direkyey's viewfinder

Intimidation. This is what makes one NOT try out a lot of things. Being heavy and on the biggish side, all the stories about the infamous Cardiac Hill in Sta. Rosa, Laguna, the haven of mountain bikers, never appealed to me. Admittedly, I was really intimidated by it. Bimbo, my biking and scooter buddy, would always ask me if I wanted to try it out already but I would always give different excuses to avoid going there.

For the past month or so, after being able to complete the La Salle, Canlubang Trail, I stuck to my biking routine of going either to the UP or the Ateneo grounds or both. Almost everyday, I would bike for more than an hour and a half, covering about 25 kilometers or so. Lately, I was even looking for all the uphill climbs of both places. Every time I would climb these hills, I would hear Ricky's voice, "Curl your tongue behind you front teeth. Breathe deeply. Pull. Keep your pace as if you are just walking. Be patient." And slowly, I would be able to reach the top of these smallish hills, panting heavily. The nice thing about this is that every time I go out, I could repeat this a number of times. In UP, its the climb behind the Engineering building. In the Ateneo, it's the one behind the college covered courts. For some reason they have become my favorite parts of my daily route. In these parts my heart rate monitor would read 141 bpm which is still a good part of my target zone.

Last Wednesday, during the Vespinoy Christmas Party, Bimbo asked me what our biking plans were for the coming holidays. Hmmm. Yup, we had time to get together for some serious riding. He asked if we should do Sta. Rosa. Hmmm. Why not? I have building up some base already coupled with my days in the gym. Sta. Rosa sounded ok. "La Salle?," I asked. "We'll see," is the the reply I got. So, Sta. Rosa it was for the December 22 ride.

Bimbo, Des and I arrived at Paseo at about seven am. John Rana was there already. The veterans started trickling in also. Manu, Teddy, Tony, Doc Ding, Edwin and all the other guys were all getting ready for the day's ride. They asked where we planned to go and asked if we wanted to join them. I was hesitant but Bimbo agreed already. The plan was for us to get a head start and meet up at the Buko Stop, a rest stop where all the riders meet up and finalize which trail to take. We all agreed and set off for, argh, Cardiac Hill.

The pace Bimbo set was nice and easy. It was to reserve all our strength for the coming climbs. At one point, he pointed to a cell site where we were going to and the tower looked an inch tall. "Sabi mo, eh," was all I could say.

We rolled and, finally, reached the foot of the hill. It was steep, long and yes, intimidating. I went at it. I pedalled at a pace I thought would bring me up the hill. I was already using my granny gear and trying to follow a good cadence. My legs were okay but I could hear my breathing get heavier. The breathing became panting. I have run out of gears. I still wanted to go up. I had about a hundred meters but I just couldn't go on anymore. By this time Bimbo has reached the top. I looked around for Des and John and both have stopped too to take a break from the gruelling climb. My spirit was willing but I couldn't continue anymore. I had to get off the saddle and catch my breath. As I was gasping for air, I could see all the sticks of cigarettes that I have smoked in my lifetime. I took a mental note of really considering quitting. I tried getting back the saddle but I just decided to finish off the hill by walking.

After a short break at the peak, we all got back on our bikes and headed once again to the buko place. Now the trails have started. The cement has gone and in its place a trail of loose soil, pebbles, rocks and BIGGER rocks are what we had to traverse. And we were still climbing. Surprisingly, the ride has become more bearable. But it was still not easy. There were near spills but my bike was always able to recover from the obstacles. I'm sure my face was all contorted but beneath all that, I'm sure, you could find a smile. One by one the veterans were passing us by. Each had a comforting encouragement to say. Not long after, I could hear a familiar voice shouting out. "Curl your tongue behind you front teeth. Breathe deeply. Pull. Keep your pace as if you are just walking. Be patient." Yes, it was Ricky. So, we all continued pedalling. After one of the peaks, I saw someone seated on the ground taking pictures. It was Manu. There were other bikes on the ground and I could hear voices. We have reached the buko place! And every one was giving us a cheer.

We got our well-deserved round of Gatorades and , of course, servings of buko. Everyone had a story to tell about their first time rides to the buko. There was one that stuck to my mind. It was summarized best by Edwin Mendoza, "Pare, I've been doing Cardiac Hill for more than five years and it still is difficult." I raised my bottle of Gatorade to that.

Every one started gearing up again and decided where to head off. The veterans were heading off the longer trail. We were choosing between the goto stop or just take the basic trail. Edwin, our designated tour guide, said we were better off taking it easy after Cardiac Hill. We all agreed. There were still climbs and obstacles such as rocks as big as basketballs to negotiate but it was all good. We reached another stop to wait for the some of the other bikers and Edwin said it was 11 kilometers of downhill from that point on. That was music to our ears. We headed off again and it was true. It was downhill all the way. But, hey, it wasn't easy. There were still the rocks, the drops and all the other things that make mountain bike interesting on the road. All I could say was, "ang sarap!" This is how it feels to be rewarded after a long steep climb.

Not long after, we reached the end of the trail. We have reached the highway that would take us back to Paseo. By now my cyclocomputer read that we have travelled a good 24 kms. I checked my heart rate monitor and the highest that I have reached was 178 bpm which is way past my 174 bpm limit. Hehehehe. The average heart rate that I got was 140 which is far from my daily 126 reading.

The ride was done. We were exchanging high fives and congratulations. We all had our bikes cleaned at Sabak and had a hearty lunch care of RJ Jurado who happened to be in Paseo.

On my way back to Manila, I was grinning from ear to ear. Nope, I wasn't able to reach the peak of the dreaded Cardiac Hill at one go. I had to walk it for a good quarter of the way. BUT I am not intimidated by it anymore. I know one day, after some more saddle time in UP and Ateneo, I would be able to conquer that hill.

It is not intimidation that I feel for that hill anymore but RESPECT. It's going to be a lot of hard work but I am sure it's going to be all worth it.

PS
Hey, Edwin, thanks for making yesterday's ride a great one. Thanks to all the guys, specially Teddy and Ricky, who texted their kudos.

Des, sobra akong bilib sa 'yo. Galing mo.

Bimbs, thanks for all the prodding. Sarap, chang!

John! Tuloy-tuloy na tayo, pare!

Photos courtesy of Manu Sandejas

Tara! Cardiac?