Bicycle rides in Iloilo City have now become the norm as the LGU has been promoting this mode of transportation, the main goal of becoming the Bike Capital of the Philippines. With this effect, the scenery and food spots have now become just a bike ride away and that also the promotion and campaign have improved.

Riding a bike to popular food spots in Iloilo City may be easier now for several reasons:

1. Compact City Layout: Iloilo City has a relatively compact layout with well-planned streets and neighborhoods. This makes it easier for cyclists to navigate the city and reach food spots without having to cover long distances.
2. Traffic Conditions: Compared to larger cities with heavy traffic congestion, Iloilo City generally experiences less traffic. This means that cyclists can move around more freely and reach their desired food destinations without being stuck in traffic jams.
3. Bike-Friendly Infrastructure: In recent years, Iloilo City has made efforts to become more bike-friendly. This includes the development of bike lanes, bike-sharing programs, and initiatives to promote cycling as a mode of transportation. These improvements make it safer and more convenient for cyclists to travel around the city.
4. Good Weather: Iloilo City’s climate is generally favorable for outdoor activities like biking. With its warm, tropical weather, cycling can be a pleasant way to get around, especially when compared to cities with extreme heat or cold conditions.
5. Food Scene Accessibility: Iloilo City is known for its vibrant food scene, with numerous food spots, eateries, and restaurants scattered throughout the city. Many of these food spots are easily accessible by bike, and cyclists can explore different culinary offerings without the hassle of finding parking or dealing with public transportation schedules.
6. Scenic Routes: Iloilo City is known for its scenic routes along the coast and through parks and green spaces. Biking to food spots allows you to enjoy these scenic views while getting some exercise, which can be a more enjoyable experience compared to being confined in a car.
7. Health and Environmental Benefits: Biking is an eco-friendly and healthy mode of transportation. Choosing to bike to food spots not only reduces your carbon footprint but also promotes physical activity and a healthier lifestyle.
8. Parking Convenience: Finding parking in busy urban areas can be challenging and costly. Biking eliminates the need for parking, saving both time and money.
9. Sense of Community: Biking to food spots can also foster a sense of community and connection with the local culture. It allows you to interact with people, explore hidden gems, and discover authentic local food experiences.

In summary, Iloilo City’s compact layout, bike-friendly infrastructure, favorable weather, and accessible food scene make it easier and more enjoyable to bike to food spots, providing a convenient and eco-friendly way to explore the city’s culinary offerings.

*Cover photo from Inquirer.net

Bikes are awesome, so more people ought to ride them. The era of the automobile is coming to an audible close, and the quaint aesthetics of the lowly bicycle are prepared to reclaim the center stage. “Four wheels terrible, two wheels excellent”, as the famously misquoted saying goes.

A bikeable city is one that is designed and developed to prioritize the needs of cyclists, making it safe, convenient and comfortable to ride a bicycle as a mode of transportation.

Here are some key factors that make a city bikeable:

Protected bike lanes and separated cycling infrastructure: Bike lanes that are separated from vehicular traffic by physical barriers, such as curbs, bollards, or planters, make it safer for cyclists to ride on the road. Protected bike lanes also help to increase the visibility of cyclists to drivers, reducing the risk of accidents.

Bicycle-friendly streets and traffic calming measures: Bikeable cities typically have streets that are designed with lower speed limits and traffic calming measures such as speed humps, roundabouts, and chicanes. These measures help to reduce the speed and volume of motor vehicle traffic, making it safer and more comfortable for cyclists to share the road.

Bicycle parking and storage: Bikeable cities have ample and secure bicycle parking and storage facilities, including bike racks, lockers, and bike-share stations. These facilities help to encourage cycling as a mode of transportation, making it easier for people to commute and run errands by bike.

Access to public transportation: Bikeable cities are often designed with easy access to public transportation, such as buses, trains, and subways. This makes it easier for cyclists to combine biking with other modes of transportation, such as commuting to work or school by bike and then taking public transportation for longer distances.

Education and promotion: Bikeable cities often have educational programs and promotional campaigns that encourage safe cycling and raise awareness about the benefits of biking as a mode of transportation. These programs help to build a culture of cycling and encourage more people to use bikes for transportation.

Overall, a bikeable city prioritizes the needs of cyclists, making it safe, convenient, and comfortable to ride a bicycle as a mode of transportation.

*header image from Laist.com

Preparations for a long bike ride are essential in order for your trip to be enjoyable and less stressed on the potential issues. Things from warming up, bike check, money to spend, and food and water are all should be taken care of first. Here are the five things to do before engaging in the long bike ride.

Catch a Good Night Sleep

This is usually an issue for people especially if they are used to stay up late in the evening. The early morning ride means at least an hour of preparation. For example, if the meetup and assembly time is 6AM, you have to wake up at least 5AM that day. In my case, I allow 2 hrs or more of preparation so I needed to sleep by 9PM the night before. It is then a struggle to sleep without disturbance and noise of the neighbors. I then would feel sleepy after waking up and preparing for the bike long ride, and later on might affect my endurance on pedaling. That is why it is important to have one good night’s sleep.

Energy Snacks are Essentials

You don’t necessarily need to have a good breakfast before your ride as the rice and meat are heavy and longer to digest. Having some energy bar crackers and bread with coffee or energy-based drinks can help to a good startup and fuel to your system. I usually would drop by the 7-11 store to buy energy chocolate bars along with some of my favorite wafers and consume them before heading out to the assembly point.

Stretch your Muscles

Even if you are thinking that you are ready physically for a long bike ride that you can ride right away, make sure that you do a stretching exercise first. This is important as it will warm up or “awaken” your muscles, and to make sure your body is ready for the endurance exercise it will face for the day. Warming up prior can increase stamina and prolong your strength for the ride and better results. There is various stretching exercise online which you can do as a reference in an easy as one search click.

Check your Bike

This is basic stuff but I’d still include it here. Being excited about the long ride, there are times that you would miss checking the bike as you are already confident that there are no issues. Make sure that your tire pressure is on a good level by checking them with a tire gauge. Keeping your tires at the proper pressure keeps your bike rolling more efficiently and lesser impact on rough roads. Quickly check your tire bead for debris that may be embedded in the tire. Give your wheels a spin to make sure there’s no wobble and the shifters are functioning as usual.

Prepare Money to Spend

You cannot avoid that during the long ride your group will drop by a famous restaurant or karinderia in town for the lunch stopover and so you’d need some on-hand cash to spend for the food. It might or might not be a heavy meal but if ever there are popular dishes that you want to try then you should prepare the budget beforehand.

Things are starting to turn back to normal, minus the health protocols and liquor ban in the city and province of Iloilo. Restaurants are starting to operate again with Iloilo city‘s quarantine status to the Modified General one.

That said, people are starting to go out, and with the supposedly scheduled Dinagyang 2021 this weekend, which will be more of a virtual presentation, there are a few activities and events that the local government allowed while also making sure that public gatherings are regulated.

In my end of vlogging and the recent bike long ride hobby, I decided to also integrate this trip to enjoy not only the city bike tour but also visiting some of the newest restos that offer at one side unique delicacies and the other Ilonggo-native dishes.

I had somewhat covered it in a few of my bike vlogs these past weeks. To note Bike Ride to Akamon Ramen and Bike Ride to the Banquetta Exhibit in Festive Walk.

As a follow-up, I decided to have a checklist of the places to bike to as I have observed from my Facebook newsfeed and in particular at the Kaon Ta Iloilo group. That way, it will be easy for me to plan out the route beforehand and easier to discuss in the blog video.

The next issue now is the time going there as the weekdays are jam-packed for work and since the schedule at the office is now back to 8-5, I could not fit in to visit the place due to it is already late in the afternoon. Anyhow, the weekend is my best option for now and if given that we can get out early, then that is another opportunity to record a visit.

We shall see in the coming weeks.

It was only two weeks since I started biking to work from my boarding house and I think it is quite fulfilling. Places seem to be nearer because of this access to this mode of transportation. It is much as enjoyable as walking but a quicker way to reach your destination is more convenient. I was happy that I was able to finally buy and own a bike after a long while but because of these current effects of the pandemic that I avoid public transportation as much as possible, this makes biking a lot more viable.

I did not get the budget at hand at first but access to the emergency loan recently gave me an opportunity. I did not get to spend a lot on leisure because of banning social gatherings and liquor and so I get to have this funded something like a gadget and like this, a bicycle.

What made me chose a folding bike instead of the usual mountain bike is the convenience to store and carry it. Though the one I bought from a bike shop near Tacas, Jaro is quite awkward in its folded state, unlike from what I saw on Youtube for reference. Anywho, I am still getting used to its adjustment to my height as I got an awkward position which got me paining early one.

My current route to the office I more convenient than the previous one, with lesser traffic to avoid and a long stretch of road to enjoy. That is also enjoying the scenery along the river in Muelley Loney. The only inconvenience is the humid weather which I needed towels to cool down and wipe my perspiration, and also the rain when caught with a drizzle that will really ruin my day.

Anyhow, people in the city have been really considering biking as their main means of transportation going to work and will further do so as the local government is initiating plans to improve the current bike lanes and to add more within the city loop going to the outskirts. It is the bike capital of the country after all.