Discovering Antipolo as Bikers’ Paradise *

More than 200 mountain biking enthusiasts were pleasantly surprised by the end of the “eco-adventure fun ride” that wireless provider Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) held at the Marikina Watershed.

It was a complete contrast to the street traffic and noise at the starting point along Marcos Highway in Cainta, Rizal. After 25 kilometers of urban thoroughfares that led up the hilly slopes, the riders celebrated their great finish by admiring the 360-degree view from atop one of Rizal’s highest points.

Darwin Flores, senior manager for community partnerships at Smart, was quick to remind the riders that the majestic view of nature’s perfection they witnessed that morning should not minimize the gravity of the problems besetting the watershed. “What they are seeing is just a work in progress,” he said.

Bike for the Environment started on the busy Marcos Highway.

The telco, together with the Philippine Disaster Recovery Foundation (PDRF) and the local government of Antipolo, is the main driver behind “Bike for the Environment,” which aims to promote awareness of the immediate need to save, heal and restore the Marikina Watershed.

The Marikina Watershed is a major catch basin for rainfall, streaming water to various water forms in surrounding areas. Its denuded state in 2009 could not absorb the excessive water dumped by typhoon Ondoy, causing massive flash floods in low lying areas nearby including Metro Manila.

Husband and wife bikers Rolly and Nida Barrientos hike up to the end-point of the 25-kilometer fun ride.

And so PDRF and its government and corporate partners including Smart launched the Marikina Watershed Initiative that same year, to help protect, reforest and rehabilitate the watershed.

“We brought the bikers here to let them know of our efforts under the Marikina Watershed Initiative. We want to let them see for themselves that there’s still a lot to be done. At the same time, we want them to frequent this route and be ambassadors for the protection of the watershed,” said Flores.

Antipolo councilor Edward O’Hara, a cyclist himself, joined the other bikers in the Marikina Watershed route traversing Marcos Highway, going up to Sitio Sapinit, Brgy. San Juan, Antipolo and Pintong Bukawe, San Mateo, RIzal. He said that aside from making more people aware of and involved in the MWI, the biking event “also helps in the promotion of Antipolo as an eco-tourism destination.”

“With regards to the protection of the Marikina Watershed, it is important that we engage people like what we are doing now. People should know that the Marikina Watershed shields Metro Manila from typhoons. That is why its rehabilitation is very important, not just to Antipolo but also to Metro Manila and other parts of Luzon,” he added.

The group of bikers passed by several communities living within the Marikina Watershed.

Husband and wife biking tandem Rolly and Nida Barrientos of Cogeo Antipolo said that “Bike for the Environment” was different from the numerous biking events they had joined.

Olive Cortez, a biker from Marikina City, was also happy to be in the company of fellow bikers with a noble cause.

Bikers persist through muddy, uphill slopes.

The bike event ends with a program at the breathtaking peak of one of Marikina Watershed’s highest points.

To know more about the Marikina Watershed and the efforts to rehabilitate the area, join the official Facebook community at www.facebook.com/MarikinaWatershedInitiative.