Check off Flying Wheels 2013 from our list

Team Mangs getting ready at the start line

Traditionally, Cascade Bicycle Club's Flying Wheels Classic has been the benchmark used by locals to measure their training progress in preparation for the Seatttle to Portland ride.  Conventional wisdom states that if you can complete the 65 mile loop within a reasonable amount of time (i.e.less than 6 hours), you should be ready for the 2 day STP ride.  Completing the 100 mile loop within 8 hours means you're ready for the 1 day STP.  The FW ride is considered more challenging than the STP in terms of elevation gain per mile so as long as you keep in shape during the month of June, you shouldn't have any problem with STP.

Team Aling Veronica with her guards :)

Since the start of the year, most of the Mangers have set their sites on doing STP in one day. So completion of the FW ride was a milestone. Although some Mangers had been training at a higher level during the year to do the Death Ride in California (and have already done a century ride or two), for most of the Mangers, this was their first time to complete a 100 mile ride (approximately) during the year. And for others, it was their first time in their life.

Team Mangs at the Monroe stop (mile 55)

The day was without incident for the team, although some controversy brewed up for the cycling community as a whole because of complaints from Carnation residents of rude and lawless behavior of a minority of riders, exacerbated by the fact that their local government also hosted the Survivor Mud Run on the same day.  For the tiny town of Carnation, all this inconvenience from non-local folks on their roads delaying them from their local driving destinations was a bit too much.  We'll be hearing more about this controversy soon as Cascade defends the rights of cyclists to be on the road against citizens who just want the road to themselves.

The ride itself was enjoyable.  From the starting line, the atmosphere was festive as riders and teams from everywhere were represented.  Team Mangs' cousin teams Grupetto, H2Velo, LAFBL and Trangko were all there. Everyone was on the starting line at 8 AM. After the first 2 hills, views of the Snoqualmie valley on a partly sunny day were perfect.  Lots of shade on the climbs and when you were out on the open, the sun wasn't bearing down as hot as it could on typical summer days.  The absence of any precipitation also contributed to a safe ride with so far, no reports of major crashes or injuries from the biggest Flying Wheels event to date (over 3,800 registered riders).

Team Mangs taking a break at the Carnation stop (mile 74)

The orange train grew long, even after a regroup at the top of the first hill climb.  Although we call ourselves a team, we are all at different skill and endurance levels and with different riding goals.  Some of us rode like we were trying to break our own records, maintaining speeds of over 20 mph throughout the ride.  Others just took it leisurely with the crowd and hammered when there were opportunities. There were those who drafted and paced with other teams to get some speed and save some sweat. Others were just happy to finish at all.  It's all good.  In the end, we all got to the finish line and checked off another ride on our training checklist.  Nobody abandoned.  And as with any ride we participate in, there's never a lack of new people to meet and make plans to ride with in the future.  That's what Team Mang is all about anyway - we don't grow through contracts, auditions or tryouts - we simply make friends and have fun riding our bikes and invite others to ride and have fun.  Like they say in some communities, the first time we ride together, we're just co-cyclists.  The next time, we're Mangs and Alings.

Some of the Mangs and Alings couldn't resist
posing at the finish line

As usual, the ride never really ends at the finish line and this time around, AYCE restaurant Haiku at the Redmond Town Square hosted the Team Mang re-calorization activities.  Seems like we gained back everything we lost that day. Oh well.

Ready for STP? Team Mang and Team Aling are raring to go!  A few more weeks to the starting line.

The hills are alive...in Gig Harbor

At the start line braving the rain

Sixty four miles isn't usually a problem for cycling weekend warriors like Team Mangers but this year's Peninsula Metric Century ride around Gig Harbor proved to be a little challenging.  Not that it wasn't fun, of course.  Any ride that Mangers do is always memorable with the usual mix of jokes, laughter, encouragement and yes...food!

The day started out with doubts as the weather forecast proved to be inaccurate.  Morning clouds that were supposed to morph into sun turned out to be rain, on and off.  The team almost canceled but there was enough excitement to pursue the ride - plus, the fact that some of us had just paid the fee!  To make matters worse, a couple of riders forgot their cycling shoes and had to improvise.  Thanks to Maria for driving Joe's shoes up to the start line and to Old Town Bicycles in Gig Harbor for supplying pedals and straps to Raf (for free).

Mang Raf riding along the beach views near Southworth

Posing at a dock in Port Orchard

The peninsula ride is scenic - long roads that curve through small towns and beaches of Southworth, Manchester and Port Orchard provided lots of picture taking opportunity - something Mangers love to do.  It had its share of rolling hills and long steady climbs. The course is well marked, although some of us missed a quick right turn and skipped a few of the last miles.  Rarely did we go on busy roads as most of the course was on interior country roads.

Rain and cold eventually gave way to sunshine and even though the sun was out, temperatures stayed in the mid 60's, perfect for climbing (not too hot, not too cold).  We had a slight mishap when Harry's chain skipped the largest cog, causing him to lose balance on a big climb. He got a little bruised but thankfully, no serious injury.  From then on, the shifting on his bike wasn't quite as good - about 15 miles from the finish but he made it back, still managing to climb the last few hills.

Joe had to abandon early on because this was his first attempt at a major ride and cramps took the best of him.  But he had his own little adventure in the island on his own - while lost trying to make shortcuts, he got treated to a party by a nearby church.

It was great riding with Eric again - work and school schedules had made it impossible for him to ride on Saturdays.  Everyone made it back to the start line by 3PM and half an hour later, the Mangers were concluding their day at Applebee's.  As usual, lots of fun bicycling with friends!

Concluding the ride at Applebees

7 Hills of Kirkland...check!

At the Kirkland Waterfront

The City of Kirkland hosts an official ride every Memorial Day which features some of the most challenging hills in its surrounding communities.  Dubbed the 7 Hills of Kirkland, the route snakes from the city's downtown through Juanita, Bothell, Woodinville, Redmond and Bellevue.  Every year hundreds of cyclists ride through the route unofficially just to challenge themselves.

Enter Team Mang.  Once again trying to build on their previous accomplishments as part of their training, the team decided to do the basic 36 miles 7HOK route but instead of starting from Kirkland, they started from Renton Stadium, adding another 25 miles and a few more bonus hills to the route.  They also picked up a couple of riders along the way.

Team Mang checklist: 7 Hills of Kirkland - check!

The "Peterson hill" is a bonus warm up hill near Newport hills that Team Mang adds to their rides for warm up - to wake up their legs 4 miles from their starting point.  That climb was quickly followed by a sprint to the Kirkland waterfront where the official ride actually begins on Memorial Day.  Hill number 1 wasn't too difficult even though it was technically a Cat 5. It climbs from the Kirkland waterfront up to the top of that town. The second hill was not as steep but was still challenging due to its length - climbing from downtown Juanita park on Juanita drive to Bothell.  The route then drops riders back down almost to water level so they can climb back up on the other side. This is hill number 3, which would turn out to be the most challenging hill, a full category above all the others - climbing back up from Holmes Point towards Juanita Drive near St. Edwards Park.  Some riders actually skipped the dip down and up to stay on Juanita Drive. Hill number 4, the climb to Bothell's highest point - Norway Hill - created some dessert for the team.  Jello legs, according to one of the riders.

There would be a few more ups and downs but the next official hill was on a major thoroughfare, NE 132nd. The climb begins under I-405 and is made even more challenging because you begin from a total stop (traffic light) and you have to contend with fast moving traffic and construction cones.  Hill number 6 comes after a long break, including a stop at Safeway and a fast downhill ride down to Woodinville.  This hill, which begins with a "wall" and a smiley face, would force some to stand due to its steepness in the beginning.

After Hill # 6, there's reason to rejoice!

After that, it was a sprint to Subway for lunch and a break just before the last hill in Redmond.  Having completed the 7 hills, the team still had to make it back to the Stadium.  A few fell victim to cramps, some pain here and there but overall, they completed the route with an average moving speed of 13 mph.  The ride is always complete, of course, with its share of joking, clowning around and just having fun with each other.  Temperatures never went above 65 degrees with a few sun breaks - perfect weather for climbing but brrr...cold on those downhill runs.