Life is strange. Riding reflections upon turning 55

Life is strange.

Who would have thought a decade ago that I would be celebrating my 55th birthday  riding  with friends, many of whom  not too far away from my age. When I turned 50, Vic Agustin (Randy's favorite columnist), greeted me happy birthday in his column with some amazement about  " this golden boy  riding late in life despite having scoliosis".  I did not know whether I should be thankful for his felicitations or mad for  his having essentially called me  "old hunchback biker wannabe".

Its been 5 years since, and have travelled  with many of  you guys all over the country from the Mt Province  to Mindanao- plus Borneo (although Amina will say that's really part of the country, or at least the Sulu Sultanate).  Its been a great ride, and grateful for your company, not just at the ride, but as Doc Francis said in his birthday greeting sms-- " in this highway called Life".  Gracias, los Hombres.

(Incidentally, for those wondering how the name of our egroup "hombres" came to be, this is thanks to Philip who put up our egroup/riders group 3 years ago  almost to the day (Sept 19, 2006).  He had in mind my sms calls to ride to our group of friends, sometimes addressing everyone "hombres" .... in the style of the cowboy movies ).

Special  thanks  to our special guests, Jaime, Fernando, Pedro, and Do,  for the honor of your presence. It was through the kindness  of Pedro that Ibba and I got to own our first BMW, by practically giving it away. Of course, it is thanks to Jaime, Fernando and Do  that I was able to afford the subsequent up-grades at market prices!! :^) . Salamat po.

Amina and my non-rider children- Mini and Peppy- joined us today- thank you waking up at an infernal time. We used to ride a lot as a family when I still had the energy to pedal two wheels-- and when there were bike lanes--i.e. in the Washington DC area for ten years.

I  thank Amina  for caring much to understand this particular mania--and recognizing it as good therapy-- despite my consistent refusal to get extra life insurance as many of you had. (In my case, my refusal was a question of  survival.  I did not think I ought  to provide her with even more incentive than I already do).

Thanks to my buddy, Philip-- my neighbor and co-bad influence.  Though we started riding,  he has left me far behind in terms of skill level. But then he's at least a decade younger-- or looks like it.  And able to ride the rough twisties of the Cordellierias with our other early ride buddy-- my kid brother -Ibba. (Thank you to General Boy for being our first mentor).

Maraming salamat  to our guru, my kuya Randy, who by  putting  into words the meaning and poetry of riding-- and helped us and our loved ones appreciate this "irrationality" -- making it almost understandable to them.  And for being around to be poster boy  for  the Hombres, and making us almost  respectable.  This is very important for getting visas  from many of  our wives  (though he is  in the states, thanks to our 78 year old ride buddy , Brod Pete-- for being our inspiration---  and our aspiration).

And not the least, our commander-- Eric, for planning, organizing, and leading all of our expeditions- with meticulous care and detail --   our "mother hen" as Randy correctly put it-- an officer, a gentleman, a leader-- and occasionally when needed,  a mechanic and videoke king.  Thank you,   Eric,   together with our doctor rider buddies, Benjie and Paul,  that  I am still in one  piece at age  55.    And equally,  thanks to your lovely lady, dermatologist Doc Michelle,  who has kept me pretty at 55.

Maraming salamat po.