The First Padyakera Post #excitedmuch

Finally I decided to focus on blogging about my real passion: biking!

My name is Beth and I am a Pinay Padyakera. I started biking in 2012 with a big folding bike group. It was mainly for weight-loss and leisure purposes, but later I discovered that there is more than just that. I met great friends, experienced adventures and made me happy in general. For this post lemme share to you how it all began -starting with my first bikes.

Fasthoff

My first bike was a size-20, 6-speed, China-made Street Cruiser folding bike, we bought in a local bike store in Makati. I named him after a favorite US client I worked for. It was not a durable type as it was heavy and costs more on repairs after each ride. The only thing I liked about this is that it has a child seat on the frame. I sold this out to my brother-in-law after a few months.

 Our family bike upgraded: New saddles (replaced child saddle with long seat 
for comfort, removing the kiddie handle bar), plastic fenders and added barrend. 
Also replaced rusty rear carrier, nuts, bolts, washers and cables. Derailleur set also repaired.

Tiny

Tiny was a size 16, single speed, Japan-surplus bike I bought from a friend. It was bit in need of a make over so it was my first time to actually tried to dismantle, repaint and restore any bike -all by myself. I was able to take this to a long ride Makati-Montalban, Rizal and back. But since it has limited speed, it was not that long when I decided to sell this to another friend.

 Click the here to view the whole album with instructions.

 Oriang

Oriang was my super best girlfriend! We enjoyed a year adventures with more than 500kms mileage. She is a size-20, 6-speed, very durable Japan surplus bike I also bought through Facebook. I named her after a heroine, Gregoria De Jesus, wife of Andres Bonifacio and the Lakambini of Katipunan. It was because of her brown color and durability -Pinay na Pinay! I had the first century ride with her the next day after purchasing as well as most of my great rides, I had with her. Then, I soon outgrew her as she is a bit heavy on uphills. I treated her like something with a personality or a soul, so I cannot just sell her off. Just recently, I decided to give it as a gift to my own best friend, Rinna.

Athena

After 2 years of folding biking, I thought of trying out a Minivelo -a compact type of a road bike. Also got this from a Facebook seller. I named her Athena since the bike is a My Pallas Athene brand, a size-20 half suspension mini-MTB Minivelo. She has the largest crank 53T I ever had, 7-speed with slick tires, courtesy of a friend. Right now she is my ultimate ride. I was able to bring her up to Tagaytay and endured a century ride. The photo below was from the seller himself. I just added the handle grips.

Unlike most bikers, I do not keep more than two bikes at a time. I am pretty much kuripot, so I am not afflicted with folderitis or upgraderitis. Or the urge to upgrade and pimp out bikes. As a single mom, I am more about the joys of biking and being with friends. More stories to follow about my adventures with Athena. Cheers to biking!