Revisiting the Trails of Consolacion, Cebu

I hate to smack too much of nostalgia but it’s what I really did this afternoon. I have not been around this side of the planet for almost a year now. Before I discovered Google Earth, I have always thought that Consolacion is only for cross-country mountain biking.

But as I became curioser and curioser (thank you CJ Lewis for letting me borrow the phrase), I have found a few short trails that link roads on higher ground to those on the flatland. Wood-gathering people have made these tracks with their enduring feet.

I love riding trails. It makes me feel like a pro although I’m not even close to being a solid rider. Trails also help me come into terms with the irrevocability of my decisions. Choosing lines which are only inches apart can tell where you’d end up face down on the ground or not.

People in high land are a bit busy these days because they are expecting for the rainy season to come soon. Some of them have started to burn grass to make room for their crops.
Manong told me that he does not expect a lot of rainfall in the next few months so he’ll grow crops first, and some squash maybe. Fruits use up way more water than crops.

I hit two trails today. The first one is in Panas which will be the venue of a downhill race this 18th of May. It’s adrenaline rush all the way except for two sections: the hell-steep red soil section where I almost poked myself blind a couple of years ago and the final six-foot drop. They make me flat out scared and take away all the excitement.

I’d do six feet if it has a safer receiver but the gap between this drop and the receiver is quite gnarly. I don’t want to end up crashing a bike that’s not mine. I’m not a chicken. At least chicken can fly. I can’t. I’m less than a chicken. The second trail is in Mapulo and I don’t think a lot of cyclists have been there.
I get celebrity attention whenever I pass there. For lack of any structural reference (the trail head is somewhere in the middle of a quarried road), I can’t exactly describe where it is. But it’s fun. You get scratches on the forearm for free.