Alings Cycle The W.A.V.E...and have fun!

Team Alings still smiling after their CTW rides

Somebody pointed out that throughout the year, our cycling is always focused on the Mangs - their pace, their speed, their routes, their rides.  Well at least once a year, all the focus goes to our sisters, Team Aling, who give us so much support during the year.  Aling Annie serves as the ambassador for the Cycle the W.a.v.e. ride (Women Against Violence Everywhere), a ride to support the programs focused on raising awareness and prevention of domestic violence.
This year, 6 Alings represented, with 2, Aling Veronica and Aling Fatima, doing the "Burly Girl" ride - a 61 mile hilly ride through the east side (Redmond, Issaquah, Bellevue).  4 other Alings did the 14 mile "Little Sister" ride, including 2  who rode this as their first organized ride.  Aling Arlene and Aling Marisa repeated their exploits from previous years, choosing the shorter ride to lend their support to our two newbies - Aling Emily (cycling and Aling's latest recruit) and Aling Christine (who signed up on the day of), both of whom bit the bullet to try their hand at riding on the street with hundreds of other women for the first time.

Mangs and Alings poke fun at themselves at the end

Mangs were present, too, cheering them on at the start line, at the pit stop and at the finish.  The Little Sisters' ride took just a little over an hour so we had lots of time to hang around the festival.  Our burly girls lent support to a couple of newbies, too, so their ride took longer than expected - but we were all there to welcome them at the finish line with all the enthusiasm we can muster.
The team has such a presence in this event that organizers constantly recognized us and approached us thanking us for our support and enthusiasm.  Even the local high school cheerleaders wanted pictures with us (what are we? Celebrities?)  Apparently, our silly pictures are a big help to the event when they approach sponsors (you see these wacky folks?  These are the kind of people who do Cycle the Wave).  And as usual, cyclists give the whole team kudos for bringing our brand of fun and happiness to all cycling events ("Hey, you guys were at the RSVP - we followed you and we got lost...oops").
Great weather, coupled with great sponsors, good food, fun at the finish line festival (how about that Sounders marching band?) and a whole bunch of awesome supportive people pulling for a relevant and important cause (specially these days) make this a truly special event.  Here are a few highlights of the action: