Marshmallow : Sunday Ride at Kan-irag's Marshes

So much mudness to endure...

'

And the world spins mudly on...

Go to Hill: Tolo-tolo, Consolacion, Cebu

*This post goes out to Jazz, who is very supportive of my rise to porn stardom 

"'Look upon my works ye mighty and despair.' Nothing beside remains " *see footnote

- no other groups of people understand human race much better than athletes. we nourish our primitive drive to outdo, eliminate, and overpower others in a way that destroys morale (of a certain sub-group called losers) yet builds relationship (real, genuine caring relationship between the sub-groups of winners, whiners, and losers). so what's the big idea? instead of turning to cheap means of destroying others like gossiping, bragging about your genius, or making a big deal of your being a groupie (nobody really sees you as an individual, you are a groupie), you can turn to more creative ways to nurture your primitive instincts. competition builds friendship while you try to break others. even athletes who hate each other so much will die at the absence of one.

 - the human body, even in terms of mechanics, is still more efficient than the bicycle. we self-repair and self-preserve. with constant and intense use, our body becomes more fit. with constant and intense use, the bicycle wears out. we age gracefully, the bicycle depreciates. our disadvantage from a mechanical viewpoint: our parts are only partly serviceable, partly replaceable. and we need more than just allen wrenches to do those!

 - i am not a hater. i just find it plain wrong to like losers. 

 - when i was in high school, me and my friend michael brought a 'project' called dancing mothballs to our science fair. i got the idea (the whole of it, actually) from a book called simple science experiments. we placed mothballs into water with baking soda and vinegar, which made the mothballs would go up and down. the mothballs would accumulate carbon dioxide bubbles and lift them to the surface, where the bubbles would pop and the mothballs would go down for them to float up again. our tiny experiment got no citation for the scientific principles it presented (which i would rather not discuss in this blog). instead, the presentations that won were mostly miniture barnyards with fancy lighting. unfortunately, i could not point to any scientific or architectural significance for those things. but then again, we are a country that produces pop singers, import murderously cliched korean TV series, and generate an overwhelming surplus of nurses who can't even insert an IV properly: we cannot expect much from our science teachers. 

 - just to be very clear, i do not present myself as a downhiller. i am more of a cross country rider, if i have to classify myself. i do XC routes, highways, trails, climbs, descents but not hardcore drops and jumps. i am fortunate enough to know some really great downhill riders so i know what i am not 

 - i have been riding kenda kinetics 2.35 for the past three months and they sure grip pretty well, like duct tape across your lips. but it's unreliable on pebbly/sandy surfaces. nonetheless, these tires are very special to me. the Boss bought these, i just gave her the money. it was dress up day at work when she bought the pair and she was like dressed up and on cigarette heels while dragging those DH tires with her. what a picture it must have been 

 -today i rode the tolotolo-sacsac route. it's a hilly route and i go there whenever i want to have an express XC ride. it's quite near but you feel different when you get to the place. that's why i like it

from the Boss. Rox asked me where the photo is. here it is, yo

Your skull protects your brain. Do not abuse its function, wear a helmet.

A very long switch back.

Kenda Kinetics. I kenda like them.

This is what hit-and-run looks like.

My chain jammed between the rings so I was forced to stop.

**The line is taken from the poem "Ozymandias" by Percy Bysshe Shelley. It's about our man Ozy (the guy is a tyrant/ruler of some sort) and he ordered a statue made for him with that line. A traveler passed by that monument, it was completely wrecked but the line still readable for everyone to see the paradox between his claimed greatness and the wreck that his kingdom was reduced to.

he is not a film star

for nearly a year now, i have been posting mountain bike trips on my blog. it's the usual photo-and-text blog, with just one video posted in its 10-month existence. but words and images have an inherent limitation: they cannot convey motion. photos are great for freezing fragments of seconds but what happens before and after is left to the imagination of the reade--something that would not work if you want to share what cycling is about.

mountain biking, like love, is a poorly understood sport. before i turn 23 this march, i want to do a trip that will sum up what it means to be a mountain biker. it is not about being hardcore or having Wolverinish quads. why do i want to do this? because this sport is a big part of myself. and a big part of myself will forever be misunderstood if i do not try. i want people to understand why i go out on my bike way before light and come home way after dark. this afternoon, i've tried putting my facebook-level filmmaking skills. i want to know how far a point and shoot camera can go in capturing what i do.

 **

 i would like to thank my Boss for giving me these Fox Sidewinder gloves.

Google Chapel

Instead of chasing Google through its maze of algorithm changes, which often come unannounced, don’t you think it’s about time we “boo” Big G? Come on ref, make up your mind. But then again we have to feed the Giant because it feeds us. Web techs and bloggers are keeping the chase and they will do so until a competitor tips the seesaw flat. Then we’ll be free to favor the nicer guy. Dream on. That will never happen.

***

 I do not hate Google. It is still my favorite search engine. But I appreciate it more because of Google Earth. Google Earth has helped me find a number of exciting trails. Google has really extended its definition of “search engine” into a more literal level.

***

Third year of mountain biking. Over the years, I have learned to love chapels more than churches. Asking for directions from locals will almost always involve the mentioning of chapels. Chapels serve as landmarks in the most inaccessible of areas. And where DPWH will most likely never reach, missionaries have Christianized decades ago. That’s why chapels, in their crudeness, have done more help to me than any church in Cebu. There's a lot more salvation in chapels. Yes, in my ride this morning, I passed by a chapel.