December 2013 – Being a part of BGC Cycle Philippines 2013, the very first event of its kind graced by over 2,300 cyclists of all ages in the National Capital Region, was a total blast! We joined the 20km course, and the medal is pretty neat, too!
The 3-day event was made possible by Cycle Asia in partnership with Sunrise Events and Bonifacio Global City (BGC). This event will be quite a memorable one since this was the first time my bike got a flag sticker:
Registration: the regular price’s open window time was during the whole month of September (see web site) and we availed the 4-person package for P5,550 (having around P1,400 per person). Included freebies were: Technical dry-fit shirt, Finisher Medal, Rudy Project Shades and Firefly Brigade Leg Band. Leaving around 6am at Josh’s pad in Marikina, we weren’t able to make the event’s 7am gun start. So yeah, that pretty much meant we got left behind a little, and that our total time will suffer for it. Not that it was that big of an issue, though.
Here’s a map of our 20km community ride course:
I initially thought biking 20km was easy, an almost laughable run. But it wasn’t. Well, it can be if you know how to pace your strength and energy well. I clearly wasn’t since I was dead-focused on catching up for lost time and trying to get past everyone I see in front of me. What made things worse is when my bike’s bashguard suddenly came off, and it messed with my pedaling and almost had me tumbling down. That said, I had to hold said bashguard for the rest of the ride since I had no where else to put it. It caused a few numbs here and there, but it wasn’t something anyone couldn’t handle.
Another challenge I set for myself was that I wouldn’t stop to rest or drink water in the entire ride- which also led to a peculiar predicament. Things were going smoothly as planned, but at about 3/4 of the ride, there were road intersections where we needed to stop because cars were also going through. Everything was fine– except that when I stopped, I landed on my left foot while I tip-toed so that pretty much led to massive cramping. Next thing I know, I was lying on the ground. The marshals helped me to the side of the road, but I continued riding after a few minutes rest. It was just frustrating because after all I did to get past all those people, they just got past me in the end in one fell swoop just because of a mishap.
I finished the 20km run with 1:21:30 time, while Josh, Reg and David, while in their road racers, in less than one hour. We got our medal, refreshments and complimentary meals after.
What can I say? It was definitely fun and fulfilling! I looked at the clock after the ride, and was surprised that it was only about 9-10am. It felt weird because the ride really felt SO long lol.
