When Shirley Turned into a Cyclocross Bicycle

This morning, I joined Oz, Noah, and Mo on a bike ride around the Cogeo-San Mateo loop. I was looking forward to go on a long ride with my road bike, Mrs. F, but Oz told me last night that we'll be going through some trail so I opted to bring Shirley.

Shirley, waiting for the others

Shirley, somewhere on top of Antipolo

One of the highlights of the trip was meeting Shirley's older sibling. At around the 25km mark, we stopped by this bulalohan to rehydrate.

This place is a biker's pit stop

There, we met Paolo, Oz's friend.

What I want Shirley to be

Like me, Paolo rides a Surly Long Haul Trucker. His Surly, though blue in color, also has the same set of racks as mine. It's even outfitted with a black Brooks saddle, though his is the more deluxe version (i.e. the Brooks Champion Flyer).

Look at those springs!

I also inspected his bike and saw a couple of neat things. His bike had a dynamo in his front hub that is connected to a front light. That's useful for riding in that dark for extended hours. He also has a cross bar on a 2nd stem wherein he attached a second set of brake levers and a handle bag mount.

I think I'd like to order this from Amazon

It looks weird but it does seem practical

Although his Surly LHT is smaller in size compared to my Shirley, his bike  is the more experienced one. He told us that he has gone on an 8-hour bike ride to Pinatubo. I guess I could say that he's been doing the kind of touring that I wanted to do. Seeing someone like him who actually goes on a tour on a Surly LHT definitely motivated me to start planning longer rides to scenic places.

Our next stop was the Ten Commandments in Camp Sinai in San Mateo, Rizal (Yes. Sinai. Ten Commandments). But on the way to Sinai, we had to go through Heaven's Gate cemetery. Well, technically we just passed by it. There was nothing heavenly about that climb, though. My thighs got a good work out from that climb, especially because we also went up that MMDA office in San Mateo. But eventually, we reached Camp Sinai and the humongous slabs of stone.

I look awkward

View from the handlebar

Unlike the last long ride, part of this morning's itinerary was a brunch break. At mid-morning we had adobo flakes at Pestano's, also along San Mateo. It's also a famous pitstop for bikers and we saw some who were heading for Timberland.

Thank you Noah for the treat!

While we were eating, rain started to fall so I had to cover Shirley's saddle with a plastic bag. After our meal, I put on my raincoat because I didn't want to be shivering the way I did when we went around the Sierra Madre loop. It's a thin, yellow raincoat so it fit nicely in my belt bag. As an added bonus, I felt like I was doing a Jesse Pinkman in a hazmat suit.

I'd love to wear this on Halloween

So we rode a few more kilometers until we reached the end of the road and the start of the Timberland basic trail. It was my first time to go on a trail so I just followed Noah's lead. We saw several mountain bikers along the rocky, muddy path. Aside from slipping once, I think I did pretty well for a newbie. After getting out of the trail, we inspected our bikes. As expected, Shirley got caked with mud. My primary concerns were my saddle and my brakes. I checked my plastic cover for leaks and found none. We were going for a wet downhill ride so the brakes are very important. Fortunately, on the downhill my brakes didn't fail me.

Eventually, we reached Marikina and then we parted ways near Libis.

Just like my last ride, I ended the wet long ride with some hot noodle soup.

Kowloon House, White Plains

Epilogue:

On my way home, along P.Tuazon, I rode my bike though a small hole. When my rear wheel got out of the hole, I realized that it was flat already so I walked the last 500m of my 50km ride.

My one month old inner tube has failed me

After a quick trip to my favorite bike shop, I got a new inner tube already and Shirley is ready for yet another ride.

Some thoughts about today:
1. It pays to bring a raincoat.
2. Ziplocks and plastic bags are essential.
3. I wish I had a smart phone that can track my route.
4. Trail running looks fun. We met a friend of Mo who was running in Timberland. I think I'd like to try it some time.
5. Don't eat a heavy meal in the middle of a ride. Rather, go for smaller meals like bananas.
6. I really prefer the open road than the trail.
7. I need to practice patching tube holes.