Biking across the Hills

It's Sunday once again and I was very excited to bike once more. Few days ago, Bro. Donnie and I agreed to go on a biking trip, dreaming of reaching Barangay Bunggo near Tagaytay where Bro. Ramil lives. After weeks of intense Philosophical studies, I say intense because the second years' fidgeting and uneasiness is brushing on me (and that's because of the great de Universa), exams and quizzes with our venerable teachers Fr. Michael La Guardia and Fr. Reggie Porlucas, I thought it best to take a break and ease my mind.

We left at around two in the afternoon and started to bike uphill the gentle slope of Tagaytay. I recently realized that Canlubang sits on the foot of the extinct and titanic bigger-of-the-Taal's volcano. The sweet and fresh Tagaytay perches on the rim of this huge volcano whose crater is the Taal Lake which in the center is the Volcano Island where you can find the smaller and more active volcano. So much for Geography 101, we pushed ahead and lovingly embraced the scorching sun, on our backs our supplies of fresh clean water from the dispenser, a pack of Rosquillos and four pieces of polvoron.

Having watched last night the movie "127 Hours", we made sure we told our respective communities where we were going and brought along a mobile phone, just in case. I brought along my camera to capture the wonderful experience of biking with the great Donnie Duchin Duya.

The route we took was not really challenging, since it is a gradual climb. Even so, it is still a climb and I had to struggle with the Post Novitiate bicycle whose gears are on the brink of breaking and whose transmission chain has a playful habit of jumping away from them. We had to stop several times to fix my bike while at the same time catch our breath and regain strength.

The rural view was quite wonderful. It was my first time to see a plantation of tomatoes, rows and rows of them blanketing the hills like a thick green carpet. Bro. Donnie remarked how abundantly the flowers grow in these sitio's. There was a point in the road where you have this fantastic view of Mt. Makiling, a panoramic view of Southern Luzon plains with the distant Manila skyline as background. On one stop, we observed a colony of Fire Ants, where my curiosity got the better of me and I tried to poke a hole into the pasted leaves they consider their nest. I wasn't able to see what's inside because the ants were quick to detect the intruder and scared him when he saw the soldier ants rushing out of the little hole.

We weren't able to reach our intended destination because time ran out for us. We were already in Barangay Laguerta, a few kilometers away from Bunggo. We surrendered to fate and sat down on a grassy area sheltered by a towering tree. We consumed our provisions, the polvoron and all, before making a U-turn and head home. I had to admit I suffered some cramps in my knees because of all the hard pedaling uphill. Other than this, there was nothing more wonderful than feeling the blast of air across your face as you and your bicycle glide down the slope towards home.

It was wonderful to bike again while chatting along the way. Thank God for the great Donnie Duchin Duya. Thank God for biking. Cheers!