My Auldey Mini 4-Wheel Drive

About 11 years ago, people went crazy over mini 4-wheel drives because of the manga show Bakuso Kyodai Let's and Go. Well, it was partly because of it. But what really drew people to it, I think, it the customizability and the speed of these 4wd racers.

This got to be my favorite toy of all time. If you look at its structure, you will know what I mean (well, you would know because most 4wd's are not pre-assembled, you have to build them yourself unless you settle for being a loser and buy a built one).

A 4wd has a very basic structure: it has a dynamo for power, tires (you know what tires are for, right?), cogs and rods to transfer dynamo power to the tires, rollers so it can cruise through bends, and a chassis to hold the thing together. Then there's the top which gives the 4wd its looks. Its simplicity is just overwhelming.

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Several days ago the Boss and I went to SM to watch a movie. Before we reached the theatre we passed by Toy Kingdom and I decided to take a look inside. And there it was at the far shelf to the right, one of the best things of my childhood. The stocks are low-end Auldey 4WDs, sold for P 149. It's for starter level alright but it does not matter. I'm in for the idea of the toy and not for competition.

It took me 40 minutes to transform the random bits of plastic, cogs, and rods into a working-rolling-running-into-everything toy. That was a lot of time alright but I was nostalgic with every bit I've put into place.

The movie I watched with the Boss sucked big time. I wanted to poke my eyes half-way through. I wished Immortals would redeem its lousy plot and characters though special effects but it did not. Give me Riki-Oh any day.

This mini 4WD saved my night, the way Powerpuff Girls save the day. I am happy we stopped by at the toy store for no reason at all.









I first assembled this as a four-wheel drive to live up to its name. But I removed the four-wheel drive rod because I enjoy seeing it skid before it takes off. My first 4WD (I was in grade school then) was designed with its dynamo at the front. It's called the FM chassis. I will buy one once I've saved up.

A No Non-Sense Guide from Mt. Manunggal to Brgy. Tabunan

I often do not make sense in my posts so today I’ll try to be really, really helpful. Presenting my photoblog guide on how to get to Brgy. Tabunan from Mt. Manunggal. This trail is not as easy as helping Dora find where Tico the Squirrel lives but it is completely “trekkable.” Do not worry if you are new to trekking. If you do three jogs each week, you would do fine in Manunggal.

What I did here was pedal from Cebu City to Manunggal then trek all the way down to Brgy. Tabunan Proper via footpaths. Just a quick info. The junction to Manunggal along Transcentral highway is more or less 40km from JY (I could not give the exact distance, I do not have a speedo/odometer.) It is the junction before the old bridge along Transcentral Highway. From there on, you will not get lost.

Here is how it went:

This path between the pine trees lead to a memorial (a rather unattractive one) of Ramon Magsaysay. Face the bust, there is a single track that leads to the left. Head off there. There are houses across the Magsaysay monument if you are not sure where to go. Feel free to ask, there are not a lot of people you can ask along the way.

The path at the background is where the stone-slab stairs along the pine tree path leads. Just across me is the Magsaysay monument, one of its tiny poles I used as a platform.

Trekking sandals or shoes will give you an advantage along this slimy, muddy, and slippery trail. You will not have any problem finding your way until you reach a mango tree where the footpath forks into a "Y." I took the one leading to the right. I am not sure where the left path leads to but it seemed to go nowhere. Although I did not take it, I surveyed it and arrived at a pepper plantation where a big water pipe runs in the middle. So I guess that's the sign where not to go.

Off the right path is a stair of slimy rocks, with water flowing along. It is quite steep and slipper so you have to watch your steps carefully. I was confident that I took the right track because I found a used water bottle and a lighter there. Garbage do give clues but I don't recommend leaving them.

From here on, I just followed the path until I arrived at a house with pigeons, owned by a guy named Mio. Beside the pigeons is a rubber tub where he stores water. He was really kind to offer Tuba (coconut wine) and I gladly stayed until the last drop. I cannot exactly remember if there are forks before I arrived at Mio's house. My bad.

It is a lot easier from Mio's house. There are houses scattered until this bamboo bridge so it is not difficult to find the way. From this bridge, you take the left. The right-hand side of the footpath is flanked by a string of hills. Just walk on until you see houses. There are stores and habal-habals in Tabunan. But when I got there last Saturday, nobody was cooking so I had to go to Tagbao before I had my lunch.

A closeup of the bridge. I had troubles with my derailleur and chain along the way. Happened a lot, a lot. I suggest bringing food for the 2-3 hour walk to Tabunan. Boredom can really get you hungry.

Just head straight and you will find Brgy. Tabunan to the right. I hope this helps.

PS:

This is a post script and a long one at that.

This concludes the first month of my return to cross-country mountain biking. It had been an amazing month. I rode consistently during weekdays and had some half-day ride on weekends. I did the Uling-Lutopan round, Liloan-Lugo roundtrip, and the scenic Carmen-Danao route.

I would like to thank the Boss for sending me off on this trip. She had always been supportive. She was the one who encouraged me to go train again for racing. She woke up early on her rest day just so we could have breakfast at Sinangag Express, Lahug. She also sent me off in my first training ride, the Uling-Lutopan round.

Last Saturday, I rode through rain, fog, dirt, and scorching sun. The I went down a slippery, steep trail with a heavy bicycle that I have to carry all along. The weather has been ever-changing, it is great to have something constant: the Boss' support.

A perfect way to end a long day: Waffle ice cream at Cafe Maru. With the Boss, of course.

Carmen - Danao Pt. II

Mt. Lantawan

I spent my childhood in Bukidnon, a province which name roughly translates as "mountainous place." Bukidnon is a plateau surrounded by mountains and, unlike Cebu, there is no sea-meets-the-sky horizon: just the sky and the land boundaried by mountains.

As a child, I was not allowed to go up the mountains. I could only stare at them but never allowed to go. I was not looking for philosophic or literary insights, as those pretentious writers would write about to make themselves look smart. I stared at mountains simply with the wonder of what it would feel like to be in such a blue place. If trees there were really blue and would I look blue too if I go there.

Now 22, I can go to any mountain I want provided that I have the time, money, and fitness for it. (And calories, too. I am very thin because of mountain biking that the cold has always been a problem to me.)

I do not believe in "conquering" mountain. How could you conquer such innucous and stationary force of nature. You just climb or hike up a mountain. You do not conquer it. The people who use that term have not done anything in their lives so they use a phony term to give them some sense of fulfilment. No, a mountain is just a place you go to.


Every time you go up, there are always two forces that pull you in separate directions: gravity and the desire to reach the top. Neither can be seen but they are both as palpable as they could get. The only problem is that gravity is more constant. Always been, always will be. You just hope that the pull of gravity will never be as strong as the pull of the peak (until you get where you want to be).

The mountains offer a comforting solitude. I will keep going back to them.

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There are many things I have not mentioned in my previous blog entry. I wrote it right after I arrived, in a trip that spanned 7 and a half hours. 1.5 hours of going to Carmen, one hour going back to Liloan from Danao, and a five-hour trip on the mountain route.

I have been to the first part of that route before, on my motorbike. I was jobless back then and I had nothing to do but wander aimlessly and blog. I aptly named the entry I was gonna be broke but then I got high.

I last Sunday's trip because I want to see Mt. Lantawan and Mt. Manghilaw. They could be accessed directly from Tabok, Danao (the same road that leads to Intosan Resort). But I wanted to start from Carmen to find out if the broken lines of road on Google Earth connect. I was confident that they do. After all, Cebu is the most populated province in the country. People in Cebu build roads everywhere.

The thing that captivates my mind until now is a thoroughbred I saw at the M Lhuiller ranch. I have always been fascinated by the physique of horses and the ability of their body to resist the impact of their wild galloping.

I would like to share a few more photos that I have not posted here. Hence, let us commence.

Around the mountains: the horse-shoe route of Carmen-Danao

View from Carmen. At the foot of those mountains is a road the leads to Danao.

You can only feel the immensity of the mountains when you bike alone.

Short single track that starts from another road at the top.

This couple can show you how to walk fast with a load.

Just a rock.

The road to Danasan Eco Park, along Saksak Hill.

I Got Moves Like Jagger

Off to the half-real mountains.
IMPORTANT NOTE: I am not proud that I like the song. It's just too catchy.
Route: Liloan-Carmen-Danao-Liloan

On the way to Carmen, Cebu (at town 43kms north of the City), a song with the lyrics "I got moves like Jagger played on my [insert=borrowed] mp3 player. I got so restless because the song played on and on in my head (it was quite catchy) and I have no idea what it mean. It bothers me when I do not know what the song I'm listening to means. Fortunately, the Boss replied right away when I texted her and I was relieved in my distress. Mick Jagger, huh. At least I know it's a person and a singer (Well, you cannot be a singer if you are not a person in the first place. Unless you are a parrot muttering classical conditioning responses. I always divert just to contradict myself).

Anyway, the sea was so calm this morning I felt I could walk on the surface. A calm sea is always a good news: no headwind to drag me down. "wind drag" is a perfectly appropriate term. The wind can really drag you.

I like going to unfamiliar places on a Sunday, because that is the time when people are home so I could ask them for directions when I feel a little confuse. (That's my mild way of putting the fact that I lack any sense of direction and I need other people to compensate for it.)

I do not describe my routes any more. First of all, people do not read descriptions. If they do love to read, they would be in the library making use of the Dewey Decimal system. Second, nobody goes to these places other than cyclists. And the cyclists who go to these places already know the way so giving directions is pointless. Case closed.

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Here's the thing with socialization: I think that it is actually a refined form of blending in. I'm talking about literal blending in, the chameleon way. Chameleons blend in as a survival instinct. We "blend in" (i.e., socialize) so we do not get seen and hence avoid getting picked on. Today, I went back to the primeval form of blending in, the literal one. Check this out:



That, my friends, is me blending in, chameleon style. The guise would have been perfect if the flames were green. They would look like grass. But as flames can typically be only red, blue, or yellow, the jersey does not perfectly blend to the environment. Hence, my guise is only semi-perfect. (It is a bogus term that I use to describe a move that is moronic but is not completely moronic. If it is, I would just say completely moronic to avoid the need to make up bogus terms.)

Pine trees are not endemic in Carmen. The seeds of these trees are from Mantalongon, Dalaguete. Pine trees make a good aid for disciplining children. They really hurt. A perfect way to add nasty injury to insult.



At this point, we are as high as the mountains that you see in picture one. I said "we" because I do not want to alienate "you." Whoever "you" are.



We are finally higher than any other mountain. Finally, some cellular signal. Later, I would get the text message about that song about Mick Jagger. I could finally rest in peace. My mind, I mean. Although the boss never explained what moves Jagger has.



Be the one to figure out what the rest of the photos mean. I am hungry and no one pays me to blog.

PS: The day of writing of this entry is a Sunday, so you can expect somebody singing "Lunes nang tayo'y unang magkita" while I'm typing.

More photos here.

Update: I did some research on Mick Jagger and I should say he really got the moves. I like him already. But I would not say that I got moves like him. I still cannot open my mouth like I got a detachable jaw.