Motorbykle – Cynthia Alexander

(I watched Cynthia perform at Kanto bar about 2 weekends ago. Dusted off her old CDs and rediscovered that she had a song (tenuously) related to riding. Obviously, the song is not about heavy metal thunder racing in the wind nor about firing all the guns at once and exploding into space. Nor does one think these thoughts while zipping at 100 kph. But alone in a bar at night, after riding on a Sunday all by your lonesome, well, one may get to rummage through the mind and think…)

we barely survive the abuses
we inflict upon ourselves
we never mean to be unkind
the colors leave us blind

well we get what we deserve
and we pay for what we get

here is the game and here is the cycle
while I ride my motorbykle
Ride

we brave the accusations
& stand on burning bridges
blame it all on weakness
& crucify our innocence

well we get what we deserve
& we pay for what we get

here is the game
and here is the cycle
while I ride my motorbykle

now we have come
to our hi-ways' end
run along now & carry on

& embrace the changes
sanctify this distance
we're certified experienced
to do it all again

but we get what we deserve
& we pay for what we get

here is the game and here is the cycle
while I ride my motorbykle
Ride

Brigada Eskwela Part 2

During Sir Boy’s birthday celebration last May 30, word was received that ABS-CBN Davao was asking the club’s support in helping students of the Circiaco Mariano Elementary School. We were informed that most of the students of this school were children living around the vicinity of the old garbage dumpsite at the Diversion Road.

So at Sir Boy’s instigation, the hat was passed around, and the Agilas (and other guests at the party) were able to raise enough money to buy school supplies for one hundred pupils. Roy even solicited support from Agilas who were not present at the party and also did the leg work in purchasing the school materials.

The donation was made during the first day of school, June 1, and was aired on ABS-CBN’s morning program “Maayong Buntag, Mindanao.”

Agilas Join Philippine Eagle Week Motorcade

It was only fitting that the Davao Agila Riders join the motorcade launching the Philippine Eagle Week last June 4, 2009. The motorcade was organized by the Philippine Eagle Foundation, the only action-oriented organization focused on saving the Philippine eagle and its habitat. In 1992, the Foundation successfully produced the first Philippine eagle hatched and bred in captivity. Since then, the foundation has been able to hatch and breed numerous eagles. It has also expanded its work to include restoring the natural habitats of the eagle in the Philippines.

The motorcade started at 8:00 AM in Magsaysay Park and ended at the Philippine Eagle Center in Malagos.

Pictures please.

Brigada Eskwela

The Davao Agila Riders joined the Honorable Councilor Mabel Sunga-Acosta and her staff in a Brigada Eskwela activity last May 22, 2009 at the Gov. Duterte National High School in NHA Bankal.

Not only did the club contribute money to buy paint, hollow blocks and other materials, officers and members themselves helped paint the school buildings and build the school’s fence.

The Agilas see that being part of Brigada Eskwela is an expression of the club’s civic responsibilities.

The activity was covered by the Mindanao Daily Mirror.

Zest Air Sucks, Really Sucks

As I mentioned in a previous post, the Agilas took the Zest Air early morning flight from Davao to Manila last May 8 en route to the National Motorcycle Clubs convention in Baguio.

The flight to Manila was pleasant and uneventful. The stewardesses were dressed more formally (and more attractively) than those of Cebu Pacific and I deplaned thinking that we were lucky - I had a good deal (we had availed of the promo prices) and that Zest Air was a decent airline.

Man, was I wrong.

The flight back to Davao was scheduled at 4 o’clock Tuesday morning. Most Agilas decided to drink and talk the night away; I had a much abbreviated night’s sleep. We left Ma’am Mercy’s house in Quezon City around 2 o’clock and, on two taxis, headed towards the old Domestic Terminal.

The security and check in queues were quite long, but I didn’t mind. Everybody was thinking of getting an hour and a half of sleep during the flight, having a tummy-filling breakfast in Davao then snoring the day away.

Around 3:45 AM, with no advice to board the aircraft given, I guessed that there was something wrong. Then word got around that the flight had been postponed to 5:00 o’clock. Ok, flights get delayed. No big deal.

After an hour, we were advised the flight was postponed to 6:00 o’clock. We should have been in Davao having breakfast during that time.

By 6:00 o’clock, we were told that the flight was to be postponed to 7:00 o’clock. Tempers were now starting to get frayed; there was no supervisor from Zest Air to officially tell us what the real score was, only an announcement from the public address system that the flight was delayed and they were still waiting for clearance from “maintenance”. By this time, those who haven’t slept tried sleeping on the chairs. I borrowed Sir Ping’s sleeping bag and slept in one corner of the waiting area.

By 7:00 o’clock, you guessed it, we were told that the flight would be postponed to 8:00 o’clock. I think around this time, we were asked to queue for mush they claimed was breakfast. I ate it simply because I was hungry. Still no ranking employee from Zest Air to explain the real reason why the flight was delayed and what they were doing about our plight.

Eight o’clock and were told (no surprise) that the flight would be delayed to 9:00 AM. We now learned the darned airline just had two large aircraft; the flight-worthy one had started ferrying passengers around 5:00 AM. We (and all the other flights that were to use this aircraft) had to wait. And for four hours we had waited for the plane to get fixed.

Remember during all time, it was a poor, harassed low-level employee in the Zest Air counter who had to face the ire of visibly disgruntled passengers. No higher-level officer showed up to explain the situation and to calm down the passengers.

Nine o’clock and word passed around that we would be flying on another airline. Five hours to decide that their plane was busted.

They jam-packed us to buses which headed towards Terminal 2. Well at least, we were moving. Bad jokes about going back to Davao on a bus. During the hot, 20 minute ride, somebody wondered aloud about our baggage.

When we reached Terminal 2, we knew. Our baggage was strewn all over the sidewalk! You had to search, look, and grab your baggage. There was nobody from Zest Air to assist the elderly who might have trouble getting the baggage. And nobody to stand over and watch over the baggage (the previous bus loads already had retrieved their baggage and were now near the entrance of Terminal 2 Building). And nobody and no system to check if the baggage you got was really yours.

Now we waited in the area just in front of the main entrance to the Terminal 2 Building. In around 20 minutes, two employees from Zest Air started shouting out names and handing tickets to passengers who were to take the Philippine Airlines flight to Davao. It now seems that not all passengers could be accommodated on this PAL flight. And, you guessed it, we lucky streak held.

So we dragged our baggage and boarded another bus bound for Terminal 3. Good thing, there were guys who helped us load our baggage to the bus because there were people now approaching the breaking point of their patience.

We were handed tickets and did not go through the normal boarding procedure of Cebu Pacific. We were told that somebody would carry and take care of our luggage. We were too tired to think and took their word of it. By this time, it was 12 noon, and we were hungry. We stopped by one of the stalls to buy some food but a Cebu Pacific employee told us to hurry, so we walked quickly to the boarding area and finally seated ourselves in the Cebu Pacific flight to Davao.

I think I slept for most part of the flight. We arrived in Davao at 2 o’clock in the afternoon tired, hungry and eight hours late.

Agilas Fly to MC Convention

Dreading another awful encounter with the biker-unfriendly roads of Luzon, the Agilas decided early March to forgo riding to Baguio on motorcycles to attend the 15th Annual Convention of the National Federation of Motorcycle Clubs and, instead, take the plane to Manila and from there ride a van to Baguio - which was a good decision because the convention dates coincided with powerful typhoon Emong’s visit to the Philippines and Baguio ran smack on the typhoon’s path.

So, on May 8, 2009, the Agilas boarded the Zest Air’s morning flight from Davao to Manila, had a delicious lunch of hot goat viands in Quezon City (on the recommendation of Ferdie) and soon were off the road to Baguio in the dry comfort of two vans (thanks Sir Ping and Ma'am Mercy) while we saw groups of riders braving the intermittent rains that were still following typhoon Emong out of the country.

We stayed in an inn recommended by Sir Boy and looked forward to enjoying the Convention.

The Convention itself was good by Luzon standards. Aside from a small number of table placed in the center of the convention hall, everybody had to sit in chairs 20 or so deep, arranged on the three sides of the center area (where the tables were) and elevated like the ones in movie houses. So you had to hold the bad food they served on one hand while you tried to eat it (the same food they also mercifully supplied us the next evening.)

While proceedings were taking place inside the Convention Center, there was an area outside where booths were setup displaying and selling motorcycle merchandise. On the area’s front was a stage where a band comprised of lady singers in shorts played. Guess where the Agilas opted to spend their time?

The organizers produced a nice souvenir program, though.

The Agilas explored Baguio’s environs (which, it seemed, had deteriorated since my last visit about 15 years ago.) We had more fun drinking, eating and swapping made-up stories in our inn. Baguio’s cool weather, of course, made the drinking really enjoyable.

We left Baguio early Sunday morning for Manila and went directly to Antipolo for dinner at (forgot-his-name; muscular type with a Mickey Mouse tattoo on his arm) and had fun imbibing the beers and eating the delicious food prepared. Exhausted, we then settled in Maam Mercy’s house in Quezon City for the night.

The next day and night were spent exploring the fun things Quezon City had to offer.

Agilas Join Bloodletting Activity

The Davao Agila Riders, together with various private and government organizations (special mention goes to members of the police and military) joined Councilor Mabel Acosta’s bloodletting activity last April 17, 2009 at the NCCC Mall in Matina.

The bloodletting is on its seventh year and is done during the anniversary of Councilor Acosta’s popular radio show “Mabel at Your Service”.

The very-well participated activity (there was a very long queue of blood donors that, I think, they ran out of collection bags) was made possible through the assistance of the Red Cross and nursing students from San Pedro College.

Congrats to Ma’am Mabel and Chief-of-Staff Yvette for organizing the activity.

Getting out of the Blogging Rut

Since this homesick soul came back to Davao a little over two months ago, no new entries have been posted in this blog, creating the impression that nothing has been happening with the Davao Agila Riders since. Of course, that is obviously not true.

The culprit is this slob who has been remiss in his duties. The usual excuses are hereby being offered: too much alcohol, too much work, too many night outs, having no vigorous physical exertion resulting in a feeling of malaise. But the real reason is really one of sheer laziness.

But a polite nudge from Ma’am Mercy seems to be enough to shame this lazybones back to some semblance of activity.

Entries describing the major activities of the Agilas the past two months will be posted in a short, short while. Promise.