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.

Wind and shoes

A friend of mine was asking for bike advice. We spent the past week communicating on what type of bike she should get and what to look for. Just this weekend, she purchased a new bike for herself. There were some kinks to be worked out in that process: rude customer service in one bike shop and an uncomfortable saddle when she finally rode.

But then she told me about how refreshing it was to be on the bike, to have the wind run through your hair. And oh, how I missed that feeling.

Review: Larga Commuter

I had the chance to test the prototype of Larga's new commuter pack. It's a roll-up bag with 2 major pockets for your clothes, laptop, or shoes and one smaller pocket for smaller items. The material for the major pockets are fairly lightweight and I love the double zippers. Unfortunately, they aren't waterproof.

Review: Larga bags

One major consideration when planning a bike tour is choosing what bag to bring. If you were to look at bike touring blogs and cycling specific online shops, there is a huge range of options to choose from: rear and front racks with panniers, frame bags, saddlebags, handlebar bags, bike trailers, etc. etc. Time and location are two major factors when choosing the right bag. Traveling a remote area over a period of several months would usually mean carrying more things than a highly populated week-long trip.

Test Ride: Banaue - Sagada

It was drizzling when we arrived in Banaue. The streets were quiet as we set up our bikes for the ride to Sagada. The mileage was fairly reasonable: a total of 60kms. But this was the Cordilleras. There are no reasonable kilometers in the Cordi.

Trumpets and Rain

Happier times earlier that day

I fully expected a hero's welcome in Siem Reap after biking 150kms that day: trumpets sounding, people cheering upon our entry into the city. What we got instead was a downpour. Our first downpour of the trip.

I looked up at the sky and said, "Seriously?"