My cycling journey. 😉
The memory of learning to ride a bike is actually still so vivid. It was along the rough road in a place called “Cor” in Barangay Lamak in my hometown. I and my mother frequented the place because her bestfriend lives there.
Take note, my mother is not a native of Hilongos, Leyte and she has no relative nearby, so my heart is always happy to reminisce that both my mother and her bestfriend, a Hilongosnon by birth, whom she met in Manila in their adult days, eventually raised a family in the same town.
I still find that story amazing.
Anyway, eventually, the daughter of my Mama’s BFF became my childhood BFF too. She was the one who taught me to ride a bike.
The time I learned to ride a bike, I gathered no scratch so my parents, who were so protective, didn’t know that I already learned to ride one. They were so shocked when they saw me riding a mountain bike at our neighbor’s yard. Obviously, it’s another bike that I borrowed. Haha.
Fast forward to highschool, the bicycle has played again an important part in another friendship I made.
My bestfriend (who’s now a famous singer) and I did a lot of things in highschool together, some of them maybe we cannot recall clearly but I can bet the bike rides we had – the night and weekend rides around town are memories that are as clear as water. But again, it was another borrowed bike.
I left my hometown in 2009 for studies and work, I still try to visit Hilongos from time to time but most of my adult days are already spent here in the capital.
And in here, it’s not easy to borrow one. I mean, borrow a bike.
None of my cousins here knows how to ride one so obviously there’s no bike that I can borrow. HAHAHA. Isip niyo na siguro dakilang buraot ako.
It’s because owning a bike is:
- Pricey
- A good bike is not that cheap. Yes, you don’t have to have the best bike but if you want to have one that could last longer usually you consider a budget of around Php 5,000.00 (I started considering like five years ago) and that’s a big money for me already.
- Dangerous
- Everyone would prolly agree. Metro Manila is not a bicycle-friendly metropolis most especially pre-COVID-19 pandemic. But I was initially considering to just bike around Marikina which is a city that has actually a good network of bike lanes. But back to the budget issue, lagi nalang akong nagsasabi na saka nalang.
However, even if I was constrained financially of owning a bike, you know, I still looked for ways to ride a bike without spending at least Php 5,000.00 in one go.
How?
Thru a bike rental (I will blog about this soon). Para-paraan siszt para makagala. 🤣
Came 2020, our lives had like a 180-degree turn. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought a big change to our society and one of the hugely affected is the area of transportation. Public transport halted operations most especially at the start of lockdown. The only way to move was either to walk, have a personal car, or bike (or ride a tricycle).
Lockdown started March 2020. In June 2020, protocols eased and biking was already allowed. As people were stuck at home for three months, the thirst to go out was really high and many considered biking as a new way to cope up with stress for example and to exercise as gyms were still closed.
That time I was already considering to buy a bike but still hesitant kasi nagbubuno ako ng emergency fund ko. But since Ton was already convinced to buy one like bigla-bigla nalang kakanood ng vlogs, ayun nabudol na rin ako.
I bought a folding bike because I have fears of having a high frame, and it is allowed inside LRT and MRT. And my goal was only urban cycling.
And then last December 2020, nagmamaasim akong umakyat ng Antipolo. I blogged that also, read AHONtipolo to know what transpired from that ride.
But to be honest, that ride changed my cycling perspective.
After that ride, I become more thirsty for new challenges. I eventually bought a new bike which is a mountain bike and I am quite satisfied with the purchase. As of this writing, I have used it already for my first two century rides – in which if you’d ask me a year ago, 100 km rides were never in my mind. But people change. Awuw! HAHAHA. But I think, it’s a good change.
Now, I can say I am up for more 100 km rides. Awuw talaga. Kaso ECQ ulit. But yeah, it’s better to stay at home now as there’s a surge in COVID-19 cases here in Metro Manila (and plus?). Pirme muna. At ingat tayong lahat.
For my first ever century ride, the vlog is here.
😬
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