Daddy's Day Out: The Greenbelt Father's Day Fun Ride

Check this out (from Ayala Land):

Bike commuting home

Today, Wednesday, is my car's number coding day. But, instead of waiting for 7:00 pm, I'll leave at 5:00 pm. I won't use my car but my bike. Office to home is about 30 kilometers; and, I could pedal it in about two hours.

Family lunch at Antipolo City

It's another impromptu pedal all the way to and fro Antipolo City.

I was thinking where to pedal this morning when wifey suggested that we have lunch in Antipolo City. That's a great idea!

I left by bike at around 9:00 am; and, they followed by car an hour and a half after. I arrived at the rendezvous; but, they just left home. Meantime, I pedaled towards Hinulugan Taktak.

And, I did some uphill climb training

Thence, I went back to Cloud 9. They're already there.

Overlooking from Cloud 9

Order, order, order food! I was already hungry!

Sinigang na baka (beef in sour broth)

Pancit Miki Bihon

Lechon Kawali

Grilled Chicken

Yummy!

Biking in the rain

I woke up late again for the Licao-licao fun ride. And, I thought of just following the group but decided to go to my favorite nearby place - San Mateo, Rizal.

I left home at about 8:00 am. The sky's cloudy and dim. And, the sun's peeping once in a while. I was hoping it wouldn't rain. At the Batasan Road, it drizzled shortly. But, when I was about to turn left from Delos Santos St. to Kambal Road extension, it drizzled again followed by a heavy rain. The sad thing was there to immediate structure to cover from the rain. When I reached one at about 500 meters away, I secured my phone, camera, and wallet. A little rest then I proceeded biking towards Timberland Heights.

It's so nice riding in the rain because of the cool weather. You won't get tired easily especially if you're doing uphill. But, there are some downsides, like the safety and dirtier bike and clothings.

Nonetheless, I enjoyed the ride very much.

On the way up to Timberland, the rain stopped.

A mini landslide along C6 Road just after the infamous "siko" (elbow) on the way down from Timberland. Some portions of the road are prone to landslide.

Lunch at Angat

This was another impromptu ride.

It's Wednesday and it's my number coding day. Sadly, I woke up late. And, I couldn't drive my car anymore until 10:00 am.

I wasn't in the mood to commute Hence, I decided not to report for work.

While in the PMTB forum, I read again a group ride to Iyah's Overlooking Restaurant in Angat, Bulacan. It's overlooking Angat river. It's about 31 kilometers from our place and would take about two hours to pedal. I checked my time. It's still 8:00 am. If I left an hour later, I'd be there at 11:00 am. And, I thought it's a good idea of having my lunch there.

I started preparing and left at a little after 9:00 am. The weather was cool as there were rains and drizzles in some areas along the way.

At the Sanctuario de Paz, Angat


Two hours later, I was in the restaurant. It's drizzling; then, the rain fell.

From Bulacan

I ordered a cup of rice, tinumis and grilled tilapia from several choices. There were sinigang na baboy, binagoongan baboy, sisig, to name a few. I also ordered beer; but, they don't served alcoholic beverages. I just ordered a bottle of coke. The damage was P98.


After eating, I rest while waiting for the rain to stop. It didn't; and, I left at about 12:30 pm. At the junction to DRT, I turned left and explored DRT.

At the viewdeck just after the DRT / Angat boundary


DRT Municipal Hall

Rehydrate

On my way back, I found the way going to the river



The ride is about 75 kilometers, which took me about 7 hours to travel. I arrived home at about 4:00 pm.

La Mesa Nature Reserve ride

My dream ride, which was scheduled last Saturday up to this Wednesday, was postponed. Hence, yesterday, I had the chance to experience and enjoy biking at the famous La Mesa Nature Reserve Bike Trails. Finally!

I've been biking for almost a year and dreamt of pedaling in these famous trails. Ironically, the nature reserve is just our neighbor; and, the entrance is just about 4 kilometers from our place. But, this was the first time I entered the reserve and tried its trails. I've been a solo rider and solo riding is not allowed in these trails. The minimum requirement is five bikers.

Incidentally, there's a PMTB group led by Whoops that's scheduled to trail this morning. And, I joined them. It's a pleasure meeting and riding with the PMTB icons. And, I realized I have to eat tons of rice to be able to at least equal their strenghts.

So far, this was the most difficult ride I've ever had.

1. This was my initiation ride to these trails and totally unaware of what to expect;
2. I couldn't cope up with the pace of my more experienced companions. I need more hard training to do so;
3. The land's still wet (it rained hard two days ago);
4. My soles got wet and mud stuck under them. These caused my shoes to slip from the pedals. And, when this happened, I momentarily lost control of my bike;
5. While crossing over one of the logged bridges from a downhill, I lost control and my right handle bar hit the railing. Fortunately, I and my bike were still standing upon impact but my b__ slighty hit the top tube. There's no damage to me and my bike. The chain was just disengaged. Later, I found out that my sunglass fell off. I also noticed my headlight's clamp broke;
6. I sweat profusely from head to toe; and, I was totally drenched with my own sweat. It's wasn't a "no sweat" ride indeed. My companions thought I dipped in a body of water. I consumed my 2.5 liters of water, and another liter of water and 2 bottles of Gatorade I bought inside the trails;
7. I had difficulty pedaling on most of the ascents; so, I just walked and pushed my bike;
8. Both my forearms got cramped at one point;
9. I strategically bailed out in the middle of the ride. The group's supposed to go to Tower 1.
   

Nonetheless, this is my best ride ever. Also, I had a nice company from PMTB.

La Mesa Nature Reserve is the best bike trails I've ever been. It's the last forest in the metropolis. A P200.00 is being charged per rider. A ranger or two would accompany and guide the group (minimum of 5 bikers). And, in case of emergency or not so emergency, the reserve provides the necessary assistance and help. Thus, the fee is worth it.

My special thanks to Denz226 of PMTB for sharing some of his shots above.

My dream ride remains a dream

After considering all premises, I finally decided to put off my dream ride from Novaliches to Tuguegarao City.

My primary consideration was safety factor because of the hot weather the country is experiencing due to the effect of the El Nino phenomenon.

I think I've prepared and trained for it, including the extreme hot weather scenarios. But, still, I don't want to take chances. I'm already an aging biker; and, I may not survived the extreme the Region 2 up there is experiencing. There was news in a military camp there that a military trainee died and some others hospitalized due to heat stroke.

I was really crazy fulfilling this dream ride; but, I didn't want it to be my last ride.

Meantime, I'm putting this ride off and still dreaming of this ride.

I'm nervous

It's

2 days

to my dream ride.

And, my excitement is turning into nervousness. Maybe, I'm just too excited.

Flat tire

Last Sunday, I pedaled from home all the way to Antipolo church and back.

On my way down along Sumulong Highway from the church, I felt something's wrong with my bike. I looked down and saw that my rear tire's soft. I dismounted and pressed it. It's soft, all right. I pumped the tire in the meantime and proceeded to my pit stop at the Cloud 9 Restaurant for lunch, which is just about a hundred meters ahead.

Before it got flat.

I arrived at the restaurant with my rear tire still hard. When I finished eating, I again checked the tire. It's now totally flat. I got my tools and patches. I checked first what's the culprit. It's a big staple wire that punctured the tire.

Since I bought my bike last June, this was the first time I experienced a flat tire. And, this was the first time that I fixed/patched a flat tire.

Looking for the puncture was somewhat difficult; but, I managed to do so after several attempts.

After fixing the flat tire, I proceeded home.

I'm really excited with my dream ride

I feel very excited now that it's only

3 days

to my dream ride.

I've prepared and trained for it physically. And, I'm now doing mental preparation.

I'm just hoping that my dream ride would push through as scheduled.

Dream ride countdown

Another day has passed. And, it's now

4 days

before my dream ride.

5 days to go . . .

The countdown continues . . .

5 days

to go to my dream Novaliches - Tuguegarao ride.