The Joy of Biking

Biking is a simple joy that I simply cannot live without. My first bicycle was a red/black BMX fix gear that my Dad gave me when I was still in elementary school. I used to ride it with training wheels back then but it didn't matter because being on a bike was the best! I remember racing with other kids around our block. If my memory serves me correctly, my younger brother will win sometimes even if he had a smaller bike. 

Eventually, I learned to ride it on my own. I actually remember that cloudy afternoon when I turned my training wheels upside-down (so they won't touch the ground) and I ventured outside of our house. I really didn't know how to balance the bike but I guess the downward slope from our house to the nearest corner helped me learn. When the afternoon ended, I was able to pedal my bike without the help of training wheels. I rode my bike throughout my grade school years. I rode it a lot to go to my classmates, most of whom live in the other village, adjacent to our subdivision.

I eventually stopped biking when I got into high school. Studying in a public science high school in Manila and with a 7am-6am schedule, it was difficult to continue biking.

I was able to get back on the saddle back in college when I decided to get an orange mountain bike that I'd ride to Ateneo from my dormitory near Katipunan. It was the first mountain bike I ever rode and it felt faster and sturdier than my old BMX. It's just unfortunate that I've never ridden that bike on a trip that was longer than 5 kilometers. Now, that mountain bike is used at home in Paranaque.

I got back into biking last year when I got a carbon fiber racing bike (FUJI SST 3.0). I wanted to get in to competitive cycling or triathlon races so I got this lightweight racer.

Unfortunately, it's hard for me to bring this road bike to the short trips that I routinely make (e.g. to a sari-sari store, to the office, to a friend's house). I've been thinking of getting myself a folding bike. I've been trolling the pages of Tiklop Society of the Philippines for a year and I've been itching to get my hands on a Brompton.

Unfortunately, Bromptons are expensive. People buy it either in Singapore or in Hong Kong for about 60,000 to 70,000 pesos. I simply can't afford to shell that much money (right now). So, I settled for a Brompton clone, a Flamingo.

My Flamingo has the same compact fold that the Brompton is known for. Although it's heavier (because of the internal gear hub system) and bulkier, it's cheaper than a Brompton. Now I take my foldie everywhere. It's so convenient.

With my foldie, I've started to re-discover the joy of biking. I bike to work. I've been bringing it to dragonboat training at the Manila Bay. And I go to nearby friends' houses with it.

I definitely recommend a folding bike to anyone who wants to (re)discover the joy of biking.