July 22, 2010: Fresh from our Lingayen trip a couple of days ago, Ethel and I decided to go the other way, eastward from Dagupan. The plan was to go to San Fabian and back a round trip of around 20 Kilometers. We cruised along the highway, past fishponds and muddy ricefields, zipping past roadside vendors selling bangus and shellfish. Along the way there was a pedicab that drafted us for half a kilometer, the driver's legs pumping like a sewing machine's needle as he struggled to keep his singlespeed steed on our tail. He dropped off when a would-be fare flagged him down.We reached San Fabian's Town Hall after around 12 Km of riding. It was still early, a little past 8 am so we decided to head north. We did
n't have to be back in Dagupan until 3:30 in the afternoon, our son's dismissal time. We know that there was a Japanese bike surplus shop in town somewhere and we found it several kilometers north of the town center. There were no good finds to be had so we headed north again, this time looking for an access road to the seashore.At this point, a peloton of road bikers zoomed past us, like a school of tuna trying to escape a trawling net; San Fabian is a fishing village of sorts, after all.. For a glorious three seconds, all we heard were a couple of dozen rear hubs' pawls whirring and four dozen skinny tires churning rubber against the hot pavement, their masters grimly faced down the road as their legs thundered up and down. I felt like a domestique in the Tour de France and I'm sure if Ethel knew what that was she'd feel the same way. And then as fast as they were upon us, they were gone as they rounded a bend.
The kilometers plodded by with no beach access in sight, but we did see a roadside eatery which beckoned us to partake of its offerings. It was named SM Canteen, the initials not pertaining to those monstrous malls but to the rather large fruit tree billowing on top of the makeshift shanty. Silong ng Manga! One has to applaud the owner's wit by eating there. And there were many stopping by to do that - truck drivers, tricycles, even late model cars, though the servers were most amused by a pretty lady cyclist (ehem, my wife). We had Igado, giniling and pinakbet with rice and washed it down with Coca Cola. I seriously contemplated lying down and to take a nap.
We moved on though, and finally saw the access road to the beach, which we took, and minutes later we were on a rather desolated yet lovely beach. A passing vendor with a pail on her head offered us some crabs but snickered as she realized how in heaven could we bring them home on our bikes. Well, we could, but since we still had a long way to go the live crabs would have cooked in my bag by the time we get home. After taking a few pictures, we moved on back to the main highway.
We still had a lot of time so we decided to go on north to the next town. It turned out to be the next province as well, and we slid under La Union's welcome arch on our way to Damortis, Sto. Tomas. The roadside reeked of dried fish as we swept by stalls selling the stuff. It's a good kind of reek though, as I love the dessicated dish. Ahhh, Damortis, where the fish are always in a state of rigor mortis.
Ethel then spied a road sign that enticed "Jollibee just 15 Kilometers Ahead!" She said we should go for it, but I was wary because that would mean 30 more kilometers of riding as we had to come back the same way. Finally visions of savoring a cup of Mango Jubilee Ice Craze AND a chocolate sundae won over reason so we pedaled into Agoo just for that. Well, for seeing the Basilica, Town Hall and Ilocos Museum as well.We went back to Dagupan by retracing our route. Ethel and I were still going strong until we met a stiff headwind 10 kilometers out of Dagupan. We still made it in time though and even managed to buy some vegetables at the public market. At 3:10 pm, with 20 minutes to spare, we arrived at our son Third's school in time to pick him up. We logged around 86+ kilometers that day, and it all started with a short trip in mind that just went on and on. We're not complaining though!
