These Jeepneys are a common public transportation option. On the ride to Bontoc I was passed by several motorcycle clubs since it's Friday I suspect.  I also ran into 2 British birders and guide who showed me great views of 2 flame-breasted fruit doves - spectacular birds.  The next day I rode up to Maligcong for a hike and more terraces, these still in use and even being repaired .  Massive amounts of hand labor! Had good luck with birds too.  The ride to Sagada went down a river valley before the inevitable climb. Sagada has plenty of Filipino tourists and a few foreigners, many fewer than pre-COVID I'm told.  Interesting to be in a tourist town in both bad (you're supposed to get a guide to do anything, lots of hotels/guesthouses, souvenir shops, higher prices) and good: Yougurt and lemon pie with decent local coffee. Bryan's loop is going well, but he was rain

We rode to Banaue just beating the rain and holed up for 3 nights.  The "downstairs" of our hotel was actually the 10th floor from the other side. Banaue's rice terraces are mostly being abandoned or converted to cash crops like tomatoes and broccoli.  Tourism is more rewarding and much easier than farming rice also.  We explored an excellent museum of local wood carving. We've also found some good food, some at eateries and some at the market. Papaya and soursop/guanabana Daily mango snack. Schools are all over, well-maintained and busy here. After waiting out the rain we've split up for a bit.  Bryan is doing a loop to see 3 more UNESCO-listed terraces (plus several others) while I've crossed the divide to reduce the rain possibility and strain on my knee, which doesn't like the steeper roads.  I'll poke around spending more time bi

Since the last post we rode over the old highest road (now second by 18m) in the Philippines on the way to Tinoc.  First we spent a night in a college's Guestel, the only lodging in the tiny town of Ambangeg.  We took different roads to Kabayan where I went for a hike and found some nice birds.  Bryan (mountain goat that he is) explored the high road. This region is a fully agricultural area with mostly manual labor.  Up high there are lots of cabbage, carrot and potato plots.   They're clearly trying to deal with trash and the roads don't have too much. The riding can be very steep and our day over to Tinoc had some tough sections. It was the weekend and we passed by a camping area and were invited to a wedding, unfortunately 2 days later.    At the top there's a protected area with a pretty and much moister forest. The very steep descent had several road maintenance issues...

After two flat warm-up days we headed up (UP!) into the Cordillera.  First was a 4000' climb on a road fought over in WW2 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Villa_Verde_Trail). Many Filipino cyclists on the climb, including our first fellow touring rider and a group of fast kids on a training ride. It was windy, misty and chilly at the top so down we went for the night.  A nice stop was our first waterfall. After a short time in the valley it was up again to Kayapa. We found a 2-BR homestay with a good cook so took a day to explore nearby.  By luck the tiny village we walked into (70  households) was celebrating the first birthday of a resident and included us in the festivities. Here's our route FYI:  Angeles City - Tarlac - Tayug - Santa Fe - Kayapa so far.  Next up Bokod - Kabayan - Tinoc - Banaue.

It's great to be riding!  Bryan and I spent 2 days riding to the edge of the mountains through the "rice bowl" of the Philippines.  Once you're out of the cities the riding is pleasant.  We've been leaving at sun-up to beat the heat for a few hours.  Here's a sense of it: Many of the roads are on raised beds between the fields. Our routing has been a bit problematic a couple of times, but always fun. We came across this memorial shrine to the 31,000 Bataan survivors who died in a prison camp here. Making coconut milk. We're officially transients here!