Mangs blast through the Tour de Blast

Sitting around after the climb

They call it the Tour de Blast because it's a ride into the heart of Mount St. Helens' blast zone peaking at the Johnston Ridge Observatory, a little over 4,000 feet above sea level.  From the stories of the Mangs who did it this year, I can understand why - they had a "blast".
With a total climbing effort of around 6,500 feet over three peaks, the way down would be the most enjoyable.  The scenery is breathtaking and the support from the Longview Rotary Club was awesome.
Four Mangs, together with our friends from H2Velo, decided to try their hand at this ride this year.  From all accounts, they all did extremely well, finishing the ride of about 86 miles in about 6 hours - including picture taking at the top, of course.  As with all rides the Mangs participate in, there was no shortage of joking around (at the top of the climbs, of course).

Congratulations, Mang Ferdie, Mang Gat, Mang Rene and Mang Roland for another great showing at another epic ride!  Maybe we'll get more Mangs and Alings to do this next year!

Here's a video of the ride from one of our friends, Eric Tuazon - you see some of the Mangs on their way down the mountain.