You Have to Learn to Crawl Before you can Learn to Climb.: February 2008

It is now that magical time of year in the Philippines, as the rainy season comes to an intense, floow-prone conclusion, when the white people come out in force. All over Bikol there are sightings of Peace Corps volunteers participating in civic activities and generally helping out their fellow Bikolanos.

Three weeks ago, anyone wandering by the Shell station on Magsaysay avenue at 5:30 AM would have seen several Americans doing their duty by getting up before dawn to ride their bicycles 100km. Senator Pia Cayetano has put on what is called the Bike for Hope every year for the last 6. This year the ride was from Naga to Legaspi City.

Becky, Aaron, Francis (a local TV talk show host) and I joined in the fun and took our sweet-ass time getting all the way down to Legaspi. This trip was Francis' first bike ride over 1 or 2 km so a trip of ~50x that was a new thing for him. We all ended up with sore butts, but hanging out with a senator was worth every painful day for the next week or so.

Plus, for the Php300 entry fee we got a delicious lunch and free bike jerseys and a gift pack.

What is in a bike ride gift pack, you ask? Not what you would expect, but useful nonetheless.

(1) Package of high-calcium powdered milk (with pictures of ole people on the front)
(1) Can of generic energy drink
(3) Packs of shrimp-flavored cheetos knock-offs
(1) Blue plastic bracelet signifying something
(1) Package of ramen noodles
(1) Tube of pain-relief cream
(3) Cans of vienna sausages

Makes sense to me...