Local bikers launch ‘tour de Mountain Province’

By Francis B. Degay

BONTOC, Mountain Province -- Some 27 mountain bikers from Mountain Province braved the scorching sun as they tracked a distance of approximately 20 km on July 29.  

Dubbed You Only Live Once (YOLO),  the activity was held to commence the start of planning and preparation of a bigger event called Tour de Mountain Province.

The route was the Bontoc-Tabuk national road that started from the Office of the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) situated at Poblacion, Bontoc to Ampawilen, Poblacion, Sadanga then back to Tabrak, Anabel, Sadanga as the finish line.

The event was coordinated by the local chapter of the PRC of  Mountain Province chapter headed by Robert Pangod in coordination with Billy Regaspi, a seasoned local mountain biker and trail runner and organizer of several mountain biking events in the past.

Apart from the local bikers were three lowland biking enthusiasts, including Mark Ruiz, a young budding cyclist from La Union, who came to join the race and bond with the local bicyclists.

Milo Estayo and Joyce del Socorro were from the Philippine Airforce team. Both had been receiving championship medals in the past  nationwide biking competitions. In the previous mountain cycling contests here in this capital, the duo came to give moral support and tips on mountain biking.

All the participants enjoyed pedaling their bicycles as they trailed the long and snaking murky Chico river, several patches of aesthetically built rice terraces and thickly forested mountains.   

According to Pangod, the proceeds of this activity shall be integrated to the funds for the Blood Samaritan Program of the PRC-Mountain Province chapter.

The winners of the adult male category were Leni Chaluyen, 1^st, Darwin Fagsao-2^nd, and Jason Bagni-3^rd, while in the male junior category were Jeremiah Aswige-1^st, Sean Sacgaca-2^nd , and Ephraim Degay-3^rd .

In the female division, Deidre Fabaan was automatically proclaimed  as the 1^st because she was the only female who registered and joined.

Special awards were given to Rhey Jay Cadio and Francis Degay as the youngest and oldest bikers, respectively.

Meanwhile, the proposed Tour de Mountain Province will be open to all mountain biker associations and individuals nationwide. The event is tentatively scheduled on December 28, 2018. The route shall follow the western Mountain Province loop. The start shall be from Bontoc-Sagada-Besao- Tadian- Bauko-Sabangan-back to Bontoc.

The funds to be generated from the sports episode shall be used for the programs in disaster preparedness and blood Samaritan of the PRC in Mountain Province.

The details of this affair shall be circulated in the social media and print media after the schedule shall have been finalized.