Nuvali Biking Trip

Hearing about the latest buzz where people go to Nuvali to sight-see and bike, me and the guys decided to see it for ourselves. There were seven of us on our first visit- three racers and four mountain bikers. The former raced down the smoothly paved asphalts, breaking their current speed limit to 59 kph while the latter group tested their willpower and endurance in the area’s desolate bike trails.

We left Marikina City at around 7:00am and arrived there no later than 9:00am. How were we able to bring our bikes with us, you ask? Easy! Josh’s RAV4- one disassembled racer in the trunk and two out on the bike rack and in David’s Van- one mountain bike in the trunk and three in the passengers’ seats. Putting them in the van was very exhausting, but it was well worth it.

Before anything, we had a quick breakfast at McDonald’s along SLEX. Then when we arrived, quite a few minutes were allotted in reassembling some of the bikes after unloading them.

I still don’t have the proper biking attire so I just wore a running shirt paired with my college basketball shorts. Those, a P66 glasses I bought at Japan Home Center and a pair of sleeves Dennis lent me in the last minute.

After awhile, us mountain bikers separated ourselves from the others to try the bike trails we were able to pass through. Here’s the first which we saw near the South Luzon Hospital, I dub Nuvali Bike Trail 1:

The trail would feel seemingly fun at first- one straight rocky road with banderitas greeting you every now and then. In the middle of it, the road somehow gets really soft and sandy- one that sank our bikes into the ground an inch or so. It’s pretty dangerous because with this kind of road, we could easily get out of balance. Why is the road like this? I guess somehow we took a wrong turn because the path we took connected to a private property with construction going on. The guard there immediately told us to go back since the area is off-limits.

The first trail was nothing compared to the second. Here’s what we had to go through:

That one took us almost an hour to finish, and it really pushed me, Ungri and Dave’s endurance and willpower to the limit- to the point of spiritual enlightenment, even! No kidding. Well, our idiocy was a big factor in helping us go through that experience: we thought the trail was like the first- fast and not that hard so we lay siege on it around 12nn where the sun was at its hottest. To make things worse, we also had no water with us.

We only realized our mistake when we were about half-way the trail already. Having no idea how near or far the end was, we risked and hoped for the possibility that the exit is nearby since we were already too far ahead to go back. So we kept going, and going, and going…until my vision was getting blurry and dark; tongue, throat and mouth were severely salty and parched; and my legs, wobbly and weak. All this happened while the sun gave us a stinging heatstroke. I thought about giving up, but it sure as hell wasn’t an option. If I did, I’d be dead before someone can actually go to where we are. We had no choice but to push through.

What’s annoying about this trail is that it’s very deceptive- in one turn, you’ll see the tall buildings closing in so you’ll think the exit is near, only to find out you’re gonna make another turn that will bring you farther. See the intestine-like trail in the map above? That’s going to be the effect when you’re actually there. It kind of raises up your hope, only to shatter it in the end, rinse, then repeat. It’s never-ending.

After the ordeal of the second bike trail:

Josh and the other racers biked the roads of Nuvali and even went to the park where you can do some wakeboarding. We met up after, had lunch at Jollibee, and biked some more.

We ended the day gloriously, and with tears, by ordering the ultra-hot and spicy Ultimate Wingsanity at Buffalo’s Wings N’ Things and get that certificate we oh so deserved for eating food that’s 850,000 Scoville heat units hot! But overall, I guess this is just the tip of the iceberg of visiting Nuvali. I’m sure there are a whole lot more to see here so a second visit is in order.

If you have something to recommend in Nuvali or would like to share a story, comment away below! ;)

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