After our successful rides to Taguig and Manila, Hubby said it was time we try to go to Antipolo and then through Teresa and other Rizal locations. I said, “Sure!” Full disclosure: While I have started to enjoy biking, I was terrified to go on a longer ride that would require a lot of uphill-downhill […]
After our successful rides to Taguig and Manila, Hubby said it was time we try to go to Antipolo and then through Teresa and other Rizal locations. I said, “Sure!”
Full disclosure: While I have started to enjoy biking, I was terrified to go on a longer ride that would require a lot of uphill-downhill navigation. I didn’t think I was strong enough, and I didn’t want to be dead-weight. I needed to contribute, so I worked out to prepare for our next ride.
But inside, I was going, “Can I do it? And can hubby survive the added burden of—well—me!?”
I mean, it has been such a joy to be able to ride through different places even if I couldn’t ride alone. Part of the fun was that my hubby was the one that was enabling me to do this. He thought of it, he built the bike, he was the power, the balance and navigator behind these trips.
The reality, however, is that the bike is very heavy, it is longer and harder to maneuver, and I am added weight as well and although I was getting the hang of it lately, to be really honest, I was still learning.
I was worried I would cause my hubby to get a heart attack or something just so I could tag along on his rides. But he sounded so excited to be able to show me what “the fuss was all about.” In the past I just listened and had to be the supportive wife when hubby talked about all his rides. I didn’t fully understand how it really impacted him. And now that he wanted to show me, who was I to say NO?
For our Rizal ride, we had to leave the house even earlier. We travelled in the dark until we reached Sumulong highway and the uphill climb started. As before, Tanny & Demi caused quite a commotion wherever we went. By then I was used to acting like an extrovert when I secretly just wanted to hide and pretend no one was calling out to me. Thank God for my mask and my glasses. I didn’t feel as exposed.
The ride up was eventful. It was difficult, and I could hear Hubby huffing and puffing and I could see his leg muscles going on overdrive. On my side too, I was the same. I was determined to contribute so I pushed myself. When we reached the Antipolo church, where we got married, I was so happy. I would have wanted to pass by the houses of my nieces/nephews, but we were on a schedule and apparently, we had a lot more riding we needed to do.
So he showed me all the sites and locations he had visited in the past. We ate a Jollibee breakfast at a quaint little church in Teresa. Tanny & Demi also got an impromptu blessing from the priest there.
We rode on and stopped over at popular sites for picture taking. Then another church, and then just long stretches of riding. My muscles were screaming but I pushed on.
There was one point somewhere along Teresa loop, where there was a downhill part and we just stopped pedaling, and the bike just cruised faster and faster and although the fear welled up in my throat, I was also deliriously happy with the feel of the wind on my face, and the feeling of excitement and rush of the speed. I placed my entire life in my Hubby’s hands—he controlled the brakes and he was the only one who can see ahead. I trusted him. I mean, he rides a bike like he drives a car, so when I say trust him, I mean really TRUST him.
On our way home, we stopped over for a buko or coconut break, and fresh coconut juice and meat never tasted so good! By that point, we had been riding for more than 5 hours.
After another hour more of riding, we reached our subdivision entrance. For some reason, once we were inside the subdivision and only minutes away from our house, the full force of the fatigue and the aches and pains set on both of us, and we were slower, more sluggish. We were silent, but I could feel him just wanting to get to the house in one piece.
We did. It was intense. All in all, we rode for over 6 hours, around 64 kilometers and there were varying elevations!
I was tired, sweaty, sunburned, with muscles aching and bruised. But you know what? I was smiling like crazy.
I did it! I survived! We both did!
Check out the link below for the highlights of the ride.