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Biking Bravado

We were to meet at 6:30 am on that fine Saturday morning.  I was a little bit excited over my first bike trip with my two girlfriends, Annie and Marga, but it certainly did not compare with the usual over-the-moon feeling I have over each and every morning run.  Put it this way, for a run, I am Manny Pacquiao…fight!  For any other sport, such as biking, swimming, or the gym, I give it a good fight like Diaz but there’s just something missing.  There’s no umph.

I arrived at our meeting place to find Annie in complete biking attire, something I have never seen her in since we met as running buddies over a year ago.  She was standing over her driver who was fiddling over the tight chains of her road bike.  Where was Marga?  Probably somewhere in between Bicutan and Sucat.  She biked all the way from her place, and unknown to us at that time, she actually had to walk through parts of the West Service Road as it was under construction.

IMG_0106

- Annie testing her bike.  I want a road bike like hers or Margas! -

By the time Marga arrived, at around 7 a.m., Annie had declared that she couldn’t join us because her bike chains needed oil.  As for me, I had lost all enthusiasm for biking under the intense heat.  How could so many things go wrong that early in the morning?!  At that point, there was one thing that could turn things around: McDo!

We decided to bike out of the village for a good meal at nearby McDonalds.  It was to be my first ever bike trip on public roads and I was nervous.  As we biked our way towards the exit gate nearing the first intersection, I yelled out at Marga: “How do bikers stop at the traffic light?”  (Yes, you can kick me for such a dumb question)  I couldn’t quite hear her response and, as much as I wanted to just close my eyes and teleport my way to McDo, I knew that on a bike I would probably find myself at the hospital instead.  Luckily, the light turned green and we just biked along with the cars.  After crossing the street, Annie who should’ve been behind me was unusually quiet (Annie is never ever quiet!) so I had to yell out at Marga again: “Where’s Annie?  Can you check?”  That’s because I can’t even look behind while on a bike, much less scratch my face, fix my helmet, bike in between that narrow strip of flat road between a hump and the sidewalk, nor stand on my pedals to avoid the pain that comes from passing over a hump.  Gosh, I’m such a newbie.

A little over a kilometer later, we were happily chatting about running, boys (to my hubby, I was actually just listening!), and races over our meals.  We biked our way back to the village and, surprisingly, the super short bike trip gave me a lot more confidence already.  It was definitely a more relaxing ride on the way back—I could actually manage a smile!  Yeah, I finally found the courage to explore more roads on the bike.  Give me a month and I’ll be fast and fearless…I hope haha.

Posted on 07.01.08 to 01 Bullish Insights, 05 Training. Tags: . Subscribe to follow comments on this post. 18 comments. Add your thoughts or trackback from your own site.

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18 Responses to “Biking Bravado”

  1. wag lang fast and furious! hahaha!

    marga said on Jul 01 08 at 10:32 AM Reply

  2. Marga, ikaw yun!

    thebullrunner said on Jul 01 08 at 10:39 AM Reply

  3. hoy hindi ah. maingat ako when we were biking. AT INFERNEZ!

    marga said on Jul 01 08 at 11:53 AM Reply

  4. INFERNEZ! May blinker na ako!

    marga said on Jul 01 08 at 11:54 AM Reply

  5. ay, excited naman ako to see pics of you on your bike! i’m a fan, you know! =) hope to see you next time at MOA naman… every early sunday morning a lot of bikers go there… me included. =)

    vimz said on Jul 01 08 at 1:47 PM Reply

  6. Marga, actually yeah you were very well disciplined. Thanks for keeping it slow for me. hahaha

    Vimz, sounds fun. I hope I can try that one time with hubby. Hope to meet you soon :)

    thebullrunner said on Jul 01 08 at 4:00 PM Reply

  7. BR,

    Pic ko na lang post mo on my BMX road bike. hehehe

    markfb said on Jul 01 08 at 4:14 PM Reply

  8. Not to be anal about spelling or something, but it’s a ROAD Bike, hehe, not RODE bike.

    Jeremy said on Jul 01 08 at 9:47 PM Reply

  9. wow! good for you, TBR!
    make sure you’re SAFELY geared up ha! dito pa naman sa atin lots of unruly drivers! I love biking but in the village lang, pag lalabas na, ayan na, sweaty palms and all sa kaba! you take care! :)

    lugs said on Jul 02 08 at 3:10 AM Reply

  10. TBR,

    vimz right . moa is a great training ground. i gained confidence there bec you have til 8am to ride sans cars.(ok theres a few)

    jon said on Jul 02 08 at 6:54 AM Reply

  11. The Bull Biker… It’s time to give her the yellow jersey!!!

    Get well, meron tayong picture taking with the uniform you designed.

    Regards

    Mark P said on Jul 02 08 at 10:00 AM Reply

  12. Jeremy, oh god how embarassing. Thanks! Can you be my editor? :)

    Lugs, wow nice to know it’s not just me who gets that nervous!

    Jon, hopefully I can try in the future! Bet I’ll be tempted to run instead :)

    thebullrunner said on Jul 02 08 at 10:01 AM Reply

  13. Rode ang word na ginamit kasi nasakyan na ni Annie kaya past tense na. mwehehe *breakdance*

    markfb said on Jul 02 08 at 11:03 AM Reply

  14. tbr – yeah, you are right! you will really be tempted to run at MOA. That was my initial feeling when i got there for the first time. But then again, i have no one to leave my bike to bec we went there from home riding our bikes na. but you’ll be fine, you’ll like and enjoy it too. not as much high as what running gives you but nevertheless, it still is a different kind of high. =) see you really soon! =)

    vimz said on Jul 02 08 at 11:43 AM Reply

  15. MarkP, when exactly? I hope the uniform comes out nice. Hopefully, it makes us look 10x faster than we actually are hehe.

    Markfb, oh yes, “rode bike” is a new term that I invented a few minutes before I posted this. Basta nasakyan na ang “road bike”, nagiging “rode bike” na siya! :)

    thebullrunner said on Jul 02 08 at 11:45 AM Reply

  16. I’ve always wanted to use my dad’s bike.. :( argh . i’ve got to know how to choose the right bike for me now. HEhe! :P is it costly?

    note: hi marga!

    chefsy said on Jul 03 08 at 1:44 AM Reply

  17. Hi TBR,

    When you get there in MOA ‘hope to see yah n ur Friends we use to Run weekly via CCP > MOA > MARINA.

    Bike rules – Safety Takes Priority!

    Jhamfrens

    Jhamfrens said on Jul 03 08 at 3:20 PM Reply

  18. Chefsy, why don’t you borrow your dad’s bike first? Get the feel of it. Know if you really want to get your own bike later on. Yes, it’s quite an investment! You can get a 2nd hand first if you want to cut costs.

    Jhamfrens, yup see you around!

    thebullrunner said on Jul 04 08 at 5:12 PM Reply

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