A cool cycling trip to Tagaytay

My bike, Red, with Taal Lake and Taal Volcano on the background.

By now, you’ve probably noticed already the sudden drop in temperatures these past weeks. Some parts of Benguet Province are a freezing -2° Celsius, while in Metro Manila, it’s been fluctuating between 21° and 24° Celsius. It’s winter in many parts of the northern hemisphere and cold winds coming from Siberia, China and Japan are being blown into the country. Waking up these days are defined by sweater weather and cold feet. Taking a bath necessitates having hot water mixed with the tap water in your pail.

This is also a great opportunity to bike, given that it’s not too hot in the day and the chilly amihan provides a lot of ventilation.

And one of the many destinations that bikers in the Philippines love to go to in this kind of weather is Tagaytay City in Cavite, the Second Summer Capital of the Philippines after Baguio City in Benguet.

Last October, I attempted my first-ever bike ride from Bacoor to Cavite’s City of Pines. It’s a 35-kilometer distance from my home through uphill roads and foggy terrain (depending on the weather). 

Normally, bikers take the usual route via the Aguinaldo Highway, the main artery that passes through Cavite from Bacoor to Tagaytay City. However, the highway also has a reputation for being accident prone for both bicycles and motorists. Being that my safety is of my foremost concern, I decided not to go up to Tagaytay through the highway.

Instead, I took the safer route via the country roads of Silang to reach the city. From Bacoor, it’s just a straight line to Governor’s Drive in Paliparan, Dasmariñas City, where the Molino-Paliparan Road connects to Paliparan-Road that would lead me to the backdoor of Silang town.

I realized I never really talked about biking along Molino-Paliparan Road. This 23-kilometer road runs from Talaba Junction in Bacoor and goes all the way south to Paliparan, Dasmariñas City. Among the major roads in Bacoor that connect through it are Aguinaldo Highway, Bacoor Boulevard and Daang Hari. It also intersects with Salitran Road and Governor’s Drive in Dasmariñas City. It is probably one of the oldest roads in Bacoor since it passes through some of the older barangays of Bacoor like Aniban, Ligas and San Nicolas. As such, throughout much of its stretch through these barangays, the road is a two-lane asphalt that widens once you reach the barangays of Molino. Bikers must share the road with motorists in this section so tread carefully.

From Molino I to Paliparan, it transforms into a four-lane cemented road because much of the road widening can only be done in the newer barangays of Bacoor and Dasmariñas City. However, because of the widening, motorists tend to hog even the outer lanes, especially at intersections along Bacoor Boulevard and Daang Hari where traffic is common. After passing SM City Molino, it’s generally smooth sailing until you reach Paliparan.

After a rest at a 7-11 along Governor’s Drive in Paliparan, I made my way to the Paliparan-Silang Road, which is just a few meters to the right. Your landmark would be the Paliparan Barangay Hall. Paliparan-Silang Road is a two-lane concrete road that runs through subdivisions and sugarcane plantations in Dasmariñas and Silang. You would know you’re already in Silang because you’ll pass by a marker with a large clay pot on top. The Silang section of the road begins to have an incline because of the increasing elevation. You’ll also notice that flower and pineapple plantations, as well as flower and plant gardens begin to line the side of the road.

Before noon, I reached Silang Proper. I didn’t pass through downtown Silang though and instead pedaled through the back streets of the town. I had lunch of rice and dinuguan in one of the carinderias along Sabutan-Iba Road. After that, I made my way to Ulat Road, which is an old, two-lane road that leads all the way up to the Santa Rosa-Tagaytay Road. The uphill terrain is more pronounced here than in the previous roads. There were sections that I had to literally get off the bike and push forward. To make things worse, it began to rain and despite wearing a raincoat, I was drenched in sweat and moisture underneath. I was forced to stop and take shelter at a store in Brgy. Balite.

Posing with my bike to beautiful backdrop of Taal Lake behind.

Finally, after about an hour, the rain stopped, and I proceeded despite being wet, shivering and pedaling uphill. At around 2:30 p.m., I reached Santa Rosa-Tagaytay Road just near Tagaytay Haven Hotel, but still a few kilometers from a decent view of Taal Lake.

After an hour’s rest at a sari-sari store near Tagaytay Haven Hotel, I continued my journey southwest along Santa Rosa-Tagaytay Road. There’s plenty of traffic once you’re near the Tagaytay City Public Market because of an ongoing road construction. Plus, it was a Sunday, so there’s a bigger volume of vehicles on the road. Do take care while biking along this road because there are plenty of trucks and buses that ply this two-lane asphalt road that has no provision for sidewalks. Use hand signals to indicate turns or stops.

Around 3:30 p.m., I finally reached the Tagaytay-Calamba Road in front of the Tagaytay Econo Hotel. From there, one can already get a spectacular view of Taal Lake and Taal Volcano. I was shivering in the 24° Celsius weather, but I still made a few obligatory shots to record my achievement.

Having made it to Tagaytay, the next predicament was going home. Since it was already past the middle of the afternoon, I figured I’m going to be on the road until nightfall. It’s going to be a scary, dangerous gamble if I pedaled the way I came or if I go back via Aguinaldo Highway with only a lamp as my light. I decided not to take the risk and headed to Tagaytay Rotunda where I took Red and myself aboard a Baclaran-bound bus and went down at Patindig Araw, Imus, where I pedaled the rest of the way going home.

My total bike distance and time via MapMyRide.

All in all, my bike ride from Bacoor to Tagaytay was 35.49 kilometers long, which I completed in just four hours and five minutes. Not bad for an inaugural bike ride to the country’s Second Summer Capital. But for all the toils and sweat I poured for this tour, it was one of the coolest bike rides I’ve ever been to. I’ll definitely go back to Tagaytay this year and see if I can bike to and from it.

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