Birthday / Kadayawan Party with KK and Cebu Bikers

The rains came down hard later in the evening, but it could not stop the Agila Riders, the Kagayanon Kruizers and members of different MC clubs in Cebu from having a grand time last Aug 17 at 8610 Gitara Bar. The beers were cold, the lechon delectable, the tuna shashimi succulent and the natives friendly. It was no surprise then that all and sundry oozed that Kadayawan feeling of fun and celebration.

A week or two before, the Kagayanon Kruizers and members of biker clubs in Cebu had sent notice that they were riding to Davao in time for the Kadayawan. So, Ping suggested, and Bdul agreed, to move their joint birthday party to August 17, the day the bikers were going to hit town and turn the bash to a hosting for the out-of-town bikers.

Bikers cheered, friends reunited, Governor and biker Migz made an appearance, a Kamikaze rocker posed with guests and waitresses, and the wives got tipsy (some more than the others.)

Thank you to Ping, Bdul, King, Daniel and others (please text me the names) who made the evening a success.

The National Convention Rides: Vigan / Laoag 2006

From Davao to Vigan and Laoag. It will be sometime (if ever) before another opportunity to ride something similar to this presents itself.

Exhilarating and challenging to rider and bike, the ride will be fondly remembered even when the rider rides no more.

The itinerary (via the Nautical Highway):

Apr 24: Davao – Cagayan de Oro – Iligan - Ferry to Ozamis - Overnight in Ozamis
Apr 25: Ozamis – Dapitan - Ferry to Dumaguete - Overnight in Dumaguete
Apr 26: Dumaguete – Bacolod - Ilo-ilo - Kalibo – Caticlan - Overnight Ferry Caticlan to Roxas, Mindoro
Apr 27: Roxas – Calapan, Ferry to Batangas, - Manila
Apr 28: Manila – Bulacan – Pampanga – Tarlac – Pangasinan – La Union – Vigan, Ilocos Sur, Overnight Vigan
Apr 29: Convention activities, Vigan – Laoag, Overnight Laoag
Apr 30: Laoag – Manila, Overnight in Manila
Apr 31: Manila to Davao (Biker by plane, bike by boat)

Pictures (from the top) 1: At Rizal Shrine, Dapitan, 2: Dumaguete, 3: Ferry to Batangas, 4: Somewhere in Central Luzon, 5: Classic Vigan, 6: At the convention in Laoag, 7: The Marcos "Shrine", 8: Sta. Ines Exit, NLEX (Pix 6 & 7 taken on the ride from Laoag to Manila)

The National Convention Rides: General Santos City 2005

As the convention was held a mere 140 kms away from Davao City, the Agilas spent the first night a bit farther – in (hehe don’t know the name of the place). It was back to GenSan/Sarangani the next day to enjoy the music, beer, girls and the camaraderie of fellow bikers.

Ride to Gumasa Beach Resort; Calinan Fiesta

Rez, Rene's girlfriend, sent some pictures of the ride to Gumasa Beach Resort, Sarangani Province(?) where Doc John treated the group for lunch. Can somebody please email me the details of this ride? It seems the Agilas have so many rides that we cannot keep up documenting these rides!

The picture at the bottom was taken at Past Pres Boy's home during the last Calinan fiesta.

The National Convention Rides: Cebu 2004

The plan was to ride from Davao City to Cagayan de Oro then take the ferry to Bacolod, ride around Negros Island before going to Cebu City to attend the convention. The ferry tickets had already been bought; unfortunately, the vehicle hold was full and no reservations were made for the bikes.

So a quick decision was made to go directly Cebu and take it from there. It was not as planned but the whole trip was still very enjoyable, nonetheless.

The low point of the trip was on the last night on the ferry from Cebu City back to Cagayan de Oro. The darned ferry had engine / air-conditioning problems. Not only was the passage delayed, we had to endure the heat inside the ferry while repairs were being made. And because of the repairs, we arrived in CDO around lunch instead of arriving in the morning. That could only mean that it would be dark when we would arrive in Davao. And it was.

But the Skyway was nice.

The itinerary:

Apr 24: Davao City – Cagayan de Oro, overnight in ferry
Apr 25: Took it easy and enjoyed the sights in Cebu City
Apr 26: Cebu City – Daanbantayan (northern tip of Cebu Island) – Cebu City
Apr 27: Cebu City – Naga – Toledo – Skyway – Cebu City, Convention fun
Apr 28: Convention activities, overnight ferry to CDO
Apr 29: CDO – Davao City

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Pictures (from the top) 1: On the road to CDO, 2: Just before disembarking in Cebu, 3: At a resort in Daanbantayan, 4: In Toledo (Jinggoy Estrada and a small, forlorn group of supporters occupied the resto after us), 5: Anton and Jerome at the Skyway, 6: In Bukidnon on the way back to Davao

The National Convention Rides: Manila 2003

Two groups from the Davao Agila Riders rode from Davao to Manila in what was the Agilas first ride to a national federation convention after we were formally organized.

The itinerary of the second group:
Apr 20: Jump-off Davao, Dvo del Norte, Butuan, Surigao, Ferry Ride, Overnight So. Leyte
Apr 21: So. Leyte, Leyte, Samar, Ferry Matnog, Overnight Sorsogon City
Apr 22: Bicol, Overnight Lucena City
Apr 23: Manila, Convention proper

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Pictures (from top): 1) Babers House, Surigao 2) Market in a town in Southern Leyte 3) San Juanico Bridge 4) Mt. Mayon view in Bicol 5) At the convention in Manila

Bonobos (NSFW and obviously not about bikes)

Unlike our other cousin, the chimpanzee, who has been documented to practice infanticide and murder, the bonobo, apparently, makes very extensive use of sex to control intra and inter group conflicts and manage aggression.

Is this really so? An interesting New Yorker article asks. And a rejoinder.

The idea, of course, is that understanding the behavior of these apes helps us better understand our own nature.

Lake Sebu Ride (Aug 12)

It’s the ride, not the destination, riders often say. But some destinations are so inviting that we end up riding to them on a regular basis. Lake Sebu is such a destination. The Agilas have been riding to Lake Sebu at least once a year the past few years. That the roads to and back are first-rate (and that you can do the whole loop in a day) definitely adds to the enjoyment of the activity.

So last Sunday, Aug 12, 2007, the Agilas once again rode to Lake Sebu. The route took us from Davao to Digos, Makilala, Tulunan, Tacurong, Isulan, Lake Sebu, Marbel, Gen. Santos and back to Davao for a total of 480 kms.

Aside from enjoying the sights at Lake Sebu itself, the other highlight of the ride was the stretch of roads at the Sto. Niño and Norallah areas (around 5km after Isulan going towards Surallah and before turning right at the junction going to Lake Sebu) where the Agilas really twisted the bikes' throttles to the max. (I still have to verify whether it was side cover or bits of chrome(!) that peeled off Daniel’s bike when he zipped through these roads.)

Thanks to Ohmar for providing the geography information.

Una señora encantadora de México

The Agila Riders and the Libikers played host to Mexicana Gabriela Enrigue (the tisay standing besides Mabel) last July 28, 2007. I didn’t quite get the reason why she was in Davao but Yvette tells me she is an intern at the International Institute of Rural Reconstruction (IIRR) in Silang, Cavite. The internship apparently is a requirement of a Masteral Program she is pursuing at UC Berkeley.

It was rather a pity Roy wasn’t around to exchange Spanish phrases and curses with Gabriela. Too, the boys were constantly distracted by the scantily clad singers of Let’s Gig, so the mildly difficult task of maintaining a running conversation with Gabriela fell mostly to the ladies.

Ohmar had the privilege of having Gabriela ride pillion on his bike when we transferred to Bo’s Coffee. One lucky boy, indeed.

Happy birthday Joy

Joy, Roy Garcia’s better half, celebrated her 24th birthday last Sunday, Jul 29 with the Agilas (and their better halves, too). Cooperative weather, stomach-filling merienda, brain-relaxing alcohol, smallish talk, hyper-active kids, warm friends made for an easy, lazy Sunday afternoon. Off-key in-house and neighborhood singers were the minor, but tolerable, irritants that blemished what could have been a perfect, perfect celebration.

Happy birthday Joy.

Trip to the Sunga's Fishpond

It seems that a group of Agilas went and visited the Sunga's fishpond in Panabo last July 27. I am sure they had a great time in the sun and gorging all the milkfish they would ever want. Now, when would we have the crabs and shrimps, Sir Daniel?