Just in case you decide you need that extra jolt of carbs or for some post-ride stuffing. Plus, it's good for sharing as well. I love the sticky fingers feeling after stuffing myself with a bag of these goodies.

These stalls are propped up all over the White Plains road. They all promise to carry fresh puto't kutsinta from Calasiao, Pangasinan. Why they chose the White Plains road is beyond me. I'm not sure what the differences between stalls are. For P30 a bag of mixed puto't kutsinta, it's a quick fix for depleted energy stores.

Here's what's inside: At first, all you'll see is the kutsinta,

But upon closer inspection..

Voila! There's the puto hiding!

Why didn't I buy this sooner?

Saw this book in Fully Booked, SM Clark. Decided not to get it, in the hopes of finding a copy here in Manila. Guess what: sold out in Fully Booked. Grr. Should've gotten it at once.

So who wants to give me this for Christmas? :)

Moonleaf Tea Shop!

My current obsession. Perfect post-bike ride/training refreshment. It's this quaint milk tea place just before Maginhawa Street in UP Diliman, right beside a frozen yogurt place and Mini Stop. with prices from P65-P80 for a venti-sized milk tea with toppings (pudding, pearl, nata), you can't go wrong. Having recently been converted into a milk tea person, I always order the classic pearl milk tea. One of their bestsellers is the wintermelon milk tea, but last I checked (today), they're removing it from the menu. Other bestsellers are the caramel milk tea and the yakult jasmine tea.

The tale of Bluey

Or how Dindi was gracious enough to lend me her bike. :)

Oct. 21. Got the bike from Peng and Dinds' residence. Fiddled around with the seat a bit, found a bike shop and had the chain and crankset oiled, had a bit of a bother figuring out the gears, then finally set out to the Fort to show Raech Bluey.

Meet Bluey.

And this is Raech, trying Bluey out in her dress around the Fort.

Oct. 24. First bikeout to La Mesa Dam with Raech, Jojo, Jojo's cousin, Jay, Cess, Kerwin + Ria and Ed + Aicah. 20km of awesome trails and awesome views. It took us about 4 hours to do those trails, so I'm seriously doubting the distance that we did. Insane downhill rush.

This is us. Who knew this existed an hour away from Manila.

Nov. 1. Ed, Raech and I took advantage of the holiday to go up Timberland. We did the Wall, then trail ran Shotgun.

Refreshing trail run at Shotgun with Raech.

Nov. 7. And the reason why I was so excited to get a mountain bike ASAP: Xterra's Off-road Duathlon, aptly dubbed Putik Pare! Raech and I joined for the sole purpose of having fun. We were the one of the few all-female teams there, and probably the only female team who finished in such high spirits. We didn't place obviously, but I can't remember the last time I had that much fun.

Raech and I having a blast at the mudpit.

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La Mesa and Shotgun pics care of Raech.

Xterra Mud Pit pic care of Redg Plopinio.

Spot the rider!

Rainy Monday evening. Caught these on my camera phone. Uber slow shutter speed. (Personally, I prefer the first picture.)

There you were and then you were gone.

Posting high

8pm tonight. EDSA-White Plains sidewalk. Hello buses and cars and motorcycles.

View from my cellphone camera, biking on the EDSA-White Plains sidewalk going home at a little past 8pm.

Bike essentials

So here's my everyday bike kit:

1. Helmet

Awesome flak helmet from Giro. Never ever bike without one. I've tried biking without one before, but you didn't need to know that.

2. Bike bag with all your essentials

The very functional Timbuk2 bag (a word about the bag in a bit) with all my essentials. What's peeking out: bike lock and key, cellphone, netbook. What you can't see: change of clothes, planner, wallet, cellphone, towel, patch kit, bike pump, laptop charger. Yes, that bag can hold all that plus a bit more in its nooks and crannies. Timbuk2 is your perfect bike commute bag: it comes with clip-on reflectors, a slot for your blinker, a chest cross-strap to prevent the bag from slipping to your body when biking, and best of all, it's water-resistant, with the insides made of waterproof material. Big deal right there just cause we get crazy rain in the Philippines.

About Me

20-something. Learned how to ride a bike when I was really young. Stopped in high school. In college, the most vivid bike experience I can remember was riding the bike from my house to school hung-over. Started bike commuting mid-2008 and haven't looked back since then. Using an old Schwinn that my brother doesn't use anymore. Recently tried MTB-ing (mountain biking) from a friend who was kind enough to loan me hers for a while. Gotten hit by jeeps and cars. No serious injuries. Whew. Can change a flat. Bike repair knowledge pretty much ends there. Bike parts knowledge is very minimal.

Welcome to Manila Cycle Chick

The streets of Metro Manila are a dangerous thing-- ask any motorist, commuter, passenger, sidewalk vendor, and they'll tell you the same thing.

I'm a bike commuter. One of the few (but growing in number I'd like to believe) who instead of bringing a car (because I don't know how to drive) or commuting, chose an alternative form of transportation to get from Point A to Point B.

Manila's streets are frightful. Ask anyone, they'll tell you the same thing.

But riding Manila's streets can be downright awesome as hell, and I'm here to share with you that awesomeness.