Saturday, May 10, 2014

The Rain did not Defeat Us at the Tour de Cure!

One of our riders, Mang Roland, always says, "in regard to your cycling, do not let the rain defeat you!"  Saturday, May 10, was the Tour De Cure ride put together by the American Diabetes Association - a fund raising event to help find a cure for Diabetes.  Most of the region was wet that day - but we all followed Roland's advice and rode anyway in spite of the showers.  With some careful riding, we came away with only a couple of slow crashes along slippery tarmac - some road rash and bruised egos but no serious injury.  The rain did let up eventually and we even got some sunbreaks in the midst of all the clouds.  The cool weather actually made for some ideal climbing conditions along those Redmond hills.  Some of us opted to do 40 miles while the rest attempted 70.  Unfortunately, due to some signage problems, a few of us got lost and ended up doing less than what we signed up for and just making our way back to Chateau Ste Michele in Woodinville. Oh well.
Team Mang at the TdC
The 70 milers hoping to get into the cover of a Tour De Cure brochure -
expressing their gratitude to their TdC donors.
It was never just about the ride itself anyway.  The whole event was an opportunity for Mangers and Alings to give back to the community by raising funds individually and as a team to help in the efforts to fight Diabetes. Diabetes is a disease that affects at least 26 million Americans including a few Mangers themselves. Our official red rider this day was Mang Aldwin. All of us are connected in some way to someone who is afflicted by the disease. 
Team Mang, through the leadership of Mang Rene, managed to raise the second largest donation amount by a private friend/family group.  As of this writing, the team had raised close to $10,500, with three of our riders entering the VIP fund raiser crowd by raising over $1,300 individually - one even raising over $2,100.  So the whole day itself was just a celebration of our team accomplishment.
Team Mang at the TdC
The 40 milers and support crew just before the ride.
The day started out with fun and revelry even as the riders were still making their way into the parking lot.  By a little past 7:30 AM, the first group of Mangs had started their journey.  The 40 milers rolled out  around 8:15.  The usual mix of laughter, pseudo-racing, clowning around and pedaling were there throughout both the 70 and the 40 miler adventures. Most had gotten back (completed or lost) by around 1PM when the festivities at the winery were just getting started.  70 milers started returning just a little past 2 pm. The band played fun dance music, sponsor tents handed out giveaway promo materials, LMPs gave free massages and food trucks cooked lunch for everyone (riders got free lunches and non-riders paid - with some proceeds also going towards the cause).  In spite of the rain and messed up directions, team members had a blast doing the ride, getting free massages, sampling wine, eating food truck offerings and hanging out with each other through late afternoon.  We even got special mention from the organizers for our team accomplishment.  None of it would have been possible if not for the donors who gave to our individual riders and to our team.  Special mention goes to Swedish Medical Center for their awesome support of the cause through Team Mang.  So on behalf of the team, we'd like to thank everyone who helped out regardless of the amount.  It all added up!
Team Mang at the TdC
Team Mang got special mention at the event for their enthusiasm and fund raising excitement!
As usual, many were drawn to the unusual energy brought by the team to the event - a spirit of fun and family, all for a good cause.  In the words of Mang Raf, "Team Mang is good at two things: FUND raising and FUN raising!" Hopefully, we will always bring the spirit of bicycling fun among friends in everything we do.  Here's the video courtesy of Mang Boni and Aling Virna!  Go Team!