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National Bike Day and the Hell Ride on Edsa

November 26, 2014 6 comments
National Bike Day

A gathering of the tribes

I like long solo rides or epic rides with a small group. I like rides up in the mountains where the view and the fresh air make it worth the effort. These are the kinds of rides I usually do—the kind of bike rides I really enjoy.

But I also see the value in joining critical mass rides or CMRs. These are gatherings of hundreds, and sometimes thousands of bikers to ride on streets normally claimed by cars and other motorized vehicles. I believe that biking should not just be a means for having good, clean fun outdoors; it should also be a means for keeping the outdoors good, fun, clean and free from toxic suffocating oily halitosis that seems to perpetually choke our cities. And yes, I believe the urban landscape is also part of the great outdoors.

As a former tibak from Peyups, I also like the idea of thousands of cyclists taking over the streets to demonstrate their collective power. Last Sunday, November 23, cyclists from all over Metro Manila joined the first National Bike Day (NBD). Thousands more joined them in the provinces in a nationwide push to promote cycling as a viable means of urban transport, and to pressure the government to make the roads safer for cyclists.

Interestingly though, it was also on this day that Kara and I found out first hand just how unsafe Metro Manila’s most well-known road is for bikers. Calling Edsa unsafe is putting it very mildly.  Para kang nakikipagpatintero kay kamatayan is more like it.  Read more [+]

IFmove: did Apple design this folding bike?

October 23, 2014 Comments off
IFmove Folding Bike

The IFmove is the kind of bike that would get Jony Ive’s thumbs up

Folding bikes have an offbeat geeky coolness to them. One minute you’re happily riding one, and the next minute your ride is neatly tucked away in a small corner barely taking up any space. A folding bike could fit in the trunk of your car, or a small closet, and you can even carry them with you on the train or bus.

But folding bikes are not for everybody. Their eccentric looks may attract people who like offbeat and weirdly cool stuff, but their quirky designs don’t really appeal to a larger audience. They represent the engineer’s function over the designer’s form. Most folding bike enthusiasts I know will agree with me on this and say beauty is relative.

However, sometimes something comes up which wonderfully messes up the order of things. Earlier this month, Glorious Ride Bike Shop lent me a foldie whose appeal went beyond its geeky ability to morph. The IFmove bike from Pacific cycles is not just a great folding bike; it is a sleek bicycle that attracts curious and envious eyeballs from bikers and non-bikers alike. This thing is a fine looking machine. If most folding bikes were Androids, the IFmove stands out like an iPhone. Makinis. Maangas. Read more [+]