Traveling on a budget with legs as my gears

Last year, I was eyeing the first Tagaytay XC Challenge which was supposedly my first XC race, but because I was adjusting to my new work, I wasn't able to make time for it. This year, because I've already resigned, I was able to join but somehow still didn't do some serious training, on top of carrying the extra 10lbs I gained over the holidays. Jollibee pa more! Lechon pa more! Extra rice pa more! 😅😟

I turned miself into a meme

So, how did I do on the race? Meh. Not so well. I kinda gave up before it even started because it was taking sooo long! All the bad reviews from the first Tagaytay XC Challenge seemed to prove true; I was starting to regret my presence there haha as things began to feel illegitimate. Our category, Women Open, was supposed to be the first to go. It was also supposed to start at 7AM but it didn't start until past 8AM. The organizer, Prince, kept holding the start for a ~safer~ road, announcing "Okay, na-hold na ata ['yung mga sasakyan] sa baba." One participant said, "Ata? So hindi pa siya sigurado?" I grinned as I heard it. Same sentiments, bruh. We were finally able to start when a participant said "Hindi talaga mauubos 'yung mga sasakyan na umaakyat kahit i-hold pa sa baba, kasi may McDo diyan." (referring to the McDonald's not one kilometer away from where we were). Prince realized this and decided to let us go, reminding everyone, "Basta mag-ingat na lang! Lalo na mga babae!" We ended up being the last category to go along with the men ages 50 years old and above. Another change of plan, which I didn't think happens, if I was to relay professionalism at giving events. Aren't these things supposed to be fixed, I mused to myself. Though, I wasn't surprised that there was another change since we didn't even start at the designated time. Everything looked and felt like it was done under the last minute. In line with that, here are some things I learned from participating in another cross-country race, particularly, in Tagaytay XC Challenge 2:

The first 6 finishers in our category out of, I think, 10

Be assertive, not rude. I was with the champion of our category, Tat Cobrador, and seeing her race was really something. We were chatting a little during the race and the way she advances was a watchful. She was assertive about going past another rider who's slower than her, but never rude: casually announcing her presence to let the rider know that she will advance. I'm not good at that. When there's a rider in my way, I can't always bring myself to tell them to move. What I do is I wait for them to feel like an obstruction, they move on their own, and then I advance. As a slow trail rider myself, I take the initiative of being out of a faster rider's way, so I just feel like it's unnecessary for me to say anything. Also, I'm thinking I might try to go past them by making them move but then I'll just end up blocking them, y'know?

Be considerate to others. Even as a newbie in racing, I believe that I know a thing or two about race etiquette. I certainly am sure that deliberately blocking the trail path is not something you should do. There was a part in the race where I had to dismount and walk my bike because this kuya was sitting at the trail path along with his bike. He was being accompanied by some other people; they see that there's a rider (me) coming, yet they remain to just be there. They only thought of moving him when I gave them a really demeaning look as I was passing. "Tulungan kita dito paps para hindi ka nakaharang." "Oo, tsaka itabi natin bike mo paps." It seems that the kuya had a cramp. Even so, that doesn't give you the right to be in the way. I don't know, if that were me, I would immediately take myself and my bike out of the way as it would be a great hassle to others and quite embarrassing for me to put them under such. And when I know that I'm going to have to take a break and dismount from my bike, before I do so, I go to the side first as to not obstruct the path in case other riders are just behind me. Me, thinking that this is the universal way, was once again wrong. There were several times at the trails during the race when I had to completely stop because the rider in front of me stopped as well. What is wrong with y'all? Then, they apologize for being in the way. I would understand it if it's something that can't be helped, but what's worse is, they actually stay there, hydrate, and do whatever the fuck they stopped for. Why don't you move to the side, moron!

Listen to your own voice. During the first climb, there was a rider who kept telling Tat and I to relax, "Relax lang, ne. Malayo pa! Mahabang ahon pa 'yan." What's admirable with Tat is that she didn't relax at all. She had her game face on and rode past more than ten male riders. I stopped tailing her after a while to catch my own breath and actually relax. After I finished taking a break, I made a short goal to get to a point in my head past my favorite spot whenever I trackread the route. There was a lot of riders who took a break there, so there's no more space for me even if I gave in to the temptation to stop. I heard one man say, "Wala siyang hinto hinto, oh!" Another replied, "Maabutan din natin 'yan. Lalakarin niya rin 'yan!" I was so insulted. Good thing with my new pair of Shimano M064 is that it's a pain to walk into, so I most certainly didn't do what that man predicted. I don't think they ever did get to me. I remember his face and I didn't see him until the awarding. Ultimately, it would have been better if I deafened my senses to the things that didn't help me with finishing. Even voices that weren't real anymore kept bothering me, ~Dapat pinang-buffet mo na lang 'yung 700php mo!~ Shut up, brain! Just keep pedaling so you can go home.

Surround yourself with people who support you. I was on the verge of hiring a bandit–to ultimately yell at me when I'm slowing down and break the wind on flats. Tat best pronounced it when she said that podium finishes will not happen without a support crew. Just knowing that people believe in you is already a push in itself as opposed to people who expect you to place somewhere without injecting themselves in the process. Maybe some day I can meet and be a part of a group with the same goals and priorities as me. For now, I'm still gonna have to continue this crazy journey alone.

I finished at 5th place

When I first did a trackread, I was not only lost (in the literal sense)... I was also discouraged because there is no way I will be able to finish with my then-setup. I didn't have much training either other than my hard-to-faze, religious Jollibee diet. (Because maintaining a competitive appetite is my winning attribute ✨).

November 12, 2016: Finished 14th place in my category! | Shot by Chester Vergara

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I registered for the race out of coercion, chatting with one of my first biker friends one measly day. It was really something that I was skeptical to push through with after seeing what I'm up against: mud, mud, and more mud! I thought to myself, This was a mistake! as I tend to chicken out on slippery, downhill tracks.

(See my first trackread here).

But I'm glad that I showed up! Ditching the race altogether would've been something I'd otherwise regret, especially because prior to even knowing about it, I had already filed two days of leave from work on the 11th and the 12th of November, so schedule wasn't going to be a problem. The only things that worried me were mostly my bike, the route, and my overall confidence in actually finishing.

Learning a thing or two

November 10, 2016: After Bey showed me how it's done, I tried it for the nth time and landed ...in one piece 😂 | Shot by Bey Puno

On Thursday, two days before the race, I went straight to Bey's house coming from work to originally do a second trackread since I'm not at all confident with the route. We had late lunch, chatted a lot (we haven't seen each other in a while), and then realized the trails will be closed by the time we get there so we ended up just practicing at our local trail in Filinvest, Alabang–my mother trail. ☺

She shared with me her best practices and gave me tips on how to be a better rider. Bey is probably the best girl friend you'll ever have in the cycling community. She will not back down from–nor is scared of–anything. She is stronger than most women, and sometimes even men, yet remains amazingly humble and kind. And you will never see or hear her engage in pointless discussions on and offline especially if it doesn't concern her. Our practice got cut short when my saddle acted up and kept on swindling every time the track got rough so we just hung around. (See activity here).

Oyasumi's Makeover

I had Oyasumi repainted in early September to help a friend earn a living. I'm all for supporting friends but to be quite honest, I didn't like how his work turned out. He knew it was lackluster and he still had the audacity to ask for extra [cash]. Some parts were even just covered with electrical tape, what a letdown. I respected this person and I hate the feeling of now dreading him because he has tainted that respect. I miss the authentic look that Oyasumi had too, and how merely seeing its color combination (black and lime green is my thing) already hints you that it's mine as many recognize me sporting a Saturn frame. It's not totally bad, though. I just didn't get my money's worth nor did it achieve the look that I wanted.

November 6, 2016: in the middle of my first and only trackread

Since this late summer, Oyasumi has had 9speed racer cogs with 7speed shifters and probably fake Ice Tech rotors with mechanical disc brakes. Scientifically, I'm seriously fucked. I didn't get paid until the day before the race itself so I wasn't able to upgrade my rig earlier than preferred. Talk about last minute.

November 11, 2016: the Before and After of my cogs

I upgraded almost everything! From fork (I got an Epixon several weeks back, though--my first major upgrade!), to groupset (Deore 2016), including wheelset with the exception of hubs, because Paulina's were the only ones carrying Origin8 in Cartimar, Pasay which were what I was looking for and they have doubled it at a shameless price of 5,000 pesos! Um, how about no? I didn't have time to check other bike shops from different areas as it was also raining that Friday (after a week of ritually sun-dancing just to somehow dry the trails!) so I settled with my old hubs since they were still working perfectly fine anyway. But the change of wheels were a must to endure my inevitable sliding in the mud come Saturday.
And I now swear by it! Buying a pair of Maxxis Crossmark was an incredibly excellent decision! It definitely did not disappoint. It will still slide on the extremely muddy part a bit, but I felt like I had more control on my bike with it as opposed to my over a year old pair of Maxxis Pace, which have likewise served me well. (See my upgrade ride here).

Ready. Set. Race.

Shots from here on out are by Chester Vergara unless stated otherwise

The day before the race, I was already with Chester who has always accompanied me to go [window] bike shopping, so I asked him if he wanted to come to Nuvali as well, where the race will take place. I am terrible at navigation/directions. Luckily, Chester knew how to get there by car so even if he didn't necessarily say yes, I forced him to come with me and become my personal Waze. 😂😂😂
I met up with my trackread buddies to make me feel secure because I didn't know where I was going next LOL. We had Jollibee for breakfast/pre-race fuel, and the horror! They apparently only serve garlic pepper beef from Mondays thru Fridays. 😞 I have my orders like this every time: garlic pepper beef, palabok with chicken, and Jolly hotdog (the Jolly hotdog serves as a dessert).

My trackread buddies, Kim and Niko

After eating, we did some laps until it was time to fall in line our respective starting queue.
We (women) were the last in queue. I didn’t know how to feel upon starting.
There was one part in the race where I overlooked the trail entry and the marshals had to get to me to tell me that I'm in the wrong way. Other than that, Bey was absolutely right when she told me "walang ligaw doon." (You won't get lost there). Even if there were some parts that I had yet to encounter, I still biked it with all my heart. I was openly frightened at the looks of the trail from my first trackread especially the slimy, steep descents. It turns out that I didn't have to bike it anyway. I only didn't pedal on portions that had traffic. Everywhere else that was clear where I used to dismount on my bike from, I didn't; and I think that's an achievement in itself. A personal progress that merits a celebration!

Photo by Marlon Rivera

After getting past traffic, the rest of the route was a game of persistence. It was unfortunate that my left shifter got detached 25-kilometers from the finish line, just when I was having fun actually applying what Bey taught me! I could have had the upperhand on the road had I only not gotten stuck in granny. My cogs were jumping as well due to the grass that squeezed into the spaces, so I couldn’t power up. I thought about forfeiting, thinking I had no chance. But I really want to be at least a finisher! Coach Anzai (SlamDunk) suddenly played in my head, “as soon as you give up, the game is lost for certain.” So I kept on going. Heat. Thirst. Exhaustion. I shrugged it off. I still couldn’t get over my newly bought shifters (as part of the groupset) detaching, but I appeased to myself, At least you’re not flat. And then 10 kilometers away, my saddle started acting up like last time. I couldn’t sit properly and the discomfort it induced took a toll on my speed on the uphill trails. But since it was just 10 kilometers away, I endured it. NO RAGRETS!

Alas! I finally finished!

One person asked for a photo with me and this is how it went~

Riz, picture tayo (Riz, let's take a picture)
*comes closer*
Amoy putragis na po ako (I reek)
Ok lang, hindi ako nahinga (I'ts okay; I'm not breathing)

Dismounting prematurely, ready to get my medal!!!!!!

(See my Nuvali Dirtweekend 2016 record).

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This was originally posted on my Wordpress account.