12th Tour of the Fireflies – UPDATE

Here’s a message from the Firefly Brigade in anticipation of tomorrow’s 12th Tour of the Fireflies event:

“The route for this years “I VOTE TO BIKE! – 12th tour of the Fireflies forms a figure 8. Start,midddle and end is at Tiendesitas. For those who are newbies, with children or simply cannot take the summer heat, for safety reasons, it is advised to already stop at Tiendesitas and wait for the peloton to come back there by 11:00am. There’s an ongoing sports tiangge there that they can check out even. Please spread the word. “

 

View the tour’s ROUTE MAP HERE.

The 12th Tour of the Fireflies

It is not easy being pregnant. That will be especially true if you are a mtbiker. A runner who gets pregnant can perhaps still run until such stage where she still finds it comfortable to do so. But for a mtbiker, riding to tackle trails or even just the road will be considered a delicate task. Well, for me that is the situation. Huhuhu…

I haven’t been on a bike since the first day I learned that I am with a child again. And I will have to tell you that I miss it more than I miss my running. Why? Because with running, I get to still go to the races and be an expectator. I still get to have that  certain feeling that I am still in it, though on a different level. I miss the sight and smell of the trails, the anticipation and joy that comes with being there with fellow mtbikers. I miss the camaraderie and best of all, I miss that alone time with my bike as I commune with nature at its best.

One other thing related to biking that I will really miss is this event:

I will definitely miss participating in this year's edition of the Tour of the Fireflies

This is no mtbiking event. Nor will this take participants to different out-of-town trails. But then, this is a yearly event that promotes the advocacy for clean air with the use of bikes instead of smoke-emitting vehicles for travel.

In the two consecutive years that I have participated in this, it always gave me a heartwarming feeling being there with a lot of people – a mix of adults, kids, elite road and mtbikers, biking enthusiasts or just any simple juans or plain janes who just happen to have a bicycle. As the popular Filipino phrase goes, everyone is there – “bata o matanda, may ngipin o wala!”.

This year, the tour will be on Sunday, April 18 and will take Metro Manila participants through seven areas : Pasig – QC – Marikina – Cainta – Taguig – Makati – Mandaluyong. A simultaneous event also happens in seven cities outside Metro Manila: Baguio, Bacolod, Palawan, Laoag, Leyte, Cagayan de Oro, General Santos City.

The Metro Manila tour takes off as the usual from Tiendesitas at seven o’clock in the morning and ends at the same venue by one o’clock in the afternoon.

Just by participating in the event, you help in the sustainable transportation work being undertaken by the Firefly Brigade. It includes trying to make cities and commercial establishments more bike-friendly.

Surely, after the tour, participants will all be sweaty, grimy, teribly tanned and tired but then again, the joy of having participated and completing the 40km advocacy ride will all be well worth it. I know, it was the same feeling I felt the past two years that I was in it. 😉

For those who haven’t participated in the event and wish to join, you can check the details at the above poster or you can get in touch with anyone from the Firefly Brigade:

Firefly Brigade
169 Kamias Road , Quezon City
landline: 219.4985
mobile: 0917.923.7334
telefax: 922-0368

To read about my Tour of the Fireflies experience last year and view some event pictures, click HERE.

Have fun in this year’s tour folks! 😉