The Pinoy Cyclist: Alabang

Tuesday, December 13, 2016

Biking hits and misses

Filinvest City, Alabang, Muntinlupa City

I’m back!

After a month’s hiatus due to a very busy November, I’ve been on top of the pedal again on Saturday for bike ride. Too bad though, I missed all the happenings during a much-anticipated National Bike Month due to a hectic work schedule and sickness.

What did I miss? Well, I missed two succeeding bicycle expos on two consecutive weekends. First was the iCycle 2016: Ride Pilipinas at the World Trade Center in Pasay City, and second was the PhilBike Expo at the SMX Convention Center at the SM Mall of Asia. I had a terrible case of peptic acid disease for three weeks. I also missed National Bicycle Day on November 27 because I had to attend a godchild’s baptism.

But what did I do during those weeks I haven’t been behind Red’s handlebars?

A lot. Apparently, the Supreme Court had the guts to uphold the constitutionality of President Rodrigo Duterte’s order of burying former dictator Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani. And within 10 days of that, the Marcos family surreptitiously buried their patriarch at the heroes’ cemetery.

To cut to the chase, aside from a constantly aching tummy and a frantic work itinerary, what kept me mostly busy on the weekends was attending to anti-Marcos rallies in Luneta and EDSA. I felt it’s my duty to join the rallies and voice out my disgust over the unjust Supreme Court ruling and hasty (if not clandestine) Marcos burial. There is a sense of purpose in being able to attend these protest actions and join forces with people who share the same ideals as me.

And in attending these rallies, I was able to come across a number of fellow cyclists who share the same political stance and standards as myself (see photo).

Fellow cyclist John Edrian Atendido,
with his folding bike at the #SiklabBayan
anti-Marcos protest in EDSA corner
White Plains last Nov. 30, 2016.

Anyway, December’s here and it seems that my work schedule has started to become less frenetic. Which is why on Saturday, I went back to my usual playground in Filinvest Alabang for a trail ride.

I made my way to the place via my usual shortcut at Pilar Village in Las Piñas City and tried some of the trails that I haven’t tried before when I got there. I also discovered that there was an event there last Sunday — the 2nd Philippine Bicycle Demo.

The event is sort of a test drive festival just like the ones that Auto Focus has been conducting for three years now in the car industry. I brought together some of the best cycling brands in one venue: Specialized, BMC, Norco, Trek, Ibis, Colnago, Felt, Santa Cruz, Lynskey, Giant, Pinarello, Cervelo, Rocky Mountain, BH Bikes, Silverback, Brompton, KTIM, Bambike, Tern, among others.

All you need are two valid IDs, your own cycling gear (helmets, bike shoes, knee pads, pedals for certain bicycles) to be able to try out the bikes.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to come to this demo. I will explain in a while.

As I said earlier, I tried some the trials at Filinvest Bike Trail which I haven’t tried before, particularly the trails along Pacific Rim Extension near The Levels and CommerceCenter. There is one particular trail that goes up a steep hill where the Ayala Alabang water catchment is located. Up there is one of the best views of Filinvest City. I took a couple of pictures and time lapses before I biked downhill.

I made my way back to the Playground trail near The Palms and was thrilled by the number of mountain bikers that were on the same trail as me. I was also finally able to get the proper shifting combination for uphill sections of the trail which made pedaling easier.

I was so caught up in the thrill of the moment that I wasn’t thinking about safety anymore. As I was about to go down from the trail at Parkway Avenue, I preempted a left turn which I was supposed to make once I reached the sidewalk. I made the turn while still on the slope of the trail at a fast pace, causing me to fall and hit my knee on bare ground. I wasn’t wearing knee pads and so I instantly felt the stinging pain of hard ground grinding the skin off my knee.

It bled a lot, but I immediately poured water on it and tried to abate the bleeding by putting a clean towel on the wound. It was quite a big gash which stretched from the base of my left knee to the middle of left leg. I even tried trying the towel with a race tag from Giro de Luca 2016, which was the only long and adhesive material that I can get my hands on, and then made my way to nearby Festival Mall.

The towel and the race tag didn’t hold that quite long, and so I let the wound become exposed for a while as I made my way to Festival Mall. Once there, I quickly went inside an SM Savemore supermarket to buy first aid materials at Watsons to treat my wound. I cleaned it with Betadine solution and alcohol then dressed it with gauze.

My injured left leg, all cleaned and dress up.

I rested for a few minutes before deciding that I should go back home because of my condition. My plan was to take the bike on a bus going to Las Piñas City, but the bus driver won’t let me. So I had no choice but to bike all the way back to our house in Cavite on the same route I used earlier.

My first bike ride after a month’s hiatus ended with my first serious bike injury. I’m just glad that it was only a gash on the knee and not a blow to the head or back. Looks like I’m gonna have to wait for this leg to heal first before going back on top of the wheels.

Always remember folks, safety first when biking!

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Friday, October 7, 2016

City Biking in Alabang

In my previous post, I discussed my cycling experience in Las Piñas City. With its exclusive subdivisions and relatively narrow roads, cycling in this part of the south still feels suburban despite being a city. In this next post, I'll talk about my cycling experience in a city that's truly urban — Muntinlupa — particularly its Alabang district.

* * *

For those who haven't been to Muntinlupa, it's Metro Manila's southernmost city, lying in the southeastern portion of the capital region. It has roughly 42 sq. kms. of land area and a population of a little over 500,000. You can reach the city via the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX) from both north or south of the capital. Another passageway to the city is through the Alabang-Zapote Road in Las Piñas City. If you're coming from Cavite, the city is connected to the province via Daang Hari Road and the Muntinlupa-Cavite Expressway (MCX).

CITY BIKING PLEASURE

I haven't biked the entirety of Muntinlupa City. My Muntinlupa biking route is concentrated in its Alabang district, which is located on the central part of the city. Alabang is basically the city's central business district because most of the city's financial, commercial, business and retail centers are found in it. Two business parks divide the district: the Ayala-owned Madrigal Business Park and the Gotianun-owned Filinvest City.

Several malls can be found in the district including Alabang Town Center, Molito, Starmall Alabang, Commerce Center and Festival Mall, which is the largest. Various hotels and office towers are also located in the district, the tallest of which is the Insular Life Center composed of twin towers rising 140 meters each.

But compared to the central business districts of Makati, Taguig and Pasig, the Alabang district doesn't feel overcrowded yet because of the slow pace of development. For most companies in Metro Manila, Muntinlupa seems like a far away place to locate a business. Much of the development is concentrated in the Northgate Cyberzone sector of Filinvest City as well as the Madrigal Business Park.

I believe the slow growth of the Alabang district is what made it attractive for some people to locate their business, to live in, and of course, to bike around. It doesn't feel crowded unlike Makati or Ortigas where there seems to be very little space to move around and relax. Alabang's streets are wide and smooth. There aren't a lot of bumps or gravel on the road that could hurt biker's tires. There are plenty of trees and plants lining the side of the road, providing bikers some shade as they pedal along the district.

There are traffic lights at almost every intersection managing the follow of vehicular and pedestrian traffic. Pedestrian crossing are well marked while sidewalks are spacious and free of obstacles. Along Alabang-Zapote Road, from Isuzu Alabang to Alabang Town Center, there's even a stretch of service road for bicycles to pass through to avoid vehicular traffic. Filinvest City has no service roads, but it has spacious sidewalks for bicycles to pass through. At night, the streets are well lighted. You're definitely going to love night biking in Alabang.

The Riverside and Playground trails at Filinvest Bike Trails

BIKE TRAIL FUN!

Alabang is a pleasure destination not just for road cyclists but also for mountain bikers because of the Filinvest Bike Trail, which is located on the left side of Filinvest Avenue if you're coming from Cavite or Las Piñas. This is probably the longest bike trail in the south (although the Heroes' Trail in Taguig might be longer. I haven't been there yet so I'm not sure).

The Filinvest Bike Trail has eight different sections of varying difficulty and purpose. Two of the sections are race tracks where mountain bike races are occasionally held. There is also a playground trail, a freeway trail beside the Filinvest Exit going to SLEX and a riverside trail on the banks of Alabang River. I've tried the trail twice and had much fun with the race tracks and the riverside trail despite being on a hybrid road bike. Much of the riverside trail is shaded by trees. There's even a part of the trail where a tree branch arches over the trail that you have to really bend down in order to avoid it. It was an exhilarating experience passing through that part! The Filinvest Bike Trails really makes for a cool, action-packed GoPro video that you can show off to your friends.

River Park at Festival Mall

Molito at Madrigal Business Park

Once you're famished after biking, there are plenty of dining places in Alabang. If you're into affordable, freshly cooked street food, there's plenty of that along Alabang-Zapote Road near Jollibee Alabang and South Station. There is also a food court inside Festival Mall that offers affordable food choices and the mall has ample bike parking (unlike Alabang Town Center or Molito). There are also plenty of convenience stores located at the Aurora Building in Madrigal Business Park, Molito, Alabang Town Center, Caltex Alabang, Civic Prime Building in front of Festival Mall and South Station.

From Bacoor, I bike to Alabang via Marcos Alvarez Road in Las Piñas City. To avoid the Alabang-Zapote Road, I take shortcuts inside Pilar Village and T.S. Cruz Subdivision in order to reach the Daang Hari terminus at Madrigal Business Park, which is around 10 kms. Another option I take is through Daang Hari if there aren't too many speeding vehicles.

If you want to really feel what city biking is like without feeling surrounded by urban jungle and still be one with nature, pedal your way to Alabang, Muntinlupa on a weekend!

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Tuesday, December 13, 2016

Biking hits and misses

Friday, October 7, 2016

City Biking in Alabang

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