Actual Experiences of Riders
on Tollway Service Roads and Alternative Routes

MacArthur Highway hell
It started raining yesterday afternoon and believe it or not I can't resist riding in the rain (I am English after all). So on a whim I thought I would nip up to Angeles and catch up with a few friends. I called up a buddy of mine and persuaded him to come along.

As it was raining I thought I would take the fast, but debatably illegal route via the tollway and we made it from San Lorenzo village to Angeles in 1 hour flat.

Whilst having a few beers in the Hotel the topic of the expressway ban came up and I realised that it had been over 2 years since I used the MacArthur Highway and so a plan was made to come back that way and see what all the fuss was about. The next morning we rose early nipped over to Subic for Lunch and then set off for home at 3.30pm.

It was an education:-

The powers that be have used the excuse that the road conditions on the expressway need to be improved to make them safe for motorbikes.

This would seem to imply that as we are allowed to use MacArthur highway then the road conditions must be safe for motorbikes. WRONG, in many places the road is so delapidated that it would be a challenge for a KTM or other dual sport bike let alone 800lbs of Harley-Davidson.

The traffic was horrendous and there were numerous near death, wheels locked experiences to relieve the boredom.

It took almost 6 hours to get back and that was using all the tricks I've learnt in 24 years in the wind.

BUT... Every cloud has a silver lining. We stopped for cofee at Jolibee in San Fernando and as we were filthy decided to sit on the bikes in the car park so as not to put the customers off their food.
As is the case in this land of smiles, a crowd quickly gathered to have a look at the bikes and the strange diesel encrusted aliens that were piloting them.

The guys were amazed to learn that we were going to have to use the MacArthur highway because of the Ban and asked what they could do to help.

MacArthur Highway I shall NOT return...

Baguio or bust (or should that be Baguio busted)
Hot damn! The ride was a mess with 63 bikes. Considering it didn't matter beans that there was no real occasion other that that people wanted to ride up to Bagiuo city through the highway.

The roads were so rough only an off road type motorcycle could get through at anything over 10kph!!! George plopped down in the mud because of it. The mud was so thick that if you tried to gas your bike over 2,000rpm you would slide your rear, much less try to brake with the front brake.

The the poor street lighting coupled with poor signage got people lost! At one point we had riders in 5 provinces (Bulacan, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, Pangasinan & Tarlac) at the same time. It sounds funny, but it was very trying. Ricky & I were the sweepers, but after being walked into by an IDIOT pedestrian and falling down because of it. I decided to travel in the middle of the pack. Ricky took the lead and said that Hacienda Luisita was not in Tarlac city, but beyond it.

Of course being a dodo, I followed him. DOH! We departed Manila at 4:30am and got to Kennon at 12nn. What a nightmare, most of which would not have happened if we had passed the highway. We still had the normally bastard cars, buses and trucks playing with us trying to drive us off the roads, tricycles, jeeps and farm animals littering the roads with thier lumbering hulks.

I would not mind talking the PNCC & TRB head on a ride through the service road & Bulacan for them to appreciate the hazards we go through. Their reality does not match ours and how i wish they could see it through our eyes. Not a fast ride mind you, just at the speed limit.

Getting back to the topic at hand, we made it up to the city and stayed overnight. The ride home was fine except for 2 incidents, one where Angelo got a flat and separated form the group and Eric's Hexagon's fuel line got cut and we had to leave it. With the usual crap from the Bulacan roads, Joey also dropped his Hexagon in Bulacan courtesy of the mud & potholes again.

How do I get to work when I am banned from one road and the other is closed?
I live in Los Banos, Laguna and I always pass that bridge (see this page) whenever I use my bike to go to work (previously in Ortigas, now in Makati).

That bridge is the main link between Cabuyao and Calamba and all public transport, amongst others, ply that route. It was closed to vehicular traffic because the bridge needed serious repair. At first there were only road blocks and signs. Motorcycles were allowed to pass provided the engines are turned off. I guess some motorists abuse (esp. late at night or when there's no police or traffic enforcers to monitor) so they decided to put up a fence where only pedestrians can pass.

Both ends of the bridge also became terminals (jeepneys and tricycles, pedicabs) which causes a lot of traffic.

The marketplace came up after the fence was installed because a lot of people pass that bridge. It's supposed to be illegal to put up stalls on such a place so it's very likely that cops or some people from the municipality are getting money from the stall owners to allow them to stay. Sigh...

I don't recall when the bridge was closed and when they put up that fence (sometime late last year I think). Some nice people put sand near the pedestrian walkways to make it a little easier for motorcycles to get on the pedestrian walkway and pass. Unfortunately, it gets eroded when it rains.

I also don't know when the hell they're going to fix the bridge. It's election period and I know there's a ban on infrastructure projects (which I think is bull considering that the bridge is part of the national hi-way).

So how the hell do we get home?
Our group hasn't ridden to the south since bikes were not allowed in the coastal road. Finally we decided to do so since one of our members will be competing at the BRC (Batangus racing Circuit) as a novice.

We departed at 5am to evade traffic in the service road and by good God!!, a bridge somewhere in Laguna is closed for vehicles and a makeshift market was right in the middle of it. It took us some time before we can cross such bridge with steel fences in the middle. We practically have to carry our bikes to get passed. (these bikes weigh between 400 and 900lbs)

After watching our buddy get his "baptism of fire" in BRC, we decided to take the expressway a la "Houdini". We did the tollways as safely and as courteously as we can not wanting to prove them right that we are a bunch of irresponsible punks. Guess what the tollway patrols did?

They stopped all the vehicles before the Bicutan exit and apprehended us as if were a bunch of escaped criminals. I explained that we have no choice coz the service road in Laguna is not passable but we pleaded on deaf ears and they gave us tickets for disregarding traffic signs and reckless driving!

Reckless driving??? Can u believe that? this is too much!!! too much....