At the Vitara Club of the Philippines Christmas party a few friends who also ride mountain bikes requested we organize a 4×4 Philippines mountain bike ride for us to get together again on our 2-wheeled rigs.

We decided to set the date 3 weeks away from when we first talked about it. Dec. 27, 2009, was the chosen date.

We were aware how a lot of 4-wheelers who have tried mountain biking stopped riding their bikes for various reasons so a newbie/beginner pace and route was planned.

I also decided to invite an old friend, Chris, whom I haven’t seen for more than 5 years when I suddenly saw him a few weeks ago at the Fort Bonifacio tracks riding alone, when Team Prima decided to also ride those tracks.

The route was pretty easy: Climb The Wall to Timberland (mostly cemented uphill climbs until the start of Basic Trail), continue on to the Basic Trail which is a wide dirt road, exit Basic to a gate and more rolling and cemented road. Then we went straight to the Pestano farm for some lunch.

2009 12 27 Burning Fat Newbie MTB Ride with 4x4PH.com from Francis Arellano on Vimeo.

After lunch the others decided to head back down. Since Doc Riz and Chris were riding with me in the car, and they didn’t have any other commitments on that day we all decided to try out one of the Pestano farm mountain bike tracks. We chose the Red route (not sure of its difficulty, but I think that’s the most beginner-friendly track so as not to risk injury to Chris).

According to Doc Riz, who took the rear and had a front row seat on Chris’s Pestano farm run, Chris handled himself pretty well. We also concluded the same when Chris accepted our invitation to try out and ride the Malipay trails yesterday and was able to ride the relatively more difficult sections.

I have yet to fix the videos of our Pestano ride. Will post later on.

Anyway, riding at Mt. Maarat will not be complete without seeing some Mofos, whether they’re Mofos I’ve met before or not, and I took every opportunity to take photos of almost every single Mofo I met that day

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Here’s the video I took from my GoPro helmet camera of the first year anniversary ride of the best, the only, the REAL mountain biking forum for Filipinos by REAL Filipino mountain bikers: The Philippine MTB Forum!

Click to view the video:

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2 weeks prior this ride has been planned. March 29, 2009, Kenneth, a.k.a. KOS, set a date for a 4×4 Philippines mountain bike ride in Mt. Maarat, San Mateo, Rizal.

First post by KOS was:

New thread started (as discussed with Craw) to list/post MTB schedules trails. Maganda raw sana gawin nating regular etong MTB trails… (trans: Would be better if we do these MTB trail rides regularly)

Date: March 29, 2009 (Sunday)
Meeting Place: Tina’s
Meeting Time: 7:30am
Destination: Maarat onwards

1. Craw
2. KOS
3. OpMgr
4. Barcus
5. Dizman
6. Defpotec
7.

Kindly add your names to the bottom of the list nalang…

Living far away from the venue and having ridden Maarat’s trails only a few times I was excited to ride there once more, plus the “promise” of going out on a ride with my 4×4 friends — they all frequent Mt. Maarat because they all live quite near. I, on the other hand, need to always schedule my Mt. Maarat trips way in advance.

To not waste the plan I posted a reminder the Friday before this that this plan should push through. Also asking if the people in the list are still good to go (I didn’t get a reply).

Jayboy signed up, and during my Saturday ride he was sending me text messages letting me know he’s joining the Sunday ride.

Come Sunday I arrived at the rendezvous a few minutes after the designated time. Jay was already there. This was his first time to really ride his mountain bike. From what I gathered he has only ridden inside some construction area near his place. With that info I decided to go the Wall route, as opposed to climbing Shotgun. I didn’t want a first-timer to go backtrack due to the difficulty of the ride.

An hour later Alain arrived with a friend of his, Mike.

Boy scouts?

During the wait I sent a text message to both Doc Raffy (Defpotec) and Gilbert (Dizman) asking what time they’ll arrive. First to reply was Gilbert. He was in Sta. Rosa that time. WTF?!

After a while Doc Raffy replied saying he thought the ride wasn’t going to push through so he went ahead alone. He was already at Giant, I think.

Cellphones, internet, 4x4PH.com/forum — choices of verifying if the ride will push through.

Nice work…

After Mike and I ate a quick breakfast the 4 of us took off. I think I heard Alain give out a sigh of relief when I suggested we do The Wall, for Jay’s sake. I think devirginizing Jayboy via Shotgun is too brutal. Maybe on his 2nd ride.

With Jay’s road bike training he didn’t have a hard time climbing The Wall. While resting and waiting for Mike before we proceeded to the Timberland gate Alain saw Doc Raffy on his way down.

No ID, no entry

ID’s are required if you’ll be entering through the Timberland gate. I only remembered when we were resting as this was only my first time to pass through Timberland on the way up. My usual route when riding Mt. Maarat is climb up Shotgun and exit down Timberland.

For unknown reasons Mike didn’t have an ID with him, too. So 3 out 4 didn’t have ID’s. Now there’s a risk of having to go back down and climb Shotgun just so we can ride the trails up Maarat.

I’m both hesitant and excited at the prospect of having to climb Shotgun right after climbing The Wall. It’s a crazy but necessary one if we plan to ride the Maarat trails, and since I’m already there I’m determined to try out the other trails. I don’t think the others felt the same way.

When we get to the gate we informed the guards it was our first time to ride there, the reason why we didn’t have the required ID’s. The guards were understanding and allowed us to proceed just this one time. No problem. Experience is the best teacher. This should now be engraved in our minds: bring ID’s next time!

Warming up for the day’s ride

More uphill climbs, passing the Timberland Clubhouse. Both Jay and I waited for Alain and Mike at the end of the cemented road where the dirt road called Basic Trail (I think, please correct me if I’m wrong) starts. As soon as they arrived we continued on.

Upon reaching the left turn going to Roxas I asked Alain if they wanted to take that route, to pass through a part of the Splash MTB XC Challenge racetrack: we turn left, follow the dirt road with semi-mild ascents and descents, turn right at the wider gravel road (fun, straight, fast, and easy descent; going straight would take us to the end of the Shotgun climb), which then turns into a fully cemented road. My plan from there was to enter the techy single-track with a short creek crossing and 3 sudden climbs (no momentum due to the crossing), exiting back to the Basic Trail but turning left towards Giant instead of right, the racetrack route, which will lead us back to the Timberland Clubhouse.

Alain begged off as Mike was starting to show signs of exhaustion. I wouldn’t blame him, with his heavy downhill bike and a lack of front gears (just 1 chainring up front).

I asked Jay if he was game. He was. In retrospect I think he only agreed because he didn’t know what was up ahead… maybe.

Wham, bam, thank you, ma’am!

Jay enjoyed the wide downhill section, but being a first-timer he was still keeping his speed in check. Without marshals to warn and show us the way (haha!) we passed by the single-track entrance using up the last bit of momentum we had. I noticed it right away, though, and I was able to brake smoothly and warn Jay about overshooting the entrance. A quick U-turn and a few pedal strokes more my front tire was pointing towards to first section of the mildly twisty tracks.

I warned Jay about the track, telling him if he felt any doubts about what’s up ahead he can just walk the track to be on the safe side. I think he only walked the sudden climbs after the water crossing. Overall he did good for a first-time trail rider. Devirginizing a success!

Upon exiting we turned left and rode the Basic Trail. Talking while riding, even along the sections where we rode single file to avoid muddy sections of the track due to rains in the previous days.

A short and fun technical section to satisfy the itch for “whoopsie” tracks was served by this section: downhill, roots, ruts, rocks, water crossing, slippery-looking rocks, climbs, more roots, and we’re done.

Easy road pedaling

Then we reached the gate (not sure what this area/section is called. Help please?) with no sign of Alain and Mike. Taking out my cell to send Alain a text message to let him know where we are I noticed I didn’t have a cell signal. 3 riders were there so I just confirmed what I already knew from my past experience, “Does this road go straight to Giant?” They told us yes, with just a couple more climbs, but the road is cemented all the way. I thanked them, letting them know we weren’t familiar with the area, and got an invite to ride with them going up. I declined politely, saying we were so hungry and we wanted to get to Giant as soon as possible — their group looked like they were still taking their time before taking off.

Riding up Giant was easy pedaling. In a light curve a biker was coasting down in the opposite direction. I nodded a hello, then noticed a kid was riding a few meters behind him… then 2 more kids… then a woman rider… behind them all was a black Toyota Hilux. I had to smile, and I couldn’t help but feel envious. That was a good family bonding time. Easy downhill ride in Mt. Maarat.

We continue pedaling.

Four-some… Orgy…

After a while of continuous pedaling we saw 4 more riders ahead of us. I don’t give them a second look, I just concentrate on my pedaling. Then Jay says, “There they are,” and I look up at the group ahead. That’s when I recognize Alain and Mike. With a sly smile I pedal harder then I shoot through the middle of the group, then I veered towards Alain who was in front, and crowded him, emulating an aggressive rider in a race, playfully shaking my bike as I ride to emphasize my mock enthusiasm and determination to overtake him to take the lead, and eventually first place… only in my mind.

I laugh, then Alain expressed his surprise seeing us, I heard him say something about us being fast but I didn’t really understand all his words. Jay continued to pedal, coasting near me. We continued with our original pace leaving the 4 of them behind, since we’re near Giant, anyway.

Jay and I reached Giant, parked our bikes, and got a table. Jay, as with being a good boy scout (sarcasm, please) went straight for a bottle of water. I got a bottle of Sparkle to conserve my own water for the trip back.

It was hot, 11:00 A.M., and Alain wanted Lucky Me! beef  noodle soup… hot soup? In this heat? I gave him a funny look and debated it was too hot for soup. He agreed to settle on Lucky Me! instant pancit canton, topped with scrambled eggs. It was a good shock to see the effort to present our food, uhm, artistically? Hehe! Others ordered halo-halo (it was eaten too fast for me to take a picture).

Anyway, after eating there came the stories, jokes, and out came their power sticks (cigarettes).

A last hurrah!

Once we’re ready we started preparing for the ride back. An uneventful ride going back. Too uneventful that I invited Jay and whoever wanted to come to ride the techy single-track portion of the Splash racetrack once more — Alain’s friend, Kenneth, decided to join us. Sort of like a last hurrah before heading home.

The 3 of us who rode the single-track arrived at the prearranged meeting place at the intersection. It was quite a surprise we arrived there first before Alain, Mike, and Andy. We thought we took the longer and slower route (slow as we had to negotiate some obstacles, as compared to the route they took of a wide cemented and gravel road).

Approaching the Timberland gate Alain and Mike opted to ride with Andy and Kenneth. They started loading their bikes in the car, which was parked by the Timberland clubhouse. Their choice was understandable as they pedaled all the way from home. Hitching a ride back after a tiring climb in that heat and not over-exert yourself is a good idea.

Mountain Juice

When Jay and I reached Aling Tina’s we downed 2 bottles of large Mountain Dew, a few bananas, and more story-telling. When we felt we were rested enough we started loading our bikes in our respective cars, planned to ride together again soon, and went on our way.

It was a fun and easy ride with friends, but I was hoping to ride with the original signees to this ride, and more. Oh well… I’ll just wait for them to come visit our trails here in the south of the metro.

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This was the plan: Leave home (Cavite) at around 6 A.M., pedal all the way to my parents’ house (Mandaluyong; 40km all road, on a mountain bike, with an 18-liter backpack for my extra shirts, slippers, and other small stuff), get my mom’s car (which I borrowed for the weekend to be used on Sunday’s race), drive to Aling Tina’s (San Mateo), meet up with Bri, and decide if we’ll tackle Shotgun hill first then do the track reading or vice versa.

I was able to leave around 6:30 A.M., due to my paranoia of leaving something behind and not being able to fully enjoy the ride.

On my way to Mandaluyong I felt tired. I wasn’t riding as fast I normally do. Then I realized maybe it was because of my full backpack… oh well… It took me 2 hours to get to my parents’ house.

As I was driving I started to get text messages from Bri. You see, he told me he’ll be leaving his house at around 6-6:30 A.M. He didn’t want to leave the house later in the morning, he said. That’s understandable. He has already rode around one part of the race track (I found out later on he didn’t know about the other part near the finish line), and he’s been waiting for me to arrive with nothing to do… I think.

I arrived at our meeting place, at Aling Tina’s Eatery, a little before 10:30 A.M. Looks like we’ll be climbing Shotgun Hill as the day starts to really heat up. Well, we don’t have any other choice.

As I was about to park I noticed a solo rider hydrating, walking around, all sweaty. And 2 more talking by their bikes. Then I recognized one of the bikes, an off-white Haro Sonix with blue blings. The owner had his back to me so I couldn’t see his face, but I was almost sure it was Cesar (a.k.a. Adrenalin).

After getting his attention and exchanging of greetings and introducing them to one another (Bri and Cesar) I find out Cesar’s done riding and was about to head for home. When I arrived he was just resting after his ride.

I joke around saying it was still early, and he should come with us. Our destination were Shotgun Hill then do a track-read for Sunday’s race. He agreed, and he continues saying it’s his way of paying back the times I ride with him around the Malipay trails before he goes to work.

After a quick preparation on my part — installing of tires, wearing of socks and shoes, leaving all unnecessary stuff from my bag in the car, applying sunblock, etc. — we took off. Upon reaching the junction which will tell you where we’ll head on to (right to The Wall or left towards Shotgun Hill) they ask me where to turn. I answer in a loud, “LEFT!” and they both groaned. I had to chuckle.

When we reach the gate indicating the start of the climb I checked my watch. 10:44 A.M., and I let Bri know, “10:44!” marking the start. And so we climb… and climb… and climb…

Bri knows my plan: to beat my personal record of climbing Shotgun Hill within 49 minutes of starting, without stopping.

Then I saw something up ahead that wasn’t there before. Half of the road was being cemented. Oh no, I thought! In no time this will all be one long, steep, winding, cemented road. Now where’s the fun in that? Booooooring! But nothing can be done and we continue climbing.

As we climb noises of heavy equipment hard at work can be heard in the distance. No doubt preparing the dirt road for cementation. These noises are ignored. 90% of concentration is given to spinning, keeping cadence, and balancing while moving forward at 0 k.p.h.

The noise becomes louder… nearer… and when I look up I see a bulldozer on the road up ahead flattening a fairly steep section approaching a steep curve. We can’t stop. Bri and I continue riding to the left of the bulldozer.

The summer heat and weather turned the soil powdery and it now became thicker due to the bulldozer. Looser and powdery soil surrounds the bulldozer. We continue spinning… spinning… feeling the cranks become heavier. I look down and make sure the soil isn’t wet. It was starting to feel like pedaling in thick, sticky mud. I checked my gears, I was in granny. Why the heck are the cranks so damn heavy, I thought.

I groan loudly, letting Bri know I was having a hard time. He does the same. Then my crank stops turning however hard I try to pedal. I almost fell, but I was quickly able to unclip from the pedals and dismount. A split second after I hear Bri unclipping, too.

“Argh!” I shout.

We started pushing our bikes out of the newly bulldozed and powdery soil. As soon as we’re on more stable and hard-packed ground we mount immediately and start pedaling. I look back to check on Cesar and see him pushing his bike at the start of the bulldozed soil. Good, he’s safe, I thought, so I continue pedaling.

Frustrated and helpless I concentrated again on pedaling. I know this has affected my attempt to break my personal record but I was still intent on finding out if I can break it even with 1 unavoidable dismount.

Bri was slowly widening the gap between us making me want to tie a tow strap around his seatpost and the other end around my handlebar, but I didn’t have a tow strap with me. Heh…

Other distractions (obstacles?) came in the form of trucks — dump trucks and cement mixers — that disturb the soil and dirt leaving clouds of dust and exhaust smoke in their wake making it harder to breathe. Nothing can be done so I continued pedaling.

When I finally reach the first recovery section where the road flattens and descends I shift to the middle ring while I recover. I was still aiming to beat my 49-minute record. The downhill portion of the road is a welcome sight. I plan to ride down as fast as my guts will allow (which isn’t really fast, haha!) and hopefully this will shave a few good minutes off my final time.

Before the road starts its ascent I shift back to the smallest ring, a little too late than my normal practice and I’m grateful it shifted perfectly allowing me to continue riding. Bri was nowhere in sight. Damn, he’s fast…

Uneventful riding brought be to the last part of the Shotgun climb where the road again flattens with very little short and gradual climbs. I shift to the middle ring again to make the bike move faster. I need to really pedal hard and fast here so I can beat my old time.

Then I saw Bri riding the other direction. As I get near him I asked, “You going down again?”

“I got no more strength left!”

I laugh but I continued trying to ride hard and fast.

When I reached the gate marking the end of the climb I saw it was closed. How are we going to get through if it’s locked, I though, taking note of the huge padlocks. We’ll deal with that later, I thought to myself then quickly and gently I hit the gate with my front tire, while braking, and I check my watch immediately. 11:32 A.M.

I do a quick calculation. 48 minutes? Against my old record of 49 minutes? I laugh out loud!

I do know I didn’t beat it technically, because of the dismount. So I will be back. Hopefully soon.

As Bri and I were resting my phone started ringing. It was an unidentified number, but I kind of knew who it was.

“Hello?”

“Where are you guys? This is Cesar.”

“We’re here waiting for you. Are you OK?”

“Yeah, I’m OK. I had a flat and I don’t have my tire pump with me.”

I shake my head…

“You want me to help you out? I have a tire pump, I’ll ride back down to you…”

“It’s OK, I already found help. Just wait for me there.”

“OK. See you.”

Then I relay the fact Cesar hadn’t brought his tire pump to Bri, emphasizing the fact he needs it right at that moment.

When he finally arrives I asked him, “What have you learned today?” He just smiles and explains why he didn’t bring his tire pump.

After resting and taking a pic (photo above) we continue on to the main purpose of this ride: for me to survey the race track. Bri told us we’ll be entering a single track usually used by downhillers, but it’s rideable XC style. Just proper body weight shifting is needed.

This track will bring us directly to the entrance of the technical section of the racetrack, without having to ride through the boring dirt roads.

I welcomed this suggestion as I haven’t ridden this track yet. I almost crashed in one steep/deep section as I was being cautious since it was my first time. My tires slipped against the sloping sides and I was able to dismount, but I almost lost my balance. We both shouted out a warning to Cesar to be careful and to inform him I was still blocking the track.

Then a wider area with a good, nice single track climb. Then all was smooth sailing until we exited and reached the cemented road. Across this is an arrow/marker letting us know the race tracks enters that trail and Bri informs me this is the start of the technical portion of the whole race track.

Single-tracks, wider-than-single-tracks with deep ruts to one side effectively forcing you to pick the higher ground for your line, roots, rocks, a small creek crossing that exits to a clump of baby heads (rocks rooted in the ground as big as baby heads) and fairly huge but rideable boulders, a short and sudden climb up, slight incline that curves to the right and becomes steeper and steeper, then a steeper yet climb with roots snaking across the track.

It’s a fun section but scary if you’ll be riding it with a lot of racers all vying to win.

This techy section exits to another slight uphill dirt road. The only way to recover is to really slow down. During the race you will have to make a decision: rest, recover, and pedal slowly, risking being overtaken OR forget about recovery and try to still pedal as hard and as fast as you can, right after the tiring single-track section. I’ll decide on race day.

When we reach an intersection where the track needs to go straight (going the direction we were going) and a left turn from the opposite direction (where the first part of the racetrack is; going straight you will be met with other racers until that intersection) Cesar and Bri decided to rest and wait for me there, if I still want to do that loop.

So from our direction I turn right into that dirt road (during the race we will be turning LEFT as we will be coming from the opposite direction) and try to ride as hard and as fast as I can. It was a fun and satisfying run, especially the downhill portions as I was able to really ride fast, then I turn right again into the techy single-track section.

I exit at the other end and ride the inclined dirt road the 2nd time and reach Cesar and Bri. They mount as I arrive and we continue to ride the track.

Cesar showed me where the starting line will be, after which we proceeded to the Banyan Crest area of the track, where the Kids’ and Women’s categories will run, but will also be a part of my category’s track.

Since this section will only loop within this area Cesar warned me of a confusing section of this track and told me he’ll wait with Bri in the shade since he has already ridden this twice and he’s tired from riding.

This part of the track surprised me! Really tight turns that running with the bike would be faster. My problem is I haven’t tried and practiced mounting my bike while running so I opted to ride the “maze” instead of running.

Then the climbs are also tiring, 2 downhill sections look scary for kids. The first one I almost fell during the race as the ground was loose and dry.

But it was still a fun and welcomed track after all the wide dirt roads.

Once I was done we all started riding towards Aling Tina’s Eatery where we consumed 2 big bottles of Mountain Dew, with Bri ordering a small extra one for himself.

After preparing to leave and putting my bike in the car I drove off looking for Cesar and Bri. The plan was I will follow them in the car while they pedal all the way to Cesar’s house and we’ll have lunch at his place.

But Bri declined during the ride and went his way as we reached Cesar’s subdivision gate.

To Bri and Cesar: thanks for the company, and thanks for the lunch, Cesar

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In the dark the couple sleeps. Suddenly the alarm goes off on the man’s wristwatch, joined together by the alarm set on his cellphone. It’s 4:00 A.M. He awakens, moves, reaches for his watch, turns off the alarm. As he reaches for his cellphone his wife groans from the noise. Snooze. Silence. Sleep comes back, but he fights it away, knowing full well a friend will be waiting for him by 6:00 A.M.

—

After loading and securing his bike, a 2008 Fuji Outland Pro (named Darna!!!) with a Shimano Alivio groupset, on his 4×4 the Junkie starts the journey to the meeting place. He’s running late but nothing can be done about that now. During the drive Dante, the friend he’ll be meeting at All Terra, sent an SMS saying it should be better to just meet somewhere nearer Aling Tina’s, the eatery wel-known to mountain bikers as the base camp for those who plan to do the climbs up Timberland or the more gruelling Shotgun trail.

Reaching Aling Tina’s the Junkie moved quick (or not, depending on who you ask) and prepared for takeoff. After a quick drink of bottled water Dante and the Junkie are now on their way. Destination is the killer Shotgun climb. Dante’s first attempt and the Junkie’s second time. He plans to conquer it again, but this time with no stopping.

The Junkie leads the way, confirming from fellow riders where Shotgun is. Upon reaching the barricade marking the start of the climb he asks Dante behind him, “Continue?” and Dante says go, so they did, as the Junkie shifts to the smallest chainring and bigger cogs. Granny. He checks his watch. It reads 8:15 A.M.

Conserving energy

As the dirt road slopes up mis-shifts can be heard coming from Dante’s bike. “Dismount and fix your gears! Use your hands!” the Junkie shouts back at Dante but falling on deaf ears. Dante can be hard-headed sometimes he finds out, but he can only smile and shake his head.

The Junkie continues pedaling. Can I do this, he asks himself? Sweat starts to drip, more and more. He pedals lighter and slower, trying to conserve evergy. You don’t need to use everything yet, pace yourself and use more power on the steeper parts, he continues to think to himself.

In the early turns of the track he looks back, making sure Dante is still pedaling. He still is. Good. He reaches the part where they stopped the first time on his first ascent with Mark, Jun, Kenneth, Hyubs, and Doc Raffy. Keep pedaling, he urges. You’re not tired yet, he tries to convince himself.

All along the climb he can see other people, locals walking and with bikes, other groups of mountain bikers enjoying the climb, the views, the exercise, but ignoring them all and avoiding collisions. He just keeps pedaling.

Recovery, stretching without dismounting

Taken during my first time at Shotgun. Rider in photo is Jun.

He reaches a part where the track flattens out and gradually slopes down a little past the midpoint of the whole climb. Recovery! He stays on this current gearing and pedals slow for recovery. His thighs are tired. He unclips his left foot and while pedaling with his right he stretches and rotates his left ankle and leg. He does the same to his other leg. Again. He shifts a heavier gears, but not too much.

He clips his feet back in as the track slopes down more. He lightly squeezes on his brake levers to lengthen the time he can rest on his bike. 2 older bikers pass him. He ignores them. In no time at all the track flattens out again, curves to the right, and starts to climb up again. Let’s do this, he encourages himself. Before the weight can be felt his right thumb automatically pushes the lever for the gears, calling on granny again in preparation for the climb.

Mr. Momentum

The 2 older bikers stop to rest just before the climb, but a 3rd one, their friend, continues on and passes me by, using his downhill momentum to climb. The Junkie ignores him, too, as he knows the momentum won’t really do much as the climb is too long for the momentum to really help. He keeps pedaling slowly but keeping his own pace. In just a few seconds Mr. Momentum is leveled with the Junkie. “Good morning, sir,” the Junkie says, not disrupting his own pace. “Hi. This is tiring!” the man says. The Junkie smiles, “Yes sir.”

They both keep pedaling, concentrating, silently encouraging the other to keep on going, that they can both do this. They keep the pace level. This is not a race, but an unwritten contract between 2 riders sharing the climb, sharing the hardship, sharing the sensation of possibly conquering this mountain once more. The cheers and support for the other rider cannot be heard, but it’s cheering on, it’s shouting out, inside each others’ heads. You can do this, comrade, WE can do this, the Junkie thinks. Small talk can be heard back and forth between the 2 riders, but only the bikers, the bikes, and the mountain can hear it.

The spinning continues

They pass 2 more bikers resting. “Good morning, sirs,” the Junkie breathlessly say. “Take a breather for a while,” they call out. The Junkie just smiles and nods a thank you — but the spinning continues. Just a few meters more 4 more riders are are resting. Another set of “Good mornings” were thrown at them and the Junkie and Mr. Momentum gets a few back. The spinning continues.

Then the short, steep, uphill can is approaching. Just beyond this the heavy equipment are parked. We can do this, the Junkie encourages both of them, but only in his head. Mr. Momentum has fallen back but his labored breathing can still be heard. The Junkie knows he’s just right there behind him, not quitting. He knows they’re nearing the end, but not quite as there are still a few short and sudden uphill bursts — but this is not the time to quit. He has gotten this far without stopping, without stepping on the ground, so the spinning continues.

The end is near

Voices can be heard behind. It sounded like the 4 riders. He ignores it. Nearing the place where the view of the surrouding city can be seen, and where the deep dug out portion of land covered by some sort of plastic or tarpaulin, the voices grows soft. They seem to be falling behind. He doesn’t care. In between the short, steep uphill burts the track is relatively flat. Recovery.

He then sees another rider slowly pedaling a few meters in front of him. He keeps his pace. Slowly he reaches the other rider. “Good morning,” the Junkie says. The rider looked shock and breathed a surprise gasp. “Is the end of the Shotgun the gate we’ll be reaching?” the Junkie asks. “Yeah,” the other says breathlessly. “Thanks.” They both continue pedaling, the other rider slowly falling back. The Junkie just keeps to his own pace.

Shotgun, no stopping, 49 minutes

Goal! 1-1

The track curves to the right, a huge tree by left side of the curve. It looks familiar. Just beyond this is the gate, he tries to remember. Upon reaching the curve he sees the gate! Wide open, welcoming him, congratulating him. He passes the gate that tells him he succeeded. He feels elated. A huge smile on his face. He almost shouted out a loud “YES!” but he didn’t. He checks his watch. 9:04 A.M. He starts braking and unclipping. He dismounts. He has reached his goal. Shotgun conquered, no stops, 49 minutes.

Are we done yet?

He checks his cellphone as a few messages were received during the journey up. He gets one from Dante. It read:

5mins then returning. Di na din kaya (I can’t continue anymore). Thanks

The Junkie replied saying OK, to be careful and ride safe, and thanking him, too. After a few photos (1st one was of Darna leaning on the gate, the 2nd of the rider and the bike — taken by a lone biker who arrived, taking the reverse route) he mounts and starts the descent back to Aling Tina’s. The cellphone beeps. It could be Dante. He checks his new message and it read:

Went forward w/ spme (typo) riders. Lapit na daw c house (?; We’re near the house)

A reply was sent saying he’ll track back, so the Junkie turns back and starts pedaling back to the gate. If they’re not there yet I’ll try to go back further. Further down back the road he sees 3 riders. Dante isn’t with them. He continues on. Another group of 3 riders. Another set of hi’s and hello’s, and the 3rd rider looks familiar. It’s Dante.

“How are you?”

“Fine,” he says breathlessly.

The Junkie chuckles.

He hears music, it was coming from the other guy with the Spongebob jersey. The Junkie pedals faster. “I wanna stay in pace with these 2, they’ve got sounds!” he tells Dante.

Lost?

So the foursome continues on. Upon reaching the gate the 3 stops, hydrates, and prepares for the descent. Dante rides past. “This is the end of Shotgun! Take a drink!” but Dante only waved his hand saying he doesn’t need to and continues riding. The 3 follow suit. The Junkie passed the 2 riders chasing Dante. They both pass the left turn going back to Timberland. They went straight, as it was what was told them. The dirt road turns to gravel, the grass in the middle of the road becomes thicker. “Is this the way?” Dante asks. Being a first-timer on this route also the Junkie said he wasn’t sure. So they track back, the Junkie riding the climb to check if the 2 riders are still there. They’re gone.

“OK, we should have taken this left.”

As they start riding the track that will lead them to Timberland, then The Wall, the lone rider/photographer was seen approaching. Directions were asked. Thank you’s were given. The ride continues — going home.

Going home

Driving down the flyover crossing Ortigas Avenue along C-5 annoying honks can be heard. He keeps to the right lane since he drives slow, scared Darna might fall off the bike rack. Then a vehicle pulls alongside him and the driver calls out, “CRAW!” calling the Junkie by his known forum nickname. He takes a quick look, notices the same Ateneo jersey on the driver, same jersey as he was wearing, and figures out who it is. It’s Arnel. A fellow southern rider.

Arnel shouted he’s going to the McKinley track in Fort Bonifacio. The Ateneo-UP-Ateneo jersey distribution ride left him wanting to ride more. He overtook the Junkie, maybe showing off his Ellsworth Truth? A call was received on the cell, Arnel was calling.

“Bro, I’m still itching to ride! I’m going to McKinley.”

“I just finished Shotgun… but what the hell, lead the way, let’s ride!”

The war continues… the war is won.

As they park the cars 2 Ateneans of different generations, separated by years, prepares to ride, brought together by one common thing: mountain biking.

One lap after the itch is gone, and the Junkie survives yet another ride. This time the war is won.

In the McKinley track we see another rider wearing the Ateneo jersey. This time 3 generations have been brought together.

Time to go home.

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Today’s destination: The Shotgun Trail in San Mateo, Rizal (though, this isn’t the original plan, but it’s nearby). This will be my first time to ride this trail as it’s quite far from where I live and ever since I started mountain biking I always bike from home (I only started last year, almost the same time as when fuel prices were climbing — though that’s not the reason why I started biking).

Today is also the day when I would need to return my mom’s car, which I borrowed over the holidays because my car needed a new clutch pedal (yes, the pedal). And since I will be bringing the car to my parents’ place I thought why not accept the invitation to ride, then return the car afterwards? So that’s what I did.

Days before today I have been texting and asking the other guys from the Backout Boys if they would like to join me on this ride, since I know we seldom venture up north I thought it would be a welcome break to ride a different trail than the trails we are so damn used to (NBP, Malipay, Paliparan, Bokiko, Sta. Rosa trails, etc.). Jun P. agreed right away to join. Rommel C. said he’ll check with his wife if they didn’t have any plans for today (they did so he wasn’t able to join), some expressed interest then remembered a prior commitment, some thought it was too far (true, but then I would be going north to return the car, so I decided to kill two birds with one stone).

Anyway, Jun and I rode in a convoy from Alabang to Aling Tina’s Eatery in San Mateo where we met with our hosts Mark, Kenneth, Hubert, and Dr. Raffy — all my friends and fellow members of the Vitara Club of the Philippines.

When everyone was set (except me, I wanted to have breakfast before heading off, but everyone was raring to go) we started pedaling towards the trail head.

When we reached the trail head everyone took a quick breather, shifted to the granny (smallest chainring) and one by one we started pedaling uphill.

Though lacking in technical obstacles the Shotgun road made up for it with its looong, steep, and uneven (uncemented) incline.

Our group of 6 got separated. As much as possible I didn’t want to stop climbing (I was just challenging myself) and Jun decided to stay on my tail. I found out later on from Mark and Hubert while eating at Giant, Kenneth and Dr. Raffy rode together while Mark and Hubert took up the rear.

With Jun and I being first-timers in this area and the first of our group to reach the top we just decided to follow where the tracks lead us. On the flats we slowed down, talking, then a group overtook us, followed by a smaller group of 4. Since the track was a gradual downhill these 2 groups were rolling fast. We decided to follow them, thinking they were on the way to Giant.

After the downhill portion came the small and easy uphill climb and the dirt road became cemented. Then I heard the only girl rider ask her group, “I thought we were going to Giant…?” Uh, oh, I thought. This isn’t the way to Giant. So I asked her where the way to Giant is, and she invited Jun & I to tag along, since her group (the smaller one) is also on their way there.

So we turned back and instead of climbing up the slight downhill portion we just rode we took the path going right (I didn’t notice this track at the bottom of the downhill portion).

When we arrived at the junction of where we came out and the old/usual route going to Giant we took a breather and introduced ourselves to each other. After a few minutes Enzo, who is in the Philippines in a semi-vacation, shouted in mock anger, “LET’S GO! I’m so hungry! I’ll treat you all to lunch!” and who am I to decline, I am a first-timer here?

At the resto-store in Giant Enzo treated us to corned beef with rice, then followed spicy pancit sprinkled with tuna. I don’t normally eat spicy food but the pancit was great!

When we were done Mark and Hubert arrived. That’s when we found out Kenneth and Dr. Raffy weren’t with them, as they also thought they were with us! With the very weak and erratic cellphone signal at Giant we just thought maybe they’ll get there eventually.

While the 2 late-comers were eating we received a text message from Dr. Raffy informing us Kenneth took a spill. He endo’d somewhere and they decided to head back home without us.

We also found out Whreachelle (the girl rider who guided Jun & I to Giant) led us through a different and easier route from where we met than where Mark and Hubert went through, no wonder their bikes were all muddy.

But then, maybe as some sort of retaliation for being able to keep our bikes relatively clean Mark decided to lead us through the muddy sections going back to our vehicles. Since we didn’t have any choice we just decided to deal with it and laugh at the mud splashing on our bikes. We tried not to think of the cleaning up afterwards!

When we got to Aling Tina’s (where our cars were parked) we decided to have coffee before heading home. It was a nice and satisfying ride, though I found it too early to have finished (we left Aling Tina’s at 2 PM), but then I still had errands to do.

And yes, I will go back and try the Shotgun trail without stopping… Will I be able to do it? I’ll let you know.

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