Ride a Bike. Print Memories

By: Maryan It was again a long celebrated Holiday season in Philippines as we Filipinos spent a week holiday for what we called "Holy Week Celebration". Unfortunately, for the second time we cancelled our plan to cycle around Romblon because of work related issues and Yohann arm injury. We decided to explore a new cycling route just around Batangas province. We left early from Batangas City to Lemery and stop along Diversion road between Taal-Lemery for late breakfast. We meet a cyclist on the road who told us about two different routes: 1.) Via Lemery - Agoncillo road, the easy one 2.) Via Talisay passing the famous look alike castle old building. The Lemery-Agoncillo Road gave us a perfect view of San Nicolas lake village. The beautiful sceneries made me feel privileged to work on this province. For just 2-3 hours travel time from Manila you can experience the countryside and genuine local culture without a feeling of isolation. Batangas province is a one st...

By: Yohann CYCLING EQUIPMENT To find a bike dedicated to Cyclo-Touring in Philippines is quite difficult and there are mostly two alternatives: If you are a foreigner you can come with your own bike otherwise you may have to buy a mountain bike and equip it with a rear rack. You should use PRESTA VALVE Type inner tube because it is very difficult to find spares with any other type of valve. The most common size for tires 126inches. In case of technical trouble, it is easy to find support, filipinos are very helpful and they will either give you a hand or take you up to the closest bike repair shop. Budget for simple repair is very reasonable but it is not any longer the case if some branded spare part are needed. Ensure to have a helmet because some of the Philippines roads are private and security people will forbid you to use them without helmet. For cloth you won't need anything other than t-shirts, shorts and a raincoat. Even when raining temperature remains above ...

By: Maryan Date: May 2014      My interest in cyclo-touring started way back (2009-2010) but I feel a little bit intimated because of bike prices, gears and yes the outfit :) The interest came back when I started Tamaraw Falls feeling conscious of gaining weight. I thought cycling as a best way to lose some pounds without spending time and money in a gym. It will also a perfect activity to get familiar with Batangas province, the place where I newly assigned to develop the new business of my company. I have a good memories with bicycle as I used to joined my uncle in selling dirty ice cream around our town.      My first 50km cycling started from Calapan City to Puerto Galera with Yohann, a French guy who cycle around Mindoro Island last summer of April 2014. He helped me look for a shop that will allow us to rent a bike for 2 days.  Renting is practical than buying a new one if you don’t know yet if you can commit 100% to do this sport...