Baguio is known for its cold weather and astounding landscapes. For cyclists who are climbers, it’s heaven—the slopes are so high (and tiring) that we really thought angels would welcome us at the peak.
Marti Salva, one of our favorite cyclists to feature here, was with us in Baguio for work and we decided to use our bikes to get some things done. Riding a bicycle is a great way to explore a city so it’s like hitting two birds with one stone.
True enough, our bikes did not disappoint us. We’ve been to the summer capital of the Philippines many times and we can say that cycling made us appreciate this city more, admiring unique details and discovering places that we might have not discovered if we’re on a car.
We needed to go to Loakan Road and the security guard from the lovely Grand Sierra Pines Baguio mapped the way for us, saying that it’s “the best route.” He wanted us to go to Happy Hollow and see the scenic view from Kadaclan.
Like what they say, the best is not always the easiest.
We must admit that cycling Happy Hollow got us scared—it’s a crazy downhill ride to Kadaclan. Marlowe from cycling Instagram page @budolbuddyph checked its gradient on Komoot and told us, “mas malala pa ‘to sa Revpal.”
But the real challenge came in Kadaclan village. Marti, who was shaped by the ahons of Bataan, said that going up in this place was really difficult. We would hear car engines struggling too. It has an elevation of 1,422 meters and it was so steep (at least for us newbies) that it almost felt like we’re pedalling on a wall.
Did we walk? Of course—aero style. And we also rested, ate ice cream and took photos.
Some of our followers who live in Baguio saw our Instagram stories and they were surprised that newbies like us chose to take this route.
“This is the hardest for me in Baguio,” one replied over a picture of our bikes in Kadaclan. Another gave a comment, “ang tapang niyo to take on Happy Hollow.”
Well, we didn’t know. The guard became that day’s ultimate budol master.
Nevertheless, despite the hardships that we encountered, it was a fun ride. It was not just enjoyable, it was also beautiful. We would recommend it to others and would love to go back—we’ll train for it.
Of course, it’s tiring but we reached our destination and finished the task that we needed to accomplish. It was fun and literally job well done.
Baguio has strict entry protocols for tourists and it currently requires negative swab test results upon entering.