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.