“You don’t know how far you can go, until you go there.”
Getting older is probably the best thing that’s ever happened to me. I’ve always looked forward to celebrating my birthday. To me, it’s like a new year which must be celebrated with frills. With my previous birthdays, I’ve had a series of unfortunate events that made me question if I’m unlucky or it’s the universe way of conspiring against me. I’ve always been in and out of the hospital cause of asthma. In fact, I celebrated last year’s birthday at Chong Hua Hospital, spent nearly two weeks cause of Dengue but look at me now – rocking Vegetable Highway in Carcar and climbing the The Great Walls of Cantabaco in Toledo.
As of this writing, I’m officially 27. It’s the most overused cliché but age is really just a number. To be honest, I only learned how to ride a bike when I turned 25 and I’ve only started riding a little over a year when my yellow bike finally got assembled. To those who say it’s too late or you’re too old to start something, well, it’s never too late for anything. Prove them wrong or prove yourself wrong and start believing you can.
I even biked all day on my birthday. I wasn’t alone though, I was with Bal Marsius, who’s also responsible for teaching me how to bike and the photos on this post. We biked all the way, baby! We rendezvoused at JY Square in Lahug and left the city as early as five in the morning. It was still dark so we attached flashlights and blinkers to our mountain bikes. Kids, safety is always the number one priority when riding. I don’t know what’s up with other riders who don’t wear helmets when riding on the road. Came across a couple of jejemon riders en route to Naga but they’re not really important.
We did a quick stopover at a Carenderia in Carcar and had something fishy for breakfast. When you do long rides, it’s better to avoid meat and eat light. I knew the ride’s going to be a long one but I didn’t bring any hydration pack – just my water bottle and a can of pocari sweat that I chugged down in our Carcar pit stop. I’ll fast forward to Vegetable Highway. I felt like I’m no longer in Cebu, the place was just a beauty and the air was so fresh, too! It left me breathless in a literal and non-literal sense. There were a bit of major, major, climbs, something I don’t really mind. It’s so much different when you do uphill climbs and breathing fresh air. It’s so different when climbing in Busay. It’s not even a comparison.
I guess we were really riding fast cause we didn’t have a lot of stopovers and it’s just the two of us. At around noon, we’re already on our way back to the city but decided to take a rest in my friend’s house in Naga. The weather was too humid and sucks all your energies out. I even brought sun block to protect my already sun damaged skin. Haha. I recall not bringing extra interior but I brought a sun block. Luckily, none of us had any flat tire. Also, the ride home is a bit boring and it’s like undoing what you’ve already done.
As if climbing Vegetable Highway wasn’t enough, we also rock climbed in Cantabaco in Toledo. Rock climbing happened a day after and it’s not all done in 24hrs. It’s my birthday; I will do whatever I want. Mountain biking and rock climbing is completely two different sports. The only climbing I’ve ever done was at Metrosports for upper body strength. I’m sort of proud of myself for this one. The walls looked so high and intimidating. I nearly panicked when I reached the top. It also helps if you’re into yoga since climbing needs flexibility. Our guide, Enni, is very accommodating to newbie climbers like me. There’s no pressure and he really lets you take your time. I’ll share more about rock climbing soon.
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