Saturday, April 27, 2013

Training for May Day Metric - 67 miles


Posing at the viewpoint overlooking Commencement Bay
in Northeast Tacoma (Brown's Point)
On Saturday, April 27, Team Mang did Cascade Bike Club's 3 Points and a Levee route going from Renton to Auburn through the Interurban trail, climbing up to Federal Way, down to Dash Point, Brown's Point and some other point (I could never figure out what that 3rd point is).  Maybe it's the viewpoint overlooking Commencement Bay. From the Cliff House restaurant, they dropped down to the Tacoma Tidal  Flats, crossed I-5 into Fife and rode a bit of the Levee road.  Then they crossed the Puyallup river and cruised into Puyallup for a break at Subway.  From then on, it was just hammering through the flats in Sumner, Auburn, Kent and back to Renton.
At the bridge crossing into Puyallup
Lunch at Subway for the $2.99 special!








As with any ride, Team Mang/Aling spreads the joy of cycling with everyone - we ran into a couple of cyclists who just rode with us for a while, enjoying our company.  Hopefully, they'll join us for future rides.  Another lady approached us from nowhere - saw us riding on the road and probably thought, "Hey, that looks like a fun group." and left us contact info to let them know when our next ride will be.  Maybe she and her husband will join us in the future.

We got a bit separated on the way home with the first group whizzing through, a second group sticking together with Bob's hurting knee and Edgar's flat, and the third group missing a right turn and taking a different route back.  The ride took exactly 7 hours, including those food breaks, regroups and picture taking.  The party concludes, of course, at Pho Hoang in Renton where we were joined by hard working Cris!

Thanks to everyone for joining this ride.

Saturday, April 20, 2013

Team Mang lives!

Despite being almost a no-show at Daffodil Classic and almost a 3 week absence from the weekend cycling scene (due to inclement weather), Team Mang is not dead.  They proved today that they are very much alive - representing at the Tulip Pedal Classic in Mount Vernon, at the Sea Otter Classic in Monterey, CA and technically even in Singapore, while the rest continued to brave the rain and train locally.
Eric and Veronica at the Tulip Pedal

Veronica and Edgar joined the Skagit County Tulip Festival's official ride, the  60 mile 2013 Tulip Pedal (which actually turned out to be 70 miles with headwinds that could stop you at your tracks according to Veronica).  The course may have been flat but the conditions in the area create deadly headwinds that make you wish you were part of a professional time trial team with their aero bikes, helmets and suits.  Nevertheless,the scenery was gorgeous and the company, as always, enjoyable.

Photo snapped by Eric at the start line of
the Sea Otter Classic in Monterey, CA
Further south, in Monterey, California, Eric participated in the 2013 Sea Otter Classic's gran fondo - a punishing century ride with a 2,000 foot climb at mile 65 (among others).  Despite a flat early in the ride, Eric persisted and finished strong - claiming a victory for Team Mang.

Boni and Virna in Singapore
While not technically on a training ride, accidental honeymooners Boni and Virna actually did a ride of their own while in Singapore. Since they're now skilled in tandeming, it was but natural to rent a tandem and blast through the streets of Singapore...at tourist pace. No reports yet on the mileage or average speed but knowing Boni and Virna, circling the famous city state several times would not have been enough to satisfy their craving for cycling (hehehehe).

The rest of the guys, Dondi, Arlene, Rene, Bong, Cris, Marisa and newbies Aldwin and Rudy braved the Seattle area rain to do the 62 mile Renton to Enumclaw loop.  The distance itself and the weather would have been enough training but the last 12 miles of rolling hills really did a number on all of them.  It was a hard ride but as with any Team Mang ride, it's the company that makes it worth it.

Team Mang hanging out at the Black
Diamond Bakery on the way to
Enumclaw for 62 miles
Here's hoping more of the Team Mangs show up for the coming weeks.  April seems to be a time when the weather gods are confused - so they settle on rain...and on the weekends. The month of May should bring about more sunny weekends and hopefully more consistency in our riding if we hope to all finish the STP victoriously.