It began with a ten hour bus ride. It was long, winding and cold. Good thing the rest of the day was a fast and busy blur that rendered me knocked out for most of the trip. We weren’t even out of Makati City when I dozed off. Little did I know that I was about to wake up to a great weekend of adventure and racing.

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Jose Panganiban, Camarines Norte

“We’ll be having the race where? Where’s that?” This was my initial reaction when I was told that I’ll be covering the race in Jose Panganiban, Camarines Norte. Jose Panganiban is a beautiful seaside town an hour and a half or so away from Daet, Camarines Norte (which in itself is already 10 hours away from Manila). Its proximity to mountainous terrain, make the municipality a great take off point for those who want to spend their days riding the flowy, tropical trails just a couple of km’s away.

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The race in this little corner of the country was possible because of three people: Willy Chavez, Enduro Enthusiast and all-around good guy,Konsehal Diday Abaño and Mayor Dong Padilla.

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Willy was able to join one of the enduro races in the neighbouring town of Sta. Elena. As someone who’s been passionate about cycling, he thoroughly enjoyed the experience and the challenge the race brought. Willy also saw how having an enduro race can benefit a locality such as Jose Panganiban, so he grabbed the opportunity to pitch the idea to Konsehal Diday (herself being an advocate of sports and a biker to boot).

With the support of Mayor Dong Padilla, Konsehal Diday and Willy set about setting up the race along with the help of the Enduro Network/Enduro Pilipinas. Adding to this show of force was the reception of the local cycling community who provided the much needed volunteer work behind the trail building, logistics and marshaling for race day.

Race Day

The race was done last Oct 4, 2014. The day before (Oct 3rd) was a pretty hot and dry day, consequently expectations for similar weather on race day were high. Mother Nature, however, seemed to prefer a wet and wild race as the heavens opened up with rains fluctuating from torrential to London-esque between 11pm Friday night up until 4am the next day. This led to the race being slightly delayed to accommodate the participants (from neighboring towns and cities) whose arrival was hampered by the rains.

 Calm before the storm? The gloom slowly disappeared as the race went along. It started with heavy skies but brighter prospects were coming ahead.

Calm before the storm? The gloom slowly disappeared as the race went along. It started with heavy skies but brighter prospects were coming ahead.
One could feel the excitement buzzing at the rallying point!
One could feel the excitement buzzing at the rallying point!

The gloom was offset by the cheer on the faces of the participants; the excitement was palpable and the more people arrived, the brighter the skies got. Opening ceremonies started with a racers’ briefing along with Konsehal Diday’s opening remarks.

Rider briefing with the race director.
Rider briefing with the race director.

LS and SS1

Start of the first liaison stage was at the town’s stadium, which also acted as race HQ and rallying point for post-race ceremonies. It then worked its way to one of the barangays at the foot of the mountains. Riders slowly gathered and assembled as the marshals and timers began to get in position for the next stages.
With riders raring to go, the race began to the cheers of residents, family and friends who came along the liaison stage in their own modes of transport. A bit of an odd, but welcome sight to start the racing.

Conditions in the early stages of the race were tricky as, in spite of the emerging sun and heat, the dirt remained very slippery. Singletrack sections were slip-and-slide affairs as racers drifted whether they had planned to or not.

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Riders who lost time on the singletrack portions of their SS1 made up their time on this wide open, fast and flowy section. Many disappeared into the distance sooner than the official race photographer could frame them properly.

One of the best sections of SS1 provided the riders with flowy descents and breathtaking views!
One of the best sections of SS1 provided the riders with flowy descents and breathtaking views!

SS1 was the longest special stage for the race. It begins with some twisty singletrack, opens up to flowy. undulating trails and once again terminates in foliage encompassed singletrack trails. It’s fun, fast but punctuated by sudden climbs that will really bust your lungs.
Here’s a video with portions of SS1:

After a long transfer climb to Special Stage 2’s starting point, riders were treated to great views of the ocean. Some were too gassed to really notice however, as the mud in this area was beginning to get tricky making climbs quite difficult.

Riders taking off from the SS2 gate dove down into more flowy trails, spiced with rocks, ruts and off camber sections. One had to be on one’s toes to avoid washing out or slipping on the rocks. Many tires were almost slick as this midsection of the track due to the dense mud.

Fast and fun Special Stage

SS3 and FINISH

The end in sight! SS3 was, again, a fast, but rough affair. The final stage of the race consisted of a long, very rocky descent (the terrain formed stair-like rock formations) that led to a short climb that transitioned into a very fast downhill run. The finish was a fun section that wound its way through a little barangay.

Most of the top riders made sure they made up their times by making a final push on this section. They came in hot and fast to the enjoyment of the village residents, family, friends and race organizers.

The final descent to the finish line was tough for some riders as mechanical niggles such as debris in the drivetrain kept them from going all out
The final descent to the finish line was tough for some riders as mechanical niggles such as debris in the drivetrain kept them from going all out
Mechanicals ruined the race for some.
Mechanicals ruined the race for some.

The race wasn’t without its fair share of mechanicals for some racers. A couple of riders had their shock pumped and re-pumped literally minutes before the race itself. One had a run-in with some trail features leading to an instant single-speed situation down the mountain, while another rider had a friend, a nearby resident, hand him a shock pump as he was climbing the liaison stage. His fork was leaking air so each stage meant he needed to pump the fork up. It didn’t stop him from getting a top 10 finish though. Impressive.

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Dirty bikes, dirty riders but 110% good, clean fun! If the atmosphere at the start felt electric, the mood at the finish was pure stokage. Racers comparing notes, telling stories and cheering one another. This is the famed Spirit of Enduro that we’ve all been hearing about.

Podium Finishers
Podium Finishers

One thing that the KALIBIGAHU Enduro Lite Challenge proved was the virality of Enduro racing. It was amazing to see how something so popular on the world stage can still go back to its grass roots state and be embraced by a whole community – from the highest office in the municipality to the volunteers from the cycling community. Mayor Dong, Konsehal Diday, Willy Chavez and the people of Jose Panganiban have been bitten by the Enduro bug, and it seems like the KALIBIGAHU Enduro Lite race was only the beginning.

Smiles all around for our finishers!
Smiles all around for our finishers!

Acknowledgements:

Thanks to VICTOR HOTEL for accommodating the race participants (as well as our) needs – i.e. keeping the muddy, dirty bikes in the rooms or the hotel lobby.
Thanks to DLTB Buslines and Noli Pili for ATTACKmtb and TEN transportation arrangements. We wouldn’t have gone home without your help.
Thanks to Willy for the transpo, to Konsehal Diday for the warm welcome and the people of Jose Panganiban for the hospitality, the smiles and the liters of softdrinks.
Special mention to Air Force for helping me out during the track read. This pseudo-bike journo would’ve fainted due to heat stroke if it weren’t for your help! haha Salamat!

More information on www.enduropilipinas.com

Words & Pictures: Sly Lumbao / Francis Peña


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