Squad goals: Nagba-bike kami para mawala ang stress at iwas sa toxic life.
That’s the answer of these three ladies—Zel, Sheng and Belle—when we asked them why they love cycling.
According to them, their barkada includes more girls who are also interested in bikes. Before Covid-19, you’ll regularly see them cycling around Navotas City. That’s their bonding activity.
“Dati nagre-rent pa kami, 20 pesos per hour para lang makapag-bisikleta,” Zel said. “10 pesos nga lang ‘yon dati noong bata pa kami.”
When the lockdown started, bike rentals became unavailable. This didn’t stop the girls from cycling, they bought their own second-hand bicycles. However, some of their girl friends were not able to buy their own.
When they have free time or when they want to destress, you can find these three ladies and their bicycles in Navotas Centennial Park. It’s an open space in their city where cycling is encouraged. It was a refreshing scene of hope: everyone follows the counter clockwise route and bikers respect each other. There’s no discrimination and everyone’s just having fun.
This park is not perfect but we love it! Hopefully when the chaos brought by this pandemic is over, Filipinos would get to appreciate open areas for recreation.
Why did their squad start riding a bicycle?
“Hindi pa kasi uso CP noon,” Zel said. “Sana sa susunod, ma-picturan niyo naman kaming barkada na kumpleto.”
CP is the shortened version of “cellphone.”
The last photo was provided by Zel. It shows the barkada in their rented bikes taken before the quarantine period.
