Bicycle Ride to the Valencia Monkey Sanctuary.

 

Being retired, I try to keep busy by pursuing a few hobbies, one of which is bicycle riding, and another is photography. I combine the two in order to pursue a third hobby - posting photographs to Google Maps.

Not so long ago, I began riding along the upper portions of Rovira Drive. That area is heading toward the bundok (mountain) and is quite an invigorating sprint. I'd frequently ridden up the road to a friend's house - about 4 kilometers from my home. Looking at Google Maps, I set my sights on the Palinpinon Barangay Hall.

From looking at the map, I learned that not too far from the Palinpinon Barangay Hall is the Buayahan Bridge. On the morning that I road to the Barangay Hall, I considered going on to the bridge, but frankly, the climb had worn me out and didn't believe I could continue on.

A few days after that ride, I learned that the Valencia Monkey Sanctuary is located at the bridge and I decided to condition myself to make the ride.

According to Google Maps, the bridge (and monkey sanctuary) is 8 kilometers from my place - making the round trip 16 kilometers - or 10 miles. As far as distance goes,10 miles is within my range. However, also according to Google Maps, my location is 21 meters above sea level and the bridge/sanctuary is a whopping 166 meters above sea level. That's a pretty good climb for an old fart like myself.

The first part of the week, I did a couple of 10 mile rides along the Diversion Road to prepare myself. I took off at 6:00 AM this morning, determined to make the ride. From my previous ride to the Brgy. Hall, I knew I'd be taking mini rest stops once I entered the bundok.

Thankfully, I made it.

I had hoped that there would be monkeys feeding near the bridge when I arrived, but I wasn't really expecting them there, however. I had been told that the monkeys only get close to the bridge when hungry. The odds of my arriving at feeding time were slim. I didn't mind. I was able to post photos of the bridge and the sanctuary sign onto Google Maps, and the ride itself was an accomplishment.

As I wrote above, Google Maps says the destination was 16 kilometers (10 miles) but according to the odometer on my bicycle, the trip was 15.29 km (9.5 miles). Either way, the ride was a personal best for me, considering the uphill climb. Besides, it was all downhill on the trip home.