Bisi(kle)ta Iglesia 2016 | Part 2

After looking around the church grounds and did not see any biker around, I went out and saw this:

© UFB Member: Beverly Sta Maria

I knew I found them because my uncle is easy to spot! Haha! He's a UFB internet sensation. LOL. He's one of the group admins and he's one of those raising their hand. Whew! At least we were still not lost.

They just arrived when I went out and since I already went in, we just waited together with the others for those who went inside and prayed. It probably took us a good 15 minutes before we left the place. Imagine how many were we there, right? If in case you can't imagine it yet, let me show you another picture:

© UFB Member: Adam Suanico

Almost all those heads that you can see are bikers. Obviously, the one on the left is not one of us - he's a MMDA officer. Haha! Different bikes were there as usual - road bike, mountain bike, fixie and of course, the group favorite - folding bike. Members were having photo opportunity while waiting for the others. Once we're good, we head straight to White Plains as we are to go to our next church in Green Meadows.

Third church for the day is at Christ the King at Green Meadows. We arrived there first thinking they're there already, right? Uhmmm.. We got it wrong. It's a different church! Hahaha! It was a Mormon Church - Manila Philippines LDS (Mormon) Temple that we saw in that corner. Dang it. Christ the King was far from there. Here's the real Christ the King Church:

© wikimapia.org

It's a pretty big church and it's air conditioned. It has a large parking space but if you're on a bike, prepare to go uphill although it'll be short. There were a lot of vendors on the left side of it and we were treated for a feast of cold drinks, quail eggs, cotton candies and some sorts!

The church has super duper nice interior! It was said that it's perfect for a wedding! Look at this shot during ordinary days:

© Erron Ocampo

Christ the King is a title of Jesus referring to the concept of the Kingdom of God where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.

How to go there:

By car / tax:

• From Edsa, once you see the People Power Monument turn right at White Plains Avenue.
• Keep right until you see the Church of the Latter Day Saints, turn right at Temple Drive.
• Keep going forward until you reach Greenmeadows Avenue to turn left.
• Keep going forward along Greenmeadows Avenue until you reach the Christ the King Parish Church on the left side of the road.

By jeepney:

• From Cubao, ride a Cubao-Rosario Jeep on Gen. Romulo Avenue cor. Aurora Boulevard in front of Mercury Drug.
• You'll be passing by areas of Cubao, 20th Avenue, Bonny Serrano Avenue(Santolan), E. Rodriguez Jr. Avenue(C5).
• Along E. Rodriguez Avenue don't get off until you reach Jollibee Greenmeadows Branch on the right side of the road.
• From Jollibee, unfortunately, there's no public transportation from here other than a taxi, you may choose to walk for about 500m less or more along Greenmeadows Avenue to get to the church.

After praying and eating, off we went to Mary the Queen Parish in Greenhills.

We're just a walk away from Greenhills but imagine my surprise that there's another church hidden in Madison. Haha! It's near Xavier and I know that school because my elementary service then used to pass by there but I never remember seeing a church.

I thought we were going to Sanctuario de San Jose - the popular church in Greenhills - but we did not go to the left from La Salle so yeah, we did not go there. My uncle was one of the ride leader (RL) and said that we'll go right on the second corner after Caltex. He was thinking of left but said right. So after Madison, some were saying that we should stop already coz we should have turned left at that corner. Funny because we're a lot and it's a challenge to go back because there were grills already on the way. Luckily, the stoplight says "Stop" for our lane and we got the chance to go back. It was funny at the same time because we were a lot - minimum of 50 bikers! And we got it wrong. Good thing it was Holy Thursday so we didn't cost much traffic. Imagine if it was a Manic Monday. The horror! Hahaha! Anyhoo, here's the church from my phone camera:

I love it's color and I remember our patron saint, Immaculate Concepcion. Not surprisingly, a school named Immaculate Concepcion Academy is beside that church. Also, this church is one of the few churches that caters to Filipino-Chinese community. Interesting, right?

There was a Mass on going when we arrived. There were a lot of people that's why I did not dare to go inside anymore. I was not even able to get a glimpse inside but it looks beautiful in the internet! Look!

© Weddings in the Philippines .com

After seeing some pictures, I am interested to go back just to see the inside! We stayed for 30 minutes! We waited for the mass to finish before we left.

On our way to the next church, I got a chance to bike side by side with a fixie biker. I am really amazed with these bikers but at the same time, irritated. :| I'm amaze because they only use one gear and they don't have a break. The only way for them to stop the bike is to either skid or pedal back and it's challenging! I get amaze even better when I see lady fixie bikers. But still, I'm mostly irritated with them. Why? They usually don't wear helmets. :( My uncle use to tell me that I should always wear helmet because if I don't love my life, other people love me and they don't want me to die just yet. So if I don't care about myself, at least care for those people that I love that I know will be hurt. So I'm mostly irritated because I care about these people not wearing helmet and for type of bikers - these are usually those who use fixie. They said it looks "cool". But would we really sacrifice being "in" instead of our safety? Y'know. Just my two cents.

Anyhoo, take a look at a fixie bike! They are usually colorful! I want to try riding one! They said it's hard to move a fixie because you need to know how to carry your own weight in order to make it move. Hmmm...

© Pinterest

Oh! And before I forget, here's how to go to Mary the Queen Parish:

If you're coming from EDSA Ortigas, ride a bus to Quiapo or jeep to San Juan. Ask the driver to drop you in Madison. By then, use the foot bridge to go to the other side of the street and go straight. After the first corner, you'll see the church on your left.

Next stop, Mt. Carmel Church. See you on my next blog post!

To be continued...

Bisi(kle)ta Iglesia 2016 | Part 1

I have found the love for biking last year but only got a bike of my own last January of this year. Starting then, I have religiously go to work via my bike.

I have also love churches since I cannot remember when and have always wanted to go to different churches - especially for the past few months; probably because I'm looking for the best church for my wedding? Or I just love the design and the oldness of it.

Did you know? My ambition when I was a kid was to become an architect. And here I am.. far from it. Haha! I had that ambition before because I wanted to build our own house!

When I learned that there's what they called "Bisikleta Iglesia" during Holy Week, I really wanted to join! Bike + Church?! Pardon me as I salivate on the thoughts of this!

Bisikleta Iglesia is actually the same with Bisita Iglesia / Visita Iglesia wherein you visit different churches as part of penance and then pray. As a practice here in the Philippines, we recite the Station of the Cross depends on how many churches we're going into. Some only go to 1 church then go from station to station as all churches have the Station of the Cross. Some go to 7 churches and recite 2 station per church while the others will really visit 14 churches! This is usually being done on a Maundy Thursday but can be done until Good Friday or before the death of Christ at 3PM. The difference of Bisikleta Iglesia to this is instead of walking to different church locations, we use our bike for transportation.

I saw two events for Holy Week. The first one was organized by United Folding Bikers aka UFB. Picture below was taken during last year's Bisikleta Iglesia and that was Binondo Church at the background. This year's event happened on a Holy Thursday at 2PM, meet up at UP Diliman Oblation, ride out at 3PM to visit different churches around that vicinity.

photo grabbed from event's invite

Another event are from a bike group called Cyclists for Christ. This happened on a Good Friday. Rideout was at 7:30AM and off they went to Jubilee Churches of the Diocese of Cubao. Since I've been to Jubilee Churches early this month with my parents, I am really looking forward to go to more Jubilee churches. As quoted, "The Jubilee officially began when Pope Francis opened the Holy Door of Mercy at Saint Peter’s Basilica last December 8th, 2015. Cathedrals and designated churches all over the world have similar Holy Doors, and they will remain open during the Jubilee Year." That's why during my first Visita Iglesia this year, we went to different churches and entered their Holy Doors. Entering the door is symbolic of entering into God’s mercy, whose loving and compassionate embrace waits for people with repentant hearts. That's why I want to join this event as well by Cyclists for Christ!

photo grabbed from a member's cover photo

The dilemma? I have work during Holy Week - Monday to Thursday from 11PM-8AM. So it's either R and I join the event and don't get sleep or leave early on a Friday morning to join the Cyclists for Christ but R won't be with me. I'm okay with being deprived of sleep - as they say, you know you're important if a person sacrifices his time and sleep for you. So what's a little sacrifice of sleep just to do the Bisita Iglesia, Way of the Cross and say a little prayer, right? But then, I don't want to leave R at home nor I want to go alone although I'm already contemplating on that. So... it's for R to decide. Haha!

I have told him I wanted to go to Bisikleta Iglesia because for sure we can't do our usual Alay Lakad since we have work on a Thursday night. He doesn't want to join the Bisikleta Iglesia because he knows we'll lack some sleep. So I keep on giving him hints ever since I knew about the ride. Come Wednesday, he said that he will only go to Bisikleta Iglesia with me IF I go out at 8AM from work. He choose UFB as well since we've been going on a ride with them since January and already know some people and would be familiar with the pacing. It'll be a challenge to leave early for him as well on a Friday morning, that's why. So come Thursday shift at 8AM, I waited for a phone call from R to say that we're leaving.. And so we did. I did not make him wait. Kasi nga, ginusto ko 'to diba? We ate and were already sleeping before 11AM.

We set the alarm at 2PM. I set it 3 times for 3 intervals starting 1:30PM. But we were so asleep we woke up at 2:30PM! Boo! Ride out is at 3PM in UP and I don't think it's possible to arrive there by then! We still need to change clothes, freshen up and ride our bike - 8kms from our place and I don't know where's the church in UP! Que horror! But I know we still have time. The group pacing will not be that fast so we can still follow. So we decided to go and I told R that we'll just wait for the group on the second church - Monasterio de Santa Clara - 5kms away from us and I know the place.

Here are our church destinations for the day:

*Parish of the Holy Sacrifice, UP
*Monasterio de Sta. Clara
*Christ the King, Greenmeadows
*Mary the Queen, Greenhills
*Our Lady of Mt Carmel, New Manila
* Sto. Domingo Church
* St. Paul de Apostles

Before we left the house, I called my uncle to ask where are they and they said that they are about to leave UP Oblation, that was 3PM already. He told me to go to Christ the King instead because they'll be quick in UP and Sta Clara will be next so we can just meet them where it's nearer - Green Meadows. It's been so long since I passed by White Plains so I'm not familiar where Christ the King is. I have never been there as well so we just follow our guts and we can always ask anyway. I was looking for signs when I saw a village gate that has a tarpaulin for Christ the King so we went there and asked. They said that we need to go straight and on the stoplight, we'll see it. So we continue our journey and saw the church but we haven't seen any bikers yet.

photo grabbed from www.lds.org

So I checked my phone and was thinking they might still be in Sta Clara coz we were fast in pedaling on our way. So we waited... I then called my uncle to ask where are they. He said they're about to leave UP Church so we then decided to meet them in Sta Clara since it's not that far from where we are - 4kms long only.

We stopped by 7-Eleven convenient store on our way back to grab some food and drinks as we're exhausted already with the weather. We ate hotdog sandwich. I grabbed some energy bars, chocolate and Gatorade to replenish my energy. Then off we go to Sta Clara.

Did you know? If you're a biker and you passed by 7-Eleven, you can get some free ice through their Gulp Station and it won't cost a thing! Just act as you usually do it. Haha. A helpful tip I got from my uncle. *wink 

We then arrived at Monasterio De Santa Clara:

photo grabbed online

There were a lot of people - vendors, pilgrimages and polices. It's not hard to spot a biker especially a big group but I've never been inside so they might be in there. I asked R to watch our bikes and went inside but did not find them. While inside, I checked the place as well and say a prayer. I love the façade of the church as it's very beautiful and pleasing! I only know the church as people offer eggs here but nothing other than that. So, Google became my friend. *wink

Monasterio de Santa Clara or St. Clare Monastery is famous for people who would like to pray for clear skies, clear mind or clear conscience. They offer egg as egg whites are very clear and it's also a reference to the name of the saint herself - Claire - which means clarity. If you happen to pass by this church and you do not have eggs with you, you do not need to worry as there are a lot of vendors outside selling eggs and covered with colored cellophane depends on your offering. Best to ask the vendors to offer the correct color!

So if you want to pray for a good weather on a special event - wedding, birthday, pilgrimage and the likes, best to go here and ask for St Clare's intercession.

How to get there:

-From Cubao, one can ride a jeepney along Aurora Blvd. going to Marikina or Antipolo and alight at Katipunan Ave.

-Via LRT2, alight at the Katipunan station along Aurora Blvd. and walk towards Katipunan Ave.

To be continued...

Holy Week

This week is the Holy Week or what we call Lenten Season. You'll usually know it once you see those "palapaspas" on a Sunday. You'll feel it on the road as well. Less traffic to moderate to heavy come Wednesday then almost no vehicles on the road starting Thursday. This is the week that malls will be close as well. Sabi nga nila, "Panahon ng Pagninilay-nilay".

Since the start of R and I's relationship, we have been observing "Alay Lakad". That's a long walk from Greenhills to Antipolo Church on a Thursday evening. That's a total of 20 kilometers with a more or less 4 hours of walking. We've done it for 3 years but work got in the way so yeah. 😂😂 It's actually enjoyable as there are a lot of people who do that - some are even coming from Quiapo or farther than that! It's tiring but you won't really notice it. But then again, having a good companion is a plus. As they always say, travel is good to build relationship. By walking for 4 hours, what are you going to do but talk? I don't think you'll have a decent time walking just listening to music. Haha.

As you approach Antipolo, the uphill is best for Semana Santa or part of the sacrifice as you do the Way of the Cross. You'll feel the hardship as you ascend. You'll think of His hardship as well. There's even a part there that I always cry as it makes me realize how much of a sinner am I. Remember the part where Jesus is already on the Cross and He's talking to two sinners? That's the part. 😭😭

As a Catholic, the way we observe the Holy Week is through remembering Jesus' hardship - Way of the Cross. We do "Alay Lakad" or what we call "Visita Iglesia". That's what I always look forward during Holy Week. And then I saw this post in Facebook:



Make sense for those Catholic, right? It's Holy Week. Why not make some time to ponder on things and on our sins? As He died on the cross for us? Why look forward to go on vacation? At least give it some time and celebrate on Easter Sunday instead. Not to be righteous or anything. I just feel that it's wrong to enjoy yourself in the sun IF you did not even bother saying a prayer or reflect or visit a Church for this Lenten Season. I just feel bad about it. But you know? It's just me. Just my two cents. 😏

As for me? We have work til Friday morning but I am looking forward to sacrifice some sleep today. We arrived at 9AM today and we have plans on going out at 2PM today to join United Folding Biker's (UFB) Bisikleta Iglesia - that's going to churches via bike and saying a lil prayer for Way of the Cross. Hopefully it won't finish late as we need to go home, take a bath and go to work by 11PM. Hope we still have time to nap. Hihi.

So, what's your plan this week?

posted from Bloggeroid

A String of Lei

That title is the third time I'm typing the phrase "a string of lei". First, I typed it as the title of my blog and secondly, I typed it as the URL for my website. And yeah, I typed it again as the title of this first ever blog post! So why do I keep repeating it? Probably to give emphasis to what I'm doing right now - writing a blog, again.

This is the third blog that I have on my account. So I guess I can say that this is the third time I'm trying to blog. But, no. I've tried several times before. I've tried different websites and accounts. I got the feel of blogging, blog and then, stop. And here I am again...

I feel like I'm going into circles with what I'm typing as I'm doing a free form way of blogging. So, let's just talk about what I have on my mind.

I want to blog again to... free my mind. I want to get to know myself better and I'm thinking that I'll be able to do that if I keep on expressing myself - not the Twitter or Facebook or Instagram kind of way.

I'm thinking of words that define me and here's what I got for you:
-- Lei -- that has been my nickname since I was in high school. I've used it as a pseudo name although it's quite hard to link from my name.

-- Tolosa-Hunt Syndrome -- a sickness that started last September 2014 that I believe I've overcome already. Fingers crossed! Why? Just because the sickness can go back as early as every year. :(

-- reader -- I so love to read! That's one of the reason I got my sickness. Stress and making my eyes tired that it lead to inflammation of an eye nerve.

-- lover -- I'm madly deeply in love with R. Like seriously! Hahaha! I've been dreaming of getting married to him and I just can't wait for 2018! So yeah, you might read more about him here... let's see!

-- biker -- What I love right now. I've been biking since January of this year and been going to work via my bike. I'm enjoying long ride as well and wanted to always go somewhere every weekend with my bike! Hihi.

-- nature lover -- Ever felt like you want to run away every now and then? Or just go somewhere near nature? I'm such a sucker for trees, mountains, zoos and museums. Haha. I don't know. Although I fancy movies as well, I always want to travel. Goal: Go on a solo travel big time! Haha! The farthest solo travel I've been to was in Pampanga. I don't even think we can consider that a far solo travel but then again, let's include it for now, please?

-- coach -- My most loved job. Being able to lead people and seeing them grow and be successful as your agents up to having them being promoted makes me so proud not only of myself but of them. It gives me a different sense of fulfillment.

That's it for now! You probably have an idea now as to what I'll be talking about on this blog - more of less. This will be a string of topics that I'm thinking of. A string of me. A string of Lei. Ganern!