It’s a short article on my journey from being a naive non-biker (my initial impressions, how I got started) to a mountain biking addict.

Here’s an excerpt from the article:

It was a totally different experience from what I wrongly thought mountain biking was! The rush of the single track trails! Oh, the trails! The fear of falling in almost knee-deep muddy ruts! Oh, the ruts! My heart beating wildly as I try my hardest not to crash, as I try my hardest to keep pedaling even when I felt I didn’t have anything more to give, as I try my hardest not to slow the whole group down.

In my journey I was able to answer that question. Get your copy of the 2nd issue to read the whole article. Or if you’re patient enough I have a few copies to be given away as What The Heck?! contest prizes. Still trying to come up with something for round 3, though.

That’s one of the main problems bike commuters in the Philippines have. Ours being a third world country it’s no surprise our streets are suddenly being populated by bike commuters from all walks of life – from people who only have a beat up and wiggling bike as their main and only form of transportation to those who are members of 2-car (at least) families.

Bike parking is a problem as only bike shops, and, lately, a bike rider-conscious owner of a gas station are the only ones I am aware of that provide semi-safe bike parking. Sure, there may be other establishments but my point is they may only comprise of 1%, give or take. Not included government institutions who I think should set a good example. But then, when did the Philippine government ever be a good example overall?

That’s why I admire the Firefly Brigade’s initiative of talking to local governments and malls and convincing them of providing simple and cost-effective bike racks for public bike parking. I don’t remember where I read it but I’m pretty sure I landed on the page while reading about this project by the Firefly Brigade, if I remember correctly it’s their recommendations on public bike rack designs.

Main point being the structure should support the whole bike (mainly, the frame, unlike Nuvali’s bike parking) plus the structure should enable the biker to secure the bike’s frame and both tires using 1 long bike lock. It should also be sturdy and secure enough that it won’t be easy to lift the whole structure off the ground, along with the bike(s), and load it onto a small truck or closed van. That scenario is possible!

With some simple Googling I found some examples and options of what public bike park structures should look like.

Fine, I’ll stop ranting now.

Anyway, why am I concerned with this bike parking problem? Simple things, really, but I have also learned it has a great impact on a lot of important points, like my health, the environment, convenience, etc.

Simple errands which would be too far to walk to, too near to bring a car (and the perpetual traffic on the main road due to the stupid strategy our local municipality’s traffic enforcers employ; no other way but to pass here), too impractical to ride the public transportation… and, of course, the chance to put in some saddle time.

Not only that. The Alabang Town Center is just a 14-km ride from home. If I need to go there for some reason or other what stops me, as with the case when I need to do those simple errands I mentioned before, is the complete lack of secure bike parking.

My eldest son can also benefit from school bike racks. A few months ago he already asked me if he can just bike to school. Sure, I’m all for this idea, especially the school is fairly close to home and there’s a safer route he can take without having to pass through the main road I mentioned above. This would lessen the monthly expenses for my kids’ school service, it will help him develop his stamina and endurance, help him get comfortable on a bike — part-training for when we go to the trails, since late last summer I’ve already starting bringing him on some of the shorter and easier rides. What made me decide not to let him bike to school is the lack of safe school bike racks; unlike in Japan as shown in The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift.

Supporting and encouraging the use of bicycles for simple reasons like the examples I just shared would go a long way in easing the infamous Philippine traffic, promote a healthy and clean lifestyle, and gently push us into doing our part to save Mother Earth. Simple solutions, significant impact.

That’s the message I got from John. I verified if he was thinking of pedaling all the way to Tagaytay. He said yes. So I started wondering what the heck he has eaten.

I have my doubts as he has been saying how much he hates uphill climbs (as with any newcomer to biking), then this sudden invitation.

I asked for details like his chosen route, take-off time, other attendees, etc. Turns out it was just me and him.

After non-stop texting the night before until the morning of the ride we finally settled on an afternoon ride. We didn’t really have a choice. But the original plan of pedaling from Daang Hari to Tagaytay was scrapped. The macho bravado faded (haha, just kidding, John!) and he decided to just bring a car to Sta. Rosa and ride from there.

Lights were packed in pockets and bags as I knew we’d be riding in the dark later on.

Up until leaving the parking lot of Nuvali we were still undecided if we should just ride the Sta. Rosa trails or do the Reverse Palace route. Solution? A one-hit bato-bato-pick (Paper, Rock, Scissors) while pedaling to decide where we’ll ride.

“Kung ikaw manalo, saan tayo?” (“If you win, where are we riding?”) I asked John.

“EWAN KO!” (“I DON’T KNOW!”) John answered, exasperated but laughing.

“Kung ikaw, Sta. Rosa. Ako Reverse Palace,” (“If you win we’ll ride Sta. Rosa. If I win we’ll do Reverse Palace,”) I said.

“Game.”

My scissors beat the crap out of John’s paper.

Off we go, wondering what John’s reaction to the climbs will be. I found out before too long as we were starting the climb going to the Marcos Mansion.

“Put***ina ka! Kala ko ba sabi mo wala masyadong ahon?!” (“Son of a b**ch! I thought you said there won’t be much climbs?!”) I heard John shouting as I keep my pace steady during the very first (and one of two) steep climbs. I smile at the irony — HE wanted to pedal all the way UP to Tagaytay, then he doesn’t want to encounter uphill climbs? I just had to laugh.

Midway John started experiencing back pains. This slowed him down, and the fact it was his first time to climb this route. All that plus the late afternoon start nighttime has fallen before reaching the final and second steep climb (landslides covered the road but sections were already cleared for a one-vehicle track).

At a recovery point just before starting the final climb I stopped to wait for John and to start installing my lights. As I was waiting in front of a makeshift house the owner offered me the langka (jackfruit) he was eating. Not taking no for an answer I accepted and started eating a few bits. When John finally caught up I offered the langka but he declined. When we were ready to continue I returned the rest of the langka and we turned on our lights.

We reached the small store at the top around 7:00 P.M.

We started discussing and debating on our route going down as we rested. Will we pass via the route to Aling Pina’s or back track and go down the Reverse Palace route? The latter will be faster and safer for us.

John’s original plan of meeting up with his girlfriend Karla in Tagaytay for dinner was taken out of our options as it was too far to ride at that time.

Naturally, we opted for the safest and quickest route: go back down where we climbed.

Not much of a rush but going down this route at night was fun. Just stay alert for dogs, humans loitering, parked vehicles, and motorcycles. Speed control is necessary, too, so as not to startle the locals too much. If they get too annoyed it might not be safe for future bikers to ply this route at night.

With Ian’s assurance it will be safe I finally agreed. He assured me we’ll be riding the most newbie-friendly downhill tracks. Plus, he promised to lend me complete safety gear: a full-face helmet, body suit, knee and shin guards.

We also borrowed a DH bike for me to use. A Kona Stab Supreme.

I arrived at the meeting place on time. My riding buddies, Ian and Edwin, weren’t there when I arrived. Are they backing out? Hah! Yeah, right.

The travel was a time suck. Because of both the distance and the hellish traffic on SLEX (South Luzon Expressway — EXPRESS my ass) approaching the toll gates. The distance is bearable. The traffic I’m sure something can be done about, but dare I say making money off of motorists is more important than easing the highway users’ inconvenience. OK, I’m ranting, but seriously. 1 hour and 30 minutes of SLOOOW moving traffic towards the toll gate early in the morning, and the same thing in the afternoon going home (on the same lane/direction), on a Saturday? Common sense dictates something should be done about it! OK, I’m still ranting. I’ll stop this now.

Finally, I started seeing signs reminding people to keep Mt. Makiling clean. In no time we arrived at the UP Los Baños Sunken Garden.

From the very beginning I was experiencing a whole new way of riding: the bike’s setup and body geometry, the cumbersome safety gear strapped on the top tube and hanging from my back, the nice and plush suspension system of the Kona Stab Supreme, the pair of cycling rubber shoes I was wearing and the platform pedals (naturally, I’m not clipped in), and the weight of the downhill bike.

Starting from the parked cars I tried to pedal as far as I could go but it was impossible to pedal it all the way up the Mud Spring tracks. I didn’t take note of the time but if I remember correctly the ascent of pushing the bike up where we started took a little over an hour, including the pit stop at Station 5.

First things first, upon reaching the stores that mark our starting line: fresh buko (coconut)! Natural energy drink. And a much-needed rest. I’m not made for hiking… yet? We’ll see.

I was still wheezing from the uphill push when I noticed my guides and mentors were starting to prepare for the downhill ride. With much effort to push myself up from the bench I was sitting on I started getting my gear ready.

2010 05 01 DH Day – Prepping from Francis Arellano on Vimeo.

Now we’re ready to go. Being a first-timer on this trail and on this bike I was fairly cautious. As long as I can see way way ahead of me I wasn’t scared to let go of the brakes. But as we were riding down a (wide) mountain trail the tracks have non-stop winding curves — and these scared the shit out of me. I still have a way to go in learning to ride turns with speed so I apply the brakes as I approached and slowed myself down to a unimpressive speed.

I’d rather be unimpressive than overshoot the damn cliffs. So I ignore the voice of my self-conscious mocking me about my form. SHUT UP, I thought, shouting at it. I kept alternating between sitting down on the low saddle and standing up on the pedals to be able to use my legs as additional shock absorbers. I felt my feet and legs shaking uncontrollably from the stress of standing too long and from the vibrations from the rough terrain. I’m more used to doing descents much slower than this.

Then I hear the noise, the rattles than can only be associated with bicycles barreling fast down rough terrain. A split second after, as I go slow around the bend, a blurred vision of the downhill rider appears in my peripheral vision. With the streak of yellow on his shorts I recognized him to be Ian. Seeing him pedaling around the curves made me want to slap my hand on my forehead, as I thought to myself how the hell he did that.

I turned my attention back to the trail. With the moss-covered baby heads (rocks embedded into the ground) I had to make sure I’m following a good line and stay alert. Even though I’m not going as fast as I want to I know crashing in this terrain will hurt.

I entered and passed through another right-turning curve. I started to notice the rocks up ahead are slightly bigger than what I’ve just passed. I gripped the handlebar tighter. Then I saw a huge rock in my path. Huge enough to form a small drop. The drop isn’t really a problem, I know I can manage that. What I didn’t know was the interior tube couldn’t. As soon as I passed it I heard a different kind of sound as the fork absorbs everything the trails gives it.

I thought it was a normal thing as I’m only getting acquainted with this bike on this ride. It’s the sound of some kind of metal hitting a hard object, like a rock. I kept riding.

Then my front tire wiggles, which in turn passes it on to the handlebars, then to my hands, then to my arms. I almost lost control. My heart skipped a beat. Then I regained control back.

The trail up ahead curves left. Then I hear a shout. It was Edwin, behind my. Checking me, guiding me.

“What?!” I shouted back.

“Flat!” he said.

I applied the brakes. No wonder I almost lost control, shit, I thought. I thank God and Edwin for staying behind me.

We slowed down and proceeded to fix the flat. More than 1 snakebite pinch flats were found. We even almost ran out of patches!

And finally we’re done. Off we go again to continue the ride!

Knowing Edwin will be staying behind me as a guide Ian went ahead to have his fill of his downhill rush. 5 seconds after taking off I didn’t have any idea where he was. I couldn’t see him anymore.

I focus my concentration back on the trail, looking ahead a few feet in front of me to see what’s coming and to anticipate if I should/could roll over is, jump over it (heh!), or swerve to avoid it.

Finding me too slow Edwin alternated between staying behind me and slowing down to let me pass. Then I saw it again. Similar terrain characteristics of where I think I got the front tire flat. I was too chicken to swerve and, at the same time, too confident with the patch job we just did. I could pull the bike up a little to lessen the impact, I thought.

As I neared the small rock-formed step I pulled on the handlebar. A split second after I did a slight jump on the pedals.

Then I land back down. BLAG! I felt and heard the rear tire touch down on the trail hard. Too hard for it to be a smooth landing. I felt a slight wiggle, this time on the rear. Shit, I thought.

Edwin passed me a few meters back. But on the next curve I saw him riding slow, waiting for me. As soon as I was within earshot I shouted, “Am I flat?”

“Huh?”

“Is my rear tire flat?” I asked again.

“Yes!”

Double shit, I thought, again.

We stopped. I flipped the bike. He got his tools and we started working on the flat. One last patch left. Gulp!

Done. We inflated the tube and got ready to put it in the tire. Edwin pumps while I squeeze the tube checking if it’s inflating.

It wasn’t. Hrmm…

I don’t know why but I checked the front tire. I squeezed it. The tire folded. No air.

No patch. We ran out of.

We looked at each other. We were both disappointed with me not being able to finish the whole downhill ride.

After putting the tube back in the tire I flipped the bike back up, checked our stuff to make sure nothing was left behind, and I started the hike down. Edwin opted to walk down with me. More “mountain bike hiking…” Descending this time.

Watch out for the post about the next Mt. Makiling trip we did which had way way better results than this trip. Stay tuned!

Ride safe, ride hard!

]]> http://travelsandgears.com/2010/05/23/dh-day/feed/ 6 http://travelsandgears.com/2009/03/10/running-on-empty-for-now/ http://travelsandgears.com/2009/03/10/running-on-empty-for-now/#comments Tue, 10 Mar 2009 10:11:27 +0000 Craw http://travelsandgears.com/?p=63

Different factors are preventing me from going out 4-wheeling. It has been quite a while since I last ‘wheeled.

That’s the main reason this site has been stagnant. If I haven’t been ‘wheeling, there’s nothing to post, nothing to share, nothing to review.

For this I apologize — but it’s really unavoidable.

Lately, though, the ‘wheeling and trailing I’ve been doing is on 2 wheels, and not the motorized kind. Check out my mountain bike site/blog for now, as that’s what I’ve been updating since I try to go out riding almost every day. It’s called The MTB Junkie @ www.TheMTBJunkie.com

Thanks and happy trails! Don’t forget to subscribe to my newsletter!

Original forum thread here: Our Off Road Trails Last Year in Cebu

The Eagle Off-Roaders Davao group has been posting excellent and exciting adventure photos for a long time (all this in the 4×4 Philippines forum). So when they started a topic called “The EAGLE’s Ranch” I was quite curious.

At first I thought it’s just a topic showing off one of the members’ properties in Davao, and as usual I was blown away by the offroad action pictures they shared with us.

These guys trail seriously, but still have some damn, good fun — as evident by the facial expressions in the photos, with or without mechanical casualties. Check out all their other pics in this thread in the forum.

I’ll be posting more from them to share with you guys in the near future. Enjoy!

I have seen videos of the Red Bull Rampage (freeride), and Roam and Seasons by The Collective. The two latter videos show the different disciplines of mountain biking. As such I have seen the cool freeride and downhill scenes from these cool videos. With that I have also seen their footage of bails and unsuccessful attempts at their stunts, and, well, I still value my life. I think I’ll just stick to cross-country (XC) biking for now.

Dangerous or not these guys enjoyed! Even when the part-owner of SCC almost collapsed from exhaustion (see image below). Click here to view the other pictures posted at the invite thread on OutdoorHobbies.co.cc