Balamban Ride

Last weekend, I biked with friends Clyde and Roy. Our route... Talamban - Manipis - Toledo - Balamban - TransCentral Highway - JY Square, a 120-kilometer ride. Though this was not my first time to bike TCH, every ride is unique. For one, this is Clyde's and Roy's first time to climb up TCH and I get to see their faces and reactions as they conquer this dreaded uphill of Cebu, just as I remember my first time climbing it. I did a couple of interval training, and maintained spinning. The view from halfway the TCH has been exhilarating and rewarding, as always.

As I said, every ride is unique. Along the way back to Cebu, we passed through the site of the recent accident of the bus boarding a number of Iranians. This was a very tragic accident. I've seen the wreckage and it's so sad looking at the damage, I could just imagine how the people inside trembled in fear as the accident was taking place. The area is after all very accident-prone -- a cliff lies midway the downhill curve. The bus fell about 40-feet down the cliff. This was already pulled up atop the cliff when we got there. Down the cliff, there were still a few things left from the bus like its cushioned seats, stool, umbrella. There was a shoe beside the bus. I thought, this once belonged to someone. This event got me thinking that things could happen in a flick of a finger. We left the area with a prayer.