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Deep Field Relaxation The web site of Clif Sanderson who is famous the world over for his healing, teaching and seminars. One of his most notable achievements was helping the chilren of Chernobyl. Clif is well known in Asia Sport Fishing Asia |
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Established in 2001 by bikers for bikers and the motorcycle community |
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Historical towns and the ubiquitous McDonald's (James) As we pull in to Vigan, my stomach is aching for lunch and relieved to see, a McDonald's right beside the Romanesque-gothic church right on the town center! I waste no time in ditching my bike and heading to the counter. As usual, the food tastes fantastic. It seems everyone feels the same way, as we soak up nutrients, liquids and air-conditioning in near-absolute silence. A few more minutes of air-conditioning and we step outside, gear up in the blistering heat and form up in the town square to pose for pictures in front of traditional kalesas that are as far removed from ordinary ones you see in Manila as a hand-made custom cruiser is from an off-the-shelf Harley. (Biboy) We headed to Vigan for lunch. Vigan is an interesting town with so much Spanish influence. Life revolves around the center plaza just like in most old towns in our country. Lunch then a few snapshots near the plaza, and were off again. (Rene) On the outside, Vigan looks like a typical large city in Luzon. There is traffic congestion compounded by one-way streets that does not seem to enhance the flow of traffic. Stupid tourists that we are, we rode into the town center going the wrong way towards the opposing traffic. Nobody seems to mind. We zoomed into the McDonalds to wolf down some burgers. After getting our fill, we posed in the central plaza across the church by parking our iron steeds in front of the animal version, the Kalesa. These horses do not show fear of motorcycles or any kind of vehicles, a true validation of their street experience. Ritchie sends an SMS. He and Charlie are ahead of us on their way to La Union. (James) After that, we're off to San Fernando, La Union. On the way out of town, we cross a beautiful river spanned by an equally beautiful bridge, that merits more photos. Pulling to the side of the road, Rene is cracked up by a mountain goat that dives off the curb railing, seemingly to oblivion˜but the goat reappears after scurrying along a 75-degree slope. Back on the road to San Fernando and after a quickie stop for grapes, the group is droning on for San Fernando. Some hours later, there is a bit more congestion now and you can definitely feel that we are making our way back to Manila. We stop for cold water and gas and a gas station and I share the texted minute-by-minute, blow-by-blow updates on the latest forum controversies that have been pouring in on my cell phone all afternoon. There's a lot of heated activity and controversy brewing while the bunch of us are simply out riding and having a great time. Ah, the things bikers do when they aren't out riding. The group, probably endowed with the kind of calmness and perspective that only comes with a good long ride, discusses the happenings briefly but shrugs it all off. Trivialities are meaningless when you have open road to cover with the promise of a shower, a clean change of clothes and a soft bed at the end. Fast Track to La Union
(Rene) As we fill our tanks, Jobo commented to Andrew that the pace is a little slow and we should speed up a bit to get to San Fernando early. Sometimes, telling a biker that he is slow has almost the same effect as questioning the state of his masculinity. Also, one rider's definition of slow could also be just right for others and Andrew's pace of 70-90kph is just right for me. Back on the road, Andrew gave Jobo what he requested by upping the speed another 10-20kph. It is the wrong time and the wrong place to go faster. Traffic congestion kept getting worse as we near San Fernando, it is already late in the afternoon and we are tired. Andrew showed us how fast he can go and we paid the price through jangled nerves and a number of close calls. We reached our destination in one piece, but stressed. Whew! Next time we want to speed, we'll do it in the morning. (Biboy) The ride to La Union was uneventful but was more stressful than the first two days. Jobo suggested earlier that we increase our pace. And Andrew went flying. There is a significant difference between the air buffeting you at 120 kph than 100 kph. At 100 you can still relax. But 20 kph more, I felt like I was on a wind tunnel. There were stretches were we reached at least 150 kph. By the time we reached La Union around 5 pm, Ann was really exhausted. (Andrew) I should have maintained the speed according to my judgment (based on opinion of majority) rather than by individuals. Safety of majority should be my motto. Not satisfying individual's wish. If you are in-group, you should behave and act as a united group. Once (last day of our trip) I was influenced by Jobo who wanted me to go faster. I increased the speed of the whole group. I should have asked him to go ahead of our group instead. Big mistake from my side.
(James) We mount up and make the last push into the heavy traffic San Fernando, which is an annoyingly great opportunity to relearn our Manila-traffic riding skills, in case the last 3 days of open road have spoiled us. The group separates into two as Andrew and Rene stay with me as I make a quick pit stop to load up on cash at one of the wife's branch offices. Linking up the guys proves to be a bit of a chore in heavy traffic, as it seems that we'd ridden right past them but only by a few hundred meters. Accommodations are inevitably settled and we all settle in for much needed showers and a clean change of clothes. (Rene) When Charlie and Ritchie reached San Fernando, they kept going by taking the Marcos highway all the way up to Bagiuo. No SARS to scare these two from having a good time on the twisties. Meanwhile, James and I tried to relieve some stress by cooling our bodies in the hotel swimming pool. In this setting, we talked about the politics, hidden agendas, personality conflict, colorful characters, differences in opinion and strategic initiatives that goes on in our motorcycle community in the Philippines. We have a business term in the U.S. for this type of conversation -Mental Masturbation. The discussion could be long or short, but nothing of long lasting substance comes out of it. The exchange is done just for the pleasure of doing it. (James) We slowly assemble at a table beside the crashing waves for dinner, drinks and a nostalgic review of the last few days' rides. It isn't quite over yet but the best part surely is, with only the last push home remaining. We debate the likelihood of encountering monster traffic, being that half of NLEX is closed and tomorrow is a holiday. The group is optimistic that with an early departure, we should be in Manila by about lunchtime.
Boys for Dinner
Dinner by the sea, crashing waves in the background and cold bottles of San Miguel in hand and good company all around, what more can we ask for? Ann and Biboy later joined us to make the team whole again. Ritchie and Charlie are having fun up on the mountains, hopefully with Derek. (Biboy) Rene and James settled at a plush resort while the rest of us settled at the resort we previously stayed on our way back from Pagudpud. Ann and I had dinner in our room while Jobo and Andrew went to accompany Rene and James. We were a bit hesitant about joining them that night as it might be a club thing. But they insisted for it was our last night together. And so we did. An hour later we were back our respective rooms and snored the night away. (James) Back in the room, Rene and I delight that for the first time, we have a fully operational television in the room with lots of cable channels. Fully operational that is, save for the fact that we weren't provided with a working remote control. Oh well, you get what you pay for and we're certainly getting decent beds, cold air-conditioning and television for a great price. Day 4 The Way Home (Rene) We all agreed to an early departure out of San Fernando in anticipation of the traffic. Although it is Thursday, it is a holiday (Labor Day) and people are taking a long weekend off and heading out on the road to their favorite spot in the Philippines. Andrew is knocking on our door at 6am and we are on the road half an hour later.
(Biboy) This is the day I wished would never come. I hate saying goodbyes to these wonderful fellows and I wanted to continue on riding. But reality bites and so we headed off for home. We left around 7am and aimed to have our breakfast at Luisita, Tarlac again. The ride home was as chaotic as the first day due to the huge volume of traffic. It was May 1st, a holiday, and people from other parts of Luzon were headed up to the cooler places of the North. There was one particular skill that Andrew had that I forgot to mention previously. With just the wave of his hand and the confidence of a raging bull, he can push oncoming vehicles, be it an 18-wheeler truck, to move aside and let us through. It was amazing. He would hug the middle of the road facing the oncoming traffic, wave his hand directing the vehicle to move to its right side, and swerve back to the centerline to give the vehicle some more space to get through. There were those who would put up a fight and scare the hell out of those on the back. They would give Andrew space but would swerve back to the center of the road, forcing us on the back to squeeze our way between the cars on our left. Fortunately, bikes require little space to fit into and can share lanes together. So James and I would often find ourselves riding beside each other.
(James) The morning finds us back on the road by 7am and the roads all the way out in San Fernando are already surprisingly full of Northbound traffic. Must be localized heavy traffic, I think to myself, but I was wrong. The traffic over the next several hours only gets steadily heavier and cage drivers grow steadily more aggressive as we draw nearer to home. At one point, the bedroll secured to the top of Rene's bike come loose and threatens to either fall off or worse, possibly get caught in a tire! Rene must be wearing ear plugs because he doesn't react to my frantic horn blowing and pulling beside him is dicey since the oncoming cagers are aggressively overflowing their lanes into counter flow. Eventually I manage to pull beside him on the shoulder just when the shoulder ended and turned from concrete to rocks. Again, I am thankful that I am on the Transalp as the off-road suspension allows me to keep the bike under control at 80kph as I pull to a stop beside Rene. Note to self: Ensure personal survival before helping others, otherwise, I could be the one in need of serious help. Bedroll cinched, we are on our way once again but minutes later, the bedroll is loose again and this time, Rene's left saddlebag has flipped open! After carefully warning him, Rene fixes the whole arrangement on the fly without even slowing down. Thinking Out Loud (Group Ride) (Rene) After riding in a small pack for four days, I've done some thinking on group riding while at the same time, enjoying the scenery. The lead must know the route like the back of his hand. The lead also must endure the brunt of the traffic ahead of us, ranging from passing slow vehicles like tricycles and jeepneys, to dealing with oncoming traffic. The lead must know how to read the traffic well so he can decide where to pass (middle of the road, side of the road, etc.). Andrew, who is our lead rider, fills the position well. He has been around Luzon a few times and during those few times when he does not know where he is going, he stops and asks for directions before we get too far off course. Andrew is aggressive when it comes to passing slower vehicles, and guiding the opposite traffic (hand and foot signals) to give us more space to pass. This position is probably the hardest in the group. After a few hours of dealing with tricycle riders, Andrew slowly lost his patience with them and started tapping them on the arm to make them move aside. Some are startled, most just duly comply. (Andrew) During the trip I had several skirmishes with tricycle drivers. In accordance with traffic regulations, tricycle shouldn't be National Highways. In the province, they are the "kings of the road". They occupy all width of street going at speeds of 20kmph or lower. They don't care about turning at any time in any directions. Often not looking for on-going traffic. Derek's accident was for us the signal to be more careful and more aware of danger. In Manila tricycle drivers are more alert of big bikes. In the province, they are not. In some occasions, I punched tricycle's mirrors. Bad,bad,bad. I should know better. Anger was my advisor - not brain. Sorryyyyyyy. Bottom line - I should show more patience for tricycle drivers and give more information bout the "tricycle danger" to my followers. (Rene) The rider following the lead has it easy. Point and shoot. If the lead is good like Andrew, he just follows Andrew closely and all is well. A good pair will make good time together and will leave the pack behind if not careful. The third and fourth rider gets the protection of the pack. At this level, most of the vehicles being passed are fully aware of the group passing them and are less likely to do something stupid to cause an accident. The detriment of being in this position comes when its time to pass slower vehicles. By the time the lead and second riders pass the slow vehicle, the window of opportunity to pass for the 3rd and 4th riders is already gone and they must wait for another opportunity. The last rider of the pack is my preferred position. The sweeper position allows me to ride at my own pace with no pressure from behind to keep up with the pace. I slow down when I want to sightsee and speed up when I want to play catch up with everyone. The sweeper tends to ride faster because of the latter. Slow bikes need not apply. The only risk is being left behind if something happens to me. Yesterday, while riding from the lighthouse, I was following Biboy and Ann from the sweeper position. Biboy slowed down a few times and I credited it to just having too much lunch. Blood is in the stomach instead of the brain. He slowed down some more until Jobo, the rider in front of him also slowed down. Andrew and James kept going, unaware of the activity in the back. When we stopped for a break, Jobo asked Biboy why he was slowing down. Biboy said he slows down to wait for me. Ahhhh. My personal sightseeing tours from behind created some concern with Biboy, with him thinking that I'm in some sort of trouble. This is similar to James and I freezing each other's butt in the Tuguegaroa hotel. Jobo assures Biboy that he does not need to worry about me going slow because I have the ability to go fast. I also don't have to worry about Biboy having too much for lunch. We expected bad traffic heading north and south from Manila because of Labor Day. Major gridlock did not materialize until we reached the outskirts north of Tarlac where we saw endless lines of vehicles slogging their way north. In Tarlac city proper, the roads became long parking lots. Breafast at Luisita (Part 2) (James) Taking our stop at Luisita Mall, we turned away from Pancake house and Jollibee for the sheer number of people. Luckily, Max's restaurant is open for breakfast and we find seats and what seats are left is quickly filled up. 45 minutes later, Andrew is nearly beside himself for the delays but we eventually get to eat and be on our way. Despite the hassles, everyone's still in a great mood! The map informs us that it's precisely 100kph to the end of NLEX and once we're mounted up again, the countdown is on. (Biboy) We reached Tarlac just before 9 am. Luisita was fully packed. Pancake House and Jollibee were filled to the brim. We were planning to find our breakfast somewhere else. But luckily, Max's just opened in time and we were among the first few costumers. After ordering our meals, the place began to fill up. We waited close to an hour before we were served our breakfast. To get our minds off our growling stomachs, we recapped the first three days of our trip, James filled us with updates about what was happening at the motorcyclephilippines.com forum regarding Bike Week, and sent text messages to our love ones that we were getting close to home. We hit the road again around 10 am hoping to reach Manila by noon. (Rene) A breakfast stop in Luisita gave us more exposure to a different set of lines. Almost everyone frustrated with the traffic is here trying to get breakfast. The pecking order is easy to figure. The cheaper restaurants fill up quickly and the expensive ones have available space for seating. After failing at a couple of cheap restaurants, we settled to eat at Max's. Although there are fewer people at Max's, there were also few servers to meet the increase in demand so we waited for an hour and a half to get our fill. We left Luisita at 10am and soon reached the north diversion road where major roadwork to resurface the pavement closed all the northbound lanes. Everyone is on the southbound lanes - two lanes are open for the heavier northbound traffic and the shoulder lane is for the traffic heading south. No matter how you slice it, it is major gridlock. We first attempted to ride in between the north and southbound lanes. I watch Andrew do his magic for a few minutes, like Moses separating the Red Sea with a wave of his hand. Soon, all the waiving does not work when the vehicles being waved at do not have room to move. Abandoning the waiving strategy left us to seek access by going to the extreme shoulder of the southbound lane, which is already the dirt shoulder of the highway. After riding the shoulder of the shoulder, we moved across the opposite traffic and rode the shoulder of the opposite traffic lane. We rode over potholes, dirt, broken asphalt ¥ anything that will continue to provide us with forward motion to reach our goal. 100 kilometers from Manila (James) On NLEX, we're cruising along nicely when suddenly all Southbound traffic comes to a halt. 9 kilometers of hard lane splitting later, we see that NLEX traffic authorities, in the their wisdom, have stopped all Southbound traffic to favor Northbound traffic for sometime now, judging by the number of people that have abandoned their cars and appear to have been walking around for some time now. We bow down our heads and charge headlong into the oncomming traffic, which gets so heavy, I grow increasingly concerned for Biboy and Ann riding two-up on the CB750, as maneuvers grow increasingly dicey. I needn't have worried despite clearances barely exceeding handlebar width, some mud and dirt riding. As we break out into the open once again, Biboy has managed to keep pace with the group of solo riders and to think, he hasn't been riding for very long. But we didn't get away Scott-free. The clutch on Rene's CBX750 has given out as it typically does in the heat just as we break into the clear. He informs the group of this development at 90kph highway cruising. If it had happened in the midst of traffic, we'd really be in for an unpleasant experience but now that we're cruising, the clutch should return to normal soon. Luck is definitely with us! (Biboy) The ride went well until we reached the North Expressway. Traffic came to a full stop. We can see people getting off their cars. Fortunately, we were able to inch our way through the jam. Andrew was a good bike leader. He really knows how to lead his pack. That was the most difficult ride I've had during that trip. It was hot. We were really heavy. I was already tired. I was also worried the bike will overheat. If we get stuck to the traffic too long, the bike might give up. But I was willing to face the challenge ahead because I don't want to be left behind. I don't want to stop either and get cooked some more by the blazing sun. Andrew squeezed his way through the columns of cars, trucks, vans, buses followed by James, Rene, by me and Jobo. Soon, I was following James, Rene and Jobo behind me. The only spaces we've got were the dirt strips beside the pavement. My handlebars just had few inches of clearance from cars beside me. If I messed up and leaned the bike too far or unfortunately lose my balance, I can easily get these cars nicked in the process. I don't have the money to pay for any damages I might incur so I gave my all to keep the bike upright and going. The road was filled with vehicles. We sometimes would ride facing on coming traffic and would sometimes cross to the other dirt strip on our right to breathe a little easier. Riding a heavy bike with street tires on a very rough terrain at a slow pace is a formula to a grand disaster. I told Ann to remain upright and ride the pegs as often as she can to give the bike more freedom to twitch beneath us. After traversing countless of moon craters, we finally were able to leave the cagers behind. James was really surprised that I was able to tail him. I was even surprised that I was able to ride the pace of the Transalp through all that chaos. He gave me a high five while I can barely hold either of my hand up. I was too exhausted. The heat and the madness have drained my energy so much. I think the guys felt the same way. (Rene) By the time we reached the end of the jam, we are hot, wet from perspiration, poisoned from the pollution and lucky not to have encountered any accidents in the process. The CBX is protesting from all the work demanded upon it. The clutch fails to disengage and I have to ride on 3rd gear at highway speeds until the cooling air lowers the engine temp enough to make the clutch operational again. We needed a break and a gas station stop is the best place to be. James must be really hot. I watch him drink his fill of water. He then pours water over his head. Still feeling unsatisfied, he pours cold water over his body. Instant cool down from the heat! Other travelers in the station watch us do this cooling exercise to ourselves and they probably wonder why we ride. If we have to explain, they won't understand. (James) After a relaxing break for water at Petron, the clutch has returned to normal and we all take opportunities to express our thanks and goodbyes before we head out for the last leg. After breaking through the tollbooths and making it to EDSA, the group eventually breaks up into smaller groups and I find myself alone heading home in the noontime heat. As I turn into Ortigas, I find nearly no traffic whatsoever. It's a welcome respite from the intense traffic that I'd just made it through and leads me to reflect on the last four days' rides. The most surprising revelation for me is that I am not even tired! I have returned from short hops to Batanggas feeling more drained than I did at that moment and I honestly felt as if I could turn around and keep on going. It's amazing how easy a major run can be when you have the right plan, the right company and right bike! As I pull into the waiting garage, the most pleasant surprise is the gourmet lunch that my wife, Pia, had prepared, ready and waiting for Rene and myself. Unfortunately for Rene, he's got another 100kms ahead of himself, to return the bike to Matabunkay. 1,400kms, 4 days, average speed of 65kph all in all. And I'm not even tired. Amazing! Thanks guys! (Biboy) Sometime later, Jobo signal for a stop at the Caltex gas station for a drink and gas. We rested for half an hour and said our farewell. I stayed behind the guys as we rode together for one last time before James heads for home in Ortigas, Rene and Andrew to Matabungkay, and Jobo to Los Baños. Ann and I decided to stay at my sister's place in Tandang Sora for I felt I could not tackle any traffic jams anymore. I stayed behind and took that one last mental picture of each one of them. It was a heartwarming experience riding with these great guys for four days. I knew then that it will not be our last adventure together. (Rene) Arrived in Manila just in time for lunch where we bid adieu to each other. I kept going with Andrew to continue on to Matabungkay. We have two hours plus of riding left. We pass by James' house on the way to C5 and I wished I was already home. James told us later that Pia prepared a Mexican lunch in anticipation of our arrival. What a great woman! Too bad we were too brain dead to think about stopping by. In anticipation of traffic heading south to Matabungkay, we got off the SLEX before Santa Rosa to take the side roads to Tagaytay. Andrew amazingly knows all the roads in these parts. Reached Maabungkay tired and hot, but feeling relieved and satisfied for a ride well done. A quick moment later, Andrew and I are soaking in the pool with a bottle of San Miguel in each hand. Andrew's conclusions: I should spend some time before the ride to explain my way of leading the group and the meaning of all my hand signs. (Derek told me in Luisita that after some kilometers he starts to understand my way of leading. I SHOULD explain all BEFORE the ride. I took for granted that everybody knows it. I should plan the route better. I should ask TMG police if some major road works were in progress on the roads of our trip. After every ride, we should sit some minutes together and talk about the previous ride in order to gather everybody's opinions, so that the next day ride will be safer and more pleasant. Next trip we should have different leader every day. Let everybody feel the "taste" of being a leader. The big surprise: James's way of riding and being with so diverse riders and have great fun. Will be nice to have him on our next big ride. The big disappointment: I can't really point any. May be me being short-tempered for tricycle drivers. But it was more funny than serious. Thumbs up for Ann and her resiliency as back rider. I will miss to share room with Jobo and his big smile. I'm looking forward to have the same guys on any trip in any country. MY ADVICE TO EVERYBODY AFTER THE RIDE: The most important rule as riding in the group:"look for your personal safety first". GODSPEED TO EVERYBODY
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