All Saints: Cabanatuan to Baler

Nov. 1, 2014. 730am. An ominous start: Jollibee had no eggs, gravy or coffee. Then they completely shut off their breakfast menu. Flat roads then we saw the mountains in the distance.

Baler is over these mountains.

Cabin Fever

Early Friday morning. Another day in September, another storm. This one, worse than the previous day. Classes and work were called off as some of the roads were impassable due to the floods.

There's only so much of the house that I can take while the wind and rain are raging outside.

The forecast suggested that the worst of the rain and wind would subside by 8pm that day. But  what if the forecast is wrong? What if the electricity goes out? Did we have enough food? Do we even have stuff at home ready for an emergency?

So on that bike I go. The road bike wasn't the smartest idea. Gusts of wind near tall buildings caused the bike to nearly topple over. The streets were quite empty, so my bike had the whole road to dance its way to the bakery.

More wind than rain.

What was I doing biking in this weather again?

The headwinds and crosswinds came from nowhere and I struggled to keep my balance. I came home with a bag of bread tucked under my jacket. All is well.

After the Storm

A storm just hit Manila. It was a day off. My friends were working and I suddenly had nothing to do. These days, I don't ride as much. It feels like it. Hills never get easier, you only get stronger. Yeah, right. Hills are hills.

The roads were eerily empty. The asphalt wasn't as slippery as I thought. The trees and clouds were still hungover from the storm.

Spectator

I had just finished my run when I heard a familiar buzz. And there they were. Speed demons along one of Manila's main roads. On a typical day, these streets are full of vehicles, stuck in the crazy Manila traffic. It's hard to imagine these streets being empty at all. But such was the case on an early Sunday morning.

They looked like they were doing interval training or time trials. 

They had 2 guys who were part of the lead pack, who would stop any incoming traffic, much to the chagrin of the motorists.

I longed to be out there, spinning as well, enjoying the company of fellow riders, and feeling the burning sensation on my legs.

As I went higher, I followed these riders as they made their rounds. I stared at my running shoes and sighed.

Wining and riding

December 24, 2013. We were used to roads. Concrete, asphalt, unpaved, cars, trucks, pedestrians, crazy motorists. That was our daily commute and a long ride across Southeast Asia. Roots, mud, loose rocks, branches, leaves, and the rest of nature seemed completely foreign to us.

"I usually celebrate my birthday with a solo ride." A solo ride turned into a group of 5. We had the basic trail of La Mesa all to ourselves. It was the day before Christmas after all.

We had the park all to ourselves.

Geeking Out

I miss my 3 bikes and rides that last the whole day and awesome conversations and delicious food (or junk) to stuff yourself with and cute socks that (mis)match your bike jersey.

Geeking out over Firefly Bicycles Adventure Team.

Photo from Firefly Adventure Team

When We Crash

"You've never ridden a motorbike in these parts if you haven't fallen." He scoffed.

This is the product of no planning and not thinking things through. We didn't know where we were going or how to get there. All we had with us was a hand-drawn map of the area and varying accounts of distance:

"Lapit lang 'yun! 45 minutes!"

"Naku, malayo. Abot kayong 2 oras."

"Bale, mga 1 oras papunta dun."

We shrugged our shoulders and said why not. All we knew was we had to get out of town and go to the beach.

Summer Cycle

I've been here for two weeks already. I've come to know this little town and some of its oddities. I now have a suki in the palengke. I know where to have things printed for cheap and where to buy my dry goods. I notice that everything here is slightly overpriced, but what can you do. The tiny 2 lane highway is always bustling with motorcycles and tricycles. The shuttle vans that come and go from the airport are the only cars you will see on the road. Yet the streets are always busy. That's Coron rush hour. 

Flashback: UK 2012

July 2012. There was a conference in Scotland. And the London Olympics too. And a triathlon. I thought it would be a good idea to bring my bike. And it was after trip that I realized I never wanted to travel anywhere without it.

My bike was very willing to pose for the pictures.
It was only after 1 week that some cyclists pointed out that my fork was on backwards.

End The Year Ride

Right, I mean.

December 27-30, 2013. It was an uncomfortable 9-hour bus trip from Manila to Bangued, Abra. We were having breakfast in Chowking when we checked Google Maps for the day's mileage. There it was: 110kms. We did a double take and I refreshed the page every so often but nope, the distance didn't change. 110 Cordillera freaking kilometers.

This was all part of the adventure of course. We said yes to Sir Paul (SPV) when he invited us to ride the northern part of the Philippines for the Christmas to New Year break. The plan was to start in Bangued, Abra, make our way to Balbalasang, Lubuagan and Tinglayan (all in the Kalinga province), then to Bontoc (in Mountain Province). From there, I would take the bus back to Manila so I can make it to New Year's Eve with the family. Pen, SPV and LA would meet up with G3 and Levi in Bontoc and celebrate New Year in Sagada. SPV only e-mailed us the towns we were staying in but we had no idea how far apart they were. Looks like we were about to find out.