Last Fun Run of Bernardez Admin.
Sunday, Sept. 7, 2003

To commemorate the penultimate weekend of this administration, today we had a fun run to Quezon - and what a run it was!  The day began with the assembly at the Caltex station at Julia Vargas in Ortigas. I was first to arrive and soon after I was joined by Jojo Ozaeta, then Alfie, followed by Manong, Ruel, Lowell and finally Stanley.

Alfie and I are veterans of this run several times over and so is Lowell, and thus I was very happy to see Jojo, Manong, Ruel and Stanley this morning. Manong still with jetlag fresh from a trip from the US which was the cause for his ability to get up early this morning.

Stanley actually sneaked up behind me while I was calling him up as it was already 5:20am and nearing the stated take-off time of 5:30am. Thus he got there as I was ringing his phone and he was greeted by Alfie with the phrase "traidor ah!". I was unaware of what Alfie meant but as I turned around I learned that Stanley had brought not his Miata but rather a gorgeous red BMW Z3 with bright shiny 18in BBS wheels! Stanley complained that he was hungry and despite the fact that we were running late we allowed him to grab a sandwich and waited for him to sate his hunger before we left. After taking his sweet time with the sandwich we were on our way (delayed!) at about 5:40am. Take note that this guy, despite the notices on the list and the announcements over the text group still had the temerity to make me kulit the night prior texting me about take off times and confirmed participants.

I think that for next time we should leave earlier as the traffic in Antipolo is getting worse and it would be most preferable to hit those switchbacks and twisties without the jeeps and tricycles.

The weather was absolutely terrific, not hot at all and not a hint of rain. The run going was rather on the mild side and not as spirited as prior runs to Quezon, but still relatively fast. However, halfway through the trip the easy driving group consisting of Ruel and Stanley were getting left too far behind and beyond radio contact. So we decided to stop at a gas station to wait for them. The wait was rather long and Jojo, who was the last guy to see Stanley in his mirrors, suggests that we go back for them - and so turn back we did. Not 4km from where we were waiting we found the two with Stanley's "ultimate driving machine's" hood popped open and Stanley with a distressed look on his face.

"Ooooh what fun!" I said to myself. I immediately greeted Stanley with "So much for precision German engineering!" ;)

We inquired as to what happened and he explains that the gas pedal just went dead. We immediately diagnosed that it was the throttle cable. No big deal, worse comes to worst we call a flatbed to truck 007, James Bond's car back to Manila. We inspect and fiddle with the end of the throttle cable at the engine and that's alright, thus Manong assumes that it's the end at the throttle pedal. Stanley who by now has been fiddling under the dash without a clue as to what he's looking for is now sweating profusely and allows Manong to get under the dash to check behind the pedal. Indeed, it is the pedal end of the cable, the plastic socket to which the metal ball end of the cable attaches has been shattered. Because of his innate ability to get into tight restrictive areas where none of us can fit, Manong maneuvers himself under the dash and expertly takes a paper clip provided by one of the fellows and rigs the clip to lock the end of the cable to the pedal. Temporary fix, but it'll do.

And thus we were on our way with Ruel, myself and Manong playing nurse to the ailing bimmer while Alfie, Lowell and Jojo blast on ahead to play Mario Andretti at the twisties.

As Stanley was in front of me with his top up and the weather was so nice I radio him twice to ask him if he cared to stop to put his top down – no response. When we get to Baywatch he complains that his radio isn't working properly. Lowell checks it and discovers that although the channel is correct the code is incorrect - tsk tsk tsk! It seems that we've found Carlos Ramirez' long lost twin brother! ;)

We settle down underneath a hut by the beach and relax while listening to the ocean's current hitting the shore when suddenly we're hit by the offending sound of disco music blaring from the restaurant. Baywatch's staff had thoughtfully provided us with mood music for the benefit of our entertainment but we kindly ask them to turn it off preferring the restful sound of the waves slapping on the beach.

I try to get more participants for the racing school but no such luck. So we sit and just shoot the breeze with all sorts of inane banter and mindless drivel having loads of fun in the process. Finally, I put Stanley through a cross-examination and he confesses that the Z3 is his and that he bought it 2 months ago with 15th km on the odometer after which he got the BBS wheels for it and a new plastic rear window. Aha!! Alfie was correct! A traitor in our midst! ;)

For our brunch Alfie had ordered up a feast! 2 porkchops each, two lapu lapus in two ways, clams and squid. I actually wanted to sleep after because of the heavy meal but the others preferred to head on back at about 11am.

Jojo suggests a different route going back and halfway back we hit this alternate route. During all the previous runs to Quezon the run back was always the problem because of the traffic at Antipolo which is nothing short of horrendous! This time Jojo leads us through a route which takes us through the backside of Antipolo leading to Cogeo and Masinag market exiting at Marcos highway leading to Marikina.

The route is nothing short of glorious!!! Not only is it devoid of traffic, it is 40km of brand new concrete roads with endless switchbacks in sparsely populated areas! As in there is nobody there! This was the spirited part of the run and we were all haulin' butt through those twisties, using every last iota of adhesion we had in our tires! I was also enjoying the newfound supportiveness of the newly enlarged side bolsters of my seats which held me in place even during the most g-loaded turns that we were taking.

One minor ("minor" for us Miata mounted drivers) disadvantage is an unpaved 3km stretch of dirt road which one must go through on this route. We went through it no problem. But Stanley, in his "ultimate driving machine" with those beautiful, highly polished, 18in BBS wheels riding on oh-so-thinly-side-walled 35 series tires rolling over an unpaved gravel and dirt road, this guy was sweating bullets all throughout those three kilometers! While Jojo, Alfie and Lowell who were in front of us tore through that dirt road at 40kph and were done in no time. We, on the other hand, who were behind Stanley nursing his shiny new toy were traversing that dirt road at 5 to 10kph. But still we couldn't leave him as this was no place for his cable to snap. While we were on that road going at that pace with Stanley cursing the road over the radio, I was calculating 3km at 10kph . . . hmmm we're going to spend a good twenty minutes here - so what, we're in no hurry.

The big surprise was when we finally hit pavement again at the top of the hill. There we found a resort (Sierra Madre Resort) which would make a great breakfast place to take advantage of the roads without the unpaved portion. Only an hour from manila virtually deserted, the altitude is quite high for good weather, still with a healthy portion of concrete roads with plenty of switchbacks with no people! That we should do soon, I have their number and we can make arrangements. But this is a run for which we will need confirmations because we can't just show up there. They have to prepare. I'll discuss the details of what's there soon.

More of the same wonderful concrete roads on the way home and finally we hit Marcos highway and the others say their good-byes over the radio as they proceed to their separate destinations. Alfie, Jojo and myself decide to reconvene at Dencio's at the Fort and have a little snack to recap the trip. And a wonderful trip it was! One of the best Quezon runs ever! Jojo tells me that he travels that road all the time as that's where his farm is, but this is the first time he's taken his Miata and has always dreamed of doing it. Most of the time he brings his Trooper and because of the spirited drives in his Trooper on those roads he has already worn and rounded out the shoulders of the tires on that car.

We drove around 250km today and most of it under very enthusiastic pedal, steering and gearshift work and we're all very happy! You guys really should have joined us!

joeyb

PS

In all fairness to Stanley, that really is a pretty new toy he's got! After that dirt road, I bet he's washing and polishing it now! ;)

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