The Matuko Point Afternoon Ride

It's great to be back in Batangas. I never realized how much I missed the biking and the people until I went there last weekend to talk about this year's EBD Barangay Tour.

We arrived in Batangas City on Saturday afternoon at around 3:30. We had my first generation Mavic Crossmax wheelset installed in Mike's bike and then, together with Totoy Bibo of the BMB, set off for a 39-kilometer afternoon round trip ride to Matuko point.

Except for a few meters, it's surprising to see that the bayside road are all cemented. Before, after the first climb, the roads were so rough that our bikes would be covered with dust by the time we got back. Now a road bike can climb up to Matuko Point with very minimal hassle.

The course is still as scenic as it was the first time I rode it. The weather was great and there were only a few vehicles on the way. The final climb was still a killer. I had to stop at the foot of the climb to rest before I crawled my way up. At the top, I was rewarded with a view of Batangas Bay - very nice, indeed.

Doing the ride, I came upon a realization - because of all the trail riding I've been doing, my leg muscles aren't used to pedaling longer distances anymore. Before I can just spin and do a good tempo on the way back, probably averaging 25 kilometers per hour at about 80 to 90 revolutions per minute. But as I was doing that last weekend, I felt my muscles slowly stiffening so I had to slow down.

It was dark when we got back so there was no time for pansit as the group was ready to discuss the EBD race on the 24th. We only got to towel dry ourselves before the meeting started.

So how was it? Well, all things considered, everything went fine. Of course there was some debate on the age categories and opening it to non-locals, but after some explanation everyone was enlightened.

I'll be going back to Batangas this Saturday to ride the race course. Hope it's going to be as fun as the Matuko Point afternoon ride.