little bit of pressure on just me, like, "Oh, like, now that he is on the team, they might have a chance of, like, getting a medal."

And I'm like, "Ooh, that's, that's heavy.

That's really heavy."

Like, I want to do that.

Like, that's, like, the goal, to goat there and, like, perform well, but, like, that's a lot of, that's a lot of pressure.

(birds chirping) >>To me, it seems like the idea he's most captured by is just like helping represent an Asian American in the cycling world.

He's become passionate about how powerful it is to see yourself in different places in the world.

And that's a movement within cycling right now anyways.

Like, there's a lot of incredible Black athletes that are doing amazing stuff.

More women are getting into the game, like, there's some cool development there.

So I think he sees the power in that and, bigger picture, is excited that he can have a small role in just helping the sport feel more diverse and allowing for more Asian Americans, whether they're kids or adults, to be like, "Yeah, I could do that too."

>>The months leading up to being a dad, I was a little concerned because I wasn't feeling any sort of connection.

It didn't feel real.

That completely changed as soon as I saw our son.

You feel the weight of being a parent, being a father.

That moment, that rocked my world.

(upbeat music) Dude, this thing is sick.

(upbeat music) (musician rapping in Khmer) (musician continues rapping in Khmer) >>This whole thing kind of came about where I was like, "Man, I pushed away Cambodian-ness for a long time."

And then having Julian, I was like, "Whoa."

>>What was your urge to push away from being Cambodian?

>>I think in middle school and high school, the last thing you wanted to do was, like, stick out.

>>Yeah.

>>For me, pushing it away was because I went to a West End Henrico high school, where there were no Cambodians.

I remember telling my mom, when we pulled up to middle school, I was like, "Hey, Mom, can you not speak Khmer in public?"

Because I knew the kids in the locker room or whatever would be like, "Ha ha, what did you say?"

you know, "You speaking a funny language."

And, yeah.

So, man, that was, like, the most vivid memory.

And that is probably a huge reason why I never even learned or cared to learn.

And now I'm like, "Dang it.

Like, I just want to know so I can pass it on or, like, speak it when I'm there."

>>When I went to Cambodia with my parents in 2014, you know, I thought, like, I would to Cambodia, these are my people, everything would be cool.

But I couldn't speak Khmer to them, so to them I was like a foreigner.

>>Oh, yeah.

>>So it was like- >>You're American.

>>Yeah.

So I was just, I felt like, you know, I was an outcast there, I'm an outcast here.

It's like there's like this hard balance that we have to- >>In the eyes of an American, you're Cambodian, and in Cambodia you're American.

So there's no, it's like you're stuck in the middle again.

>>Growing up and, like, bringing the lunch that my mom made for me, like, Khmer food to school, then kids making fun of it because it smelled bad.

And so eventually I was, like, embarrassed to, like, eat my food in front of these other kids.

>>That's a trauma.

>>And so I eventually just started asking my mom for lunch money instead so I can eat pizza and cheese sticks and stuff.

But, you know, now that I've gotten older, I've learned to, like, really appreciate being Khmer.

So like, now I carry so much like... Like, I wanna reclaim, like, that pride that I feel like was almost kind of like- >>Yeah, suppressed.

>>Taken away, you know?

Or like, I had to like suppress it a little bit and I couldn't 100% be Khmer, you know?

But now, like, I wanna know everything.

>>Yeah.

>>And even so, it's like sometimes hard to get Mom and Dad to talk about it, you know?

>>For sure.

I think I started thinking a lot more about it, you know, as, certainly, my parents are getting older.

And I barely know Khmer myself, how am I gonna teach Julian something about his grandparents' experience or anything like that?

>>Yeah, you wanna be able to pass it on.

>>You wanna pass it on, but you also see the mortality of your family and your parents, and that is my only connection to Cambodia.

>>Like you said with your parents getting older, it's like with every death of an old person is like burning down a library.

>>Yeah.

>>So I'm just trying to soak up all of that- >>Exactly.

>>And then pass it down to my children, you know?

>>Yeah.

>>Hi.

>>Hi.

(birds chirping) (car engine revving) Oh, big guy.

Where are we going?

Who are we gonna see?

Ya ya!

Hi.

>>Hi, Julian.

>>Hi, hi.

Hi, hi.

>>How are you, sweetie?

(Johnny faintly speaking) >>Hello.

>>Hey.

Hi.

>>Hello.

Hello.

(parent speaking in foreign language) Oh, you're so sweet.

Hmm.

>>Say (speaking in Khmer) (parent speaking in Khmer) >>Thank you.

You want sweet?

(Julian gasps) Oh, yeah.

(parent speaking in Khmer) Okay.

Thank you.

Right there.

So then you say ("thank you" in Khmer).

>>Say ("thank you" in Khmer).

>>All right.

All right.

Thank you, Lord, for food, and thank you for a good day.

Amen.

And you say amen.

Amen.

All right.

(parent counting in Khmer) Put it in your mouth.

(laughing) One.

(counting in Khmer) (parent clapping) (parent speaking in Khmer) Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

(parent speaking in Khmer) >>He's gotta go to bed, Mama.

>>Okay.

>>Night, night.

>>Night, night.

>>Can you say night, night?

>>Night, night.

>>Can you kiss (speaking in Khmer)?

(upbeat music) Welcome to bike racing 101.

I'm your teacher for today, Professor Dr. Johnny Phan.

There's a few terms you should know if you wanna learn about bike racing.

First one, peloton.

Now, peloton is a group of cyclists all moving together in one.

Here we are.

In bike racing, you have teams.

It's weird, one person wins, but you have teams.

We've got the red team here, yellow team, blue team, orange team, green team, and teal team.

The next term you should know is breakaway.

A breakaway is when one or more riders decides to break away (upbeat music) from the peloton.

Now, there are a lot of different reasons why someone would want to get into a breakaway.

Now, one reason would be you'd rather sprint against three riders instead of going against an entire peloton.

We've got a breakaway up the road here.

The two teams that did not make it into the breakaway are the orange team and the blue team.

So their job is to get to the front of the peloton and chase the breakaway before the finish.

In order to chase the breakaway, blue and orange will rotate who is in the draft so that they can save energy and quickly chase down the breakaway.

Oftentimes my job on the team is to be the sprinter.

As a sprinter, I'm usually in the peloton conserving energy for the very last bit of the race.

My hope as a sprinter is that the peloton catches the breakaway and I get the opportunity to sprint for the win.

(upbeat music) Go, Johnny.

Wee.

And that's all for today's class with Dr.

Professor Johnny Phan.

You're welcome.

(footsteps clicking) (bike whirring) (bike continues whirring) (bike continues whirring) (crowd chattering) With the team.

(laughing) (Johnny speaking in foreign language) Hi, hi, hi.

(speaking in foreign language) Hey, hey.

(singer singing in Khmer) (singer continues singing in Khmer) (singer continues singing in Khmer) >>The criterium course.

The whole time, I think I'm gonna stay top 10, maybe top 7; the whole time, just try to stay up top seven.

>>Okay.

>>If an attack goes, I just, I follow.

>>You follow.

Okay.

>>And if nobody comes, then I say, "Okay," I go.

(upbeat music) >>Criterium is always under a mile.

Lots of turns on a short circuit done many times.

This is more like an oval.

I would say it's like a NASCAR course.

They don't have to slow down on the corners, it's just full speed all the time.

Vietnam has clearly designed these courses to capitalize on their athletes' best abilities or capabilities.

Cambodia is definitely the underdog by far, and Johnny is their hope, which is hard to say because you don't wanna just throw all your eggs into one basket, but that's kinda how it is.

Johnny's level is quite a bit higher than any of theirs, so the chance of doing well is pretty much all on his shoulders.

I would like to think top five would show enough people that they're doing something.

I don't think they've ever medalled, so a medal, any medal will definitely change the trajectory of cycling in the country of Cambodia.

(bike wheel clicking) (crowd chattering) (whistle blows) (upbeat music) (spectators cheering) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) (spectators cheering) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) (spectators cheering) (upbeat music continues) (spectators cheering) (upbeat music continues) (team member speaking in Khmer) (team member speaking in Khmer) (upbeat music) (team member speaking in Khmer) (upbeat music) (spectators cheering) (upbeat music continues) (spectators continue cheering) >>Yeah, it's good.

Because now the peloton just gap, gap, gap.

A couple group already.

But it's not too far.

Yeah.

>>What lap are they on now?

>>Now it's lap seven.

(upbeat music) (spectators cheering) (upbeat music continues) (spectators cheering) (upbeat music continues) (spectators cheering) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) (spectators cheering) (upbeat music continues) (spectators continue cheering) (spectators continue cheering) (calm music) (spectators continue cheering) (calm music) (spectators continue cheering) (calm music) (horn blaring) >>Evidently, he didn't understand how this criterium is going to be.

(crowd chattering) >>Like, why?

>>He cannot help anything about your sprinter for last situation.

(horn honks) Even he don't know himself what he did.

>>All right.

Let's just go back.

>>Yeah.

(crowd chattering) (reflective music) >>Rolling across the finish line in 11th was a bummer.

First, second, and third were already up the road, so it was a race for fourth.

Last lap, I was in prime position.

Then my teammate attacked early, dissolving the peloton.

It reshuffled everyone's position.

I know he was just trying to finish strong, but it cost us fourth place.

It wouldn't have been a medal, but it would've been a statement about Cambodian cycling.

(reflective music) (insects chirping) >>Moms aren't allowed to stay at night, so you need to tell me to go home to sleep.

>>Oh, okay.

>>Rusty, why were you looking for crutches?

>>Oh, well, Cocoa and I were building a castle out of blocks.

(birds chirping) >>What you doing?

>>I'm just fixing the bike?

(bike rattling) >>I help you.

(Johnny chuckles) (bike rattling) (birds chirping) >>Can you say ("bike" in Khmer).

(Julian speaking in Khmer) (Johnny speaking in Khmer) >>Ride bike.

(Johnny speaking in Khmer) >>Ride bike.

>>Ride bike.

>>And we go fast?

>>Make me go fast, yeah.

>>Bye, Daddy.

(traffic droning) >>What's up, dawg?

>>What's up, man.

How you doing?

>>Doing all right.

You good?

>>Yeah, man.

Chilled, chilled.

>>We got a camera crew on you, so- Oh, yeah.

I saw, I saw.

(laughs) What's up, dude?

>>Can you say hi?

(Vanna speaking in Khmer) (group laughing) >>Cha kroeung?

Yeah?

All right.

Cool.

Cha kroeung.

>>Yeah.

>>I've been shopping it for a while, to be like, "Hey, what if I made Cambodian food?

Would people wanna eat it?"

And people are like, "What is Cambodian food?"

So I was like, "Oh, well, maybe I'll do a popup."

And, you know, it kind of evolved for me.

It wasn't any more of a popup, it was more of a cultural and heritage thing to have that food being represented in a market, in any market that doesn't really know what Cambodian food is,' cause, you know, you know we don't have much representation anywhere.

>>Yeah, I felt like when you talk about Khmer food, you're, like, in school or whatever, it's like- >>Oh, man, >>"What is Khmer food like?"

And I had to be stuck comparing Khmer food to other Asian foods in proximity.

Because they could go to five different Thai restaurants or, you know, five different Vietnamese restaurants, and I just was stuck comparing things to that.

The Cambodians who came here as refugees were like, "I'm here, I'm surviving, and I'm gonna stay low key.

>>Yeah.

>>And then we're growing up with, like, this, "Nope.

No, I'm proud of who I am."

It's almost like this, "I'm Cambodian.

You're gonna like it or leave it."

>>We, as the second generation of Cambodians in this country, I don't think we quite have an identity yet.

>>Yeah.

>>But we're figuring it out.

>>Yeah.

>>I have to fit my culture, my heritage, and what my, my family has survived and fit that into where I have grown up and I've had to deal with prejudice for being Asian, but also prejudice from other Asians for being specifically Khmer.

You always feel, as a Khmer kid, that you were the underdog no matter what.

And...

Sorry.

>>Take your time.

>>That you weren't good enough to be, just you weren't good enough, you know?

(water trickling) (bike whirring) (bike continues whirring) (Johnny heavily breathing) (bike continues whirring) (Johnny continues heavily breathing) >>I think the national championship is something that's super important just because, like, I always, I'd always envisioned racing, like, one last time in Cambodia.

I think that would be just like a really cool moment.

I think my hope was, you know, as we are both getting older, we wanna grow a family, like, I think just taking a step back from competitive racing and just the training, the hours on the bike.

I still think I want to be involved and around, but I think to the extent that I am doing it now is just- >>Yeah.

>>I think it's time to kind of chill out there and phase into a different part of my life.

So, yeah, that was kind of where my head was at with all of it.

>>Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

>>Because, I mean, I... Like, the hardest part about getting ready for the SEA Games and even still competing at, like, kind of this high-ish level is just having to leave the family for long hours at a time.

>>Yeah.

And you've done a good job.

You've still been present with us and with Julian, but it would be harder if another kid was in the mix or- >>Sure.

>>Yeah.

>>So- >>Yeah.

(crowd chattering) (spectators cheering) >>Let's go!

(bike rattling) >>Right.

For the last time this summer, welcome back!

(group cheering) Be sure to thank Wendy.

Really appreciate you guys coming out.

50 years!

We got through the 50-year mark.

(crowd cheering and applauding) There's not many other places that even have one of these, much less have had it for 50 years, you know?

So thank y'all for keeping it going.

(group chattering) (calm music) (Maddy laughing) (spectators cheering) >>Go!

Go, Johnny.

(bright music) (bright music continues) (bright music continues) (bright music continues) (spectators cheering) (bright music continues) (teammate laughing) >>Whoo!

I think we got it.

>>I told them your number one, collective.

>>Yeah, yeah, yeah.

For the whole series.

For today, I helped another teammate win.

So the guy that won is on my teammate.

>>Oh, that's good.

>>Do you understand?

I helped him win.

>>Okay, that's good.

>>And sometimes they helped me win.

>>Oh.

>>So we help each other out.

>>That's nice.

>>Yeah.

It's been so good watching you grow up.

You got the last one, dude.

>>That was great, though.

>>Our series champion for 2023: Johnny Phan.

(crowd cheering and applauding) Yeah.

(crowd applauding) >>Hey, you wanna sit right here and swing?

>>Yeah.

>>All right.

Ready to swing?

>>I wanna swing up high.

>>You wanna swing up high?

Okay, I can push you.

All right.

Hold on, bud.

Maddy and I, our family, we're just so well supported and loved.

Throughout this, we had friends that watched Julian while, like, Maddy got stuff done around the house while I was out training for, you know, four or five hours.

We just had a long 2023 season.

And so to think about, like, training and getting back on the bike to do the national championship seems a little daunting.

I also want the national championship title.

To be able to wear that national championship jersey and represent my heritage, I think that's super powerful.

I think the bike has been this incredibly useful tool that, in the craziest way, has allowed me to explore both of my cultures, equally American and very much my Khmer.

It just makes things complex in that I think growing up I've never felt fully both.

Take your shoes off.

Take your shoes off.

>>Joey, can you come inside?

(warm music) (warm music continues) (warm music continues) Daddy!

>>Off the street.

(warm music) >>Want to see your dad?

>>Yeah.

>>You can see him right here.

>>Yeah.

>>All right, I wanna see- >>Do you see him?

>>Everybody's passport right now.

>>Isn't that cool?

>>Yeah.

(warm music) (warm music continues) >>Say go daddy.

>>Go, Daddy.

(warm music) >>Dad, where's Joey?

>>Yes.

>>Okay.

(warm music) Just for the record, I would kiss her.

She is sick.

(warm music) All right.

Love you.

(warm music) (warm music fades) (lively music) (singer singing in Khmer) (singer continues singing in Khmer) (singer continues singing in Khmer) (singer continues singing in Khmer) (motorcycle engine droning) (pensive music) (pensive music continues) (pensive music continues) (pensive music continues) (pensive music continues) (pensive music continues) (pensive music continues) (pensive music continues) (pensive music continues) >>These past couple years of my life have been kind of going back to figure out how to move forward.

And so I think I have to come to spaces like this to kinda understand what our people went through, 'cause you didn't know about so much from your parents.

Like, they just didn't really talk about it much.

And so then when you hear it like in an audio, like, when you put the earpiece in, in the guided tour, you're just kind of blown away at the immense horror and evil during that time, and knowing that your parents were one of the lucky ones that made it out.

>>Lots of Khmer Americans came to the States because of something that was rooted in darkness and violence.

>>Correct.

>>Being here, like, for me, for the first time, it does not feel like this is a culture that lacks joy or lacks vision of the future, or the desire to have kids and grow families.

And, you know, I guess loads of cultures go through really dark times and move on.

But I think that's an important piece of this conversation, is to acknowledge that there are dark places, there are memorials to that time.

And I don't know if that's part of a healing process for people who came from this, but as a complete outsider, it's a powerful thing.

(birds chirping) >>I don't know.

It's kinda hard to articulate kind of what you're feeling exactly in this moment.

I think it might just take some time to unpack it and process it.

(passersby chattering) (birds chirping) (motorcycle engine droning) (traffic droning) (funky music) (funky music continues) (funky music continues) (singer singing in Khmer) (singer continues singing in Khmer) (singer continues singing in Khmer) >>Let's just go home.

I don't feel...

I'm not gonna do it anymore.

(singer singing in Khmer) (singer singing in Khmer) (door squeaks) >>Johnny's sick.

And we did not get in a planned three-hour ride today.

And I don't know what implications that has for him for Saturday.

>>All the training's already been done, you know?

He just needs to keep the legs moving, the body active.

You know, if you're highly trained and you sit, the body just wants to go into stiff mode and shut down mode, and so you gotta keep it moving.

So, yeah, it's not ideal if he's sitting around all day for two days and then he's throwing up and coming out at each end.

And so there's a lot of work that's gotta be done now to recover to be able to go on Saturday.

So we gotta get him fed, hydrated, and on the bike.

>>Yeah, I guess he's missed a bit of a lunch and dinner.

He's probably a little bit dehydrated, so we gotta get him back to zero.

>>Yeah.

That's part of the trouble.

If he's dehydrated now, it's gonna take more than 24 hours to get re-hydrated.

So that's the challenge.

(insects chirping) >>All right.

(sighs) Figure it out.

I'll do the race.

Worst case scenario, I can ride.

>>I don't think his kit's gonna fit you.

(Joe laughing) >>This is very true.

(laughing) Oh.

(faint lively music) (motorcycle engines droning) (birds chirping) (door knocks) >>Come in.

(Johnny laughs) >>Gotta see if you can hold anything down.

>>Rice.

Just plain rice.

Just trying to get- >>Yeah.

>>Looking at that just makes me nauseous.

(chuckles) >>Yeah.

But if there's any chance- >>I know >>You gotta start now.

>>I know.

>>If you have this and you puke or it comes up the backside again, then you know we're done.

But if you just wait and don't eat and don't drink, it's, you're still gonna be done, you're not going to race.

So if you have any hopes of getting on your bike, you've gotta start eating now.

>>All right.

>>Sit up here and eat then.

Come on.

>>Okay, Dad.

(Joey laughing) >>I walked in and I said, "Brad, you be the bad cop, I'll be the good cop."

It's good cold rice, dude.

>>Eat, Johnny, eat.

[Joey] keep eating.

[Brad] Eat, Johnny, eat.

(birds chirping) (door squeaks) (calm music) (calm music continues) (upbeat music) (singers singing in Khmer) (singers continues singing in Khmer) (singers continues singing in Khmer) (motorcycle engine droning) >>You've got some more tires, right?

>>I don't.

I didn't bring tires.

I could switch these (faintly speaking).

(traffic droning drowns out Johnny) (traffic droning) (bike rattling) >>Yeah, so we're at the Cambodian National Road Race and Mountain Bike Championships.

Johnny's doing the road race, and it's 80 miles, five laps of a 16-mile loop.

He's not a road racer.

He is a criterium guy, which is, you know, an hour, short and fast.

Here, he is gonna have to do three hours.

But he's got experience.

As of last night, everything has changed.

I mean, he got sick, so it's a whole new game, it's a whole new approach that he has to get his head around.

And he's dehydrated, he's not nourished, he's not full of energy that he should be.

>>And what are the odds of him even finishing, do you think?

>>I wanna be positive 'cause I'm being taped, but not great, not great.

(Johnny faintly speaking) >>Are we going now?

>>Yep.

(machine whirring) >>Do you have it on your... Did you draw that out?

(crew members faintly speaking) >>And there's a highway for a long shot going up that's beautiful.

>>You're right, you're right.

Okay, you're right.

This is the long highway.

>>Yeah.

>>That's the big road.

>>Yeah.

>>Okay.

You're right.

>>And I'm expecting more of a headwind than anything there 'cause it's gonna come through that canyon there.

>>Okay.

>>That sounded dark.. You're gonna be fine.

>>You eat at the start line?

You said you could be hungry.

>>I should be good.

I ate, like, 45 minutes ago.

>>Up to you.

>>Get the sense of my weight or are you good?

>>I need to go the bathroom quickly.

I wonder what this was in here for.

(paper rustling) (paper continues rustling) (vehicle engine droning) (bike rattling) (birds chirping) >>You all right?

(Johnny faintly speaking) >>Bring it up.

It's a bike race, man.

Have fun, would you?

Dang it.

(chuckles) (birds chirping) (bike rattling) (crowd chattering) (crowd continues chattering) (crowd continues chattering) (crowd continues chattering) (announcer speaking in Khmer) (group speaking in Khmer) (whistle blows) (spectators cheering) (thrilling music) (thrilling music continues) (thrilling music continues) (thrilling music continues) (thrilling music continues) (thrilling music continues) >>Even on the first lap, when they came through, there were two guys out the front by just over a minute, and then there were another five or six guys trying to chase that.

Second lap through, there was a group of five now that formed out front, and they had over two minutes over the field.

(exciting music) (exciting music continues) (exciting music continues) (exciting music continues) [Johnny] Water!

(exciting music continues) (exciting music continues) (exciting music continues) (exciting music continues) >>Johnny just joined the breakaway.

Four guys.

Looks like they're gonna try to reel in the first break away.

(exciting music) (exciting music continues) (exciting music continues) (dramatic music) (dramatic music continues) (calm music) You're gonna have to dig deep.

I think that goes to the why are you doing this.

Yeah, as a cyclist, it's kind of cool to come back to your heritage homeland and compete.

But why are you doing this, man?

You're sick.

There's no need to, right?

But, hey, Julian's gonna watch this, your daughter is are gonna watch this.

They're gonna show their kids this.

What are they gonna see?

(calm music) Who cares if you win, finish, or don't?

Whatever happens in the race doesn't really matter.

But how you react to it, how you fight to overcome that, that's gonna be the powerful thing that you're going to leave behind for your kids and your grandkids to see that about you.

(rousing music) (rousing music continues) (rousing music continues) (rousing music continues) (rousing music continues) (rousing music continues) (rousing music continues) (rousing music continues) (announcer speaking in Khmer) (announcer continues speaking in Khmer) (motorcycle engine droning) >>Yeah.

(reflective music) I've never felt Khmer enough.

Rolling up to the starting line, I didn't know if the other riders would accept me.

I only speak a little Khmer, but today we all spoke bikes.

Maybe that was enough.

(reflective music) (Johnny speaking in Khmer) (Julian counting in Khmer) (Johnny laughs) (mellow music) (mellow music) (mellow music continues) (Johnny speaking in Khmer) (Johnny laughs) (Johnny speaking in Khmer) I've been thinking a lot about my heritage.

I can't define it.

All I know is it's alive, it's evolving.

And it needs to be practiced.

It's odd to think of what makes me me, from Khmer traditions to a kid growing up in the South, and that somehow I'm passing this experience to my kids too.

Like me, it may take decades for them to understand what they've been given, where they've come from, and how they will turn this into their own story.

(uplifting music) (uplifting music continues) >>What are you thinking.

>>Mm, good.

>>It's good?

>>Aw.

>>Daddy, I found Cambodia.

Daddy, I found Cambodia.

>>Let me see.

Yeah.

>>Yeah.

>>Are we racing?

Yeah?

Are you beating me?

>>Yeah.

>>Are you winning?

Yeah.

(uplifting music) (uplifting music continues) (uplifting music continues) (uplifting music continues) (uplifting music continues) (uplifting music continues) (uplifting music continues) (uplifting music continues) (uplifting music continues) (uplifting music continues) (uplifting music continues) (uplifting music continues) (uplifting music fades) (gentle music)