This blog is my attempt to journal our rides each season. TEam MANG (timang) is a very informal club - the one requirement is that you love to ride your bike (all types)...and do other things like eat and hang out and be silly. The term "Mang" is commonly used in the Filipino language to address older gentlemen but we're not gender or ethnic exclusive. We welcome women, too - we call them Team "Aling". Overall, we're just BFF's (bicycling with friends for fun).
Saturday, August 9, 2014
Mangs spotted at Hurricane Ridge...
Mang Rene and Mang Boni
at the top of the climb
It's amazing how diverse a group we've become - we've got cyclists who ride for fitness, those who ride for the adventure, tourists who ride on multi-day events, even those that ride a combination of automobile and bike (preferably the car on the hills), and everything else in between. A few weeks ago, a couple of our Mangs who love to challenge themselves answered the call of the Hurricane Ridge - a 4,800 foot climb stretched over 18 miles starting and ending at Port Angeles, Washington. It's a unique ride - a majority of which is spent climbing with others participating in the Lavender Festival on August 3 near the Olympic Mountains. Most folks would rather just drive up to take in the scenic views but Mang Boni and Mang Rene chose to "defeat" the mountain and earn those views! Here's Boni's take on the ride:
Taking in the views mid-way through the ride
"Just 3 days after the RAMROD and legs are not fully recovered yet but somehow at the last minute, I made up my mind in joining Rene on the Hurricane Ridge ride. I was glad I did! It was an 18-mile climb with 4767 elevation gain (per my Garmin). Rene and I finished the 36-mile ride in 3 ½ hours. Praise God for the strength, endurance and motivation to finish. Same as the other event rides Team Mang has participated on, we were recognized at this ride also. One of the riders made a comment “Your team is on all of the rides, we see you everywhere.” I can’t help but smile." - Mang Boni
Mang Rene finishing the climb.
As the team continues to grow in number, diversity and skill, it's becoming more and more of a fixture in the region's official rides. Hopefully, we continue to be a positive influence in our sport. And every time a Team Mang or Team Aling is recognized for something positive - whether it's a fund raiser or a big ride, we all somehow share collectively in that victory.
For a non-organized team, we sure are everywhere making a splash - sometimes in big numbers but other times as few as one or 2, still representing!
Mang Boni took this video clip of their ride to help the rest of us experience it from the comfort of our couch.
