Riding out, Bigtime

Courtesy of my brother, I've been able to sit on a carbon saddle/post, and ride a carbon fork, aluminum alloy frame road bike. It's still an entry-level bike and relatively less expensive, and I'm certainly not a racer. But it's exhilarating to curl your body up to an an aero position and speed up to 40+ kph with your leg muscles as the main engine. Moving your legs is literally walking out of anxieties. 

The pandemic sparked a cycling surge and Manila has more dedicated bike lanes. Drivers are better understanding the concept of road-sharing and people are rediscovering cycling both for leisure and for practical transport. These days even the small victories seem like incredible conquests. When we all wake up from this dream, I hope we remember a thing or two. People have paid for this with their lives. 

Recovering after a good (albeit short) ride is like a small victory. I re-hydrate at the coconut wholesale store at the public market, because they have the best buco juice at either 5 or 10 pesos a cup. I felt a little nervous about taking off my face mask. A woman and her son asked me, rather politely, for money. The son says he's going to buy buco juice. I ordered for both them. The vendor asks, 5 or 10 pesos? 10 pesos for each of them, I replied. Because of the endorphins, I was feeling bigtime.