EPIC. The whole experience was just beyond those
rides that I did in the past (duh.. never even done a double century).
We
were up early and waited at the parking lot of Mango Valley Hotel. There were
about 60 riders and 1 guy had a flat tire already. The bikes were so diverse.
I've seen Strida foldies, touring bikes, roadies, 29ers, 26ers, tri bike, 16
inchers, 20 inchers, and holy smoke... a fat bike!
Near Sta. Cruz Town Proper on My Way to The Turnaround Point
At
exactly 3 a.m., the organizer on her road bike shouted out 'Let's roll' and we
did roll with our fancy headlights and rear blinkers. Our group is called
United Folding Bikers led by my high school classmate Byron of bisikletaadventures.com.
I got separated from the group pretty fast but found myself riding with fellow
UFB Larry for some stretches of the never ending road.
My Bike, a Bridge, a River and a Mountain... somewhere :)
The
first few kilometers were ridden in the darkness of a familiar route where the
White Rock Triathlon was held. The weather was fine and pedaling was easy. I
had my cue card stamped at exactly 5:01 a.m. in the first control point at
kilometer 51.7. It was at a gas station and some riders were resting for a bit.
... and a Bridge
After
a brief stop - maybe 10 minutes - Larry and I went off but when the rain fell
hard at around 5:40 a.m. I went for my jacket and we got separated. Then came
the rising sun with its mighty heat spread on every road and bridge that lied
ahead. I arrived at Kilometer 105 control point, it was a gas station and this
time there was no stamping just a time-of-arrival note on the cue card. 7:18
a.m.
Told You There were Bridges
I was
about to leave the gas station when I noticed that my front tire was flat and
was lucky enough to get it at the control point with our Support And Gear
vehicle nearby.
Beach at 150 Kilometers Out
I got
to the turnaround point at 9:24 a.m. - Banana Beach Resort Kilometer 150. A lot
of riders were resting and chatting in the cottages. I just refilled my
water bottle, took some pics and headed back. The ride back was uneventful
just lots and lots of roads and bridges with the second David's Salon Women's
Team in sight for some time. Because of the headwind I was still pedaling
conservatively at this point and got to the next control point - kilometer 195
- at 12:18 p.m.
Banana Boat Beach Resort in Dasol, Pangasinan
With
only a hundred kilometers left, I was beginning to think that I could really
survive this epic shit :P intact and in time. Next stamping was done at the
same gas station as the first stop which was at kilometer 248 of the ride. 'Heure
de passage': 3:19 p.m.
Control Point at Kilometer 195
I
caught some riders on folding bikes at approximately 260 kilometers and talked for a bit before I stopped to ready myself for the final push with only 30
kilometers left. With the threat of another rainfall I rode hard clinging to
the aero bar whenever possible and finished the Brevet Ride at 5:51 p.m. still
far from the cut off time of 11 p.m. Woohoo!
I got
my medal and they took the cue card so they can send it to France for official
verification.
Cue Card and Medal at Mango Valley Hotel
It was
a challenging ride to say the least and here's how I did it: I rode conservatively
for 270 kilometers and stopped often to take pics and relax, I ate a pack of Milky
Way choco mini bars, drank lots of water and Gatorade, and ate 3 Spam and
cheese sandwich sparingly for the whole duration of the ride. And I knew my fellow UFB teammates were with me and could back me up.
United Folding Bikers at ACME Inn Subic (Photo: Byron Villegas)
After reading this and you're asking yourself 'Can I do this?' the answer is a big
'Yes you can'. I trained, but the longest ride I've had during training was 57
kilometers so if you've been riding for quite some time and do your homework,
you'll be fine.