VCOP rides to San Pablo City!
October 22, 2007Approximately 82 kilometers southeast (or is it southwest?) of Manila and about 500 feet above the mean sea level lies San Pablo City - a place known as the “City of Seven Lakes.” Right at it’s heart is a suburban hub bustling with people, commerce and the resulting traffic; but the backroads still possesses the rustic, rural ambiance with cool and fresh winds fanned by the swaying coconut breeze against the backdrop views of Mounts San Cristobal and even Banahaw on a clear day.
Yesterday, the Vespa Club of the Philppines (VCOP) headed to that direction upon the invitation of two of our members (brothers-in-law Enjo & Jojo) who are based there. Ironic as it may sound, it’s actually my first time to join a VCOP out-of-town ride. By car, San Pablo is just a 90-minute drive via the expressway. The VCOP boys took-off past 6AM and took the longer but scenic route of the Sierra Madre foothills (via Famy) which clocked approximately 3 hours to get to our destination riding for 153kms. Just before heading to San Pablo to meet our gracious hosts, we stopped by the Calauan Church to meet-up with our friends from Scoot66 who took a different route and arrived there ahead and patiently waited for us.
VCOP-Scoot66 Meet-Up. Happy faces, growling tummies (photo courtesy of mini_me)
After a short rest and some chitchat outside the church, we headed to the city and were met by our gracious hosts by the roadside who the led us to this sprawling school property (special thanks to the owners of Blue Danube School) which has a perfect view of Mt. San Cristobal. For lunch, our host’s family prepared a hearty meal: pansit, binalot (rice topped with chicken adobo and wrapped in banana leaves) and lechon. For dessert, there’s that very memorable sansrival (on hindsight, I’m regretting I only got a slice) and some polvoron. Of course, there’s some beer for those who need to have their fill with some after-meal chatter and banter. We headed to the biggest and most popular of the seven lakes — Sampalok Lake for our final stop before we left for Manila. Here’s the photo of all the scoots and riders who participated in this milestone ride.
count ‘em all. 25 scoots! (photo by Vexel9)
Again, our thanks to Enjo & Jojo and their family for hosting a group of hungry and rowdy riders and treating us with that special kind of San Pablo hospitality.
the last stop at Sampalok Lake with Mt. San Cristobal as backdrop (photo courtesy Jojo)
- - - - - - - - - -
• Here are some ride details courtesy of Vex’s GPS mounted on his scoot:
Shell-Julia Vargas to San Pablo, Laguna - (via Famy)
Departure: 6:54am
Arrival: 11:40am
Time Moving: 3h 19mins
Distance Traveled: 153km
Moving Ave: 46.1km/h
Max Speed: 89.7km/h
San Pablo, Laguna to Shell-Julia Vargas (via Calamba)
Departure: 2:02pm
Arrival: 5:31pm
Time Moving: 2h 38mins
Distance Traveled: 92.9km
Moving Ave: 35.1km/h
Max Speed: 86.2km/h
• For more pics, view Vexel9’s Flickr album, Jojo’s shots or visit this VCOP furum thread.
We’ll be back, San Pablo!
-o-
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J0HNRANA
john[dot]rana[at]gmail[dot]com
[...] After a short rest and some chitchat outside the church, we headed to the city and were met by our gracious hosts by the roadside who led is to this sprawling family-owned school property with a view of Mt. San Cristobal. [READ MORE…] [...]
i love scooters
Consumption Junction Humor
parang nag-crave ako sa sansrival ah!!! makapag goldi nga maya hehehe
nice kwento john… talagang masaya mag-ride out-of-town.. too bad i missed this one (family muna)…
next ride!
astig! sana makasama ako minsan
parehas pala tayo mario di nakasama…..
Mario & Bhong, may next time pa naman eh.
Rem, hope to ride with you soon. Wag kang mawawala sa Vespa Attack 3 sa December 1 & 2. Photo ops. hehehe Nakikita ko kasi mga shots nyo sa Inquirer eh.
nice ride review sir!!!
hope to ride with you again soon, yung malayo na!!!
thank’s again!!!
-supok_168
kaingit naman,mga sir magkano ba price ng vespa ngayun?
nice ride… one battalion of wasps… galeng!!
may mga vitto bang kasama????
supok, sana nga.
Goryo, nowadays you’ll be lucky to find a 2nd hand Vespa PX lower than P100,000.
Thanks, R2V2. Yes, may mga Vitto na kasama, but they’re all Vespas to me.
REM ZAMORA mag log-in ka sa http://www.vespaclubph.com
Ride safe!
very nice scooters. nice venue - blue danube school. missed this event. was just a few meters away within the school campus, but bedridden. enjo and jojo wanted to fetch me.
“… this sprawling family-owned school property…” ???
He Alfredo! Thanks for allowing our group into your school premises. Hope we didn’t cause too much trouble.
Will provide a link to your school’s blog within the post.
nakakatuwa kyong lahat sana magkaroon din ako ng vespa….maagiipon muna ko para mkabili ako…GOD BLESS YOU ALL!!!!
thanks, john. really great to have your vespa group visit san pablo. postponed last time due to stormy weather right? was really hoping to meet the group and admire your italian scooters. enjo and jojo are great hosts. sayang not to have seen the eyeball personally. hope there will be more EBs of your group in the campus. and hopefully, am in a much better health condition. congratulations to the hosts and your group! invictus