Tiwi and Caramoan Bike Ride 2015

On August 20 to 23, a group of Sorsogon recreational cyclists visited Caramoan, Camarines Sur on a long weekend unsupported bike ride. The weekend warriors were Noel (me), Kareen (my wife), Cyrk and Nat, Linzo and his son Dominic, Paulo, Sam – all from Irosin, and Ed of Matnog and Tyrone of Bulan.

The Bicol 630 Road overlooking Lagonoy Gulf.

DAY 1, Irosin, Sorsogon to Tiwi, Albay, 145 km

The road from Sorsogon to Tiwi, Albay is via the busy national highway AH26-1 up to Daraga, Albay with nice asphalt overlay and wide carriageway. From Daraga, the route is to the east to Legazpi City and north to Sto. Domingo, with a long uphill to Bacagay and equally long downhill to Malilipot and into the midst of busy Tabaco City, with the Mayon Volcano dominating the skyline. After Tabaco City is the town of Malino then to Tiwi.

We are regular riders of this stretch of the road as we have been visiting Joroan Church annually during the month of August. The official excuse to pedal is a “pilgrimage”. Places to stay are no problem as there are plenty of resorts and lodging houses after the poblacion of Tiwi.

DAY 2, Tiwi to Presentacion, Camarines Sur, 94 km

Second day started at the break of dawn for Joroan Church and breakfast at a mini-carenderia. The Tiwi-Sagnay or Bicol 630 road is one of the most scenic coastal roads in Bicol region. Starting from Joroan, Tiwi, the cemented road snakes its way up and down hugging the rugged and hilly coastline of Lagonoy Gulf. Pockets of mini valleys are planted with rice amidst the hills with coconut and residual forests. The ascents are relatively gentle, the traffic is very light, the seascape is amazing and this road is very ideal for cycling.

Joroan, Tiwi, Albay

But this part of Camarines Sur is a rural area and poverty is evident in roadside makeshift houses. Despite that, children and adults alike smiles aplenty in these parts….

Typical roadside scene

Upon reaching Sagnay, the road flattened and become busier and on a slight downhill to Tigaon and then Goa, with scattered rain shower. We had to stop by at Goa to buy chainlink for Nat, had a hearty lunch stop at Linzo’s hometown of Lagonoy and departed at 1PM for Presentacion.

About halfway to Presentacion is a coastal road but different in topography to the Tiwi-Sagnay. The ascents and descents are abrupt, the inclines steeper, the road under construction in many sections, many bus and cars, gravelly… It took 3 hours to travel 30 km. By the time we reached Presentacion, it was 4 PM and we were told that the road is worse than what we have just been through. Instead of pushing for Caramoan in the dark unfamiliar mountain road ahead, we decided to have a pit stop in the small town of Presentacion.

There are no lodging houses or inn in this town. We ended up at a homestay near the UCCP church in a nice two-storey house with aircon rooms. The downside is that electricity is a problem in this part of CamSur. Power only came up at 7PM and promptly went out at 1 AM.

DAY 3, Presentacion to Caramoan, 46 km

Left Presentacion at daybreak and it was hard work from the start. The ascents of Caramoan road were as challenging as that of the Cordilleras. The topography was just like Halsema Highway, less of the pine trees and the ravines. For almost 25 km, the road was long steep ascents in sparsely populated hills, abrupt descents, another ascent… so on and so forth. The road condition was cemented with some gravel and badly asphalted sections. One must bring lots of patience and will power and must have proper physical conditioning before biking this road. Not for the fainthearted and novices. It took us almost 5 hours to cover 46 km.

Long climb at Tanawan-Bicalin, Presentacion

We ended up at Barangay Paniman which is the jump off point for Caramoan island hopping tours. Our contact is Ramil C.  who provided us places to stay, to eat and a boat to rent. In the early afternoon, we went for island hopping to rocky islets with small beaches (and a lagoon) about 15 minutes from Paniman. The seascape of Caramoan is very impressive - no wonder it is fast becoming a magnet for adventure travelers. It was a lazy afternoon with beer, sand, salt water, rocky seaside cliffs and lots of tourist. There was no power in Paniman during our stay… what a shame.

Caramoan seascape

Beach day ni Mam Kareen

... at ni Manong Ed

Malukad Lagoon and the "enchanted" bangus

The Tiwi-Caramoan bike itinerary originally included Catanduanes on this date, but Typhoon “Ineng” enhanced the southwest monsoon and brought strong winds in the Bicol Region. The sea was a bit rough (we were told) between Caramoan and San Andres, Catanduanes and Ramil dissuaded us from taking the long boat ride.

Typhoon “Ineng” was both a curse and a blessing for the ride. Although it wrecked our itinerary, it also made the ride easier by providing overcast skies, light scattered rain and favorable strong winds from the south. If it had been a hot, humid and sunny day… it would have been a really very challenging ride specially in the Lagonoy-Presentacion and Presentacion-Caramoan sections. Cooler weather makes for better cycling.

DAY 4, Caramoan to Legaspi City (185 km by hired jeepney) and Legaspi City to Irosin, 97 km

Sunrise at Paniman, Caramoan

Our day jobs await the next day and we are three days away by bike! We were supposed to be in Virac, Catanduanes by now on a ferry boat ride to Tabaco City. To make it to Sorsogon by evening in the most feasible itinerary, we decided to rent a jeepney from Caramoan to Legaspi City at P 750 per head and then to pedal from Legaspi City to Sorsogon. What took us almost two days to pedal took the jeepney only six hours. We arrived at Legaspi City at 1 PM, took a heavy lunch and slowly pedaled the remaining 97 km. Arrival at our town was 9 PM.

Almusal sa kalye (clockwise) Cyrk, Nat, Paulo, Dominic, Linzo, Sam, Tyrone and Kareen.

Toploaded.

Night riders.

The next time I will be going to Caramoan, I think I will prefer motorized transport for the meantime. But a great ride nonetheless.

By Noel Mercado II