When Cycling in Philippines........

......it's good to know where the vulcanizing shops are located.

 

4,000 Kilometers

While out on my morning bicycle ride today, my odometer went past the 4,000 kilometer mark. This is not the distance I've ridden the bicycle since I bought it two years ago, but the distance ridden since I purchased the odometer. I don't have an exact date on when I bought the odometer, but as near as I can calculate, that would have been at the time I replaced my tires. That would put the date at around the last week of March or first week of April, 2022.

So, the 4,000 kilometers were put on in about one year's time.

The first photo is, of course, the odometer reaching the 4,000 kilometer mark. The other photos are of my location when I hit the mark. I'm making an effort now to keep track of the date.

In a couple of days, I'll be reaching another milestone, if you will. I'll soon be passing the 4024 km mark which will translate to 2,500 miles. I'll blog on that as well.

 

VW Beetle # 74

With my now established habit of daily bicycle riding, I am getting out and about more often and the increase in my endurance over the past 20 or so months has allowed me to cover more territory each day. In spite of this enlarged area, I'm coming upon fewer random VW Beetles. As a matter of fact, the Beetle I came upon today is only the fourth one I've seen this entire year.

Looking to gain a few more miles on today's ride, I turned to the right on E.J. Blanco Drive where I would have normally turned left. This little detour brought me to an orange VW parked at a carwashing station.

This VW is #74 in my collection of VW photos (not including the photos of the VWs of Davao sent to me by my friend Dom.)

 

Bicycle Ride to Calabnugan

A friend of mine recently posted onto Facebook a few photos he had taken from the Calabnugan bridge. Seeing his photos, I was reminded of some photos I had taken from the same bridge and had uploaded to Google Maps. I've ridden my bicycle a few times to the bridge, but it occurred to me that I had never crossed over the river at that point. I decided to remedy that.

I looked on Google Maps and saw that there were a number of places that I could photograph for the website. These included the Calabnugan elementary school, the Calabnugan Barangay hall, the Tsuri Cafe and Pis-An Store.

My original plan was to go out on my bike early Friday morning and take the photos. Unfortunately, I discovered that the rear tire on the bike was flat. There's a vulcanizing shop within walking distance of my house, so I removed the rear wheel and headed that way. The inner tube was patched and I walked back home.

I've always had somewhat of a difficult time taking off and putting back on the rear wheel; dealing with the derailleur has always been a hassle for me. By the time I managed to get the rear wheel on, I was too hot and sweaty to do the 11 km (to and from) ride to Calabnugan. I'd put that off until Saturday morning.

Going out Saturday, I noticed that the derailleur and gear cables were in need of adjustment. I believed, however, that I'd still be able to make the planned ride. I was mistaken. I was able to ride, but I was not able to switch into a full selection of gears and getting to Calabnugan was harder than it should have been.

I turned around before getting to the elementary school; I'd have to postpone the full ride until after I had the cables and derailleur adjusted. After arriving home, I caught my breath and rode to a bicycle repair shop in Sibulan.

So, Sunday morning, with the bicycle back in 100% running order, I managed to complete my planned ride to the Calabnugan elementary school and take the photos I wanted for Google maps.The photos below are only a small sample of the photos taken.

 

Back in the Saddle

I mentioned in last Thursday's blog post that after 2 weeks, I was finally able to have my bicycle repaired. I went for a nine kilometer ride Friday morning and noticed that the mechanic had not properly adjusted the gear cables. He came to the house Friday afternoon and took care of that.

Saturday morning, I rode out to a friend's place where he was able to take a few photos for this post.

When Ken sent the photos to me I thanked him, but had to ask, "Who's the old guy on my bicycle?"

My wife often tells me that I have an angry look on my face - which I couldn't believe. It's just my "normal" expression. When I saw these photos, I had to agree that I do look angry, but I'm not.

 

New Bicycle Saddle

No matter how positive an action or activity might be, there is always lurking nearby, a negative. In the case of cycling the positives are many - cycling increases stamina, strength and aerobic fitness. Cycling can improve both physical and mental health, and can reduce the chances of experiencing many health problems.

On the negative side, the most common problem I hear about is the discomfort one can experience in the seat. Your own seat....the butt, your bottom, however you wish to put it.

Judging from the ads I come across on social media platforms, the problem is pretty wide spread (if you'll pardon the expression).

I've come across ads for more comfortable bike saddles, bicycle shock absorbers and padded shorts and padded underwear.

 

The idea of purchasing padded underwear is tempting, but unfortunately most of the bicycle clothing available for delivery in this area is for smaller persons than yours truly. I haven't had a 33 inch waist in quite a long time and I'm unlikely to drop down to that any time soon.

So, for me the obvious choice is a new saddle. One of the more popular saddles advertised is the Vertu Spyder saddle. Several companies advertising on Facebook have that particular saddle for sale.

 

Of the companies selling the Vertu Spyder saddle online, I picked the one with the best price. COD, 899 PHP. The saddle arrived this afternoon - about a week after I ordered it, which isn't bad for Philippines during the pandemic.

I removed my old saddle and had the new one on in minutes. I've already ridden today, so I'll get my first test ride with the new saddle tomorrow morning. I'll be reviewing the ride soon afterwards.

 

Dog Food Run - Alternate Route

I've written before about making the occasional bicycle ride to Sibulan to purchase dry dog food. Of course, it isn't something I do every day, but once or twice a week is a regular routine.

As I wrote in an earlier blog post, taking the most direct route to the Gentle Paws Pet Store is 2.8 kilometers (one way) for a total ride of 5.6 kilometers. This is slightly less than my usual minimum of 7 kilometers morning run. So, this morning, I decided to take the 2.8K ride to the pet store, but take an alternate route on the return.

This alternate return route takes me past Simms Store and then on thru Tubtubon. This route is 4.4 kilometers, making the total morning ride today 7.2 kilometers. That's certainly more in line with my goal. Add to this the additional 2 kilos in my backpack and this a nice challenge.

Six Barangay Halls

This morning I wanted to indulge in four of my hobbies - bicycling, photography, blogging and posting to Google Maps. With that goal in mind, I decided to ride to six of the barangay halls located within cycling distance from my house. While there, I'd snap a photo.

For those reading this who aren't familiar with some of the ways of Philippines, each city and municipal area is made up of "neighborhood areas" called barangay. For the most part, the barangay will have a barangay hall / health center, although I have been in some barangay so small that a barangay hall is nowhere to be found.
The six barangay hall I rode past today are - 1) Magatas 2) Camanjac 3) Motong 4) Pulantubig 5) Boloc-boloc and 6) Tubtubon. According to Google Maps the distance traveled was 10.5 kilometers.
Magatas
This is my home barangay. Our house is less than 200 meters from the barangay hall and it's impossible to travel from our house without passing the hall. The old brgy. hall has been torn down and a new one is being built. There is a temporary health center just across the road from the hall.

Camanjac
Turning south at the Magatas Brgy. hall, my first destination is Camanjac. It's a 2.1 km ride with a slight upgrade. Of the six Brgy. halls I will visit this morning, three are actually located in Dumaguete - Camanjac, Motong and Pulantubig.

Motong
Heading east at Camanjac, I rode the 2.7 km to Motong. There are two different routes I can take. To me, turning right at Boni Catarata to Motong Rd. seems the most direct route, but according to Google Maps, turning later at Larena Dr. to Motong Rd. is 200 meters shorter. This seems counter intuitive to me so I went the (so called) longer route via Boni Catarata.

Pulantubig
This Brgy. hall is located about 1 kilometer from the hall in Motong.
The name Pulantubig translates to "red water". According to one source, there is a large red rock within the barangay, with water running over it; the rock making the water turn red. Where exactly this is located is unknown to me.

Boloc-boloc
Arriving at this barangay hall, I'm back in Sibulan. A distance of 2.2 km from Pulantubig.

Tubtubon
From Boloc-boloc, the ride is 1 km to the Tubtubon Brgy. hall. After Magatas Brgy. hall, this is the Brgy. hall I most frequently pass while bike riding. From here, I'll ride 1.6 km to my house in Magatas.The ride this morning was quite enjoyable. I can see making this a regular run. 

Bread Run

 

I'm sure the situation is different in Manila or Cebu, but finding good quality sliced bread isn't always easy in our neck of the woods. Of course, finding good whole wheat bread is even more difficult than locating sliced white bread. Our family is partial to whole wheat, and we've found the Gardenia brand to be just what we want. It's reasonably easy to locate the bread in Dumaguete, but here in Sibulan, the only store that sells the Gardenia Whole Wheat is Mercury Drug.

Fortunately, the Mercury Drug is within bike riding distance for me. I'd ridden to the drug store in the past to purchase my blood pressure meds. and to the Gentle Paws pet shop next to the drug store for the occasional dog food run.

 

I decided to head that way this morning for a loaf. The most direct route is 2.8 kilometers (one way). I wanted to do a bit more riding this morning, so I planned to travel back thru Tubtubon - that route is 4.4 kilometers.

 

The whole trip would be 7.2 K - more in line with my usual morning run.

Unfortunately, Mercury Drug had no whole wheat bread in stock this morning. Not to waste the trip, I bought a loaf of the Gardenia sliced white bread; good, but not my first choice.

Dog Food Run

 

When it comes to exercise, whether it's weight training or cycling, I believe one should strive to push oneself to new limits. That is the motivation behind my past two days of hard going 10 kilometer bike rides.
I'm also a firm believer in getting the proper rest. One doesn't push ones body every day without giving thought to slowing down or resting from time to time.

So today, rather than do a 10K ride for a third day in a row, I decided to do a somewhat easier run to the Gentle Paws Pet Store in Sibulan to purchase dry dog food. The total distance, back and forth would be just 5.6 kilometers - far less than my daily rides of late.
Although I had no idea when the pet store opened, I knew it would be pointless to leave out at my normal riding time of 6 AM. I decided, instead to leave the house around 7:30. That would give me time to have a caffè mocha and a couple of pieces of whole wheat toast before heading out.
Of course, the store was closed when I arrived. The cashier at Mercury Drug said she believed the pet store opens at 8:00. It was nearly that - I wouldn't have long to wait. I could sit in front of Mercury Drug.

There were two boys hanging around out front. They try making tips by placing pieces of card board on the seats of motorcycles that park in front of either the drug store or pet store. This is done to keep the hot sun off the seats, although this isn't really necessary at 8:00 in the morning. Most people will give them a peso or two.

I wanted to take a few photos of the boys, but they weren't having it.

When the pet store opened, I went inside, bought two 1 kilo packages of dry dog food and chatted with the employee for a few minutes before I headed back home.

Advancing the Goal

 

Yesterday, I set a new goal vis-à-vis my bicycle riding. Since the beginning, I've concentrated on increasing the distance I rode every day. As I mentioned yesterday, now that 10 kilometers is a normal morning ride for me, I'd stick with the 10K and work on increasing my speed. It was the first time I had timed my ride - the result being 10 kilometers in 48 minutes for an average speed of 12.5 km/h.

I didn't set out to break a record yesterday. I rode at my usual pace - sometimes pushing myself, sometimes coasting. This morning, I wanted to push myself and see if I could improve on my earlier performance.

I could feel a difference. I rode harder and faster - pushing my limits. I knew this morning's time would be better, although I would not know just how much better until I had completed the 10K. When I had nearly arrived home, with about 1 kilometer to go, I felt I could not push myself any harder. This was going to be my best effort. When I arrived home, I was completely exhausted.

Checking the time, I saw that I had dropped 3 minutes off yesterday's ride. 45 minutes for the 10K. I beat yesterday's speed of 12.5 km/h, doing 13.3 km/h today.

I'm already thinking about tomorrow's ride. Do I continue to push myself harder this third day, or do I hold back a little to allow my body to rest?

I'll decide on that question in the morning when I go out.

New Goal

 

On March 20th of this year, three weeks before my 69th birthday, I purchased a bicycle. At that time, it had been about 40 years since I last rode one. On that day, I had hoped that I'd be able to ride the bicycle from the bicycle shop to my house.....no such luck. I hadn't ridden very far before I was too winded to go further.

Not one to give up, I began a daily ride along the Diversion Rd. in Sibulan. My goal was to increase the distance I traveled each ride. There were times, in the beginning, when I could not make it from our house to the end of the Diversion Road in Camanjac without stopping to catch my breath before going on.

I've slowly built up my stamina - every increasing the distance, until now, a morning ride of 10 kilometers is normal for me.

This morning, for the first time, I decided to take note of the time it took for me to ride those 10K. I made the 10K ride in about 48 minutes, making my average speed 12.5 kilometer per hour. I don't know how to evaluate that speed, all things considered. I wasn't going full bore the entire ride, but I was certainly tired at the end.

10 kilometers seems like a good daily distance for me, so I've decided that now, rather than continue to increase my distance, I will go the 10K daily and strive to increase my speed.

The Buñao Road

 

Prior to my 10K rides (one being accidental and the second being intentional ) I had never traveled along the Buñao road, so of course I had no photographs of any business on the road to upload to Google Maps. After yesterday's ride to and from the Calabnugan Bridge , I decided to remedy that.

The sky was a bit overcast as I left out this morning, but I was hopeful it wouldn't rain. I wasn't sure if I'd be up to a 10K ride today, so I decided to turn on to the Buñao road before, rather than after going down to Gas & Go. When I had finished taking the photos along the Buñao road, I felt I could be able to make it a 10K this morning, but the sound of thunder caused me to change my mind on that. Still, I still managed an 8.6 kilometer bicycle ride.

I took six photos. Unfortunately only four of those locations were already on Google Maps - Casa Bianca, Sisig Legend, Buñao Chapel and Negros Oriental Montessori International School. There are also places shown on Google Maps which I could not locate to photograph - Tattoo Shop in Dumaguete City: 3 Dots Tattoo being one example.

 

I'm including the two photos, which I could not post to Google Maps, into this blog post.