The 2007 Journey from Manila to Davao: DAY 8: San Carlos to Dumaguete

Statistics:

Distance covered: 85 km
Total Time Spent: 5.75 hours
Total Riding Time: 5.5 hours
# of Intentional Rest Stops: 1

# of Unintentional Rest Stops: 1
# of Core Riders: 6
# of Tatay Bikers: 3
Start Time: 9 am
End Time: 2:45 pm

Highlights:

Today is the first day of sunshine and no rain (Yahoo!). The B4L team tackled the rolling coastal terrain of the road from San Carlos City to Dumaguete. The climb profile isn't as difficult as that of the Bacolod to San Carlos leg but the headwind made us exert more effort. Much to Boy Siojo's annoyance, I LOVED drafting and singing my lungs out behind him. (hehehe...)

It was another picturesque ride with the Mt. Talinis mountain ranges on our right and the Tañon Straight on our left. Further beyond the waters, we can see the mountains of Cebu's southermost tip. There were a lot of mangroves as well which reminded me so much of Ecorescue's mangroves tree planting activities in Pangasinan.

Our local mountaineer friend and Greenpeace representative, Albert Lozada, boasted of the twin lakes hidden in those mountain ranges. Dumaguete is also famous for its beautiful dive sites and abundance of dolphins in the region. A return to this place is a must in my book.

The B4L team had lunch at the town of Sibulan, 10km away from Dumaguete. We were met up with the local riders from Dumaguete. There were more than 100 of us who biked towards the city and to the next forum. It was such a festive scene since the locals provided a band similar to that of the atiatihan. Energy levels were increasing.

The biking ended at the beautiful grounds of Siliman University. The 3:30pm forum was held at the historical building inside the campus which was built with the original Spanish architecture still intact.

The forum has been one of the most positive so far. There were a lot of cancer victors present... down from the emcee, a volunteer biker, a Siliman University highschool teacher, the school's secretary and the pastor... all survived the big C. Dr. Macalua emphasized the importance of attacking cancer wholistically... not just touching on the medical aspect but rather the spiritual aspect of it. It is important to include the psycho-social impact of everything that's happening for the cancer patient.

Pastor Andrew Villegas shared his view about cancer. What struck me the most was when he said something like, "God's power is made perfect in my weakness." Every patient has a special connection with the Lord. We all left the forum with a stronger belief that what we are doing is truly worthwhile. Dumaguete...maraming maraming salamat!