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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Pedaling around Las Piñas

I appreciate your reading of my second post about my Kaybiang Tunnel adventure. It means a lot to me that you're following my blog despite its being new. For my third post, I am going to write something closer to home, which many Southern cyclists will relate to.

One of my usual bike routes is Las Piñas City, which is the city next to my hometown of Bacoor. Its also the city where I used to work at, as I did my internship at one of the city's public schools and, eventually, finding a teaching job at one of the private schools in the city. I also know the city quite well because my first girlfriend lived there. When I first bought Red in November 2014, his first break-in bike ride was through the city.

Las Piñas City is an ideal place for biking because of its subdivisions. Most of the private villages here are interconnected because of the Friendship Route that the local government devised, allowing both cars and bicycles passage to avoid heavy traffic at the main thoroughfares such as Alabang-Zapote Road, Marcos Alvarez Road and Quirino Avenue.

It's not that biking in these two main thoroughfares are bad. I like biking on these two reads on the weekends, especially on Sunday mornings. But on the weekdays and weekend afternoons, these roads experience some of the worst traffic jams in Metro Manila as suburban families and individuals spend most of their time congregating in the many shopping malls along Alabang-Zapote Road. You do not want to find yourself squeezing your bike between cars and trucks along these busy highways. In fact, I almost met an accident once in Barangay Almanza near the former Toyota showroom because a car had tried to cut through my space on the road.

Nevertheless, if you pick the right time of the day for biking through these thoroughfares, it's going to be smooth pedaling.

My Las Piñas bike ride is mostly centered on the southern portion of the city, inside BF Resort Village, Philam Village, Moonwalk Village, and Pilar Village. I've also biked in the northern part of the city to visit St. Joseph's Cathedral in Barangay Daniel Fajardo once.

To get to the city, I either bike through any of its four entry points: 

1) Through Zapote Bridge above the Zapote River, which marks the border between Bacoor and Las Piñas. This can be a stressing bike route given that it passes through Bacoor City Public Market. Vendors, parked vehicles and pedestrians literally block space for moving vehicles and cyclists. At the bridge itself, the road narrows into a two-way street instead of a four-lane road. 

2) Through Molino Dam. This is the exciting route because it allows cyclists to bike on top of a Spanish-era dam for just ₱2.00, which is the price of passage through the dam to enter BF Resort Village. On the rainy season, when the Zapote River overflows on the dam, a cart ferries passengers across the dam for another ₱2.00. You can hitch yourself and your bike a ride on the carts if you pay extra. But when the rains are too heavy, the dam can be closed until the water level becomes manageable for the cart to cross. This is the fastest route for me because I can get to Las Piñas from my house in just 15 minutes tops. Not only is it fast, you also get the scenic view.

Molino Dam at the Las Piñas-Bacoor border during the wet (left) and dry (right) seasons.

3) Through Marcos Alvarez Road. The road and the barangays along it are considered the back alley of Las Piñas, hence, the proliferation of industrial factories and slum areas along this road. The 4.76-kilometer road begins in Barangay Talon Quatro beside Lozada Public Market and ends in Barangay Molino II in Bacoor City. The road starts as a two-lane asphalt road that could get pockmarked and bumpy. It's probably why they called one of the villages along it as Moonwalk Village because of the road's condition. Kidding aside, the road has an uphill section along Barangay Talon Singko in front of the Golden Acres National School. By the time you reach the Bacoor portion of the road, it shifts to four lanes, although much of the outer lane are occupied by parked vehicles. Plenty of gravel along this part that could puncture your tires and do watch out for the southbound portion of Santo Niño Bridge just past the SeaOil gas station because it has no concrete railings.

4) Through Daang Hari Road. This is the longest route going to the city from Bacoor. Being a four-lane boulevard and the terminus of the Muntinlupa-Cavite Expressway, vehicles here are naturally fast so take extra caution especially at night. Not a lot of establishments yet along this road, mostly exclusive subdivisions as well as two Vista malls (the Evia and Starmall Molino) There have been incidences of bicycle theft in the area, with cyclists being held at gunpoint by thieves. The terrain is uphill but smooth. Plenty of gravel though on the side, just as any other road in the Philippines.

Despite the urbanity that now prevails in Las Piñas, it is a city rich in history. The northern side of the city along the Manila Bay coast used to be the center of the salt-making industry in the south of the capital. Remnants of the Irasan Center in Pulang Lupa can still be seen be no salt can be raked from the salt flats that once dotted the city's coast.

The Bamboo Organ at St. Joseph's Cathedral

One historic landmark still standing though is the Las Piñas Bamboo Organ inside St. Joseph's Cathedral. Built in 1824 by former Spanish curate Fr. Diego Cera, the Bamboo Organ still used today and is a recognized National Cultural Treasure. The area around St. Joseph's Church is also known for lantern making. As the Christmas holiday nears, the area along Diego Cera Avenue are filled with makeshift stalls selling lanterns of various designs and makes.

Of course, I already mentioned the Molino Dam, which was constructed in 1885 to water the vast friar estates of Hacienda de San Nicolas. It was built under the initiative of Spanish priest and now Saint Exequiel Moreno.

Apart from pedaling along memory lane, there are plenty of food stops in this side of the metro, especially along BF Resort Drive and Alabang-Zapote Road.

Zapote River Drive a few months after it opened.

Recently, a new road was also built along the Las Piñas banks of the Zapote River behind BF Resort Village. The Zapote River Drive stretches from Barangay Pamplona Uno near Christ the King Church where it connects to Alabang-Zapote Road, and ends at Florlina dela Cruz Street in BF Resort near Molino Dam. From here, you can reach Marcos Alvarez Road via Carnival Park Street, Abel Nosce Street and the Apollo Streets of Moonwalk Village. The road has some narrow points that allow only one vehicle at a time to pass because of right of way issues. But with very few vehicles passing this route at a time, its a fast shortcut going across the city.

I pedal around Las Piñas when I have no long-distance biking plans in particular during weekends. Its also good exercise given the shifting terrain the city has. Sometimes, I also bike through the city at night when I want to exercise on weekdays after coming home from work. The parks inside BF Resort and Philam Village are also a cool and shady spot to rest after a round of pedaling. Las Piñas City is definitely an ideal cycling roundabout.

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