The ride was cooked at PMTB but the planned route was the Wall, Timberland Heights and Maarat basic trails. I met with riding buddies, Paulvana and KBrianne, at Jolibee Fairview at around 6:00 this morning. Thence, we pedaled all the way to San Mateo, Rizal.
When we reached the intersection to Shotgun, I stopped and asked them if they'd like to try the Shotgun. They've already climbed the Wall but never the Shotgun yet. Hesitant; but, they agreed. He he he . . . They were unsuspecting all along that they'd be shotgunned.
I climbed Shotgun this morning and attempted to break my no dismount record at 42.5 minutes.
Approaching the last ascent, I took advantage of the momentum from the descent. I kept on pedaling until the bike slowed down; then I shifted to granny - front gear to the smallest cog. However, the chain overshot and disengaged from the crank. The bike suddenly stopped and I immediately unclipped my left foot, which I usually do; but, lo and behold, the bike leaned to the right. It's too late to unclip my right foot. And, BANG!
Fortunately, I suffered no injury not even a minor scratch. The saddle though of my Marin Alpine 29er was slightly damaged.
I replaced the chain and continued pedaling. And, the attempt was aborted.
The last time I climbed Shotgun was last December 11. It had been a long time; and, I decided to go back there this morning.
With TweetyPot, I pedaled all the way to San Mateo, Rizal. At Aling Tina's Eatery, there's the group of Ageless Warriors going up to Shotgun; and, I was invited to join them.
At about 7:30 am, we took off to Shotgun up to Giant Store via the Roxas trail. After eating our breakfast, we pedaled back to Aling Tina's via the Basic Trail and Timberland.
Thanks for the wonderful ride, Ageless Warriors, and hoping to ride with you again soon.
I climbed Shotgun yesterday. From my previous best record of 47 minutes and 20 seconds, I did the climb in 42 minutes and 30 seconds or 5 minutes faster.
I was exhilarated with my progress. The good weather contributed a lot. I started the climb at about 8:00 am.
But, problems are already looming in the Shotgun route. As I was pedaling up, I noticed there were more garbage trucks coming up and down. As I neared the top, more flies were riding with me.
My previous records:
11/16/10 - 47:20
11/6/10 - 47:30
After my Shotgun climb, I also tried breaking my Timberland record but was unsuccessful.
Last Sunday, I climbed Timberland Heights via the Wall with my TweetyPot (Marin Alpine Trail - a 29er) and recorded my time at 24 minutes.
Yesterday morning, riding my AlitePot (KHS Alite 150 - a 26er), I went to San Mateo, Rizal to record the time of my no dismount climb to Shotgun.
From Novaliches, I pedaled all the way to the bike parking along C6 in front of the entrance to Shotgun Avenue.
After resting for a few minutes, I started my slow ascent to Shotgun. From the bike parking, it's about 4.2 up to the trailhead to Mt. Maarat. I reached the trailhead in 47 minutes and 30 seconds with no dismount.
After a few minutes of rest, I went back to my starting point.
Thereat, I contemplated whether to climb Timberland. I decided to. From the same starting point, the gate of Timberland Heights is about 2.2 kilometers. I slowly pedaled and reached the gate in 24 minutes and 30 seconds. It's 30 seconds longer than my climb last Sunday.
A few months back, I learned the art of climbing uphills from an older biker with no or minimal dismounts. When I first applied the trick at Shotgun, it's really effective. It's the first time I climbed Shotgun with no dismount. Thence, I've been climbing Shotgun and Timberland with no dismounts.
The trick is - pedal slowly or very slowly even to the point that your wheels would stop rolling upward. Thence, start building your power, strength, stamina to increase your climb speed.
Before, my best record for climbing Shotgun was with 2 dismounts / rests.
Now, I started recording my climb times to monitor my progress.
Today, I had another duet ride to Timberland Heights. This time, it’s with YummyNia and via Shotgun.
We met at the Neopolitan Business Park at the back of SM Fairview. We waited for sometime hoping other bikers might join us. After 15 minutes, we pedaled all the way to Aling Tina's Eatery. After taking our breakfast of "papaitang kambing", we climbed Shotgun to Maarat trails and pedaled down via Timberland.
After we parted ways, I decided to return and climbed Timberland Heights.
At the Maarat trails, I first experienced the problem with my chain - the lower portion of the chain stuck to the sprocket while pedaling.
Today, I went back to San Mateo, Rizal to continue my training for mountain crossing. This is in preparation for my dream ride - Novaliches to Tuguegarao City.
I pedaled all the way and reached San Mateo, all right. I had my breakfast of afritadang chicken and pork at Aling Tina's Eatery. This eatery is the most favorite of bikers in San Mateo. At that time, the place was almost occupied by a group of bikers from Antipolo.
After eating and a little rest, I proceeded to Shotgun. It's already past 9:00 am; and, the heat was really scorching. In one of my first pit stops, I thought over of proceeding. I wasn't in the mood to proceed due to scorching heat. The problem with Shotgun is there's no shade to rest under. Actually, my plan was to proceed from Shotgun to Timberland, climb down, go up to Timberland and climb down via Shotgun.
So, I decided to turn back and tried to climb Timberland Heights instead. But, after a couple of meters after the "Siko", I stopped and rested. I was already exhausted. I tried to proceed but my legs weren't willing. So, for the second time, I turned back.
I just pedaled within San Mateo.
On my way home along Batasan Road, a short rain fell. I wish it was raining when I was climbing up the mountains.
My planned pedal all the way to Tuguegarao City involves crossing several mountains. As a preparation, I went to San Mateo, Rizal this weekend and climbed mountains. Yesterday, I climbed the Timberland Heights twice; and, today, the Shotgun then the Timberland Heights.
I would do more mountain climbing to make my legs stronger.
