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| Mangs at the REI rest stop in Kent |
Lots of work went into training, preparation, planning and
now it was here – Team Mang’s signature events for the year are in July – the
Seattle to
Portland Classic and the
California Death Ride.
The
team showed up in force for the STP.
Most started at the UW start line but others, for logistical reasons,
had to start their official ride at the Kent rest stop 25 miles in, making up
for the lost miles with rides from their homes or around the area on the way to
the meet. Kicking off the ride at 6AM
from Kent, Mangs quickly made it through the first quarter of the ride through
South King County. A few groups
developed, as is natural for a group this size (more than 25) but most everyone
stayed with a team member all the way until the JBLM rest stop at mile 55. From
there, the trip to Centralia broke up the group into even more.
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The fast riders arrived in Portland
a little past 7PM |
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The other Mangs crossed the Portland finish line within
seconds of each other, just a little bit past 8PM. |
Eventually, all arrived safely at the halfway point at
fairly good time. Lunch at Fuji Teriyaki
hit the spot…until it was time to climb the Napavine hill (try that on a full stomach). By the time we got
to Vader, there were some experiencing difficulty – even wanting to give up –
but thanks to the always positive and encouraging tone and riding style of the
others, we soldiered on even as the fast guys put in at least an hour lead over
the rest of the group. The fast guys made it to Portland in record time
arriving early after 7 PM while the rest of the group came in just a little bit
past 8 PM. A couple of riders got stuck
with mechanical troubles early on and had to spend the night in Longview, but finished it early the day after. All in all, another
fun 1-day STP, 207 miles (or 195, depending on where you started), is now in the Mang history books.
Here's a video summary.
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Mang Rene, Gat, Eric and Boni finish 5 passes of the Death
Ride challenge |
Four Mangs took to the mountains on the same day – in California,
no less. The annual
Death Ride challenges participants with 5 mountain peaks over 129 miles and a climbing effort of over 15,000 feet.
Riding with friends from
H2Velo, our
super climbers also went on their
own individual paces. At the end of the
day, though, every single one of them finished all 5 passes, albeit not at the
same time. No doubt the high altitude
environment made an impact in terms of breathing difficulty. Some struggled, others felt it was a
breeze, but in the end, they all saw it for what it was – a fun day suffering
in the mountains, conquering their demons and meeting their cycling goals.
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Mang jerseys and an H2Velo jersey
getting ready for the Death Ride |
Early July tests everyone’s mettle – making sure that all
our Winter and Spring training efforts would make a difference. Team Mang was up for the challenge again this
year and hopefully, we will make another memorable summer of it. A few more official rides are coming up –
RAMROD, RSVP, Whistler, Kitsap. Watch
out for us on the roads even as we build up our other half –
Team Aling!
