Thrills & Hopefull, No Spills

As there are no more islands within easy reach of where I'm stationed I've had to resort to alternative means of entertainment and as part of my fitness drive I've taken to cycling on a Sunday. This consists of waking up at 5:00am and getting my driver to drive me and my bike into the mountains, dropping me off and making my own way back again.

If you're wondering why it's so early, it's to escape the suffocating heat of midday, although with the recent tropical storms passing nearby that hasn't been so much of a problem.

The route that I use is almost a 3,000 ft descent to sea level so it's not exactly hard work. But then it's not all down hill coasting either. The first week I tried it I covered nearly 18 miles and only a quarter of that is the downhill rush.

Lush Mountain Terrain

And a rush is certainly what it is. It is exhilarating to feel the pull of gravity on such a steep slope with tight winding bends fringed with shear drops with largely unprotected edges. The feel of the cycle's brakes struggling to control the speed and buzz of acceleration when the brakes are released. Top speed the first week was a tad short of 40mph - it could have been faster but fears for my unprotected cranium, the lack of an ambulance service (never mind the possibility of an air-ambulance) and the thought of leaving a veneer of flesh from my knees, ankles and elbows forces me to keep my speed somewhat in check.

I always take a camera with the intention of capturing some of the scenery and local people but it rarely makes it out of my backpack and the journey is just one memory blur of passing mountain dwellings, people working in impossibly steep fields, grazing water buffalo, happy, smiling children, bewildered stares and friendly greetings of "Hey Joe".

View Across to Neighbouring Negros

The following week I decided to push the boundaries and went further into the mountains, dropping down into a valley and back up the other side. To start with it was a short lived rush down to the bottom of the valley and then the hard slog back up the other side to where the really long drop back down to the sea started. This section was impossibly steep and I could only manage it with a mixture of cycling and walking. All along the route are rows mountain shacks and houses engaged in a bit of free enterprise market gardening, with the side of the road being used as a nursery for all kinds of potted plants, shrubs, trees, orchids and flowers, which all helped to distract me from the pain in my legs as my muscles burned under the exertion.

Nearly 4 miles on and I was approaching the summit and was looking forward to the rapid descent but noticing the bike feeling sluggish I looked down to see I had a flat tyre! All this pain and no gain. I had the embarrassment of having to call my driver to come and rescue me. In the meantime I kept walking and pushing my bike, covering yet another 2 miles before he turned up. Whilst appreciating the workout in climbing to the summit I felt cheated by not being able to enjoy the descent.

Next time, I'll be taking a bicycle pump and a puncture repair kit.