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I am an
avid cycling enthusiast. As one, I have been up to
Antipolo and to Tagaytay a countless number of times.
But I guess the ultimate dream of a local cyclist is to
go up to Baguio, as it offers one of the most
challenging courses, to say the least, a cyclist can
embark on.
In fact,
during the fabled summer cycling races, the Baguio
stages usually determine the eventual champion of the
race. The Baguio-to-Baguio stage, dubbed as the killer
lap, offers the ultimate in human grit and endurance.
Cyclists go down Marcos Highway then up through
Naguillan Road then down again Marcos Highway then up
Kennon Road. If a motorized vehicle finds that route
daunting, you can just imagine the kind of stamina and
determination a cyclist must have to negotiate that
route.
I was in
Baguio over the weekend for our summer outing. There, I
had a chance to finally do cycling in the city,
something I have long dreamt of doing. I was able to
borrow the gleaming mountain bike of my nephew and
planned my own jaunt. No, I did not do the
Baguio-to-Baguio route. I traveled from Mines View Park
all the way down to Loakan Airport. Going down was a
breeze. It was a totally exhilarating bike ride. But
when I turned around for the ride back, I experienced
the agony that professional cyclists must feel going up
the famous winding mountain roads leading to the summer
capital.
All the
weekends riding my racer bike mostly in flat terrain,
even the trips to Antipolo or Tagaytay, did not prepare
me for the excruciating effort of going against the pull
of gravity just to make me go back to where I started. I
stopped several times to catch my breath and to avoid
passing out as I was already beginning to see stars. And
before I could pass out, good judgment made me realize
that my unfamiliarity with and lack of training in the
terrain would make it difficult for me to go back in one
piece—unless I walked all the way back with the bike on
my side.
Obviously, I didn’t want that embarrassment, so I did
the next best thing—flag down an FX and asked to be
taken to South Drive, which is nearer Mines View Park
and where the terrain is more bearable. My spirit and
bravado had to give way to that immutable law called
gravity, which even a sleek mountain bike in the hands
of an ill-prepared city slicker would find hard to
countenance.
With the
acquiescence on my part, the experience is something I
will treasure with the added resolve to train more for
that next time.
We have
had a spate of cycling activities in the country lately.
There was the Tour of the Fireflies, an annual event to
encourage people to ride the bike instead of motorized
vehicles to help minimize pollution and traffic
congestion in Metro Manila. To drive home the
deleterious impact of motorized vehicles, organizers of
the event focused on the issue of when we last saw
fireflies in Metro Manila, which have been driven away
by the excessive pollution in the city.
A couple
of weeks back, another bike tour was organized around
Laguna de Bay to dramatize the need to do something to
save the lake from pollution and eventual decay and
death due to the dumping of both human and toxic waste
into its waters.
A series
of weekend races was organized in
Subic for cycling aficionados not only for competition but to
encourage the use of bicycles as a mode of transport.
It is
unfortunate that no one picked up the tab for the yearly
summer multistage cycling competition. The Philippine
Cycling Federation is currently enmeshed in its version
of alleged graft issues against some officials, and this
has resulted in the non-holding of the summer race.
The
summer race is one of the best ways of encouraging
people to consider the bicycle as an alternative mode of
transport. And it cannot be more timely. The price of
gasoline has crept back to P50 per liter and indications
are that it will continue to increase, pull of gravity
notwithstanding, because of the increasing demand for
oil in the world market.
China
and Vietnam, whose citizens have used the bicycle as a
principal means of transport, are slowly turning to
motorized transport, both the cars and the motorcycles,
to move people and goods around. There is the
convenience, the mobility and the efficiency on the plus
side. On the minus side, of course, are the pollution,
congestion and depletion of oil, a nonrenewable
resource.
In some
cities, sophisticated at that, people are encouraged to
use the bicycle to move around. In
Paris, France,
you can rent a bicycle and scoot around the city. You
can return the bike in any of the strategically located
stations after. It has encouraged Parisians, as well as
tourists, to see the city through an eco-friendly
vehicle. Will it not be great if this concept replicates
itself in other countries and cities, much like the
proliferation of burger joints and cafés?
The author teacher at the De La Salle Professional
Schools Ramon V. del Rosario Sr. Graduate School of
Business. He welcomes comments at dennis.berino@dlsps.edu.ph.
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