UP-Timberland-UP Ride

Gimme Some!
My last ride from UP to Sta. Inez left my entire body sore...the kind of pain I enjoyed. Naturally, when it subsided, I asked for more. My prayer was answered when I got an invite from my UP Mountaineers buddies to do a Timberland ride from UP. Before 7am, we were on our way, taking the Balara-Tumana route. Of course I had my signature face mask on - nothing kills momentum on a ride more than motor exhaust.

Wannabe Land Mapper
As a wannabe documentalist and land mapper, I took on a new challenge. With my GPS, I'd create a track and take down waypoints with my right hand, look at the waypoint number, and then on my voice recorder, held by my other hand, I'd record the waypoint number and a description...all this while I was riding. I fumbled many times, but I'm now challenged to find a system on how I can do this efficiently, having all 3 gadgets within my easy reach while riding - GPS, voice recorder and digicam...hoping my cellphone doesn't ring while juggling all this.

Progress?
I noticed a few things. The Marikina-Tumana bridge which was still under construction the last time I passed in Dec 2005, was now fully operational...and yes, it survived the onslaught of Typhoon Ondoy. Even the side roads were full of houses with swarms of people on the street going about their Sunday chore. When I was a kid, this place was farmland! Ah...where would the next generation find land for their families?

Mountain Bike Mecca
It didn't dawn on me just how established the Timberland area is with the mountain biking community until we reached Aling Tina's store. It's a meeting place where most bikers start their real ride - up 'DA Wall'. Across the road was a XC race course being groomed for next week's race. I even saw my good buddy from Team Ganit of Batangas, Andres, doing an ocular of the race venue with his crew.

DA WALL
It was each to his own in making out with 'DA Wall'. True to its moniker, it's a zig-zag steep incline that separates the men from the boyz. Elite riders, in training for an event, make several up-and-down passes. For us mortals, just reaching the top is plenty. DA Wall is likewise notorious for its body count on the hell-raising kamikaze ride down. Stories abound of those not too fortunate.

Shaved Mountain Top
Upon reaching the Timberland gate, the ride was mostly rolling, climaxed by a short stretch of dirt riding, and an even shorter stretch of single-track. The view was scenic as we reached the 400-meter elevation although a lot of the mountain slope and plateau were obviously being groomed for housing development.

Pestaño Farm
The highlight of the ride was a well-earned breakfast at Pestaño Farm, just off the main trail. It was alfresco dining to Continental and Filipino cuisine. Brunch with their 3-egg omelette was in order. Average fare would be in the P200 range. Just about everyone there was a biker. Bike racks were plentiful. It was like a bike show, seeing all the bikes parked - Intense, Titus, Ellsworth, etc. Given how much these bikes cost (~P200,000), I was thinking, "...these bikes need to be hammered on more technical tracks...or the owners would have no idea just how good these bikes are."

Ending Thoughts
I used to be a bike snob. Not just the bike but the trails as well. I used to go for light weight full suspension bikes and hammer them hard on weekend races. Now, with my dualie retired and I'm too poor to get the bike of my choice (Giant Trance), I've settled on my P10K loaner bike...too short for me with a faulty fork giving me an almost rigid ride. For trails, I'm now out of Sagada's technical single-tracks which stretched forever. I settle for the short dirt rides but even with that, I still have to ride through the city's polluted thoroughfare just to get there.

But you know what? It's not as bad as it sounds. The thrill of the ride is still, the thrill of the ride - the adrenalin, the community, the trail riding, the feeling of earning your day's calories, etc. As my UPM buddies would say, it's in the indian...not the arrow.

--- TheLoneRider

PS - Special thanks to UPM Bunny for taking the time and effort to teach us his land navigation skills.

Comments? Email webmaster@thelonerider.com

Jenny
(Jan 28, 2010) you should check out Panasonic DMC-ZS7/ TZ10 - digicam with built in GPS. geotagged na agad yung images na kinuha mo, at least di ka na mahihirapan :)) not sure though if it's already available here. here's the link.

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