The One with the Pedals
Stories of athletes from other sports who fell in love with cycling
With the prevalent threat of COVID-19 and the lack of health safety assurance in public transit, bicycles/ cycling is definitely the ‘new now’ and might be the future of Philippine transportation. After the national government placed the whole NCR under different series of community quarantine, modes of public transportation has been halted forcing many Filipinos to resort to biking as a new way of commuting to work and other essentials. Some even borrowed money just to buy their own bike and others just started to learn riding a bike for the sake of commute!
Whether it’s for transportation, leisure or as a form of exercise, cycling has been proven to have lots of benefits not just to our physical, psychological, and emotional well-being but also to the environment. According to www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au , cycling can minimize the risk of catching stroke, heart attack, some cancers, depression, diabetes, obesity, and arthritis. Aside from this, based on https://biofriendlyplanet.com , cycling also diminishes air pollution, there’s no non-renewable fuels burned and it lessens the overcrowding in roads by cars which causes traffic. And if you need more reasons to start your biking journey now, come and let’s see the world through the stories of athletes from other sports who just turned into cycling and those who engage in “bike to work’.
Our first featured cyclist is a graduating senior high school student from Philippine Science High School who is also a player of Ultimate Frisbee. Joshua Moreno have been cycling for more than a year now which started when he asked for a bike from his parents as a birthday present. As the pandemic hit the country, he used his bike as a mode of transportation and from then on, his interest in cycling grew deeper as he now considers them as his babies. Being a frisbee varsity player of Pisay, it gave Joshua the power and endurance to improve in cycling which made him reach different provinces already like Rizal, Laguna, Bulacan, Cavite and Pampanga. He wasn’t able to play frisbee regularly due to the pandemic and so he used cycling as an alternative sport. And with this being said, Joshua stressed that he rides his bike in order for him to stay fit and not just for leisure or as a hobby.
“The person that motivates me to push through cycling is myself. It is the sport that I will continually do for the rest of my life”, Joshua answered when asked what motivates him to push through with cycling.
He added that there are also some struggles in cycling like bike damages and repairs and just like in any other hobby or sport, lack of motivation will also become a challenge.
Joshua also pointed out that our society is unfortunately not suitable enough for cycling. He said that although local governments make different actions to help the roads be safer for cyclists like putting bike lanes, most of the drivers of other vehicles in our country ignore them. For him, to which we can all agree, this ignorance is the danger for all cyclists.
And lastly, one thing special about riding a bike that he won’t probably find in other sports is enjoying the breath-taking views of the places he goes to after a long, grueling ride.
Our second biker/cyclist, is Rusty Jaravata, a Bachelor of Physical Education student from Polytechnic University of the Philippines. He first started cycling just last December aside from being a member of the PUP arnis varsity team and the Ultimate Frisbee team as well. He already went to Tagaytay, Bakas River, Antipolo, Tagalag Eco Park in Valenzuela, Daranak Falls in Tanay, Rizal, etc. He told us that the reason he bought a bike is that there is no public jeepney he could ride going to UP when he wants to play frisbee due to the pandemic. According to him, he cycles to travel wherever he wants and of course for the sake of his health and fitness.
“My friend ‘Biboy’ always posts pictures of his rides on Facebook and this got me interested to try cycling”, Rusty shared when asked who his biggest influence is when it comes to cycling.
Rusty pointed out that as the cycling community is getting bigger, our society needs to adapt as well by obeying simple and basic traffic rules on sharing the road.
“When I cycle alone, I feel free to do what I want. In cycling, all you need to do is keep pushing forward by pedaling with all your might. Don’t worry, you can take a breather when going downhill”, he added.
Being a triathlete when he was a kid, our next biker is no longer new to cycling. Gabriel ‘Skyler’ Gamboa, a College of Tourism, Hospitality, and Transportation Management 2nd year student from PUP, has already been cycling since 2011. Before cycling, he was also a swimmer and currently an Ultimate Frisbee player. By riding his mountain bike, he already managed to reach Batangas, Laguna, Cavite, Tagaytay, Antipolo and Tanay, Rizal. He said that for the purpose of enjoyment with friends is the main reason why he started. Skyler also added that he cycles for a couple of reasons like practical daily commute, for leisure, for camaraderie and for his overall health and fitness. According to him, the biggest struggle in biking is having to endure the soreness and pain from a tiring uphill climb. And just like our other cyclists, he also thinks that our society is not safe enough for cycling.
“Being able to create unforgettable memories with my friends by going to different places while riding our bikes is for me the one thing that is special about cycling that I can’t probably find in other sports”, Skyler said.
Now for our last cyclist, David Tejones, who is also a veteran Ultimate Frisbee player and coach, started cycling ever since the pandemic broke out. He uses his bike for transportation like going to the market and other stuff. Coach Dave already biked to Mall of Asia, Marikina Riverbanks, Monumento, UP Diliman and other places. He also cycles as a form of daily commute, as a hobby, as a way to be socially active, and as a form of exercise to stay fit.
“My friends. When they invite me, I go with them but just to places which are not that far”, Coach Dave responded when asked what/ who are his influences.
With the current changes in the society for the past year, cycling has become totally mainstream and there’s so many people who fall in love with it every single day. No matter what their reason is for choosing this lifestyle, one thing is for sure, it opened up many opportunities and possibilities for them and as the cycling community in the country grows bigger and bigger each day, all local government units should implement better traffic protocols and initiate road developments which will ensure the safety and protection of all cyclists. That is why the government has already approved a budget of P1.3 billion under the Bayanihan 2 law to support the “development of proper sidewalks and networks of bicycle lanes that will encourage the active transport and provide safe and direct access to priority destinations” (Section 24 of the Implementing Rules and Regulation of the National Transport Policy). In this way, we could make Metro Manila and all the other cities a “bike-friendly” environment for our bikers.
No matter how many kilometers our destination is, despite of the scorching heat, regardless of the rough roads and the steep uphill, just like in cycling, we don’t stop, won’t stop to pedal on this crazy ride called life.
