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).
The team's been growing over the past year and with growth in number is the inevitable divergence of cycling goals. Although we all share in our love of cycling, different folks have different priorities in life and where cycling falls in that hierarchy is different for different people. In order to keep everyone on the same page as far as Team Mang rides, we've chosen to rate the rides so people know what to expect when they come out and decide for themselves if they're up for that particular challenge. Here are the simple ratings: EASY Lang, Mama' ride:
This is the kind of ride that is slightly slower than our normal brisk pace. Timangs and Alings rarely ride at a very leisurely pace unless it's a family ride. They typically ride at a brisk pace and usually wait for everyone. However, there are times in the year when not everyone is quite up to the challenge yet. Maybe they're recovering from an injury or the holiday hiatus. So there's a need for them to ride at a slightly slower pace than the others for a few weeks - and that's perfectly okay. Hopefully, as riders do this type of ride a few times, they will be able to build up the strength to keep up with the jackrabbits. There's nothing wrong, too, if folks choose to always ride at that level - just don't expect those at the faster pace to always wait for them.
TIMANGAN ride:
This is our most common type of ride - there's a fun atmosphere at a brisk pace; the occasional sprint and an attack on the hills every now and then - still, we like to wait for everyone who's attempting the ride. This would be the 1-day STP training kind of pace so it's not always a walk in the park. Some of our riders ride all year and want to maintain a certain level of fitness so when they lead a ride at this pace, expect to have a good workout. Organizers will post their expectations of a ride and if riders don't think they're ready for that type of pace, they can coordinate with the ride leader to have an alternative route - or get familiar with the route and ride it at their own easy lang, mama' pace. Inevitably others will join that alternative.
We don't want to make this too technical or difficult but we do want to recognize that some rides are easy, others are hard and it's up to each rider to recognize their fitness level and whether the ride suits them.
If you haven't noticed, we don't have "official" ride leaders. That's because anyone can organize a ride at their desired paceso others can join him/her at that pace. We don't encourage anyone who's not at a specific fitness level to attempt to participate in a ride that's way above what they can achieve. Just as we don't want folks getting left behind, we also don't want to weigh down a fast ride.
As 2014 rolls around, we're expecting that more Mangers and Alings will organize rides at their desired pace and folks will ride at the level and effort they want in order to reach their own individual fitness goals.
Mangs and Alings with members of another team brave the wind and rain to complete the short loop of the Kitsap Color Classic.
The last weekend of September is usually rainy as the Fall season has officially landed. This year wasn't any different. Advance weather reports had predicted at least some clearing for the Kitsap Color Classic - a romp through Kitsap county with a choice of 3 loops - a 25 miler, a 37 miler or a combined 57 mile ride. Some Team Mangs had signed up but with the rain dumping cats and dogs the day before and with just a little bit of a let up on Sunday morning, many felt it safer to stay home and enjoy the game on TV.
Nevertheless, a few brave Mangers and an Aling braved the weather and rode to close the season. They were blessed with a few bouts of clearing and sun but for the most part, the roads were wet and treacherous. After one of the riders experienced a flat, the group decided to complete just the 25 miler. The ride itself may have been wet and cold but the company, as always, was good.
Eric's selfie in Hawaii
On the other side of the Pacific, one of our own proudly represented in the Pineapple Century in Oahu, Hawaii. Eric took the opportunity to celebrate his birthday with a century ride on the west side of Oahu through scenic highways and spectacular weather and views in paradise.
And so ends the official cycling calendar for 2013.
Countless miles, memories and laughter later, Mangs and Alings are looking forward to off season riding to keep in shape - maybe some weekend mountain biking and cyclocross or other fun activities for the cold and wet weather. Whatever it is, Team Mang exits 2013 with a stronger bond among its members. Some of us grew leaps and bounds as individual cyclists, others maintained their fitness, others met different cycling goals (like getting loved ones into the sport). Regardless, we all maintained our friendships and had fun doing it - Team Mang is family and that's what it's all about after all.
Among all the rides of the year, the Cycle the W.a.v.e. Ride is probably the most significant. It may not be the longest nor the most epic nor the most technical nor the most hilly ride. But it certainly draws attention to the team - specially this year. Four women from our group plus a friend rode the event while another volunteered for support. The rest of the Mangs (the guys) and kids provided the cheering section.
CTW is an all women's ride for all cyclist levels designed to bring awareness to the cause of fighting violence against women (Women Against Violence Everywhere).
Team Alings with their support team - Mang!
It's a fund raiser, too, so for Team Alings to simply ride already contributes to the cause. The whole team made a splash because we seemed to be the only group where the men, along with their families, were cheering on the women - some of who are themselves victims of violence from the hands of men.
So to see a group of men taking the time and cheering on the fairer sex with no regard for how silly they looked in public is a significant sight. Both Team Mangs and Team Alings kept getting complimented for their show of unity, camaraderie and friendship throughout the ride.
Team Alings share the same fun loving attitude as
their Team Mang counterparts!
Our Alings rode the 42 mile route while the Mangs provided cheering, cowbells, picture and video support at strategic locations and at the stops. It was all for a good time but once again, team orange caught the attention of cycling organizers for their positive contribution to the cycling community. On our way out, one of the sponsors even chased us down to give us freebies that we weren't asking for - because our colors matched theirs. And we got lots of good feedback from bystanders and other cyclists.
See, Team Mang and Team Aling is not just about cycling - it's about being good friends, being a positive influence on the community and promoting good cycling behavior...all while having fun.
The High Pass Challenge is one of those epic rides that happens at the latter part of the cycling season, when most riders are conditioned by big-crowd rides like the STP and RSVP. It's a ride that takes them through Gifford Pinchot National Forest, including the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument, climbing up a total of 7,500 feet over 57 miles and 3 mountain peaks. Then they have to make it back for a total of 114 miles.
At the starting gate.
They changed the rules for the gold this year - instead of getting a gold based on your time for the whole trip, it's based only on the trip to the halfway point. Hopefully this will prevent riders from taking too much risks on the descents on the way back just to meet the time cutoff.
The good news is that most of the Mangers did get gold. Whereas last year, only 3 of them even rode the event, this year, September 7, saw record participation from Team Mang with 11 riders. Each one had his or her own story about which part of the course they struggled with the most. It wasn't exactly a walk in the park. But they all still managed to have fun and take lots of pictures along the way.
Mangers, Alings and the support crew (1) at the top of the mountain - Harry V took the picture.
Kudos to Aling Virna who provided support and Mang Harry Vejano for photo-documenting the event (pics are in Facebook).
Team Mang does camping? They sure do. During the early part of the Labor Day weekend 2013, Mangers, Alings and their families spent a few days together - literally - at the Deception Pass State Park camping in tents. By all accounts, there was a lot of time spent bonding, joking, cooking, eating and laughing with and at each other. In short - "Timangan". There were even reports of rangers coming into the sites to spoil the fun late in the night after quiet time...but that's unconfirmed :)
Team Mang distracting drivers at the park entrance
The weekend was highlighted with a planned 45 mile bike ride around the island towards Oak Harbor - that turned into a 60 due to unconfirmed reports of Mangers getting lost in the island - navigating via paper map and taking several detours. Somewhere in there was a stop for lumpia at a street festival. The ride was supposed to be "short" and "flat" (4,000 feet elevation gain) since it was a relaxed weekend. As if. But the riders still came away feeling it was worth it to explore more of the island, visit an old friend, attack a few more hills and get more training out of that Saturday.
Non-riders went hiking
The rest of the crew who didn't go biking ended up going on a hike around the Deception Pass trails.
All in all, it was another fun filled weekend for Team Mang and Team Aling forging bonds of friendship, creating memories for summer 2013. There's talk that this will be a yearly event so get yourself ready for 2014!
After a fun and relaxed ride to Vancouver, BC (and the after-party the day following day), fellow Mangers decided to tackle a couple of mountain tops. Chinook Pass, at an elevation of 5,430 feet and the Sunrise Visitor Center, at 6,400 feet were calling. Pushing off from the entrance of the Mount Rainier National Park on Highway 410, the team climbed their way to Chinook Pass, took a break, then rode down towards the intersection of highway 123 (about halfway down), effectively making the previous climb the warm up.
From the intersection, they made the steady climb up to Sunrise Visitor Center where, as usual, the main activity was taking pictures and basically "drinking" the hamburgers (the speed at which they gulped those burgers effectively amounted to drinking). You can imagine how hungry they were when they got there.
Souvenir T-shirts and knee socks were effective cold blockers
One memory that stands out among the participants was how cold it was after that quick hamburger meal at the lodge. The weather had cooperated and held back the rain, but it was cloudy and a bit cool to begin with. Naturally, climbing up with effort kept the riders warm but as soon as they relaxed inside the lodge, the cooler mountain temperatures became real and some had to scramble for pieces of clothing to help them keep warm on the descent. Suddenly, the gift shop was beckoning. Thank goodness for souvenir t-shirts and newspapers (to tuck inside your jersey to warm your chest on a descent). Everyone made it down safely, of course, and celebrated with cold beers at the parking lot. One more epic ride for the books for Team Mang.
A relaxed 25 mile ride for the rest
The rest of the Mangers and Alings who couldn't be at the twin peaks ride took some time to practice the 25 mile Cycle the Wave route in Issaquah to make sure the Alings were training for the event. Fewer in number, the small group still managed to enjoy themselves and meet the training needs of the Alings while barely working a sweat.
A few of the Team Mangs (and Aling) stop and take in the moment
near the end of the RSVP 190 mile ride
After doing the 204 mile ride to Portland just a few weeks ago, many of us felt the pressure of having to ride hard and fast lifted from our shoulders. The 190 mile Ride from Seattle to Vancouver (and Party) was going to be a relaxed ride where we would take our time, take in the scenery and enjoy the company. Day 1 started out as planned. Pushing out from UW under cloudy skies, most of us hung back, going about 18-20 mph at the most and only speeding up when we hit the downhills. Mang Kiko, riding with us for the first time on his first organized ride, experienced his first flat which caused a bit of a delay on the way to Machias - the first official stop. Still, the typical banter and joking around was ever present, thanks to Mang Jay and Mang Harry. The group came back together as the jackrabbits - the Roush tandem team, Mang Cris, Mang Roland with a few others - waited for us there.
Team Mangs at the Golden Ears bridge crossing the
Frasier River in BC - doing what they do best - posing!
We pushed off together from Machias but the train quickly expanded as some of us picked up speed on the Centennial trail while the others opted to stay relaxed. There were at least 3 distinct groups pushing towards the 50 mile mark but the 2nd and 3rd group exchanged places as the trailing group missed the Arlington rest stop while the 2nd group patiently waited for them - still thinking there was another group behind them. By the time we got to the second major climb of the first day approaching Mount Vernon, the temperatures had started to pick up and the orange train's elasticity grew. The whole group would eventually come together at the Mount Vernon rest stop, around mile 75, where we made plans to stop for a snack in the town.
Some Mangers and Alings take in the view along
Chuckanut Drive near Bellngham
This has got to go down into our history books as one of the most memorable RSVP Day 1 adventures. The leading riders missed a turn and ended up continuing on towards downtown Mt. Vernon while the rest of us turned towards the town for lunch. After adding another couple of miles of being lost, Mang Jojie led most of us to a "snack" at the Royal Star Buffet where we spent at least an hour relaxing and of course, refilling our energy stores with Chinese and Japanese fuel. $7.49 for buffet wasn't bad. After we were satisfied, this group powered through Mount Vernon's open fields and headwinds and rode up Chuckanut Drive together taking the customary pictures at the viewpoints. We also took pictures at the pink lemonade stand in Bellingham where we congratulated the girl who was getting married (check out the RSVP files at Cascade for the backstory and history behind that famous pink lemonade RSVP stand - see the picture below).
The pink lemonade girl is
getting married!
Day 1's activities were capped by re-carboloading activities at the On Rice Thai Cuisine Restaurant and hanging around at the Hotel lobby with "coffee".
Long wait at the border to Canada
Day 2 was supposed to start at 7:30 AM but you know how it is - "Let's go!...Wait! Wait!..." seems to be our battle cry. Add to that an unexpected flat at mile 0 and we didn't get to push out until past 8 AM. That didn't seem to be a problem as a whole lot of Mang and Trangko jack rabbits took turns leading the train averaging 22 mph towards Lynden chasing some sort of deadline. All that rushing was for naught as the line at the border delayed all of us by almost two hours! If you've done long rides before, you'll know that it actually gets more tiring to have to stop for so long with about 60 more miles to go. Pictures at the border crossing were mandatory and we got ours!
A sea of orange at the border, eh!
The ride towards Vancouver created several orange groups as everyone rode at their own pace and gaps were made bigger by traffic lights and speed preferences. Still, even though we were all separated into groups, we all managed to capture memories of our fun at the bridges, views, landmarks and interesting places along the way. We rolled into the Coast Plaza Hotel a couple of hours later than last year - around 4:30 PM - to party with the rest of the cyclists. No rush. Our two day ride concluded with more recalorization efforts at the Richmond Night Market.
Congratulations to all Team Mangs and Team Alings for another fun filled and memorable ride to Canada!
The words 'sprint' and 'attack' don't necessarily come to mind when you talk about MANG Jojie. But one thing you can be sure of when you ride with him is that you will get there eventually. Steady but sure would describe his riding style. No flash, no high tech gadgetry, just good old fashioned relaxed riding on a reliable steel touring bike. No ultra light carbon hooha for this Mang. For the second year in a row, he was the only Manger to sign up for and complete the Ride Around Washington or RAW for short.
Lots to see around Washington on a bicycle.
So how come only a few people sign up for this ride? Let's see... Who wants to ride around small towns and cities from Western Washington to Central Washington to Eastern Washington over mountain passes, long shadeless fields against wind and heat and alongside speeding cars? Who would want to travel from as far north as Skagit County to as far south as the Columbia River Gorge on the Oregon border? Why would you want to ride almost 80 miles a day for 7 days straight, climbing almost 2,000 feet per ride in the middle of summer, finishing each day with a campfire, sleeping in tents and eating camp food?
Meeting friends along the way is part of
any ride
Apparently, MANG Jojie can and it's a different kind of fun. One of the nice things about team MANG is that we have respect for all types of riders and riding disciplines. MANG Jojie is one of our unique riders and we congratulate him for accomplishing a feat that few of us can even imagine doing. His finish reminds us that enjoying the sport of cycling doesn't have to be about racing to the top of the hill, reaching blazing downhill speeds, or getting to the end of the ride in record time ahead of everyone. For many, cycling is about enjoying the wind on your face, seeing sites you skip when you're in a car and most of all, hanging out with wonderful people while moving forward on a two wheeled contraption.
August 3, 2013 - Last "hard" ride before the Ride from Seattle to Vancouver and Party (RSVP). Conventional wisdom states that you do a 65+ mile ride to prepare yourself for a century - so we did just that, going from the Ron Regis park in Renton towards Maple Valley, Ravensdale and Black Diamond where we stopped and ate at the bakery. We then moved on to Enumclaw and then back to Auburn through the Green Valley Road where switching pulls between Mang Ferdie, Mang Rene, Mang Bob and Aling Fatima got us cruising between 22 and 25 mph...And of course, Mang Jay pulled, too! A quick break at the meat market and then it was on to Lea Hill and into Renton's rolling hills coming back north towards Fairwood and back down to the park. With about 5 actual breaks averaging 15 - 20 minutes, that makes our total riding time around a little less than 5 hours. So our average moving time was about 13 - 14 mph. That's fine for a training ride. Here's some videos of the ride...
Not everyone who wants to do the Ride Around Mount Rainier in One Day (RAMROD) can get in - it's a lottery. Last year, we had 3 riders represent the team. This year, on July 25, it was all on Mang Jay's shoulders. 150 miles and 10,000 feet of climbing over 3 mountain passes and it was his first time to do this ride! But he was up to the challenge.
Jay started out at 5 AM, pedaled with Trangko and H2Velo for most of the ride and eventually finished at around 6 PM. The hardest part of the ride? According to him, it was the Cayuse Pass where the heat of the day just got to him. The best part? Pictures, of course, and just being around folks who love to ride, joke around and have fun! He brings it (the fun, that is)!
Thanks, Mang Jay, for representing the team! Congratulations on such an accomplishment.
Some members of Team Mang trained separately all year to skip the Seattle To Portland ride and participate in a much harder event - the California Death Ride in Markleeville, CA - a 129 mile epic through 5 mountain passes with a total of 15,000 feet of climbing starting from a higher mountain elevation. The Death Ride happens on the same day as STP so the participants had to choose which one to train for early in the year. Mang Boni, Mang Bob and Mang Rene have been training with members of another team with experience on those mountains since the beginning of the year.
Mang Boni in action
From all accounts, the experience was difficult for all but challenging and rewarding with at least one participant calling for a future "rematch" with those mountains. Their experience has inspired other Mangers to consider doing the ride next year. Each of these Mangers made a commitment early in the year and dedicated time and energy and sacrificed a lot to prepare for the ride and each came out a much better, stronger cyclist because of the experience.
Congratulations to everyone who completed the ride. Go Team Mang!
Mang Boni, Mang Bob and Mang Rene celebrate the Death Ride
Most of us were running late for the meet on Saturday, July 13, 2013. The excitement of doing the 204 mile Seattle to Portland Ride again in one day had been building up all year and here we were, just a few minutes from the start. Team Mang was scheduled to roll out by 4:45 but by then, some of us were just arriving - traffic. In spite of that, we managed to get our stuff loaded into the support vehicle and roll to the starting line at the University of Washington parking lot just shy of 5 AM, making our departure about 15 minutes later than last year's.
Regrouping at the Kent REI stop, mile 25
We missed Joel at the start line - he eventually caught up (via SAG wagon) at Puyallup. Amor joined us at Seward park and Marissa met up with us at Kent. We weren't too far behind schedule at the REI stop on mile 25 and we somehow still managed to stick together, just a few minutes apart all the way to Spanaway. After that, the distances between the groups grew.
We've got the best banner in STP!
Riding towards Centralia was uneventful as most of us had done the Team Mang 140 a couple of weeks earlier and were familiar with the roads through Tenino. That familiarity actually provided a psychological boost, albeit a tiny one. Temperatures were still manageable - in fact the stretch from Spanaway to Roy on Highway 7 was actually cool, thanks to the fact that it wasn't even mid-morning and most of the highway was still in the shade. A quick stop in Tenino allowed us to regroup but we all got back on our saddles quickly. The mid-point break at Centralia brought us all back together, of course, and forced us all to start the second leg of the ride in one group. The riders who arrived there first took about a 45 minute break and hung out for lunch, stretching and taking pictures. Those of us who arrived just a tad later had a shorter break, of course, leaving Centralia around noon.
Tenino stop - mile 85
The ride towards Chehalis was probably the only time we were able to ride as one big group. After that, the open roads, headwinds and the hill towards Napavine would slow down a few of us, just enough to break the train into at least 3 groups. The lonely stretch towards Vader took its toll on a few of the Mangs as all the STP riders had to contend with a headwind on the rolling highway through Winlock.
At the Vader stop, mile 126, Team Mangs are still all smiles!
It was a good thing we decided to have the support vehicle meet us at Vader - it was a much needed stop to recover psychologically (the miles between Chehalis and Vader are usually where I question the sanity of doing this ride in one day). After another unexpected long break joking around, we were off, knowing we could do this.
Probably the hardest part of the ride was to follow - the rolling hills between Vader and Lexington (skipping the Castle Rock stop) combined with headwinds and the heat approaching its peak around 3PM. The one consoling thing is that most of those roads go through forests and provide shade. By the time we got to Lexington, mile 145, the heat was at its peak - probably somewhere in the upper 70's to lower 80's. It was still manageable, though, and having ridden in over 90 degree weather a couple of weeks ago gave the added assurance that this wasn't too uncomfortable. We left Lexington around 4:30.
Team Mang/Aling at Mile 145, the Lexington stop
Hydration was still key - which is the reason many of us had to keep stopping to go to the bathroom. By 5:00 PM, we were on the other side of the Lewis and Clark bridge, making our way past Rainier, Oregon. Some Mangers stopped right after the bridge to relieve themselves while others tried to get some momentum from the bridge descent towards the slight uphill climb onto the Goble rest stop. We were at the St Helen stop, mile 175, by 6:30 - a half hour off from last year's time. But last year, we took our time at that stop and ate some more - this time, the first group didn't even wait for the second group and the second group barely took a break to try to catch up. A quick refill, some watermelon, a small bite and off they were to try to make it into the finish line before 9PM.
Everyone had stories of how that last 20 miles were probably the hardest. Highway 30's big rolling hills provided the last bit of challenge to the day's ride. The Team Mang/Aling train grew long by this time - with riders separated from one another by quite a few minutes.
Some of the Mangers at the Finish Line
The driving group, made up of Cris, Eric, Jay and Amor arrived at the finish line right around 8:15 or so. The second group of riders eventually collected themselves into one batch as they stopped and went through Portland's traffic lights. Consisting of Dondi & Arlene (tandem), Veronica, Edgar, Fatima, Raf, Efren, and Harry V, they finished maybe 10 minutes later. While we were all still taking pictures, Ron rolled in with Marissa and eventually Joel made it through, all of us checking in before the closing time of 9PM.
All in all, we either matched or did just a little over our time from last year - not bad - specially for the first timers. The day would not have been complete without the help of our support people, Anne and Cosme. Even though a big ride like STP is fully supported, there's added comfort in knowing you have a vehicle there looking out for you, carrying your stuff, serving water and food and just making sure you're safe among the 10,000 other riders.
Enjoying some steak after the ride!
As with most Team Mang rides, it's not over until that steak is gone. As with last year's tradition, Stanford'sRestaurant, right across from the finish line, played host once again to Team Mang's celebration dinner.
Here's to another successful STP ride for Team Mang! Maybe we'll do this again next year or not (we're still feeling our legs as we write this). If we do, you can be sure, it will be another enjoyable, memorable team event!
In one day, we might add...
N.B. Congratulations also go out to the rest of the team who did it in two days - special mention to Harry P and his kids, Carlo and Gisela, with Mel and his kids, Abbie and Arielle who trained hard all year, occassionally with the team, to complete the STP ride. A word of encouragement to 3 Mangers who were not able to complete this event because of a crash on Saturday - Rudy (get well soon), Aldwin (you, too) and Eugene (who didn't crash but gave up his STP to help the two out) - there will be more rides to enjoy.
Team Mang has been training all over the place this year as people have had different goals - some training for a double century ride, others upping their game with the California Death Ride and others sticking to the 1 day STP ride program. Just before the final weekend before these events, what better way to wish everyone well than a quick ride around the Mercer Loop just to enjoy each other's company. As usual, the ride ended at Pho Hoang in Renton. I'll let the video speak for itself.
At the beginning of the year, we all made a commitment to train for the annual summer Seattle To Portland Ride - whether for the one day effort or the normal 2 day ride. Since that meeting, we've done our best to ride together every weekend towards that goal. That training was to culminate in a 150 mile (approximately) ride 2 weeks before the STP in order to condition our bodies to peak at 200 miles by STP day, July 13.
The team in Yelm with the carnival in the background
As luck would have it, the hottest week of the year so far happened to fall on the last week of June this year and the forecast for Saturday, June 29, was no exception. But...Team Mangs and Team Alings were ready for the challenge. They suited up with their newly designed jerseys and braved the heat, rolling out from Renton Memorial Stadium on the way to Tenino for a total of 70 miles - the trip back would make it 140. Things started off really nice - temps in the mid 70's and cloudy. Until we got to Puyallup, just before 9 AM when the sun started its ascent. At least, the dreaded Puyallup hill was behind us by the time the heat started picking up.
Ed was one of our awesome support crew
The team wasn't made up of cyclists alone. Other members who couldn't ride (and their families) provided much needed support, hauling water and food to stops every 15 miles or so. By 11 AM, about an hour behind schedule, the Team Mang train had reached Yelm City Park where by coincidence, the city carnival had set up. By then, everyone was feeling hungry and drained. But motivated by lunch, they hastily rode the last 12 miles towards Tenino - the turnaround point.
The Tenino park along the STP route was the site of our lunch break where the food, a unique recipe of Pampanga style adobo, with rice and watermelon provided much needed nourishment to the riders. It was truly tempting to just abandon at this point because the temperatures were in the upper 70's with no cloud in sight but Team Mang soldiered on. After all, they had no choice - we couldn't all fit in the support vehicle (next time we'll bring a support bus).
Picnic lunch in Tenino
Cooling down in
Spanaway
A couple of hours behind schedule, the team kept on with rest breaks taking longer than planned, pushing speeds of 20+ in mid 80 degree temperatures, just so they could spend more time cooling down under the shade and taking impromptu baths with ice cold water from the support vehicles' coolers to get some relief from the extreme heat. By the time we reached Puyallup, a bank's spinning signboard that broadcasts the current temperature actually read 100 degrees (probably from the 90+ degree air plus the sun reflecting on the concrete)!
An unusual Adobo dinner at Starbucks
Through some quick thinking by the support crew, the last rest stop was moved from the gas station on Fryar and Main in Sumner to a Starbucks store just a half mile east of it. At that stop, we were able to cool down a bit (arriving there at the hottest time of the day, around 5PM) in the shade and inside the store and even eat the rest of our adobo lunch (wow! Starbucks serves adobo?). It was a strange sight, for sure - Team Mangs and Alings sitting around outside Starbucks and on the parking lot sidewalk eating rice and adobo on paper plates.
A fitting treat - halo-halo after a
scorching ride
A couple more hours and 22 miles later, we were back at Renton Stadium - a full 13.5 hours and 140 miles after we started. Some registered 143 to 145 on their odometers because they missed a turn in Puyallup. Ed gave everyone a treat by surprising us with halo-halo from Chowking! That was such a treat after the hard fought ride in that blistering heat!
Out of 24 riders, 4 abandoned at mile 58 and 70 with one cutting it 20 miles short in Sumner. But the rest rolled through. In spite of the fact that the route was relatively flat, this was one of the hardest rides we've had to do all year because of the heat. Our ride time left much to be desired but we blame the heat and the need to take longer breaks from the sun. At least now we know we can actually do the STP in one day.
A week before the Team Mang 150 (check out the next post), Team Mangs and Team Alings were itching to put their newly received 2013 jerseys to work. On the first ride of the summer, we decided to do a relaxed ride around Lake Washington - the traditional route, except we'd go counter clockwise to avoid the morning activities of the Seattle Rock and Roll Marathon on Lake Washington Blvd. Our route took on Lake Samm's West side through Marymoor Park in Redmond, the Sammamish River Trail and a portion of the Burke Gilman Trail avoiding the most crowded sections south of Lake Forest Park.
The newbicycle lanes in North Seattle
Our route took us into Shoreline and down the Interurban Trail - through the newly constructed bicycle-only lanes of North Seattle paralleling Aurora Avenue north. The lanes eventually became minimally-driven roads as it entered the Greenwood area on Fremont Avenue. A quick left turn dropped us into Greenlake where we were supposed to have lunch at I Love Teriyaki on 34th Ave.
Realizing that lunch would delay us significantly (and because the Fremont Solstice Parade crowd was growing), we decided to forego a teriyaki lunch and just head straight back to Renton via the BG Trail, Madrona and down to Lake Washington Boulevard. The day was pretty memorable as we biked for the first time with Harry's kids and nieces - all of whom were able to keep up with the hill climbs (37th in Factoria, Perkins Way in Shoreline, Seward Ave in Seattle) and the rolling hills of West Lake Sammamish Parkway and the other streets of Seattle.
A long Team Mang train pulled by Fatima
A total of 63 miles on a glorious day with perfect temperatures at just the right speeds proved to be just what the doctor ordered. As always, it's always a fun Team Mang ride!
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