Viajista – Ang Biyaherong Turista rode again last May 17 and 18 to the scenic and historic Baler, Aurora which most of known before as Baler,Quezon kase nga daw part ito dati ng Quezon Province and also because its the birthplace of Pres. Manuel L. Quezon until na declare na yung capital ng Baler which is Aurora na maging independent province, thus making it Baler, Aurora. Gets nyo ba? Basta yun na yun hehe!
Original plan was to take off at around 3am at SM Fairview. Pero siempre pinoy time pa din nasunod at kami ay nakaalis na at around 4:30 am. Nasunod naman yung mapping namin but since we’re all first timer to Baler, naligaw kami onti sa me pagkanan namin ng Cabanatuan at napadpad sa isang dead end haha.
Actually there are two road options go to Baler from Cabanatuan. First is the Pantabangan-Casili Route which is the longer route but offer much better travel though there’s still some unpaved section along the way. The other is the Baler-Bongabon Route, much shorter distance to Baler and offer the road user to an adventurous, winding and rough road trip. We love to try this route, but thinking our bikes are not design for it, we choose the first route. Mahirap na baka me masiraan pa.
We’re not disappointed naman sa napili naming ruta. We’re all amazed sa ganda ng daan, patag pagkakasemento, yun nga lang me mga part pa rin na lubak-lubak. Ang masaklap lang madalas after ng downhill naka-pwesto yung mga lubak kaya mejo nakakagulat lalo na siguro dun sa mga gabi bibiyahe.
At sa totoo lang, napaka technical yung dadaanan mo dito. Not recommended for newbies sa zigzag kase magsasawa ka sa twisties (downhill and uphill), hindi matapos-tapos, parang roller-coaster, almost 80 kilomoters ba naman grabe! Liko dito liko jan, siguro matagal na 200 meters na straight yung dadaanan mo hehe. I can still recall seeing a twisted or pilipit na daan yung parang sa mga Indy 500 na aakyat yung sasakyan mo habang paliko ka hehe. Astig! Sarap dalhin dito mga Pinoy Drift Trikes posse ko at I’m sure magsasawa sila sa dami ng downhill spot!
Sa dami nga ng pahinga, ligaw, lunch, groupie shots, flat tire, at Cobra break. We finally reach Baler at around 1:30pm. Yeap we travelled a gruelling yet satisfied 9 hours. One factor why I say gruelling was the heat from the sun. Dati basta huminto ka dun ka lang maiinitan kase pag running ka na me wind ng sasalubong sayo, now it’s different, andun pa din yung impact ng hangin sa face mo, only its humid kaya mainit pa din at ito ang nakakapanlata. Ultimong baon kong mineral water na nasa harapan ko hindi ko na din mainom kase maligamgam na sya.
After we set foot on our rented house, we just rest our asses for more than an hour tapos ayun. Biyahe na naman, this time on a van going to Mother Falls, one of the tourist spot in Baler, only to be surprised later on that we’ll have to hike almost two kilometers uphill just to reach it. Wappakkkk, ano ito triathlon? wahhhhhh.
The rest of the evening was history, a few shots of Empelayts and down I go to sleep to recharge myself for next day beach and surf activity and of course for our travel home.
Take Off
Lagro QC – 34092
Touch Down
Baler – 34348 – 256kms
Finish Line
Anonas QC 34597 – 249kms
Unleaded Gas Intake
Lagro QC / 2.90 liters
Nueva Ecija / 2.24 liters
Baler / 2.78 liters
Cabanatuan / 2.12 liters
Total Gas – 10.04
Total Distance Travelled – 505 kilometers
Average Fuel Consumption – 50.29km/liter
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