The Carmageddon of Three Years Ago.

Around this time three years ago, a carmageddon of mythical proportions gridlocked Manila's roadways when heavy rains flooded the metro. I was on a bicycle that night, in BGC, riding the TNF, which is a weekly night ride of the Tiklop Society of the Philippines. When I went home to QC, I passed through thousands of commuters waiting for a ride and/or walking to get home. Cars did not fare any better as they were stuck in traffic for hours. It is best that we be prepared and get used to moving around Manila on a bike as it is an elegant solution to our traffic woes.

That night I used my Tern X18, which is practically a road bike distilled into a folding bike form.  It is swift, light and speedy, and took me from Makati to my home in QC in under 45 minutes. It is my bike choice when I want to go somewhere fast and as it folds into a neat tidy package, I can take inside buildings at my destination.

Bicycle Commuting: The Kalayaan Bike Lane

While biking along the Kalayaan Bike Lane in QC I chanced upon this scene that tells a lot about the bike lane itself. I have identified several things wrong, can you spot it? My observations:

1) Let's start with the sidewalk. There is a sign that says 'No Parking', yet there is a sporty car that is parked right in front of it, Perhaps having a cool car exempts you from this 'suggestion'?

2) The bike lane is designated by green paint, and technically for this to work there should be no other vehicles encroaching on it. Yet we see a lot of cars stepping onto the lane, and sometimes blocking it off completely.

3) Motorcycles zip through the lane frequently.

4) There is an open drainage hole, which is dangerous to all road users.

What can be done here? First off, the sidewalks should be clear, and this is to make the walkability index better. It would be tough to walk around there with such obstacles, especially for people with disabilities. Clearly strict enforcement of the law is needed.

Next problem is the bike lane, or rather the design of the bike lane itself. Kalayaan Avenue on the most part has three lanes going each way. The outermost most lane was split into two, one was painted green and made into a bike lane while the other half, I am not really sure what it is for since it could not accommodate the width of a car. If a car would go into it, it would certainly encroach on the bike lane, so there is an inherent design flaw here.

The next issue is that motorcycles love to zip through the designated bike lane. Mixing a high powered vehicle with a human powered one is a recipe for disaster, especially if newbie cyclists are involved. The whole point of a bike lane is to provide a safe cycling environment after all.

The last issue is the open manhole. This is simply way too dangerous. I guess the local authorities have taken a stop gap action and  put a tree branch there to prevent wheels from dropping in too deep. This is simply an unacceptable and unsafe solution - steel storm grates should be placed there.

So what can be done? First, enforcement is key. Those parked cars should be ticketed, as well as vehicles that encroach on the bike lane. To be fair, a motorcyclist who was tailing me on the bike lane was flagged down by a traffic enforcer, but this is not consistent at all.

It would do well to repaint the whole lane structure, either to make it 3 lanes - 2 for motor vehicles and one for bikes, or 4 lanes, 2 for cars, 1 for motorcycles and 1 for bikes. Also, there should be a barrier of sort that delineates the bike lane from motorized traffic, such as plastic bollards or lane separators. These will make enforcement easier and ensure safer travel for bikes.

Quezon City is attempting to build a bicycle network and this can only be good for the city. However, they should listen to feedback from all sectors that use the roads in order to come up with infrastructure and policies that work.

The bike I used by the way is a 16 inch wheeled folding bike, the Bickerton Pilot. It is a zippy bike that rides well, carries commuting loads with ease and folds into a compact package, which makes it an ideal urban bike.

Bicycle Advocacy: July was a busy month

July 2018 was a busy month for our involvement at bike advocacy. But we are not complaining, because it is all good! Here are some of the things that we did.

Ethel and I were invited to a Technical Working Group Meeting to give our thoughts on the present Comprehensive Sustainable Transport Bill being worked out in Congress. This is an aggregation of all bills pertaining to urban transport - it is quite massive in scope but if passed this will only mean good things for our country. Thanks to Congressman Cesar Sarmiento of Catanduanes for allowing us to give our two centavos worth on non motorized transport issues!

A week later, I biked from our place in QC to attend a talk on Sustainable Transport hosted by a new group interested in bettering urban mobility, AltMobilityPh. This was their initial public meet, and we touched base with a lot like-minded people who are concerned about the burgeoning transport crisis, 

We also attended a Round Table Discussion on Road Safety, a talk hosted by the Bloomberg Initiatives for Global Road Safety. With us here are road safety luminaries Dr. Jojo Go of WHO and DOTr Asec Mark Richmund de Leon. Talks like these are important for the non motorized sector as we are part of the transportation landscape.





With fellow bike advocate Jose Cortez, we are planning out a scheme with LRT Line 1 that will meld trains and bicycles together. This is a work in progress so I really can't say much about it now, but  stay tuned!

And lastly, the Rappler Vlog that Ethel and I participated in finally came out. In this video, we, along with Road Safety Advocate and host Vince Lazatin, and fellow bike advocate Jose Cortez (again!)  rode through the bike lane networks of three cities in Metro Manila and then sat down and talked about our experience, Hopefully this becomes a talking point so that we can improve and increase bike lanes in the metro. Please view the video here: https://www.rappler.com/move-ph/issues/road-safety/207678-right-of-way-bike-commuting-to-beat-traffic?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=Inhouse_video&utm_campaign=move-ph

As bicycle advocates, we rode to most of these events on our folding bikes, and we do get a lot of questions and comments about how handy they are. Our bikes of choice are the Tern P18 and the Bickerton Pilot 1707, both great handling bikes that easily fold down to a compact package.

10 Tips For Bicycling In The Rain

Ethel with her bike Diwata, taking a selfie in the rain.

There is one ride that I always look forward to, and that is Tiklop Society of the Philippines' annual Tomb to Womb Ride, a yearly tribute to our National Hero Jose Rizal where we ride from his place of execution by the Spaniards at Luneta, to his place of birth in Calamba some 60 kilometers away. Held every June 12, Independence Day, this ride is almost always blessed with a period of rain at some point. This year's ride had more rain than usual, it practically rained from start to end. was it miserable? Heck no. We traveled a bit slower, but we made less rest stops because we weren't tired. The rain and cool weather conspired to keep our bodies from overheating and it actually made for a pleasant ride. 

Riding in the rain is fun, it harkens you back to the time when you were a kid, and it is something that every cyclist should get used to since we cannot possibly hope for sunny days all the time.

RAIN RIDING TIPS:

1. Make Sure Your Gear is Protected. Put your electronic gear, clothes and everything else in waterproof plastic bags and seal it well. I recommend using dry sacks, which are basically roll-up sealing waterproof stuff sacks, and they come in all sizes and colors, available in your favorite outdoor shops. It is best to waterproof in layers, that is to put your items in a small ziplock bag, and then put everything in a larger plastic bag or dry bag, If you are fond of getting caught in the rain (and if you bike long distances, sooner or later you will), invest in waterproof gear - watch, phone, camera. They cost more but are worth it.

2. Go Slow. First off, brakes are much less efficient when wet, so it will take you longer to stop. The road is going to be slippery as well, more so during the initial downpour as the rain lifts the film of oil left by motor vehicles off the road surface. You might be careful and predictable, but other road users may not be as visibility plummets. Also, potholes and road cracks lurk under those puddles, and you will use your knees or nose as a brake if you hit one at speed.  Get into the habit of memorizing potholes and other road imperfections on your favorite routes. 

3. Be Visible. Wear light colored clothing - neon colors in particular pierce the mist and announce themselves. If you have blinkers and lights, turn them on. This will alert motorists that you are out there. Wear a reflective vest if you have it.

4. Fender Up! When it rains, you can easily tell who a cyclist is by the stripe on his back. This stripe is composed of road grit and grime thrown up by the whirling wheels, coaxing the dirt from the wet road onto your back, and sometimes your front too. This grit will also mess up your bike. especially that bottom bracket cluster area that is so hard to clean.   Solve this by installing fenders on your bike, and go for the robust full-coverage ones like those made by SKS for maximum protection. 

5. Don Raingear or Not? This is a matter of choice. Here in the tropics, I prefer not to wear raingear, allowing myself to get drenched with my ordinary attire. Wearing a raincoat just traps the sweat you generate and you get soaked in it anyway. During rest stops, I wear a light windbreaker to keep my core temperature stable, and I take it off when I ride again. It is important to keep your core temperature high to ward off sickness. While biking, this is kept high through muscular activity, but this will plummet when you rest. So have a light jacket ready to wear during those stops.
         There are times though when wearing a raincoat is ideal, such as when the temperature is low and cold and if you are not exerting too much effort that your elevated body heat is not enough to dispel the cold. Those cheap light disposable raincoats are alright in an emergency but some are so flimsy that they tear easily, resulting in unnecessary landfill. This is not an environmentally sound practice. Most of these coats though do not have vents at all, and may result in getting you wet from your own sweat as it cannot evaporate away from your skin. What you need is a coat that is waterproof, and has some sort of venting feature such as a front zipper and a vent at the back or a somewhat loose tail. This will eject moisture laden air away from your body and keep you cool and dry. Consider using a poncho, as this allows air circulation and a big plus is that you can wear your bag under it and keep it dry.

6. Deflate Your Tires a Bit.  A softer tire has more contact with the road. The larger contact patch gives you a bit more traction. Deflating your tires by 5 to 10 psi from the normal pressure gives you a bit more control but less speed. Hey you shouldn't be going fast anyway.

7. Rinse Your Bike. Your bike will accumulate road grit for sure. It will cake and harden when it dries up, so rinse it out while it is easy to take off. Bounce your bike on its wheels to shed off excess water.

8. Medication/Supplements.  To ward off sickness and increase resistance after a ride I take 2 Vitamin C capsules of 500 mgs each. This works for me as it wards off colds and other respiratory ailments. If you pass through dirty floodwaters and especially if you have an open wound, some doctors recommend taking a 200 mg tablet of Doxycycline, to help prevent the onset of leptospirosis, which is a nasty condition that you would not want to get. It is a bacterial infection borne by floods as it contacts animal waste. Taking this single dose will protect you up to a week, even if taken post-exposure.

9. Change Thy Clothes. When you get to your destination, towel down quickly(a microfleece towel is handy here) or take a quick shower and change to clean dry clothes. 

10. Things To Watch Out For:
Rainbows - not in the sky, but on the road surface. This indicates that there is a thin layer of oil there, and it might be slippery.
Your Brake Pads - Wet weather stirs up road grit, and they get everywhere, inside your shirt, at your back, on your bike frame, and where it does the most damage, your brake pads. When you brake the grit acts like sandpaper, wearing down your pads and rims. Water these from time to time to get rid of grit, and cleanse after the ride.
Painted Lines - Those road markings are slippery when wet. Try not to bike on them.
Metal and Brick Surfaces - Are likewise slippery. When you cross grates, manhole covers, train tracks, keep your handlebars straight.
Your Chain - Use a heavier chain lube, as the lighter ones get washed away quickly, making your chain easier to rust.
Your Braking - It takes a longer distance to brake, so anticipate and brake earlier.

11. The Rain Bike. If you ride regularly in the rain, consider getting a rain bike. This is a beater bike that you don't mind getting wet most of the time, and this will spare your fancier bikes from grit and rain.


Riding in the rain is a necessary skill for those who bike a lot. It is also an overwhelming experience, as one submits totally to the elements, pummeled by cold and dampness and misery. It is during these times that I oddly feel so alive and much more appreciative of sunny days. Besides, we are human beings, and are designed to get wet once in a while. Have fun and be safe everyone!

About the bikes: Ethel used 'Diwata' (Goddess), her Tern Verge P18 that has 20 inch wheels. I used 'Teacher Tortuga'  a Bickerton Pilot 1407 Country that has 16 inch wheels. Both are joys to bike, with quick and responsive steering and covered the 60 kilometer ride easily. Having full fenders and a rear rack makes commuting a breeze. On the way back to Manila, we took the bus and these bikes folded up compactly and snuggled easily into the cargo bay of the bus. 

Bike Chronicles: The Best Halo Halo in the Southern Tagalog Region

A few days ago we were in Ethel's hometown, the wonderful place of Cavinti. It was a warm day, nearly noon, and we were craving for halo halo. Now Cavinti has its own great halo halo offering, Aling Nilda's which is situated in the local palengke. Unfortunately they offer that only during summer and are now closed for the season.

So we had to go elsewhere. Our requirement is that we have to bike so we can offset the calories. The nearest famous one is some 8 kilometers downhill, Aling Taleng's in Pagsanjan. The last time we were there though, the place was teeming with tourists, and we were served halo halo in disposable plastic cups. We vowed to go elsewhere.

We decided to go uphill the other way  Lucban, where we know of another great halo halo place. Cavinti is an idyllic town in the mountains between Pagsanjan and Lucban and that meant we had to bike some 23 kilometers uphill. It was a hot day, and we were a little bit crazy perhaps for biking near noontime but we were rewarded by peaceful sceneries and cool tree shaded places along the way.

The Pagsanjan-Lucban Highway is also being widened into a 4 lane road. This is a welcome development as it gives much space for vehicles to navigate. It will also make cycling in these mountains safer.

We finally reached the border of Quezon Province after a while. We were rewarded with a majestic view of Mt. Banahaw, which accompanied us from then on.

And soon we were in Lucban. Salud Refreshments is easy to find through Google Maps, it is a few blocks away from Lucban Church. 

The place is an unpretentious establishment at the side streets of Lucban. It has great provincial charm, and has been that way for 70 years, residents say. The people there are very friendly - we got into a long entertaining chat with this old timer.

The inside has the typical high ceiling of old architecture, which ventilated the place well, aided by Lucban's cool climate. Customers sit on wood benches and wait on formica-topped tables, conversing happily in anticipation of the treat to come. I realized that many are locals, unlike in Aling Taleng's whose main clientele are tourists.

The menu is simple and limited to 3 items. Such is the secret of their success for many years.

And then our halo halo came. It was served in a rustic plastic glass, and the ingredients were just enough that you could finish it before the ice truly melted. It was finely shaved ice covering a melange of sweet beans, gulaman, leche flan, crunchy pinipig and ube, drenched with a stream of milk. I learned later that all these ingredients were made from scratch. I was so hungry and tired from the ride and anticipation that my halo halo was gone in about or so, and I only took a few photos of it.

I was still hungry so I went a few doors down where a lady was selling homemade potato chips and maruya, which is some kind of fritter. The dark one was made from malagkit, or glutinous rice, and the lighter one from gabi, a local rootcrop. All were delicious - I got seconds. Hey I biked a long way for this, remember?

And thus we went home to Cavinti, our craving sated. It was an easier ride because much of the slopes were downhill on the way back. Was it worth the ride? With the adventure, experience, food, and company, yes it was very well worth the ride.

Bikes Used: Ethel used her Tern Verge P18, an 18 speed folding bike with 20 inch wheels. I used a Bickerton Pilot 1707, a 16 inch wheeled folding bike with 7 speeds. Unknown to many, small wheeled folding bikes are actually very good climbers and worked well during this 46+ kilometer ride.

 

Bicycle Commuting: Going Bimodal

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One of the advantages of commuting with a folding bike is that you can do 'bimodal' commuting. This is simply combining biking with another form of transport, such as trains, buses, cars, boats planes and others. This way one can go long distances efficiently without the worries of driving through traffic.

On this trip, we boarded at Roosevelt Station, heading towards Luneta Park, Manila. This station is around 3 km from where we live, too far for walking, too cumbersome to commute in helmets (2 rides), but easily reached by bicycle. We were pleasantly surprised to see that the train we rode on sported a rainforest theme, complete with poster artwork and stuff toy macaws and parrots. It was very relaxing. 

We reached Kalaw station and biked the rest of the way, 2 kilometers to our meeting. Bimodal transport is really a great way to travel in the city!

Bikes used: Tern Verge P18 and Bickerton Pilot 1407. Both fold up easily and can be wheeled into the trains.

Bike Advocacy: The Lighten Up Project at MacArthur Highway

Last April 25, 2018 a handful of local cycling advocates showed up for the Lighten Up Project at MacArthur Highway, Angeles City. Late afternoon found us on a busy section of MacArthur Highway at Balibago, stopping cyclist commuters as they pass by. They are what we call invisible bikers, those from the blue collar working class who choose to bike mainly to save money on transportation. Nearly all of them do not have blinkers, reflective vests or helmets, as these cost extra money that they barely have.

So why were we stopping them? We had a handful of reflective vests and blinkers on hand, and we wanted the bikers to have them so that they would be safer in their journey home. By waves they came, their faces stoic as they pedaled the kilometers away. Most of them shunned us as we called out to them, slaloming away in traffic to escape from us. We were after all strangers and they might be thinking that this might be some sort of trickery. The few that did stop were skeptical at first, but were all smiles when they found out the gear really was for free.

There was a painter, a security guard, several construction workers, a balut vendor. They all left glad for the safety gear they just had, though I suspect that they were happier with the thought that in this harsh world, there are still strangers that  reach out to others to lend a helping hand. Let's all make this world a better place by doing kind random acts to people we don't know :)

Thanks to those who helped out in this activity!

Bike Commuting: The Case of the Blown Tire

On a run to Marikina earlier to get leather stuff, my trusty Xootr suddenly developed a strange rhythmic thump, as if the road had a small hump. The rear wheel started to sway with each thump, and the bike bucked slightly as if it were a bit drunk. Alam ko na ito, this has happened to me several times in the past. I stopped and inspected the rear wheel, and saw this 2+ inch tear in the tire casing, the high tire pressure making the tire bulge in this area. This was causing the thumping sound. I walked the bike to the nearest bike shop, which was almost 2 kilometers away.The Schwalbe Kojaks that I had on were decent tires, but had several thousands of kilometers on it, so I guess they were ripe for replacement.And what a time for it to be replaced! It was hot, nearly noontime, I was sweaty, but it could have been much worse if the tire blew while I was at speed.

Things to consider:

1) Always check your tires. I haven't checked my tires for a long time, maybe I could have caught something if I did. I think this tear started off as a tire cut by broken glass.

2) Lower your pressure a bit. Summer is upon us, so if you run your tire pressure at max before you go out tthe door, chances are your tires will gain some 10 psi due to the heat Compensate this by lowering your pressure a bit.

3) If you hear or feel something from your bike that isn't natural, stop and investigate.

4) Always carry some money with you. In this case, I had to shell out some 250 pesos for a replacement tire. The other option, if I didn't have money, was to take a long walk home.

Be safe everyone!

Teaching People How To Bike: Two Great Friends, Aireen and Edna

Last week found my wife Ethel and me in the suburbs of Angeles City; we were there to promote bicycle use as a way of life, and one of our strategies is to teach people how to bike. While children are obvious students, you would be surprised that there are a handful of adults who do not know how to bike. Which leads us to believe, that there is no age limit in learning how to bike, only a time limit, and that time is now! To put things in perspective, Ethel's oldest student was 78 years old.

Our good friend Ms. Aireen asked us to teach her young kids to bike, particularly her youngest one, but he was suffering from a toothache so Ethel ended up teaching her instead. After Aireen's session, another good friend, Edna, was up next.

How do you teach someone to bike? Our preferred method is to take off the pedals first. While this may sound counter-intuitive, what it does is that it actually lets the student concentrate on balancing the bike first. With a lowered seatpost to the point that she can stand on the road while seated, she can propel herself by pushing off the road with her feet.

The next thing to do was to make sure the helmet was worn properly. We are very particular with safety, and donning a helmet properly is paramount. ALWAYS WEAR A HELMET WHEN YOU BIKE. This simple act can prevent serious injuries in case of a spill. 

So the pedals are off, the helmet is worn, and we are in a private subdivision with no cars running around, so off we go to the teaching phase. Ethel crouches behind her student and supports her as she tries to coast and balance on the bike. At first she runs along with the bike, holding it steady by the saddle. Later on Aireen got the hang of it, and soon she was coasting for 10 meters or so with her feet off the road.

So she knows how to balance now. The next step was to attach the pedals. The seatpost was kept at present height so that when she loses her balance and begins to topple over, all she has to do is put down her feet.

And off Aireen went! After a few wobbly meters, she steadied up as she gathered speed. The next hour was spent exploring the subdivision, with her 2 kids in tow. Even though the sun was blazing hot and bearing down on us, it was a really fine day indeed.

The next day, we had a good friend Edna as Ethel's student. Edna is our partner in Angeles City when we organize bike advocacy events in the area. As proprietor of AdCentral Consulting, a dynamic marketing company, she is highly dedicated to her job. Perhaps a bit too much as she works too hard and forgets to relax at times. Biking is a sure way to relieve stress and to have a bit of cardio-vascular activity, but first one must know how to bike!

It all starts the same way, with the pedals taken off and the helmet properly fitted. And then off they go, Edna propelling the bike with her feet with Ethel running after her to help steady her ride.

Ethel stays close behind to help Edna keep her balance. Before long, she was able to glide a few meters on her own.

With each try, Edna was able to go coast on her own, getting farther and farther from her teacher.

And on and on Edna went, and after long she got the hang of balancing. Her hand though was hurting due to a previous injury, so we had to shelve the next lesson, pedaling, for another session.

This is by no means the end of their bike lessons, but only the beginning as they explore a new world. Up next are safety lessons, road positioning, how to ride in urban settings - there is a whole lot of stuff to experience.


Points to remember when teaching people how to bike:

     1) While any bike will do, our bike of choice are folding bikes. This is because they have smaller wheels and are less intimidating to newbies. The seatpost can be lowered more than any other type of bike, and this is important as it allows the student to plant his/her feet firmly on the ground when wanted. Folding bikes can also accommodate a wide range of people, height-wise.

     2) Choose a place where the roads are smooth and relatively free of cars.

     3) Student should wear a helmet properly, and wear comfortable closed shoes. No sandals please as they give little protection to the feet.

     4) Take off the pedals so the student will learn to balance.

     5) Once the student knows how to balance on the bike, put the pedals back on so he/she can learn to pedal while biking.

About The Bike: The bike we used for teaching is the Bickerton Pilot 1407. It has 16 inch wheels which makes it look less intimidating than other bikes with taller wheels. Don't let the small, cute size deceive you - I took this bike all around Clark Freeport Zone on a night ride, and explored downtown Angeles City the next day. It pedals easily, though not as fast as my other bikes, and with its rear rack I was able to carry some groceries back home.