According to my psychologist wife (no, I'm not a former patient), I'm probably a P (perceiving) as indicated by the MBTI (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator). This means i tend to be spontaneous when it comes to my day to day activities. That's why most of my long rides were unplanned. My first ride to marilaque (twisty road connecting Manila to Rizal, Laguna and Quezon provinces) is a good example. I just read about this biker's paradise road in a local magazine and on impulse, i grabbed the keys, hopped on my 150cc scoot and rode towards the hills. It didn't occurred to me to bring some rain gear in case of the occasional drizzle usually encountered in high altitude roads. My ride has a huge under seat compartment anyway. So, i got wet and air dried, and wet again, and air dried again a few times before i reached the Sierra Madre resort. I failed to do the standard safety inspection and the scoot's muffler assembly fell apart on my ride downhill. I forgot to bring a camera with me so i have nothing to show for the whole experience except for the limp Sierra Madre resort brochure. On my second time, i took my wife with me on my Honda XRM 125. The ride was awesome and nothing went wrong this time because somebody was doing the planning for me and the "H" brand is so much more reliable. The third time was supposed to be a ride to the beach of Infanta, Quezon province with my kid brother.
After my brother took ownership of my XRM, i was cleared by my wife to get the Yamaha YBR 125G that I've been lusting for. To get acquainted with the manual clutch transmission, i rode it around the community park for two weeks before i thought about a break-in ride. I received my plate six weeks ahead of schedule(my dealer told me that it'll take two months before i get my plate since it is a new bike model in the country). My ride already street legal, i thought it was time for my new bike to flex its muscles. Naturally, the beach would be the ideal destination of a summertime ride. There's Batangas in the south, but the recent news of a shark attack in that area made look for other beaches on the map. Ive always wanted to ride far north to Pagudpud beach of Ilocos Norte, have my picture taken underneath the giant wind mills of Bangui but riding to the north end of Luzon on a break-in(60 kph and below) bike might take me a few days back and forth. Id like to ride out in the morning and be back in time for dinner. I dragged my finger to the right and there's Infanta. According to on line reviews, its going to be a twisty mountain route to the Pacific ocean. Great! Except that i happen to know that Quezon province is infested with communist rebels. I imagined myself staring down the barrel of an AK-47: "hey, i like communists. In fact, i have a brother who studies in U.P. (more than five years in the University of the Philippines will probably make a communist out of a you) ". I haven't actually seen him raise his left fist during a flag ceremony but i asked him to ride with me anyway. Its better than riding alone on an unfamiliar bike in an unfamiliar area.
He rolled in the drive way the night before, revving the XRM's 125cc engine before dismounting to give a macho impression on the neighbors. We took off late the next morning because i had to give my wife a ride to the office first. My brother kept complaining that he'll be late for his night class (on a Friday night? Yeah, right!) so we agreed to ride to a closer destination. We took the Antipolo route going to Sierra Madre resort. The great view, the twisty road, and the bright sun made us thirsty and we decided to make a pitstop in a coconut (buko) shack along the road. Not only a good thirst quencher, coconut juice is also good in cleansing the urinary tract. At eight pesos a piece(its normally sold at eighteen pesos by vendors in the city or eighty pesos in restaurants), its a steal. The vendor just chops the top off then stick a straw in it and your ready to sip your UTI(urinary tract infection) problems away. We didnt even bother to put the bike on center stand when we reached the resort because we immediately raced to the bathroom to empty our bladder. I was glad they were taking orders that day and ive chosen to sample their "tapang usa" (marinated deer meat or venison is the fancy term i think?) while my brother ordered beef tapa. They were hosting a mormon (i thought it was of a different congregation because i didnt see any name tags) retreat that's why their kitchen was operational. I also had the opportunity to have a picture taken with the most famous mormon in the country, the beauty title holder Melanie Marquez. She paused momentarily when i asked her to have a picture taken with me. I couldnt blame her though, i just came out of my mighty morphin' power rangers riding gear and i probably looked like i was going to ask her for spare change but she graciously posed with me anyway. She is a sight to behold and she also looked natural (unlike the cyborg beauties you see on TV nowadays). We roamed around the vicinity and the serenity of nature relaxed our bowels. We had to take turns because there was no lock on the cubicle door and one has to serve as a look out to save us and an unsuspecting mormon from embarassment.
Of course, no MaRiLaQue ride would be complete without a visit to Mang Vic Bulalo. Bulalo is a native Filipino soup dish and what makes it interesting is that you get to eat the beef bone marrow. It is rumored that Mang Vic uses carabao (water buffalo) meat instead of beef but we couldnt care less if he used horse meat to make his tasty bulalo.
After my brother took ownership of my XRM, i was cleared by my wife to get the Yamaha YBR 125G that I've been lusting for. To get acquainted with the manual clutch transmission, i rode it around the community park for two weeks before i thought about a break-in ride. I received my plate six weeks ahead of schedule(my dealer told me that it'll take two months before i get my plate since it is a new bike model in the country). My ride already street legal, i thought it was time for my new bike to flex its muscles. Naturally, the beach would be the ideal destination of a summertime ride. There's Batangas in the south, but the recent news of a shark attack in that area made look for other beaches on the map. Ive always wanted to ride far north to Pagudpud beach of Ilocos Norte, have my picture taken underneath the giant wind mills of Bangui but riding to the north end of Luzon on a break-in(60 kph and below) bike might take me a few days back and forth. Id like to ride out in the morning and be back in time for dinner. I dragged my finger to the right and there's Infanta. According to on line reviews, its going to be a twisty mountain route to the Pacific ocean. Great! Except that i happen to know that Quezon province is infested with communist rebels. I imagined myself staring down the barrel of an AK-47: "hey, i like communists. In fact, i have a brother who studies in U.P. (more than five years in the University of the Philippines will probably make a communist out of a you) ". I haven't actually seen him raise his left fist during a flag ceremony but i asked him to ride with me anyway. Its better than riding alone on an unfamiliar bike in an unfamiliar area.
He rolled in the drive way the night before, revving the XRM's 125cc engine before dismounting to give a macho impression on the neighbors. We took off late the next morning because i had to give my wife a ride to the office first. My brother kept complaining that he'll be late for his night class (on a Friday night? Yeah, right!) so we agreed to ride to a closer destination. We took the Antipolo route going to Sierra Madre resort. The great view, the twisty road, and the bright sun made us thirsty and we decided to make a pitstop in a coconut (buko) shack along the road. Not only a good thirst quencher, coconut juice is also good in cleansing the urinary tract. At eight pesos a piece(its normally sold at eighteen pesos by vendors in the city or eighty pesos in restaurants), its a steal. The vendor just chops the top off then stick a straw in it and your ready to sip your UTI(urinary tract infection) problems away. We didnt even bother to put the bike on center stand when we reached the resort because we immediately raced to the bathroom to empty our bladder. I was glad they were taking orders that day and ive chosen to sample their "tapang usa" (marinated deer meat or venison is the fancy term i think?) while my brother ordered beef tapa. They were hosting a mormon (i thought it was of a different congregation because i didnt see any name tags) retreat that's why their kitchen was operational. I also had the opportunity to have a picture taken with the most famous mormon in the country, the beauty title holder Melanie Marquez. She paused momentarily when i asked her to have a picture taken with me. I couldnt blame her though, i just came out of my mighty morphin' power rangers riding gear and i probably looked like i was going to ask her for spare change but she graciously posed with me anyway. She is a sight to behold and she also looked natural (unlike the cyborg beauties you see on TV nowadays). We roamed around the vicinity and the serenity of nature relaxed our bowels. We had to take turns because there was no lock on the cubicle door and one has to serve as a look out to save us and an unsuspecting mormon from embarassment.
Of course, no MaRiLaQue ride would be complete without a visit to Mang Vic Bulalo. Bulalo is a native Filipino soup dish and what makes it interesting is that you get to eat the beef bone marrow. It is rumored that Mang Vic uses carabao (water buffalo) meat instead of beef but we couldnt care less if he used horse meat to make his tasty bulalo.
