Q1 Update - Mangs get ready for Spring

And just like that, the first quarter of 2015 is now part of history.  The mangs have been busy this past month although a lot of us still remain in hiatus opting to address other things in life aside from cycling - apparently there are other things in life.

Cold rides in winter can't defeat the Mangs

Early in the month, several Mangs renewed their commitment to raising funds for the American Diabetes Association through the Tour de Cure.  Last year, the team put out an awesome effort under Mang Rene's leadership and raised more than $10K for the cause.  This year's team goal is less although at the time of this writing, we've already surpassed it. Watch out for a report on my next post on how our event - a Dinner Dance Against Diabetes - went. It's scheduled for Friday, April 24 at 7PM at the Renton Community Center.  If you haven't already done so, contact one of our Mangs for tickets at $35.  That includes dinner, a dance and the satisfaction of having contributed towards finding a cure for Diabetes.

Mangs and Alings at the TdC KickOff at Chateau Ste Michelle

Mangs' inclusiveness and willingness to work with other groups was showcased again this month as several of us rode and hung out with other teams.  If you haven't already noticed, even though Mangs wear the same kits on community events, they never exclude anyone from their activities and rarely use their team-ness as an excuse to shy away from joining other groups.  This month, Team Mang Putik (mud) rode with United Mountain Bike of Washington, on several occasions - including a field trip to Orcas Island's Moran State Park, foregoing the regular Saturday road ride.  Also, on a typical training ride Saturday, you'll find Mangs riding with H2Velo and United Mountain Bike riders (on road bikes) around the area.  It's all about riding for fun and promoting the sport we all love.

It's not all about cycling, too.  Other sports are starting to creep into our team's weekend activities. For instance, our ladies, the Alings, are starting more activities not involving carbon fiber and aluminum.  On the last weekend of March, Aling Virna organized a hike up to Poo-poo point in Issaquah.  Looks like there will be more variations in activities this summer as we're talking about doing other things such as kayaking, SUP and more hiking.

As the second quarter rolls in, Mangs will begin to diverge in their cycling training efforts.  Those who are aiming for more serious goals will ride harder courses at faster paces to achieve higher fitness levels to tackle the Death Ride and RAMROD in the summer. Some are also aiming to finish community rides like the RSVP and STP and beat their records.  Others who just ride for fun and fitness and who may be aiming to do less training to address other priorities will inevitably train less. We will plan on rides where we all come together at a moderate pace on occasion. It's all good - as long as we keep a positive attitude and keep being encouragers to each other in whatever goals we're working towards.

Happy riding..or better yet, happy exercising, Mangs and Alings, whatever you're doing!