The Baguio Epic Ride - by team rider: Tony de la Cruz, Jr.

THE BAGUIO EPIC RIDE
NOVEMBER 26, 2010
Tony C. de la Cruz, Jr.

To a lot of young riders, Baguio is an easy ride. But to the relatively older riders like me, going up to Baguio on a mountain bike is a big and daunting challenge.  But seeing a lot of young riders go up to Baguio as if just going to the proverbial nearby sari sari store to buy garlic and vinegar made me think that probably with a lot of preparation I can still bike my way up to this mountain city. I have always dreamt of riding to places where other people my age would not dare go. So one morning in June 2010 while having breakfast at Giant Store (in the mountains of San Mateo Rizal and a familiar destination of many mountain bikers) with my son, I broached the idea of riding with a group to Baguio and lo and behold, suddenly he talked to his friend and then his friend asked me about it and I eventually was forced and ended up organizing this epic ride.

At first I could not imagine that I would be able to make it but with the enthusiasm of riders older than me like Mang Bay (Roberto Nazareno Sr, 68 years old) made me firm in my commitment to finish this epic ride. With a lot of support from my wife and friends including my boss and office mates, I have made a covenant with myself to really do my best to prepare for this seemingly impossible ride.

At 55, I do not feel the pains and go through the sickness that my contemporaries are experiencing. I have proven that with determination as well as constant exercise and the right nutrition we can go against father time and continue to do the things that others might seem too big a task and appear to be impossible.

I always believe in the adage of Benjamin Franklin that “we do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop playing”. I am inspired as well by Mark Twain when he aptly said “Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter”.  And now that we are in the last quarter of our lives I am dedicated of doing this task that I might regret not doing later in life.

God has given me strength and good health and together with my senior rider friends, the Ageless Warriors, may this Baguio ride serve as an inspiration for the younger generations to develop the habit of indulging into physical exercise and develop the healthy attitude of always saying “It can be done”.