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| The cover of the latest Team Mang album hit - photo courtesy of Aling Veronica |
The Kitsap County Classic, a romp through the rolling hills of north Kitsap county, is the traditional end of season official ride sponsored by Cascade Bicycle Club. More often than not, it's a rainy ride because of the time of year, but this year's event promised spectacular weather inviting quite a few more riders than usual. This year, Team Mang and Team Aling represented again. They rode the whole 57 miles (both the Hansville loop and the Port Gamble/Poulsbo loop) in under 4.5 hours including those long winded breaks and around 3,400 feet of elevation gain.
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| Bike all over the ferry! |
As with other rides, Mangs were instantly recognizable and we got those usual compliments and kudos for our fun but brisk (and musical) riding style. One of the riders who rode with us at last year's RSVP actually had his team ride with us while he went on ahead. It got a little "windy" there for a while. Yet he couldn't resist hanging with us - I guess we're just a fun group.
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| Cyclists all over the tarmac on the ferry causing quite a stir among regular ferry commuters |
Averaging around 20 - 21 mph on the flats, the team members consistently worked together, swapping turns at the front of the pace line to keep the brisk pace. Sometimes it did seem too fast, though, because the sights were just so good to see and we didn't do too much sightseeing. Yet we still snapped our customary pictures - go figure!
Both ferry rides to and from Kingston were quite an experience - not that we haven't ridden ferries before but this was another one of those where cyclists simply overwhelmed normal commuters - walking around in spandex, helmets and shoes that clicked on the floor, laying their bikes all over the place.
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| Mangs at the end of the ride - on the way back to Kingston |
It's always an exercise in psychology when huge numbers of people who are different surround you. And we saw that with the reaction of some of the commuters, a few who were visibly "terrified" of us - hello, it's not like we're going to run over you with our bikes. We're more terrified of your cars! A group of teens was also walking around making jokes of cyclists, loud enough to get heard (trying to provoke a response). Cyclists are usually a peaceful bunch, though, and they don't stoop so low as to engage in the negativity. Maybe it's all that triptophan flowing in their insides because of their workouts that's causing them to be so relaxed. Thankfully, there were commuters who were just business as usual - just be careful not to run over them cyclists. I guess someday, we'll be in a world where cyclists are a normal part of the commute where they're afforded the same respect and courtesy as motorized vehicles. But enough commentary...
The 2014 KCC goes down in the team's books to formally close the cycling season. Thanks to Aling Veronica and Mang Edgar for promoting the event and getting a lot more of us to join in. I personally enjoyed the ride. Weekend rides will still continue in the fall with the goal of just getting our legs spinning and keeping our base healthy - when the weather is good.
