We had planned this trip for yesterday, but on Monday an earthquake struck the Visaya Islands. Epicenter located somewhere between Negros and Cebu was still quite far away from our office, but still close to feel the floor waving. Well, that was 6.9 magnitude, so not that little.
We had an evacuation twice that day, once in the morning during first struck and at 6PM while after-shake. That was also the reason for Andy to cancel the training, even if we were about to have a free day then. The track was just prone to land slides.

But today is Wednesday and we're started. I have to admit that this is what I loved to experience here. Steeeeep and long uphill. And heat like a hell. My brain almost exploded. I needed to had two mandatory breaks, otherwise, hmm...

That's just not my preferable climate.



Anyway, Andy, good you did not tell me about this road before the start. As I told you, It was an excitement only, which lead me to the goal.
Thanks man and see you on Sunday's big trip!

Today we decided to start earlier, since it takes some time for me to go up the hill. Obviously, the temperature is lower then. Let's say it's really cold, i.e. 25 Celsius degrees before sunrise.

The goal is to ride the same road, but little bit more than yesterday. I know it is still challenging for me, but soon I realized I feel quite okay. And I could finally take someone over...





Alright, maybe these guys were not a professional, but yeah, that's the second day :)

Soon we reached the meeting place, that was easy! Let's just have short break and continue. Of course there were a lot of bikers and even more were passing us on the road. I do not how it is possible, but in one group of 4 bikers, three of them were riding titanium bikes. A Merlin or Litespeed is not a rare phenomena in here. You can purchase one of these frames here, in local shops. You just need to have 168,000PHP, which is equal to 12,000PLN. For a frame! That's cosmic! And one tip: pay by cash, so you can get 10% of discount :D

Anyway, soon after the meeting point, the road was even more steep. And still it was quite easy. Moreover, the view made me even more excited, so there was red light for me to cease the uphill.



Finally we reached the crossroad. One of them turns left and can take you to the Tops. But that's so steep. Maybe this is not an uphill to Szrenica, but still so hard. Short break to think about the plans and take some photos - the view is astonishing from here.







So it must be even better on Tops. Thus, let's go! To be in Cebu and not reach the Tops... No way!
Actually, one moment was really hard, but I could have managed it by riding like a snake - I was totally off and Andy just accelerated. That's the man!

And that's the view from Tops!



Thanks Andy and looking forward for more...

I'm just writing in english so my friends from Philippines can also contribute.

That's my first ride here in Cebu. On Saturday, my friend, Prashant from India bought his new bike. Well, I was helping and I have to admit the cycling community in Cebu is amazing. This means hundreds of cyclist and the bikes are really hi-end.

Just please take a look at the picture below. So many nice brands...


Coming back to Prashant's choice... That's Cannondale. I think it's far cheaper to buy a bike or at least the frame in Philippines. I had the pleasure to do the first ride and I really like it. This is maybe not a perfect one - the frame could be longer, but it rides brilliant. I wish I took the SPD shoes...

Anyway, the traffic here is quite big. This is Asia so do not expect any rules on the road. I'll try to upload some movies so that you can imagine what it means. A week of walking in Cebu can make you more brave on the road. You need just to adapt to the others and if you follow the European rules, then, no remorse - crash.

The first ride was not easy for me, as I have not been riding for months. We went with the road to Tops - a view point on top of one of the hill (approx. 600m over sea level). The temperature was 25 Celsius degrees before the sunrise and over 30 in the afternoon - it just may kill :) But not the local tough guys - as I was totally sweat after 2 minutes of uphill while Andy was fresh and was getting bored I guess.

For sure it is not only the temperature that may fall you down, but also the local food. Well, the food is great, but you must be prepared for the consequences...

This is the break I needed to have. Three minutes later I realized that I'll be fighting with severe diarrhea today.



Thanks God, Andy has many friends here, so I could visit the Comfort Room. I mean the toilet :)



It's good I was prepared. Several months ago I've seen this movie. I find it really useful :D There's water instead of toilet tissue.


Finally we reached our target - the place where local bikers used to meet. I was totally out of order - whole sweat with the need for sightseeing the CR again :)
After all, I tried the roasted banana. Andy says some of the bikers just come here only to get one.



It was 7:30 AM and there were 20 bikers around. That's incredible. They used to take a trip just before starting the work. I like it!







More pictures next days - sorry but I was so excited with the ride, that I just did not want to stop going downhill.

Thanks a lot Andy and I'm waiting for the next trips :)