Long Solo Ride

I've been really wanting to do Laguna loop on my own since last year. If not for typhoon Ondoy (Ketsana), I was already at my peak after series of training to pedal up the towns around the biggest lake in the country, Laguna lake. And now after long hibernation since December, I was back on the saddle for a couple of weeks already and feel confident I can make this really long loop happen.

And what a good time to do it on a Holy Week means less vehicles on the road, everyone is out for the holidays, most bikers will be doing rides everywhere. But I suddenly thought Laguna loop is very ordinary. I knew some people who have done it just like any other ride. Sure it's a long route and not certainly a half-day affair which I prefer lately, not for the not so prepared legs. But I'm thinking something else, a little bit of spices to give it a twist and to make it special. I'm cooking up Pasig-Rizal-Laguna-Batangas-Cavite-Manila loop. Instead of just doing around the lake I'm going to cut the mountain between Laguna and Batangas (behind Mt. Makiling) then backdoor Tagaytay (Talisay-Tagaytay Zigzag) then head back home via interesting towns of Alfonso, Amadeo then exit to Dasmarinas via Paliparan, Daang Hari then Alabang. From Alabang it will be not so alien anymore since my place will be just 17 km away via coast of Laguna de Bay. This is for sure a long way and a hard one since it is also going to be my first time. Armed with just my biking passion, a review of google satellite images, a can of pork and beans, five packs of power bars, one pack of raisin, one energy drink, 2L of water, and two homemade sandwich, and some cash I set out my cleats for this ride. It was 6:40AM, Good Friday.

I decided to take Bugarin Pass in Rizal via Manila East Road going through the towns of Cainta, Taytay, Angono, Binangonan, Cardona, Morong, Baras, Taytay, Pililia. A good warm up before climbing 8kms up to Barangay Bugarin then another 8km of downhill to Mabitac, Laguna. I biked all the way to the capital town of Laguna which is also my birthplace. I reached Sta. Cruz by 2PM since I was running on a sightseeing mode, not too fast to burn all energy and not too slow to miss target destinations. Just fast enough to pull over for a minute or two for some photos of the views and landmarks. It's always nice to stop and see places of interest in the countryside. Was able to see "senakulo" (reenactment of the life and death of Christ) along the streets of Binangonan, "penitensya" (public penance)in Binangonan, Morong and Pakil. Folks in Angono had a procession without any shoes or slippers at all. I went inside the town of Pakil diverting from the National Highway to see the church, more famous for its Turumba Festival honoring the Blessed Virgin Mary. Lots of people were there on that Good Friday as they take pilgrimage to this old town. Went straight to towns of Paete which is famous for its wood carvings and papermaches, a short uphill to Kalayaan where a big pipe for the Hydrothermal plant of National Power Corporation stands landmark from miles away. I stopped in front of the giant pipe to take some pictures but was told by the guard it was not allowed. A sweet downhill to Lumban then pedaled again to historic and beautiful old Spanish houses in Pagsanjan, then straight to Santa Cruz. I checked my odometer it said 98 km all the way from my house. Whew! This mileage should have brought me back home already in an ordinary day, but no, I was just halfway my entire plan. It took me a mere 5 hours from my place in Pasig-Pateros-Makati border running at 18 kph on a plain highway and 8 kph on steep hills to reach this town. I was already dead tired and since I was two hours behind my target time, I decided not to push through Tagaytay to spend the night at my Aikido instructor's house. I think it's a wise decision too since I will be trekking an unfamiliar route, not fun to be caught by dark there. I chose to let the night pass here as this was my birthplace so I feel more secured. Interestingly that night, I was able to see a catholic procession.

Next morning, 6:40, Black Saturday, I pedaled my way up north. First town to see was Pila, a quaint town which was able to preserve old Spanish houses just like Intramuros. You will see newly renovated houses which date back from Spanish Era or old houses serving as cafeteria, retail stores, or boutique but not destroying the original architecture of the building. They just repainted them. Just before reaching Los Banos, I veered left inside a small concreted road of Barangay Puypuy leading up to a Geothermal Plant in Barangay Bitin. I remember there was a road going trough small villages inside the Plant that connects Laguna and Batangas. Some 10 years ago my uncle and I passed this very same road in a car but we started from the Batangas side and ended up in Laguna side. Now, I have to do it reversed. It's a long but gently sloping road of some 10 km to the Plant then another five going down to Maharlika Highway in Sto. Tomas in Batangas via Mount Batulao which rises to about 400 meters. Midway to the ascent I encountered a mechanical problem. My chain ring would shift to granny gear on its own. I decided to adjust the cable wires and wipe some unnecessary dirt from it. As I was about to take the curve uphill I was surprised to see some bikers coming out of the forest to my left. They were like 30 of them. As a nice biker would start a conversation to another biker I learned they were from Tanauan and were exploring new trails around that mountain. They said they were inside the forest for more than 2 hours. We made to introduce ourselves to one another and told them that I came all the way from Manila. They were shocked. I mean really shocked to see my full suspension bike doing all these on a 2.1" Kenda Excavator front wheel and 2.1 Nevegal at the rear. Those tires are not meant for road trips, they were designed to do the hard labor inside the muddy and slippery trails. Well, that's all the wheels I got and I have to deal with it. After some pictures as if I was a celebrity from some special place we parted ways as I planned to reach Tagaytay City by 12 noon. However, two bikers from the group decided to pedal with me up to Tanauan, husband and wife Boy and Lalaine Mangia, locals of Tanauan as they need to do some other stuff back home. Good, as it would be a great help to get there . It would save me some time finding my way to the next civilization. We reached Tanauan by 11 AM. Took some photos before Pres. Laurel's shrine and the town's church. After warm exchange of thank yous I decided to have an early lunch downtown since the sun was scorching hot. I found a lomi (noodle) house beside a hot pandesal bakery along Mabini Ave. in Sambat. A perfect match for well needed carbo-loading.

By sun-frying 11:30 I was back on the saddle heading to the town of Talisay still some 15km away. From this point Tagaytay is 33km ahead. After some 15 minutes I reached the Shrine of Apolinario Mabini but it was closed for the holidays, obviously. From there it was mostly downhill to Talisay with Tagaytay Ridge looming ahead. I looked back and see Mt. Makiling gently fading away. About a kilometer to the center of the town I got a flat tire. Must be the broken glass I ignored to skip earlier and could also be a blessing in disguise as I can take a few minutes in the shade. While changing tires under a waiting shed with some local kids hanging out with a broken guitar, a group of bikers passed by. One rider caught everyone's attention as he was being closely followed by a security escort in a motorcycle complete with police blinkers. Must be some high profile guy there,huh. I can see this town is booming with tourist trying to get into the volcano island, quite an interesting small town. I solicited information which road was easier from this town to climb Tagaytay. Locals told me that Sungay was shorter (9 kms) but so much steeper. The other one was Leynes-Sampalok Road, longer but gentler but they couldn't tell in terms of kilometers. I decided to take the latter as it was my first time there and totally unfamiliar The distance I have already covered has already consumed much of my energy so I don't think taking the shorter but steeper route was going to be fun. And of course, I've heard from other bikers stories of hardships and labor about Sungay. It was said that the members of National Cycling Team train here for conditioning. I am simply way below that caliber. Trailhead for Leynes to Tagaytay route (start of ascent) takes cue from the Elementary School of Sampaloc, about 2 kms away from the Municipal Building and 1 km passed the trailhead of Sungay.

I checked the clock and mileage just before the climb and my odometer said it's 1:05 PM and my kilometers was 163.5. Just a few hundred meters up along this winding half dusty, half dilapidated road, the first marker appeared that says Tagaytay 10 km ahead. So I thought what's the difference then with Sungay if they were just about the same distance from the base of the mountain to the city up there? Still wondering I continued my ascent on an 8-kph speed to preserve energy as I know I need to keep some to make it back to Manila by nightfall. I would make some stops for water and took some photos of spectacular Taal Lake with the volcano in the centerpiece. When I reached "7 km to go" marker I decided to stop for some air. Suddenly, I can hear dogs barking from the house on a ledge below and their "go away" growling were getting louder and louder. That's a clear sign that they were heading to my direction. As I saw of what seemingly a head of a dog coming from behind the bushes from the slope below, I slowly took the bike up and put my butt on the saddle keeping my self calm pretending I don't have any phobia from gnarling dogs. Suddenly a fairly sized white dog run toward me squeezing himself out through a gap between wooden planks of the fence like a ghost that just swoosh through a mirror and started chasing me trying to take a piece of my left leg. I knew this for a trick. They would just bark and try to scare you. If you fight back by shooing them away or acting like you are going to kick their face, they will stand back. Hey, I was surprised she was not backing down. Every time I would try to kick her nose she would just dodge and go after my feet again and again. With her fangs visible and her eyes looking very sharp and that growl getting more serious I decided to gear heavily on the sprocket to make bigger strides going up that zigzag road. Of course I couldn't get any faster than on a plain highway since this was a zigzag ascending road but the big strides from shifting to high gear helped me outrun her. Or maybe she just gave up since that's already quite outside her territory. She chased me up to about 25 meters. Boy, I was exhausted. My lungs were ready to explode. My calf muscles felt like burning. After the next curve I decided to catch my breath. I pulled over and sat on a stone at the side of the road and to my disappointment there on the next gate of a nice house some 20 meters up the still ascending road was another dog watching me. As if she she wa waiting for her turn to chase me. As I tried to pass the house on foot with my bike positioned as a shield between her and my body, I tried to play possum, pretending she wasn't there. I didn't even try to look at her. It worked. She didn't even bark. She just let me pass giving me that you must be tired look.

Here's the confusing part. After that milestone where I was chased by that very territorial dog, the next marker that showed up was "Tagaytay 11k m to go" which was supposed to be 6 km if basing from the earlier markers. Bad thing was I forgot about my odometer's last reading since I was relying on the stone markers. Then after that 11 to go marker nothing else showed up along this zigzag. So if this was correct that would make this route around 16 km from the trailhead to Tagaytay Rotonda. However, my odometer recorded 20 km but I'm not sure since I lost track of it when I saw the markers. On the last 4 or 5 kilometers of the climb when Tagaytay hotels were already visible, so near yet so far, I saw three bikers going down quite fast. Two of them passed by in a fairly enjoyable speed down the s-shaped curve while the third one slowed down and asked me how long was the road.

"I said 20". He was shocked. "Yes 20 km all in all and be careful as there were slippery portions". I can see the hesitation on his face whether to still go down to Talisay or make a U-turn but his buddies were already blitzing down ahead. They faded as I put my focus back on my bike not to lose momentum while still maintaining that 8 kph pace. I finally reached Rotonda at 3:30PM. Oh my, that was a long climb on a mid-ring gear. I hate using grannies (smallest gear). Never. It tires me more.

I took a quick meal at Jollibee and abandoned my original plan of exploring the surrounding areas of Alfonso-Indang-Mendes-Amadeo as it is surely going to be dark soon. Manila is still some 60 km away but I was not a first-timer to this route so I felt more comfortable. Wisdom told me to take Sta. Rosa in going back to Manila. It was pure downhill, almost no pedalling at all for some 12 kms from Rotonda down to the busy district of Nuvali. Reached the center of Sta. Rosa before 5 PM then I was already in Alabang by 7 PM. Touched base a few minutes after 8 and was extremely exhausted but indescribably happy. As I reviewed the total readings on my bike's mini-comp before retiring to bed, I couldn't help but grin that I was able to tally a total of 246 km (153 miles). All in all, it was hard and very draining adventure around two cities and five provinces surrounding the biggest lake in the country. I wasn't able to see just one lake but two, Laguna Lake and Taal Lake and was able to see beautiful places in just two days on just pure leg power. Great ride.

Birdwatching in Sabang Beach-Gateway to Underground River

The chirp of the birds and the ebb and flow of the ocean woke me up. I checked the time and it said 6 AM. Jumped out of bed, did a quick morning ritual then grab my binoculars and a guidebook for birds. It was a cold and beautiful morning. The sun was not out yet but the horizon looked pretty okay. Must be a good day in the offing. I was heading to the secluded area behind the jagged rocks at the end of an unnamed beach. The beach was located at the beginning of the Jungle Trail. This was the trail tourists take if opting to walk all the way to the famous Underground River instead of taking a boat. This was the place I saw an eagle some five weeks ago hovering while I and a friend spent a day there bathing in the sun and enjoying the waters and where I saw three people came out of the woods near the jungle trail head with bins around their necks. I was thinking this must be the place to see lots of birds.

As I trod on the sand, stamping my footprints and mixing up with those of the dogs running up and down the the stretch of the beach I couldn't help but still get amazed with the beauty of the place. I lost track of how many times Iv'e been here but never lost interest and appreciation. It gets better every time and didn't seem to diminish even a bit. I wonder if it's still in the running for the New 7 Wonders of Nature, an initiative started in 2007 by Canadian-Swiss Bernard Weber to create a list of seven natural wonders chosen by people through a global poll. The resort's dog that slept at my cottage's doorstep last night was now walking with me as if he knew me for a long time. No barks, no commands, he was just cruising it with me along this beautiful cove.

I reached the end of the beach and passing through the last of the cottages when I tried to direct my lens on top of a coconut tree. I've been hearing birds' calls but can't figure out how to spot them, I need more experience, though. It was a zebra dove. It took me a few minutes before I was able to identify her. Lots of swallows were diving above me and two Cattle Egrets seemed having a great time with a water buffalo on a hole. As I got to the mouth of the mangrove river, the boundary between the main beach and the secluded one, I heard lots of noise coming from the trees on the other bank. Tried to get closer to the edge of the estuary river so I can get a better spot to where I believed the sound were coming from. Took the small path leading to the main office of the Mangrove Paddle Boat Tour trying to zero in the chirps, the songs of the cicadas, all different but sounded like an orchestra to my novice ear. This was really beautiful. I asked myself if these sounds  entertaining my soul right at the edge of this Protected Area was fascinating enough, what more deep inside the wilderness of the Park itself. With this amazement I decided not to pursue my original plan of bird watching at that secluded beach behind those jagged rocks. The place I was standing right at that very moment was best spot I thought.

The sound was getting louder and coming from different directions. Standing from the side of the river which was some 10 meters wide, I lifted my bins, scanned through the leaves, tried to point to the direction of the moving branches and leaves on the other bank, and guess what I found? The noisemakers to my surprise were not winged-animals. They were monkeys. Hahaha. I just can laugh at my inexperience in determining sounds. It was a family of macaque, at least to me, feeding on the fruits of the trees I wasn't able to identify. I can hear my favorite to imitate plaintive cuckoo but didn't know how to find her. I can hear other chirps but didn't know where to spot them. Patience must be the key. As I pan my 8x42 Hahn scope one more time to get a glimpse of these elusive flying creatures, three birds went flapping above my head leaping from the tall and old mangrove tree in my back trying to get to the other side of the river. Poor boy! They must have been there for a while right above me in that same tree I was taking refuge and I didn't even know. It's a shame. And as if they knew I was trying my luck to see some birds, they split into two different directions right after getting into the other bank. One of the birds flew to the left and vanished behind the trees, the other one to the right and faded away while the third one landed on a branch of a mangrove tree. Adjusting the distance of my lens, I tried to take note of the size, color and distinguishing marks for better identification. She was much bigger than the usual Munias or Eurasian Tree Sparrows. She had a long tail, black head, blue wings and black underparts. She moved from side to side giving me a better view of her entirety. Hopped to another branch and there she flew away. As I flipped through the pages of my guidebook, the closest bird to her colors and looks was the Asian Fairy Bluebird. I hope I did get it right. Too bad my point and shoot camera can't capture her image. It was too far for my camera to get a frozen image of her. I can't really recall if this bird is a rare one, a hard to find. If she is then I must be lucky to have spotted her.

In any case, I was happy to be able to see at least one good bird, a lifer for me. Alice Villa-Real of Wildbird Club of the Philippines told me a lifer is your first bird. The bird you see the first time as a birdwatcher is called a lifer. Just as I was about to pack up, I tried to scan one last time. There you go. A yellow bird was suspending itself in the air like an F-16 fighter picking up on the fruits high above a tree. I believe it was a Flowerpecker. Much to my delight, the dog was still there beside me, in the sand, watching and guarding me. He didn't leave even for a second to do his thing. He stayed with me for the whole hour. As I walked back to my cottage happy and smiling, the dog was leading my way by some 10 meters ahead, would stop from time to time to glance at me, checking on me if I was still on the track. What a good day for me indeed.