Going Around Chinatown: Binondo Route

There are a lot of things to discover in Binondo. From the food, trinkets to the Church: you can find the hustle and bustle of this old district in Manila awesome.

Areas of Interest:

• Escolta St.
• Plaza De San Lorenzo Ruiz
• Binondo Church

We tried this 24-hour budget-friendly Chinese food at Estero, Sabino Padilla St. A fellow Padyakera, Merl Ramos first brought us here and it is all worth the padyak! Try their frog legs, they are great! The food stalls line behind a row of establishments along Sabino Padilla St., so you will have to ask around to find the entrance to that hidden spot.

Binondo: Chinese New Year 2014

Where is Binondo?

Binondo lies on the heart of Old Manila. Banked by Pasig River; with Divisoria on the north, Tondo/Pier districts on the east, Quiapo on the west and Lawton-Intramuros on the south. The entry points will depend on where you are from, but the Jones Bridge  is the easiest when coming in from the south. From Las Pinas It is around 20kms so that makes it 40kms vice versa.

Route: Naga Rd (Pulanglupa)- Quirino Ave to Tambo Paranaque (You can opt to detour to Don Galo-Fisherman's Warp, under the Coastal Rd Bridge going to MOA)-

From Tambo Paranaque turn left to NAIA RD going to Uniwide Costal Mall, cross Coastal Rd Intersection then turn right to Diosdado Macapagal Avenue (you can choose to stop over by Jetti Station) or bike straight ahead to reach CCP.

From CCP: Bike along Roxas Bldv, either via bikes lanes of  Baywalk or the service road till you reach Rizal Park. After Rizal Park, cross the Padre Burgos-Roxas Ave Intersection til you reach Anda Circle. Turn right going inside Intramuros (Soriano St). Take Riverside Dr leading to Jones Bridge. Down the bridge is the entrance to Binondo, the Chinatown Arc.

Here is the route map I made:

Click to see map: Las Pinas-Binondo Route

SUFB TAGAY-Tay Ride 100kms

One cloudy, drizzling Sunday morning, Feb 23, 2014. 31 bikers: with SUFB, LPEDAL and other guest bikers took on the challenge of 100kms from Zapote, Las Pinas City to Tagaytay in Cavite. This is the first SUFB major ride I am able to organize myself.

Route: Molino-Paliparan-Silang-Mahogany Market.
Here is the map:

Post by Maribeth Brown.

The route was considered 85%-90% "patag" with a short assault at Silang, going up the highway. The entire route was safe enough for biking as there are fewer vehicles, especially in Paliparan area. The only motor-heavy areas are the town propers in Molino. The ride going up took 5 hours on recon, 6 hrs during the main ride. The downhill ride back was super fast like your were running a motorbike!

A few points in downhills: 
Downhills are more dangerous than uphills! It is because you get to sometime loose your control over the handle bars, the "lula" factor and the unpredictable obstacles you can meet as you speed down. Make sure to check your brakes. Your gears must be set on the highest, (usually the smallest gear your bike has). And most importantly hold on your handlebars steady as you make a descend.

Two weeks before the main event, I with 6 other bikers did a recon ride first, to check if newbie riders can take it. It turns out to be challenging but not THAT hard. This one was taken after the Bulalo lunch at Mahogany Market.

with SUFB contingent: James, Ryan, Alwin, Andy, Jessa and Edvie

So with enough mental, physical and bike preparation, fellow bikers met us in two meetup points: Jolibee Zapote and Molino Rd Cor Molino Bldv in Dasmarinas Cavite. We started rather late. Met some minor problems like flat tire, sprained bikers and some minor mishaps on the road, but all of those are deemed normal in major rides.

3 Things I learned in this ride as an organizer:

• Set the time early, like 4am! Bikers often come in late.
• Make sure to have bikers do their practice rides before an assault like this. Iwas pulikat. 
• Make sure to stick together so to avoid breaking the convoy and loosing track of other bikers.

This is my first time, so please bear with me ^_^

Check out our photos here!
All photos grabbed from Andy Dimaculangan, Robert James Yngente and Joey Salazar via Facebook.