Goodbye, BIKEPOT

BikePot is actually the name of my first bike. When I registered in PMTB, I used his name as my handle.
I acquired him in June 2009 to try if biking was for me. It’s a cheap bike worth P2,600 only. When I got addicted into biking two months later, I bought a better one. Now, I’m planning of buying a 29er.

I still wanted to keep BikePot as I still use him from time to time biking inside our village and nearby places. But the problem is the storage / parking. We have a small garage, which could fit one car and no more than two bikesSo, I have no other choice but to dispose of him.

After office hours today, I’m going to deliver BikePot to his new owner. I sold him at P1,500 only.

GOODBYE, BIKEPOT! I’ll surely miss you. Hu hu hu . . .

A 30-minute ride

On weekdays, I normally wake up at 4:30 am and leave at 5:00 am to avoid the rush hour traffic on my way to work in Makati City.

But, this morning, I had a meeting in one of the government agencies in Quezon City at 10:00 am.

This gave more time to sleep or to bike. I chose the latter.

I'd planned of getting up at 5:00 am and bike until 8:30 am before going to my appointment. My mobile phone alarmed as scheduled; but, it failed to fully awake me. Instead, I woke up at 7:00 am. After drinking a cup of coffee, I put out my other bike, BikePot, and pedaled inside our village for about 30 minutes.

It was a very short ride. But, it's better than no ride at all.

Another wet ride

For two consecutive Saturdays, I was forced to pedal in the rain. The first, it was Typhoon "Ondoy" who battered the country. Now, it's Super Typhoon "Pepeng". The former directly hit Metro Manila and dumped worth of one month rain; while, the latter is far away from the metropolis; yet, it still caused rain albeit not heavy.

As a certified bike addict, I was itching to pedal again - rain or no rain. To satisfy my addiction, I just pedaled around inside our village and did more than 10 kilometers only. It's a good timing that as I parked BikePot (my first bike) in our garage, my daughter Jaja had just finished preparing our snacks of taco.

I'm hoping it wouldn't rain the whole day today; so, I could go out and ride.

My ride despite the typhoon

Typhoon "Ondoy" foiled our trip to Bagac, Bataan and my planned ride there.

I was just hoping that the rains would stop in the afternoon; so, I could still pedal at Neopolitan Business Park. Realizing it wouldn't, I put out BikePot (my first bike); as I was already itching to pedal. Despite the heavy and incessant rain, I pedaled inside our village. I didn't go out of our village for safety reasons. First, I made a round to assess if it's safe to ride. It was; and, I rode for an hour covering a distance of more than 13 kilometers.

The ride in the rain was exhilarating and enjoyable.

Fixing flat tire myself

BikePot (my first bike) was flat again. This time it's the front tire. I tried first to pump it; but, it's not fully inflating.

Last week, it's the rear tire that's flat. And, I had it replaced at the store where I bought it.

Okay! This time, I'll fix it myself. I now have the gadgets and the knowledge (through the internet) to change the tube. I already bought a spare tube, a tire lever, and a portable pump.

First, I reviewed some instructional videos from the internet. Very confident that I could do it myself, I began the procedure.
Not a single drop of perspiration, I finished the job in no time. The job's as easy as falling off a log.

BikePot has flat tire

I arrived home last night at around 9:00 PM. After changing my clothes, I decided to bike around inside our village for about 30 minutes before eating my dinner. I got out and took BikePot. But, Luigi (my son) warned me that BikePot had flat rear tire. "What happened?", I asked him. He didn't know and just saw that the tire was flat. But, I just used it yesterday morning!

I pumped the tire; but, when I rode it, it got flat again in no time. Another pump, another flat.

This morning, I brought BikePot to the store where I bought it to have the tube vulcanized. However, the store doesn't do vulcanizing; so, I had it replaced. The cost of the tube is P85. I just gave P10 tip for the labor. I also bought a spare tube and a tire lever. Next time, I'd just do the replacement of the tube myself.

Once again, BikePot is in tip-top condition!

I'm now biking

For some time, I’ve been shopping around for a bike. Actually, I already saw one that I like with a tag of P15,000 ($320), but I had second thought. I’d like to determine first whether this exercise is for me or not before buying a better and expensive unit. So, I let a night passed and thought it over. When I woke up the following morning, I decided on buying the low end unit only. Should I decide not to continue biking or upgrade the bike to a high end unit, I would just give or donate this bike away; and, it wouldn’t break my heart.

I went to the nearest bicycle store and chose a unit. Its tag was P3,000; but, I was able to bargain at P2,600. It looks like a mountain bike with 24 gears but no suspensions.

First, I named my bike as “BikePot”. Then, I rode it to try on how the gears work. It’s the first time I used a bike with gears. It’s been a long long time since I last rode a bike. He he he . . .

Yesterday afternoon, I broke in my BikePot around UP Diliman Academic Oval. It's working good, so far!

Offhand, I think I would love this exercise. But, I’d keep walking as my other exercise.