Fulfilling a Dream | We’re Going Cycling!
I’ve always wondered what it’s like to ride in a pro peloton. It’s no secret, I’ve been “slowly” immersing myself in the world of cycling for the past couple of months.. and it hasn’t been easy!
In all the cycling races that I joined, I always end up getting dropped as soon as the pack speeds up. The result? I always do an I.T.T. the entire race! “Mas masarap pa triathlon talaga! Maraming kausap sa bike!” is what I always say. Which is weird because drafting is not allowed in triathlons. In cycling, you can draft all you want but the pace is just insane!
Like at least 80% of the worlds population, my cycling idol is Lance. I became an instant fan too of Normann Stadler when he won the Ironman World Championship using his uber biking skils. It’s been said that the Ironman is always won on the run. Stadler proved them wrong. I always had a knack for uber Ironman bikers (except maybe Lieto).
Though my biking skills is far from the elite and top age-groupers, I always like to think that biking is my best discipline when it comes to triathlon. It’s where I’m most comfortable. It’s where I feel at home.
This April 14 to 17, I’ll get to tick another checkbox on my bucketlist. I, along with triathletes Andrew Chinalpan and Janice Tanada, got the opportunity of a lifetime and will join Team Mail and More at the most prestigious cycling event in the Philippines. Le Tour de Filipinas 2012!
What is Tour de Filipinas you ask? To summarize, its a brutal 4 day / stage cycling event. It’s where the who’s who (excluding us) of Philippine cycling elite compete. To get a feel of the race, check out the map!
Even if I severely lack training (disclaimer #1), I know how rare this opportunity is and I’m not silly enough to let this pass. Honestly, I don’t know what will happen to me but it’s not everyday that you get to live your dream. I’ve been training non-stop ever since I got invited and I hope that, that will be enough to let me cross the finish line.
Like my favorite saying goes, “you miss 100% of the chances that you don’t take”.
Make no mistake, this will hurt. A WHOLE DAMN LOT. Maybe that’s where I’ll be able to use my experience being a triathlete. Triathlete’s, if anything, are known for their craziness, mental sickness (yup, if you do Ironmans you’re not normal!), and ability to endure a whole lot of pain.
I don’t know what will hurt more. Doing an Ironman or Tour de Filipinas. In an Ironman, after a 180k bike, you’ll still do a marathon. In the tour, you’ll average around 110k per stage. Yeah, that’s shorter than an Ironman, but for 4 days?? Not to mention the grand daddy finale of the tour, the final stage! (Check out the maps below to see the stage 4 route!)
Only one way to find out right? ;) Lets do this.
I’ll be writing about the event from day 1 to day 4. (If I’m still alive after each stage!) Plus I’ll be keeping you guys updated about the tour, and of course, about Team Mail and More! So stay tuned and please, please, please, pray for me and the rest of the team! Hoping for your prayers and support.
Next up, I’ll write about my BATTLE GEAR for the 4 day Tour de Filipinas. I’ll be needing every trick in the book known to triathletes to make sure that, God willing, I’ll be able to finish the race.
Thank you to Jojo Lontok, for this wonderful opportunity.
More race info :
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
