Despedida Dirt

Well Gary's heading back to Idaho (who da ho?) on Wednesday, so yesterday was his last chance to get a dirt ride in. So it's off to La Mesa with King and the gang. We rode in a big group with a bunch of first-timers but it was a real fun ride. Our ranger/trail guide clued us in to this new route they were buiding that effectively creates a loop to Tower 1. It used to be an in-and-out ride, so we were all giddy with anticipation. This new trail skirts the perimeter of the park, and it consists of nice singletrack and forest trails. Plus a smattering of rocks and a short but vicious climb that I stalled on. Gary made it up with no problem (as did the other geared riders)...but that was my only dab of the day. All in all a nice ride and a perfect sending off for Gary!


singletrack soundtrack:
Sleeping In - The Radio Dept.

We also had a camera crew from GamePlan covering the ride. Looks like I'll get my 5 minutes of fame, unless they edit me out hehe

Unfortunately, they were also on hand to document Jovan's flat tire fix, as seen below.

a few more shots from last weekend's ride

Looks like the main pack went ahead. Jovan waited for Francis, Gary and myself. Thanks man!



Gary making it look effortless (he already lost his right cleat by then!)



Here I am trying to catch up with the main group. Gary's closing in on my rear wheel. Pedal, dammit!



The group waiting for us slowpokes to show up. Sorry guys we took a wrong turn! As you can see, JM is taking off already. He made it home before his Seven turned into a pumpkin and he turned into a mouse himself.


Michelle. Matt's one lucky guy to have a better half that rides! She'll be on an SS soon!


Matt, probably the first singlespeeder in the Philippines


Vic- always smiling!


King, now back to his riding best.


Rommel and Edmund. Positive vibes all around.


JM, moving too fast for the camera


Jovan - the father of the Philippine Cycling Network.

photos courtesy of Jed Santos of EcoRescue.

the new hire?

Look who I'm sharing my cubicle with:

Yep, decided to take Spanky to work today. Granted, the office is just 2km away from home (have to climb a short hill though). I still managed to get to work in less time than if I drove it. It's sort of empowering passing cars that are gridlocked, engines idling while waiting for the traffic light to turn green. Had to contend with some pollution, of course, but for a 9am ride it was still pleasantly cool and I hadn't worked up a sweat when I timed in. Felt energized too.

Hmm, maybe I'll do this more often. Need a lil more man-smell and testosterone round here in an office that's dominated by ladies. Hehe. Then again, studies show that men release pheromones after a workout...wait till they get a whiff of my saddle! HAHAHAHA!

the ReboluSSyon's EvoluSSyon

Around the same time, last year, I went for a bike ride with Gary - an expatriate Pinoy who is now based in Idaho. Gary spend a good amount of time riding the NORBA circuit, and has amassed a huge amount of experience and knowledge about riding, and bikes in general. He's an accomplished racer, mechanic and now a framebuilder. To think his full-time occupation is as a software designer! He's now since retired (from both racing and from his day job), and visits his folks in the Philippines every year. Oh ya, we raced together last year, for shits n' giggles.

This year, though, he brought along his singlespeed bike, and we managed to organize a singlespeed ride of sorts at the La Mesa watershed. Here's the crew, from left to right:


Jovan(trying to unsuccessfully blend into the background), he rides a Cannondale hardtail.
Michelle(better half of Matt), on a Giant NRS.
Matt(unofficial father of Pinoy SSing), who rides an EBB's Dean Titanium hardtail.
Francis(bearer of positive vibes and siopaos), on a Giant NRS.
Edmund(All Terra head honcho), on a Salsa Juan Solo.
King(everybody knows him!), on a converted Gary Fisher carbon fiber hardtail.
Myself(nothing to see here, move along now). Oh wait, I'm wearing the 2nd edition P1SSer jersey!(ok, now move along).
JM(Super Strong SS rider, placed in one of the short-track races this year), on a sweet EBB'd steel Seven Sola that's blinged out.
Gary("just visiting"), on an Ionic Titanium hardtail that's setup as a dinglespeed - two different sets of gear ratios- one for commuting, another for dirt. Trick setup. He's got the 1st edition P1SSer jersey.
Not in photo:
Noel(fellow SS 29er), he rides an On-One Inbred 29er.
Vic(the downhill bomber), on a Jamis XLT.
Rommell(endurance athlete), on a Cannondale Rush.

Now that makes seven singlespeeders in one ride. That must be a Philippine record. If only Rommel brought his SS Klein, and Vic converted his own Klein, and Jay was in town instead of paying Mr. Lee a visit at Flying Ball...we'd have ten! Matt said he's got a project SS bike for his better half - so yes, we are a growing movement!


Matt and me comparing sizes. Wheel sizes that is.


Almost at the top of the heinous climb. Sorry, couldn't stop to admire the view! But I believe you can see the city from up here...

singletrack soundtrack (for the climbs):
Twist and Crawl - The English Beat

singletrack soundtrack (for the twisties and the descents):
Too Much Pressure - The Selecter

guess that Ska comp is still ringing in my years from last weekend ;)


Edmund giving his Juan Solo a workout. Or was it the other way around?


Noel, always smiling! He's a strong rider. To think he hasn't upgraded to clipless pedals yet!


It's da King. He has unofficial "ranger" status in these parts.


Matt- he's the one that started it all.


Gary - he's a mountain goat! Halfway thru the ride he had a wardrobe malfunction, and lost a cleat bolt underneath his right shoe. He had to pedal one-legged for a bit. On a singlespeed. Uphill. I'm not worthy.


Matt, myself and Michelle grinding and grinning our way up another climb.


JM's Seven and Gary's Ionic. Taking five at Tower 5.

Our route took us to Tower 1, and JM set a blistering pace (we later found out he had to be home for lunch hehehe). The head ranger said that they are developing a link from Tower 1 to Tower 5, which unfortunately was still unfinished at that time. So we doubled back from Tower 1, and took a breather at Tower 5. We continued on back towards the parking lot, but Gary, Francis and myself got separated from the group, when I took a wrong turn (sorry!). Luckily we regained our bearings and met up with Jovan (who waited for us) and pressed onwards after I quaffed a Powergel packet. We decided to take an indirect route back to the parking lot, via the Violago gate, which was mostly rolling doubletrack punctuated by a few climbs. My thighs were giving me warning signs on an imminent cramp meltdown, so I decided to take it easy and let the rest of the guys go ahead, whilst I stretched and checked my mobile phone (had important matters to deal with). After receiving the good news via sms, my legs felt fine and I pushed the pace to catch up with them. A quick breather and phone call and we were off towards the parking lot. I wanted to get back to the car by noon as I had to make a follow up call and on the slight incline near the finish line my legs were getting really stiff. I was down to the last few sips of my hydration pack and I decided to just grimace and bear it. Upon reaching the parking lot, I hopped off the bike, and my legs were stiff as boards! I was waddling like a penguin. Had trouble sitting myself down so I did it in lil increments. Man, I felt like a geriatric hehe. After a good stretch, I was able to walk normally. A quick phone call and my day was made :)

On the way home, Gary and I stopped for some vegetarian burritos. That hit the spot.

All in all, a perfect day as far as riding was concerned. Rode with a fun bunch and hung out a bit afterwards. I felt beat though, but in a good, masochistic way.

What a difference a year makes!

Thanks to Gary and JM for the pics!

Powered by Valrhona/The Two Towers

Last night was admittedly, quite decadent. Nothing like a nice evening spent with the Lady Nitro, sharing two Valrhona flourless cupcakes (plus a peppermint/choco one) and a nice pot of Earl Grey tea. I LOVE IT. Of course, I'll be atoning for my indulgence by riding...

Yes I can have my cupcake and eat it too.

singletrack soundtrack: Avenging Angels - Space

Don't ask why, but that's what the jukebox in my head started playing while riding. Today's ride was back in La Mesa, with Polly, Jay, King, Jovan, 2 Carlo's and 2 Vics. All in all, 9 riders. We felt like Ringwraiths. Guess you can call me the self-styled Witch King. Fitting that, since we were riding to the Two Towers - that is, La Mesa ranger towers 3 and 1, respectively.

After logging 16km to and from the towers, we headed down to the campsite by the water. Total mileage was around 22km I guess, but let me tell you, the first 16km were intense. At least I climbed the hills non-stop.

Post-ride meals were had at Tia Maria's Cantina along Katipunan - Mexican food is perfect after a hard day's ride. I had myself a grilled chicken burrito.

Jay, where are the pics?! Here are the pics!


Polly, Vic M, myself, King, Vic P, Ranger DenDen, Jovan, Carlo K, and Carlo M. Not in photo (he snapped it) is Jay.


That's one tricked-out Turner tricycle!



On a clear day you can see forever. Polly and Jay seeing the sights from atop Tower 1.


We rode down to the shore, where Spanky decided to hang around for a bit.

Afternoon riding

the ride's singletrack soundtrack was:

Tell - The Radio Dept.

King, Vic and I met up for a mid-afternoon ride in Maarat yesterday. Weather was perfect, with some a bit of sun shining down on us and a cool breeze blowing.

We decided to do some "exploring" (a creative way of saying we got a bit lost), and ended up backtracking at some points. The whole ride was well worth it though, as the photos attest:


View of the city from one of the higher points of the ride. To the left is Laguna de Bay, straight ahead is Makati and Manila Bay, and to the extreme right would be La Mesa. Wish I had a more capable camera!


"My GPS says...", that's Vic


Ridin' and smilin'! Looks like King's fully recovered from last June's mishap


Me taking a breather



Ride down or walk it? We walked it. Too steep and too rutted for our tastes.

Going up...

the ride's singletrack soundtrack:

All Mixed Up - The Red House Painters



So this is how I look when my heartrate is on the redline, going up a hill. This shot (taken by Jed Santos) was taken during last weekend's ride at La Mesa - and I was part of a 10-rider gaggle led by King. There were several other groups of riders too, and it was a great day to ride and enjoy the lush scenery - as well as contribute to the preservation of the area by paying the entrance fee.

This was the last big hill before heading back to the parking lot. Vic and I broke off from the group and did some exploring :)

Did feel the effects of my efforts later in the day, though. But it was well worth it. Cleaned all the climbs, and Spanky with the Maxxis Ignitors worked like a charm - well, mostly. Back at the parking lot I decided to check all the bolts on the bike (lesson learned!) and as I torqued down on my crankbolts, one of them snapped. It was a Salsa one to boot. Should've known better. Never run alloy chainring bolts on a singlespeed. Luckily All Terra had some stainless steel bolts and spacers for sale. I duly grabbed a set of 10, and replaced all 4 alloy bolts on my crank. Problem solved, with spares to boot.

The Mother of all 29er FS Shootouts

Looks like Francois and the rest of the MTBR crew have outdone themselves on this one.

A heeeyuuuuge 29er full-suspension shootout. Lots of bikes, lots of riders, lots of reading!

Here's what they tested (in alphabetical order):

Astix Monk
Ellsworth Evolve
Intense Spyder
Lenz Sport Leviathan
Niner R.I.P.9
Titus Racer X 29er
Van Dessel Jersey Devil FS
Ventana El Rey

Personally, I think I'd go for the Ventana. Get all the big wheel action here.

It's great to see the bike industry embracing this "new idea". We'll be seeing more 29er-specific components in the near future, that's for sure - wheelsets, tires and forks to be exact. Now, I wonder how long it will take for this movement to reach Philippine shores ;)

Bike Lust!!!

After yesterday's round of maintenance, today was time to give the bike some good ol' rubbin and lovin!

Before anything else, I hadn't gotten anything for Spanky this Yuletide season yet - hmmm let's see...can't upgrade the drivetrain (no gears here!); chain is still ok; brakes are fine (got spare pads...heck, I even have a spare set of brakes from the Tingle!); handlebars are fine, grip tape is perfect; new saddle! I wanted one, but all the local shops are out of white leather saddles for some reason...hmmm...I got it!

Carbon Fibre Bar-end Plugs. Yep. I know, I know, it's a cosmetic upgrade, but it's a subtle touch hehe

After installing the plugs, it was time to give the bike a good wipe-down of Pedro's Bike Lust. Right down to the rims and spokes. Lovely shine.

Oh, I also did a number on my brother's FS rig. As you can see in the background.



And for good measure, I also did his Dahon SpeedPro.



What can I say, I guess I love bikes!

How can I forget - it's also the last day of 2006! If you're looking for a retrospective, well, just click away at the links underneath THE TRAIL, on the right.

Powder and Lotion

Yes, it may be a referral to massage parlors and sauna baths (hmmm, that may be a good post-ride idea!)...but in my case, it was my bike that needed some post-ride pampering...

Earlier today, Polly, Jay and I rode in Sta. Rosa - and we all agreed on an early take off time of 730am. I woke up early enough, and had half a mind to wear tights, instead of my normal bib shorts, underneath my baggies. The weather's been pretty cool lately too. A quick peek outside my window for a weather check (ala groundhog), and spotted a glimmer of sunlight. Nah, real men don't wear tights hehe

The farther I drove south, the greyer the skies were. In fact, by the time I parked at Paseo, it was drizzling pretty strongly. Got out of the car to unrack Spanky, and darnit, it was chilly and breezy too! I should've worn tights.

Polly and Jay arrived soon after and we pushed off - the drizzle stopped and we had perfect riding conditions, that is, until we hit the 3nd climb of what they call "cardiac hill". It seems that land development has started to creep into the familiar trails here. What was once a dirt-road climb has now been widened by bulldozers - not a big problem really, but our concern is that since the construction company had NOT steamrollered the soil to compact it, it all turns into a muddy mess when it starts to rain. And so it did when we hit the third climb. I should've worn tights.

We took a breather at the bukohan and that's when the skies really opened up. We decided to just stick to the main trails as most of the plantation dirt roads would either be too muddy or rutted to ride through. We resumed riding when the rain stopped, whilst the fog came rolling in. Nice! (sorry no photos of that - too much moisture in the air ya know).

We bombed down the fire road, headed for Duck Trail, and I was all over the place for some strange reason. Steering wasn't as responsive as I remember and I was getting a free arm workout thanks to the rocky descent. Before cutting into duck trail I decreased my tire pressure a bit, which seemed to help my traction woes.




Yes, Jay, the sun is out.

Halfway through Duck I got stuck in a rut - literally. I had to bail to the left, slo-mo style. Got a bruised shin for my trouble and I was puzzled as to why the Monkey was going all squirrelly on me. Hmmm. Not even tights could've changed that bit.

After the ride I decide to do some maintenance on the bike:

1) swap tires from my Kenda Klaw XTs to my Maxxis Ignitors
Hence the powder - it helps stop the inner tube from sticking to the tire casing. Also:

2) Suss out that damn slow leak in my rear tire
Finally found the culprit - a smaller-than-a-needle sized sliver of something was causing the leak.

3) Take care of that dry saddle
Wet rides and getting sun dried is hell on leather saddles, and my old WTB still has a few years left on it. Hell, it's got titanium rails too. So I slather on some lotion to get it back to its softness, and add some leather conditioner for good measure. Decided to grease the seatpost too...but

4) Siezed seatpost!
It won't come off! Try as I might, it wouldn't budge. Good thing my bro has a spray that helps loosen siezed bolts and stuff. A spritz and a few minutes later, I got the bugger off. Note to self: never use lithium grease (the white stuff) anywhere on the bike.

5) Figure out handling gremlins
I think I got that sorted out too. It seems I over-compensated and rotated the bars downwards too much after my close encounter during the last ride - funny how a degree or two can affect a bike's handling.

So the bike's tip-top, well, mechanically at least. That's alright, coz tomorrow, I'm getting all intimate on it with some Bike Lust.

James Brown, 1928-2006

I know it's not quite bicycling-related (though sometimes his tunes do play in my head when sweeping thru singletrack or huffing up a climb), but the Godfather of Soul, James Brown, passed away Christmas Day.

Here are some quotes from The Man:

"I don't really care what people think, ... I just do my own thing. ... I like being loud and letting people know I'm there.”

“I taught them everything they know, but not everything I know.”

“My expectations of other people, I double them on myself.”

and finally...

“The one thing that can solve most of our problems is dancing”

Come to think of it, when was the last time you danced? When was the last time I danced?

How about now? Jazz and Beyond has a podcast that pays homage to the late, great one.

Get on the good foot!

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO EVERYONE IN INTERNET-LAND!

ChriSStmaSS riding!

So today King, JM and myself decided to squeeze in a quick ride in Maarat. Route was Ka Tobias - Yes/No - Ka Vergel and back to Ka Tobias, and we took off at 7:45am with perfect December weather - a cool breeze blowing in despite the morning sun.

It was the first real trail ride for JM's Seven Sola, and what better venue than the varied terrain that Maarat offers. We turned into Yes/No after the initial climb and the rolling terrain was a blast to ride. We rested a bit to take some photos, before continuing the descent and the subsequent hike-a-bike down, and up, some really rutted trails (thanks to the rains and the frequent use of the area by dirt-bikers). Altogether a good ride with around 20+km of mileage.

Funny that this ride had it's share of close and not-so-close calls: JM took a spill when his front wheel slid out from under him when going downhill. He landed on a thicket, but was otherwise unscathed. King on the other hand, lost his tire patch kit and spare chain links when they fell out of his jersey's rear pocket, and landed in the fishpond at Ka Tobias - we were chilling out in one of the "floating" huts on top of the fish pond. As for me, well, a scary moment during the final downhill when after a slight jump my Mary bars rotated downwards. Luckily this happened during a straight and I was able to get them back to their original position by yanking them up and doing a wheelie. Could've ben much, much worse, and much, much messier!

Note to self: when ANYTHING on your bike starts to creak or make funny sounds, DO NOT take it for granted. Investigate immediately and check bolts often for correct tightness!

Another thing I've been noticing recently is that whenever I ride, songs start playing in my head! recent rides include the following tracks:

It's Different For Girls (Joe Jackson remake) - Boy Kill Boy
Cars and Girls - Prefab Sprout
Long Time Coming - The Delays

and today's soundtrack?

Chains - The Wolfgang Press

Enough chatter! Here are some photies:


"The King is number 1!" says JM


Spanky the Monkey, King's GF and JM's ESSther taking 5


Another (artsy) angle


Ruts galore



JM's Seven Sola


King's GF


Sorry, no photos of Spanky - you guys must be sick of seeing MY bike by now!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Trails to you!

P1SSer v2 jersey

Ed Lee showed me the prototype of the P1SSer v2 jersey, and it's looking pretty good. Just a few tweaks and this design will be coming to a trail near you!

front (make use of thinner material for a deeper color of black)
:


rear (tweak circle outlines on text, make them 100% black)



seal (will be reduced 50% size)



slogan (will be reduced by 50% as well, or replaced by the seal)


What you guys think?

Mabuhay Ang ReboluSSYon!