Critical Mass Ride: Ride to the North

The Firefly Brigade is a Philippine citizen's action group formed in 1999 to work for clean air and a habitable, people-friendly environment in our cities.*

They schedule monthly Critical Mass Rides all over Metro Manila. This month's ride was named "Ride to the North" and passed by Malabon Zoo and Navotas Centennial Park. 

I traveled to the meet-up place in Ortigas CBD. Since this was my first CMR, I was quite surprised by the good number of cyclists participating. Bikes ranging from MTB, road bikes, folding bikes, mini velos, and other unique bikes could be seen. It was a nice day for bike fans like me. 

For this ride, I used "Stark", my customized Tern Verge X10. Stark recently had its drivetrain tuned up and this was the perfect time to test it out. 

We started to ride out a little pass 7:00 am to give time to other cyclist who were going to be late. 

The pace was relaxed. It was very friendly to beginners. Marshals were very helpfull in guiding the cyclist along the city streets especially the busy ones. 

Our first stop is the Malabon Zoo. I didn't actually had a chance to go inside and give more details. 

The last stop over was Navotas Centennial Park. The name sounds good but the place itself actually isn't. You have to see it for yourself. This was the place the Firefly Brigade gave out freebies to participants. 

As we rode back toward Greenhills (target end), I noticed that the pack of cyclists were decreasing in number. Groups were breaking away. Eventually, as we got nearer to our destination, there were only a handful of us left. 

Overall, the CMR (~40 km) was fun and relatively safe. I would recommend it to any cyclist who wants a good sunday cardio workout. 

Visit the Firefly Brigade Facebook for updates on their monthly CMR. (https://www.facebook.com/fireflybrigade.org)

*http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firefly_Brigade