Sunday’s Newbie Bike Ride at UP Diliman

Instead of a joining a foot race or having a good practice run, I opted to join the PinoyMTBikers for a Sunday bike ride around UP and also to support the Buy Me a Bike Bazaar on the same day at the house of Grace (pmtb handle Lavender) and Eloi (pmtb handle Nokia) within the UP compound.

our PMTB class picture

You see folks, I am more of a runner than a biker. As a default, runs were always chosen over bike rides without even having second thoughts. But at this particular instance, I knew it won’t hurt to prefer riding the bike for a change. And I was glad that I did. I had a grand time with the PMTB peeps, glad to be able to meet a lot of them and finally attach faces to the handles I oftentimes just encounter over the many threads in the PMTB forum.

at first i felt awkward seeing several people running while there i was riding the bike! but it was still fun!

Congratulations for a successful bike ride and bazaar guys and girls! Here’s looking forward to many more rides with you! Ride safe!

at the Buy-Me-A-Bike Bazaar at Lavender & Nokia's yard

with bubbly Jenny (Bilog)

the guys having fun at the bazaar

i am so honored to be in a pic with PMTB greats

ALIN ANG NAIBA???

with the pmtb babes

with best friend P

tired bikes

view more pictures here

Buy-Me-A-Bike Bazaar

Hey bikers! The PMTB group (http://www.pinoymtbikers.org) is having a fund-raising project to benefit the children of the Redeemer’s Home in Antipolo, Rizal. This is just a simple event which I am happy to support and promote. They aren’t targetting to raise a huge amount from this, just enough to buy the kids their own new bikes. But aren’t simple acts of kindness the source of greater, more noble acts? Read on—

donate a bike part to be able to buy the kids at redeemer's home a new bike

Buy Me A Bike Bazaar
Everything for under P200!

Date: June 14, 2009 - Sunday
Time: 8:00AM – 12:00NN
Venue: 57 F. Agoncillo St., Area 1, U.P. Campus
(it’s at the back of the Infirmary, take the street between the Protestant Church and the Infirmary, 2nd house on the left)

What is this project all about?

This project aims to raise funds from all the donated bike parts that will be sold during the bazaar. The funds that will be raised will be used to purchase brand new bikes for all the kids of the Redeemer’s Home so that they too can have happy childhood memories of riding a bike.

How can you participate and be of help?

1. First, look at your bodega of bike parts and see what you would be willing to donate to the bazaar. It can be an old pair of tires, an extra bike pump, an unused pair of gloves, an old RD, a jersey that’s too small for you, etc. Whataver you are willing to let go.

2. Donate it to the bazaar. When you donate it, we’ll put a price tag on it and sell it during the bazaar. The price tag will not be more than P200 per item. So all items that will be sold at the bazaar is guaranteed to be less than P200!

3. With one item donated, you will have a right to buy anything at the bazaar. No donation, no purchase. We will price your donation, and the price of your donated part has nothing to do with the item that you can purchase. This means, if you donated a pair of grips and we priced it at P20, you can still purchase a used pair of brake levers for P50. And you can buy multiple items even if you donated just one bike part.

4. All donations will be priced very very low, because our objective is to convert these quickly into cash, so we can buy those bikes for the kids at Redeemer’s. This also guarantees you get fantastic deals at the bazaar!

Please come, donate as many parts as you can, and have fun hunting for good bargains from what others donated as well.

For a start, the event organizer is donating a used Kenda SB8 (1 pc only) tire, which was used 3x only. Cost will definitely be less than P200!

Spread the word to your other biking friends and hope to see you!

*For more info, you can visit the PMTB site.  Many thanks to whoops of PMTB for the details.

The La Mesa Trail

It was the day after Valentine’s Day where I find myself travelling with my buddy enroute to the La Mesa Nature Reserve for a supposedly All Girls’ Bike Ride of  the PMTB Babes, as we are collectively called at the PinoyMtBikers forum.  I was nervous and excited at the same time – having not met most of the girls who are joining and moreso, I don’t have any idea what the La Mesa Trail has in store for us.

umm, this one is different from the Eco Park ha...

But girls will be girls. It doesn’t matter if our mtbiking skills are not all at the same level. With just the same interests and/or love for the sport and convenient amount of chika, the initial ice will in an instant be melted. That’s how it was for us yesterday. Picture a large number of girls, dressed up (prettily at that) for a mtbike trail ride converging at the La Mesa Trail head outnumbering the men who came despite the event being an “all-girls ride”. 

that's our group

Oh but we forgive the PMTB boys for “event-crashing”. In hindsight, the ride was partly successful because they were there to provide the much appreciated support – “teachers”, sweepers, photogs, “pushers”, medics, inspiration and comic relief.  Thanks guys, hugs to all of you (ooops, with the consent of your wives and/or girlfriends huh! lol!)

the boys will always be boys

We entered the trail in two groups with me being part of the second which started a few minutes before nine o’clock a.m. And whoa! I never thought that such eden still exists in the heart of Metro Manila. The La Mesa Nature Reserve is such a great gift of nature. I have never been to anything like it before. I really had fun tackling the trail – with lots of rolling hills, ascents and descents. I can now say that a big chunk of my fear of speed during downhill rides were taken away by this experience. I have gained additional confidence in my mtbike handling skills too. If only I can also improve on my endurance. Hmm…

The ride was capped by a picnic lunch wherein food was overflowing. In the end, everybody came home tired but happy, ecstatic and extremely satisfied. I think the hubbies and boyfriends got their well-deserved hugs and kisses because of this.

Thank yous are of course in order… Thank you first of all to Art for allowing me to join this ride. Maybe he realized that I so wanted to be in it that no matter how worried he is, he gave me his nod. Thank you to Karen for spearheading this ride, to Ann for coordinating with the La Mesa peeps. To Ate Vi for staying with me when I had the silly cramps. To Pol for being the friend that he is. I wouldn’t be able to make it to the ride if not for him. And lastly, to all the girls and boys of PMTB who were there yesterday. I had so much fun being with all of you peeps. Cheers!

Let these pics give you a peek of our wonderful experience:

 

warm-up daw muna ako...

pose muna while waiting

pose-pose-pose!

group pic ng girls

the support crew, thanks a lot guys!

pic ng group 2 sa trail head

inside the trail

at our first pitstop

stop muna kami before taking on the long uphill... buwelo muna!

regroup muna, groups 1 and 2

girls picture ulet!

papatalo ba ang boys?

pitstop sa lake

sa lake - boys version

inday and ike sa la mesa

padyak na ulit

in action kuno...

on our last pitstop kung saan si ann e may lakas pang magtinikling!

palabas na ng trail, done na kaya all smiles na!

MTBiker for a Day

It all started with an SMS message from my best friend asking me if I can still ride the bike. He asked me this a few days after I crashed at the McKinley Trail, leaving me with bruises on my left knee. Proud me would eventually reply with a “Yep, bruises lang naman. Nothing like the wounds i got from my Makiling crash.”

As it turned out, he asked me this because there is a bike ride being planned by the PinoyMTBikers from which we are both registered members (he an active member and me, simply a lurker). The ride is a newbie bike ride which aims to cover the Daang-Hari road and offroad trails. It is said that newbie bike rides at PMTB are really “newbie friendly” and one that is so much fun in all aspects.

So after checking out the thread about the said event and also armed with the promise that he will stay with me all throughout, I agreed and started psyching and preparing myself  for the ride.  I will be joining the Daang-Hari Newbie Pasyal Ride and yep, I will be ready for it.

meeting the Manila Riders at Macapagal

this time with Pol

Pol arrived at our home at 5 a.m. on the day of the ride and together we rode to the Diosdado Macapagal Ave. to meet the rest of the Manila Riders who will be joining the ride also. After converging at Jollibee, we proceeded to the general meeting place in Fulton’s Cafe in Daang Hari. It is there that I will be overwhelmed to see a huge turnout of mtbikers in all “shapes and sizes” but one thing is for sure, they were all one when it comes to love for mountain biking. I was then thinking though, what the hell it is there in the trails of Daang-Hari that will generate this kind of attendance? Boy, there were over a hundred of us there that the peloton will have to be divided into four color-coded groups.

large turn-out at the Daang-Hari meet-up point

ayun ako o sa pinakadulo, rightmost.. lol!

After we left the assembly point, we proceeded to ride our way to the Pasong Buaya trail. Pasong Buaya is 5kms of  rough road in between rice fields and a small stream. People were friendly, always ready with a “Good Morning” greeting as we pass by.  At this point I have already gained enough confidence that I can take on the trail, if only the next one will be almost the same as this. 

pitstop at the Tubuhan trail head

face off: ace pintura-loop

But then after exiting the trail and taking the pit stop at Paliparan, I started to feel tired with my legs getting heavier making it so difficult to pedal. I am hungry and worst, I could not find Pol. I will be finding out later that Pol got separated from the group after making a wrong turn on the way to Pasong Buaya. Together with Kuya Toto and Ace, we waited for Pol before proceeding to the Tubuhan trail. It was a good opportunity to take on a longer rest, gobble up one bar of cloud nine and rehydrate, giving me recharged legs for the next trail ride.

pitstop inside the trail

chika galore while taking care of a flat tire

The Paliparan trail or Tubuhan trail is to be our last trail ride before we take on our much needed lunch break. It is composed of super rough roads in between vast sugarcane (tubuhan) fields with minor but exciting uphill and downhill tracks.  Oh and single tracks too.  As I was taking on the trail, I just keep on repeating what Pol has been saying to me – that I should be concentrating on having good bike handling skills especially on the handle bars, engaging the right brakes at the right time and of course that I should be confident that I can do it. The trail was a very bumpy ride but I was so happy to be able to come out of it unscathed.

what lies ahead

in the midst of the sugarcane field

easy lang dito pero maalikabok

We had a great lunch at G4, an eatery in front of the New Bilibid Prisons in Muntinglupa. From there, we are to divide into smaller sub-groups with the others planning to extend their ride to Tagaytay or to take on the Muntilupa trail while the rest of us deciding to ride back home. It is already almost two o’clock in the afternoon and my leg muscles are showing signs of leg cramps already.

lunch at G4, infront of NBP Muntinlupa

sa kabilang mesa naman

CGX (back to camera), coolace and ace pintura

We went home taking on the Paranaque-Macapagal route. And similar to one who is running a full marathon, I am already giving-up at this point. The muscles at my upper knee is already painful because of the cramps making it hard for me to pedal. I have also been having abdominal cramps but I did not dare say this to our group of four. I was thinking that I was having mentally-induced cramps all over my body already. And worse, the feeling that I am subjecting the group to a slow ride under the heat of the sun did not help in the situation. I vouched the idea of hailing a taxi for me but nobody agreed. We just did short pitstops every now and then until we finally were able to arrive home by 5pm. I must say that I was able to finish it only because of the support and push that I was getting from my friends. It is a sweet accomplishment. Way too sweet.

I was able to do a “century-ride” for my first mtbike ride with PMTB covering a distance of 101-kms (Pol did 113.5kms) with the route Pandacan-Macapagal-Dongalo-Sucat-BF-Daang Hari-Pasong Buwaya-Paliparan-Tubuhan Trail-Natl Bilibid Prison, Muntinlupa-Dongalo-Macapagal-UN Ave and back to Pandacan.

I still have a lot to learn with regards to mtbike riding, more confidence to build within me to know that with patience and presence of mind, I can do it but one thing I gained in this experience is the nice and friendly people I have met and been with for the first time. And of course, this was one experience that took me and Pol’s patience to a test. I am just glad we both passed with flying colors.

Lastly, very huge and warm thank yous are in order for all the PMTB peeps who were there ever ready to assist the newbies in this ride (eeerrrrmmm, i am a newbie!).  Thank you and a hug for my best pal Pol for being my “mtbiking coach” and for being patient as always (kahit sinungitan ko sya to the max!).  Kuya Ike, i owe you lots.

MORE PICS:

joanna, me and april

with PMTB veteran Papi Rocky

with LOOP

with PMTB Newmaws

kuya toto, pol and allan

near the trail end

pa-exit na sa trail

The McKinley Trail

I was off the saddle for most of the latter part of the year not because I want to but because of some circumstances that were way beyond my control.  Luckily, I had running to keep me busy during these times but still I have that certain longing to ride the bike again sometime soon – the question of “when” still a tough one to answer. Or so I thought.

Alas on the night of Christmas day, as if he is my Santa just late for Christmas eve, my biker friend Pol (PMTB handle : LOOP) gave me an invitation that is too good to resist. – a bike ride the following day where I was to ride from our home in Pandacan, meet up with them (Team Paco Bikers) at Paco then ride all the way to the Fort then into the McKinley Trail inside the Philippine Army Camp.  Well, if that isn’t a chance too good to pass up on – a comeback ride with the promise of a taste of my first trail experience and what’s best, one surefire way to burn the previous day’s caloric excesses. I did not think twice and replied with a YES.

The ride on the way to the Philippine Army Camp at the Fort was not without the jitters naturally – do i still know how to shift gears, how would i react to the fast vehicles passing by me, will i be super intimidated by jeepneys and hey, do i still look good on a bike? That and the grumbling on my hungry stomach kept up with me during the first half. But then as I got my groove back, I realized that I am doing fine. I still have it, I still know how to ride. I just need practice…

the trail as viewed from the top

I have been hearing and reading about the trail inside the Philippine Army Camp which have just been recently opened to the public. Bikers at the PinoyMtBiker.Org forum named it as the “McKinley Trail”, the trail being in close proximity to McKinley Hill and overlooking the McKinley area at the Fort. For now, entrance and use of the trail is free for the public, one just have to bring one valid ID to be able to enter the camp’s premises and go to the trail.

We arrived at the camp a little past 9 am, registered and had our IDs surrendered at the gate and upon issuance of a biker’s ID/pass we proceeded to the trail. As promised, it was one good trail with two different routes – the red and blue routes. Arrows/markers point to the blue route as the one for leisure/beginner bikers and the red route for expert/technical bikers. I naturally chose to follow the blue route.

litoy, kuya toto, pol and me

pitstop

pol and litoy fixing my rear tire

The trail for beginners is one difficult trail not to mention slippery because of the previous night’s rain. Or perhaps, difficult for a first timer like me. I still have shadows of fear following my hard downhill crash during our Makiling, Laguna bike ride which left me with bike-related scars on my left elbow and knee, that I haven’t summoned enough courage to tackle all the steep and slippery uphills, downhills and switchbacks.  The trail were mostly of single tracks which will keep both your hands busy navigating, twisting and turning. I kept telling myself that I should avoid the risk of injury and that I can just dismount whenever I feel like I can’t do it anymore. And after a flat rear tire, I decided not to complete the route all the way to the top. I just remained riding on the lower part surroundng the lagoon, took pictures and even tried to do one lap of running. Plus making a mental note of scheduling a good number of bike rides in the future for me to be able to practice and thus equip me in making a braver comeback to this beautiful trail.

roland and pol preparing to ride the whole circuit one last time

me on the trail

By noon, we were back on the road all the way back home. I was able to complete some 33kms of bike ride for the day and that is enough to make me smile for now. Many thanks Pol, Roland, Kuya Toto and Litoy for letting me join your ride. Next time, Inday (that’s me in MTBiking, hehe) hopes to be able to ride with the whole gang again.

View all photos here.