Mang Jak’s First-Ever Trail Ride: Malipay Trail Adventure

Of course, a mountain bike shouldn’t be left riding smooth pavements alone. It should be somewhere it belongs: rich grounds, loose rocks, uneven paths. After a few kicks on the road, I finally succumb to the temptation of trying my fate in a trail adventure: welcome to Malipay Trails.

I didn’t really know that Malipay Trail was a technical one; meaning you need to have great handling skills, uphill power and all sorts of biking maneuvers to keep you off the ground. I did not know that and my friend, (or coach) Roel did not even bothered to tell me that.



We started our journey through Pasong Buaya trails (entry at Daang Hari extension) which was pretty decent but since I was not in the perfect shape, I even got tired in the middle of it.We left Pasong Buaya to exit through Paliparan and there we entered the famous Malipay Trail. From that first descent, I knew this wouldn’t be a piece of cake. But the feeling of my bike rolling down the slope straight into the unknown thrilled me. I’m not sure if Mang Jak shared my sentiments, but I enjoyed the bumpy ride more than anything else I have ever tried.

So into the trails, I was able to fight uphill battles (some I lost coz my thighs were already killing me), narrow paths and scary descents. And if that wasn’t enough, I had to endure it under the scorching sun! The heat made the ride a bit harder, good thing we had plenty of water with us.

There was even a part where we had to climb down our bikes and carry it to cross over a stream. That part was really hard, since I couldn’t even carry my bike easily on even grounds, what more along slippery and loose grounds. Since Coach Roel dragged me into this, he had to help me out cross the stream on wobbly knees.

It took us quite a few hours, since I was super slow and hesitant with many parts of the ride. But I can proudly say that I have done it (as a first timer, I feel I wasn’t that bad). And as a bonus, the only time I fell on my bike was when a nasty (huge) ant bit my ankle… the funny thing was, I fell while I was just sitting on my bike (I wasn’t even moving).

And though it was definitely not an easy ride, I really enjoyed it. Thus, after a couple of week from that time, I was already decided: I WILL GO BACK MALIPAY TRAILS.