Padyak: Wawa Dam

Sunday
April 19, 2015

There are a couple of reasons why I haven’t gone on a  long bike ride recently. (1), my weekends have been used up by all my other hobbies and interests, and (2), ever since my birthday ride, my rear brake has been completely used up so I only rely on my front brake to stop me from colliding with things.

Then, a friend invited me for a ride to Wawa dam, and since I had nothing better to do that day, I complied. I just decided to pedal extra carefully. So here’s my Wawa dam experience.

Waking up early every Sunday has almost become second nature for me. Either it’s to run, bike, or go to church, Sunday mornings always have something in store for me. After meeting up with another biker friend, we were on our way to the other rendezvous point which is Puregold San Mateo.

After meeting up with the other bikers, we went full-force towards Wawa dam. Fortunately the route was easy and the dam itself was at the end of the road. The traffic became sparser as the road went on and by the end, it was just us bikers and a few motorcycles.

The way passed through some mountains and the view was really nice. It was a welcome sight because I was getting tired of the cityscape. The curving roads and gentle hills made the ride exciting without really tiring me out. Plus, it was also fun to try and keep up with my friends who had road bikes.

When we arrived, we had a quick meal at a nearby karinderya, then proceeded to the dam itself. There were a lot of people and I think this was due to the lenient process of the accommodations. There weren’t any entrance fees and aside from paying for the cottages (Php150 and up), you can pretty much bring anything and do anything you want. There were joggers and bikers everywhere.

 

 

We locked our bikes together and had a good swim. There wasn’t really anything else to do there but swim. There are also hike-able mountains nearby, namely Mt. Pamitinan and Mt. Binacayan.

 

I would advise people to be careful when swimming here because the river gets deep quickly. A few meters away from the bank and I can’t let my feet touch the bottom already! It was scary because we underestimated the depth at first. Good thing there were some bamboo rafts floating around that you can play with.

 

 

 

Once we got tired of swimming and taking pictures, we fixed up and were already on our way home. The way back was quicker because we were already familiar with the road. It was a pretty straightforward and fast ride. I was already home by 15:00 of the afternoon.

So it was pretty nice to have a bike ride again that wasn’t just a commute to and from the office. I’ll definitely be joining on more rides as long as they’re not too technical (intense uphills and downhills). I still don’t have the time and money to have my rear brake fixed so it’s still careful riding for me.

 

Thanks to Godspeed Manila for the Wawa dam ride. Ride safe, everyone!

-jgzn

p.s.
Check out this profile picture my friend took of me for the Godspeed Manila album. Thanks, Pao!