Manila Banaue Bontoc Cervantes La Union

Mountains to Surf

Video



A short teaser I threw together on iMovie while waiting for the 4 hour upload to vimeo. 15 minutes of work :)



Pictures



Hardware:
2 helmet mounted Go Pro HD's
1 pocketed Kodak Play sport
1 Lumix GF1
42 GB of footage!

Maximizing the current cool weather we've been having, a few intrepid Hombres and myself went up to the Mountain Province. Initially I was planning on backing out because of 4 hairline fractures on my flange, a common issue with the 04-05 1200GS. But thankfully Alvin was at BMW and applied some of his miracle rapid fix epoxy (I'm making a video review this stuff is awesome!). And with a lot of prodding from him, I decided to join. THANKS ALVIN!

4 bikers, Doc Francis on his KTM 990 Adventure, Alvin on 1200GS Adventure Pito and Joey on their CB1300 and moi on my trusty 1200GS took off for the Mountain Province. It was a near perfect almost 1000k ride, marred only by 2 tip overs and some rain. But those imperfections are what make it an adventure. We ended in La Union where there happened to be a surf competition SWEET!

Day 1 Manila - Banaue
384 kilometers
Take off 630am
over 3hrs of eat, rest and gas stops
Arrive 445pm
Road Almost all paved
Notes
Aliaga-Talavera Diversion Road is a new road being constructed, compacted dirt, flat and easy for any bike. It's somewhere near Talavera. It looks closed and once on it seems like your are going nowhere but it is so worth the dirt to not have to go through Cabanatuan the tricycle capitol of the Phils.

Weather as we entered the mountain province was foggy with light rain. Enough to make some turns a bit tricky and made my tires wobble a bit.

Banaue Hotel is really nice considering it's government run.

NO COKE LIGHT OR ZERO in the Mountain Province. For those who know me and my addiction, this was the biggest challenge.

Day 2 Banaue - Bontoc - Cervantes (not via hanging bridge) - San Fernando
271 kilometers
Take off 830am
5.5 hours riding 5 hours eating and resting
Arrive 630pm
Notes
Hotel Sebay Surf Central: No hot water in the shower!
Watch out for the wet patches, they are really slippery!
The rice terraces go on and on and on.
Didn't see the view from Banaue because of the rain and fog.
Easily doable by a street bike.
Alvin "Imagine leaving your house and going to Baguio but all twisties and mountain roads" The perfect description for this route.

Day 3 San Fernando - Home
297 kilometers
Take off 10am
1.5hrs of eat, rest and gas stops
Arrive 410pm
Notes
It's the usual highway ride from La Union to Manila.
The Gerona area is a good place to stop since it's the mid point (I think).

Notes of Doc Francis Ride Commander

Total Distance Covered: 923Km
Provinces covered after NLEX/SCTEX: Tarlac, Nueva Ecija, Nueva Vizcaya, Ifugao,
Mt. Province, Benguet, Ilocos Sur, La Union, Pangasinan

Lagawe: last town w/ 95 Octane

Banawe to Bontoc: 47Km twisties with good roads almost all paved (some short segments of compacted dirt, total is less than a kilometer in my mind)

Bontoc: 71Km from Lagawe. 95 Octane available

Bontoc to Buguias market (junction of road going to Mangkayan and Cervantes): 59Km

Bontoc to Tagudin: about 157Km. 95 Octane available

Buguias to Cervantes: 31Km

Besang Pass National Park: about midway between Cervantes and Suyo

Suyo: town between Cervantes and Tagudin. It was the town fiesta when we passed by Feb 5. We stopped for drinks here.

Bontoc to San Juan: about 195Km

Ride Rating 9.75/10
Awesome near perfect ride, I just got a bit wet on day 1 and my gear didn't dry over night coz of the rain. So I was kinda miserable and cold in the morning of day 2 but once I got moving I dried up quickly.

Yo Tengo Muy Hambre! Zapata's in Clark

I've heard alot about the great eats in the Pampanga/ Clark area and finally I had a chance to try one of the favorites and on top of my list.

After a day at the Clark Speedway, zooming through the chicanes on our bikes, tres amigo's, Bing, Dino and myself decide to stay the night and sample some of the imported (recipes from mexico) local delicacies, namely the IN Famous (Tres Amigo's anyone?) Zapata's. Our guide and gracious host Kat not only gave us a place to stay but drove around 3 lazy bikers.

We ordered almost everything recommended to us by "Miss Ganda" (not her name but she responded quickly whenever we called her that. ) our very friendly, very smiley waitress. I don't know if it was coz we spent most of the day in the sun on our bikes and missed lunch but everything was superb! We ordered shredded beef taco's, Fajita's and Enchilada's. The only downside was that they were out of Guacamole which would have made everything perfect.

If you guys are in the area I highly recommend you drop by.

Zapata’s

480 Don Juico Ave, Clarkview Angeles City (Right on the perimeter road adjacent to Clark)

(045) 8920859

FYI They're closed on Mondays

View Larger Map

Happy 80th Birthday Apoh Nina

This video was epic... in distance... in bad singing ... and love. The children and grandchildren all took part and sent videos (on the last minute!!) for me to edit.

This was my cousin, Alia's idea and I just added on to it. Way to go guys Apoh Nina loved it!

Adventure Cases for my GF1 & G1

Being a Geek and a Biker at times are a perfect mix. After an awesome ride, like I had last weekend to Bataan, you can share your digtally captured experiences the minute you log in with family and friends.

At times, especially now during the rainy season, it doesn't mix well at all! My solar chargers rarely get used. My panties are always wet. And the threat to my gadgets are constant. This is why I love my Otterbox cases. My new gadget love, the Panasonic GF1 (check out me ode to her at techie.com.ph) and her slightly older and sibling the G1 are always protected and dry in my Otterbox 2000 and 3000 series cases. These are perfect accessories for any adventure geek.

My Saturday Collage

How I spent my Saturday; Bike Maintenance Seminar sponsored by BMW Autohaus and hosted by BOSS. Bike lecture by Toto and Nestor, Intro to GPS by Teng. Bike wash by Noy. My first Practical Airsoft Competition at PAPI with Tye.

Video Editing with Aids Tecson and the Under Ground Logic crew

From Buhay Ko Session 6 Video Editting

The session with Under Ground Logic was the most technical we've had so far. It started off with some major PC issues, which was very disheartening. Luckily Aids and his crew were upbeat, positive and have a never say die philosophy. Their perseverance and dedication paid off. The kids learned a lot about video editing and the UGL team inspired them to shoot and edit their own videos.

From Buhay Ko Session 6 Video Editting

The UGL team even invited the kids to a field trip to their rockin office in Makati. We hope to see Aids and his team again for another session.

From Buhay Ko Session 6 Video Editting

There was even talk about a Smokey Mountain News Network! The Buhay Ko kids, using the facilities at YFF,  the cameras we have donated and what they learned from the workshops, would write, shoot and edit their own news about things going on in Smokey Mountain.

From Buhay Ko Session 6 Video Editting

Thanks to Aids Tecson and the his crew at Under Ground Logic for introducing the Buhay Ko Kids to video editing with Adobe Premier.



If you want to check out some of the cool projects of Under Ground Logic visit their website http://www.undergroundlogic.com/

Shooting with Ty!

Thanks Ty for taking the time to introduce Grace and me to competitive shooting using your STI Airsoft set up. It rocked bro! I think a couple more sessions and we can level up to the real deal ;)