I got a bikelog?

A year ago, I asked my daughter for a loan so that I could buy a mountain bike. This was in the middle of May 2021 and the pandemic was still raging on and the restrictions on public transportation was strictly enforced. I got into cycling becuase of the videos from you tube. I had this urge to go out, maybe this was due to the emotional stress of being locked down. I wanted to get out and go touring like these guys from youtube. So, I did.

Becuase of the lockdowns, The bicycle became the number one vehicle for first-responders and employees. As a result of the sudden boom in cycling, many soon found the bicycle to be the cheapest and most convenient means to go around their community, to move goods, and to keep fit. The negative impact is that the sudden rise in demand in bicycles resulted in the shortages of units and the doubling of prices including for spare parts but today the prices have already stabilized to the pre-pandemic level not counting the high inflation rate we have today.

After the pandemic restrictions were downgraded and the public transport opened up, there was a rediscovery in the joys of pedaling.   Cycling has become more than a means of transportation, it became a passion, a lifestyle, and it evolved into a pop culture to  individuals who got hooked into it (like me) and judging from the number of cyclists on the road and from posts on social media, it is still growing resulting in the boom in the market for bike upgrade kits, accessories and personalized built bikes. 

Angono Lakeside my first "long ride" since any place that goes beyond Taytay or Cainta area is a long ride for me then. 

Anyway, got my first MTB, a Trinx C782. My first long ride was to Angono Lakeside Park, then Binangonan, Cardona, Tanay, Pililla. After a few weeks, I did the Laguna Loop a 180 kilometer ride that circumnavigates Laguna Lake. Laguna Loop is a milestone, the benchmark for cyclists from the Rizal, Laguna and Metro Manila area. It is on the top list of the loops among long riders. Personally, finishing the loop meant I already had the stamina and the leg power to ride way beyond the century mark into the 200 km and beyond. I think I have already done around 7 or 8 Laguna Loops from the shortest route the via Antipolo-Mabitac, the longer via Jala-jala, the more challenging reverse, and the knee crunching and butt chaffing 260 km Laguna-Banahaw (Lucban, Tayabas, Sariaya, Quezon) variation. .

My first Laguna Loop took me 11 hours moving time but the whole tour took me about 16 hours. 

I am now going into the second year of bike touring and from a budget Trinx bike I now have two more bikes, number two is a second (or maybe third or fourth) hand Giant Escape 3 which judging from the frame could be from around 2010 and the third is a hybrid built bike on Cole frame with Shimano Deore 2x10 group set for climbing.

There's a lot of stories to tell...

Forgive the grammar, Lol :-)