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Magazine Feature: Riding the North Luzon Loop

May 16, 2008

The epic ride we at Vespa Club did got an 8-page exposure in the May 2008 edition of Homestyle magazine (P150/National Bookstore). Special thanks to Mon (our club’s VP) and Vanni (the mag’s Managing Editor) for making this glossy feature possible.

Below are soft copies of the page layouts which appeared in pages 114 to 121 of Homestyle’s current ish.


click thumbnails for a bigger display of the 8-page spread

I’m reposting the entire article below. Some of the photos may differ from those which appeared in the magazine as some text in the article are actually photo captions of specific images. :)

Read on…

-o-
{▫}
J0HNRANA

john[dot]rana[at]gmail[dot]com


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John Rana and friends ride their scooters through 11 provinces in four days, amassing enough moments of pure camaraderie and unforgettable sightseeing to easily outlast the memory of their stinging backsides.

The North Luzon Loop is one of the three main Tourism Highways recommended by the Department of Tourism (DOT) for anyone who wants to explore the breathtaking sights of the Philippine countryside; the other two being the Pan-Philippine Highway (a 2,500-kilometer arterial road network from Manila to Davao in Mindanao via Bicol in Southern Luzon and Samar and Leyte in Eastern Visayas), and the Nautical Highway (which covers 919 kilometers of land and 137 nautical miles of sea travel through routes utilizing the RORO network of ferry terminals and vessels).

The Loop is the shortest of the three and involves inland travel throughout, making it a popular long-ride route for local bikers. There’s even the annual Iron Man Challenge for big bikers that require them to do the trip in less than 24 hours. But for a rider to truly experience the beauty of the countryside, we knew it would be best not to hurry.

So that was exactly how we at the Vespa Club planned it. We scheduled a four-day ride (February 28-March 2) to complete the adventure which took us around the provinces of Bulacan, Pampanga, Tarlac, Pangasinan, La Union, Ilocos Sur, Ilocos Norte, Cagayan Valley, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya, Nueva Ecija and back for Thursday until Sunday.

As luck would have it, another scooter club have planned the same long ride to Pagudpud within the same time frame although their route had them starting from the opposite (east) side. When EuroScoot president Cliff Certeza and I (his counterpart in Vespa Club) talked about the timely coincidence, we agreed that the two Manila-based groups should meet up north for a fellowship night of sorts. So a higher purpose for this long ride was born. It also helped that some officers and members of another scooter club (Scoot66) decided to come along with our club to be our guest riders and made this epic ride at the tip of Luzon even more historic. (Our odometers clocked 1,400-or-so depending on where exactly in Manila we are based.)

Here’s the story of this epic journey as told through pictures. Read the rest of this entry ?

Posted in Art Vespa, Local Scene, Personal, Photos, Rides & Travels | 11 Comments »

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A Pinoy scootering podcast interview (with 10 takes to intro!)

March 6, 2008

I was scouring my hardrive and searching the Vespinoy forum looking for a picture of Bimbo & me to go with this blog entry. The irony is that I found out that we have none together. hahaha! :D The images below are the best pics that I could find taken last year during the Vespinoy Christmas Party. Notice the subtle ‘good & evil’ theme (more like Mara Clara! hahaha). I was hoping to show you the faces behind the voices you’d hear in the podcast episode I’ll be discussing below.

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mean & evil Bimbo aka Vespinoy and friendly me. bwahahaha!

Three Thursdays ago, Bimbo & I went on a conference call via skype with Dave Mangano of sctrcst.com who wanted to touchbase and know what we’ve been up to lately. Bimbs & I have done separate episodes for this scootering podcast/internet radio but it was our first time doing it together. Of course, I felt less pressured doing this one since its my second time and I’m with somebody whom I’m very comfortable with. Bimbo (I now call him “AmboyG”) always had an easy time doing interviews like this with his impeccable American accent… hahaha :D It was a very relaxed and free-wheeling interview. I hope you have fun listening to it as much as we had when we recorded it. Listen to the episode here. Read the rest of this entry ?

Posted in Local Scene, Personal, Pinoy Iskuterista | 4 Comments »

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This blogger will guest on TV!

February 28, 2008

thesweetlife.jpgLast week I was invited to guest on the show “The Sweet Life” – an early evening lifestyle talkshow hosted by Lucy Torres with Wilma Doesnt as co-host – as their topic will be about bloggers. The episode was taped early last week and I was informed it will be aired on Friday (Feb 29) on QTV channel 11. Since the station airs American Idol season 7 (which was promoted locally by way of a Vespa motorcade) in the former’s timeslot at 7PM, it would be safe to assume that the bloggers’ episode will be moved an hour earlier or later. hehehe

Anyway, the guest lineup consist of both celebrity and non-celebrity bloggers. Here’s a snapshot that my wife took while we were taping. Read the rest of this entry ?

Posted in Personal, Photos, Television, Topic Off-Vespa | 16 Comments »

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Topic Off-Vespa: “Someone Someday”

February 27, 2008

Hope you would excuse this very personal blog entry. What prompted me to post this is the untimely demise of a good friend, Paulo Clemente. He is a colleague in the wedding industry who’s made a name for himself as a talented wedding singer. If you know him, I have written some other details about this very sad news in the W@W News Blog.

Anyway, a couple of years ago, I asked Paulo if he could sing the demo of a song I have written. Entitled “Someone Someday,” it served as a personal anthem when I was still in my early 20s at a stage in my life when I didn’t know what exactly I wanted to do. I had just graduated but couldn’t land in a job that I like. I somehow knew then that I’ll be able to achieve something but I just didn’t know how and when I’m gonna get there. Maybe I wrote it to cope when my self-worth was at it’s lowest. As a songwriter, I vowed then never to write sad songs, but only to write about things with a message of hope.

I’m finally posting it here in memory of Paulo, a friend who gave life to the song. Hear it here. Read the rest of this entry ?

Posted in Music, Personal, Topic Off-Vespa | 8 Comments »

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Riding “blind” and “invisible”

January 22, 2008

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Pyke & I finally got to the ‘Highest Point’

This post is sort of a follow-up to two of my previous entries: Q & A: Installing HID to a Vespa PX and Conquering the ‘Highest Point’.

A little rewind to last week: As I was preparing my scoot for the long ride to the Highest Point / Mt. Data, I noticed that I find it hard to electro-start my scoot, so I had to resort to that good ol’ fashion kickin’. Upon checking, my mechanic noticed that the battery isn’t charging. Had the battery charged and with just a short ride, I lost my horn and my headlamps. It was then diagnosed that my regulator’s busted. I had a new regulator installed just to make sure I’ll be ready for the ride as we’re leaving at dawn.

On the day of our takeoff, just a few kilometers and still in Manila, it happened again. Horn gone and my headlamp (halogen lowbeam) is weaker than my parklight. The HID / high beam doesn’t work anymore. Then I suspect the HID kit is causing all that electrical problems I never had before. I’m writing this to serve as a caution to all those considering installing an HID kit on their PX. I’m still willing to give it another shot but I’m definitely switching back to the more reliable halogen for long rides.

Having said that, I ridden the entire stretch of the trip with no horn and a very weak headlamp. But upon heading home, I also lost two of my side mirrors. How come? Well, I crashed. :( Read the rest of this entry ?

Posted in My Vespa, Personal, Rides & Travels | 14 Comments »

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WikiPinoys of the Year (2007)

January 7, 2008

Yesterday, I got this great news from Noemi that this blog was just named as one of the WikiPinoys of the Year (for Sports & Leisure). That’s awesome news for me!

Here’s a clipping of the feature which appeared in yesterday’s edition of Manila Bulletin (Student & Campus section). Gotta get myself a copy for posterity. :D

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image courtesy of Noemi

I know the whole thing is hardly readable so here’s the full text from the news feature: Read the rest of this entry ?

Posted in Newsflash!, Personal, Topic Off-Vespa | 9 Comments »

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Off-Vespa Ride: the day I almost gave up on mountain biking!

January 2, 2008
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phone pic courtesy of Yey

The picture above depicts a very serene landscape… an uphill, newly-paved, winding road with clear view of the morning skies and lush greens on each side. But zoom in by the roadside and you’d see someone who’s not on the bike but leaning onto it instead. Unfortunately, that had to be me. :(

It was the morning of December 23, Sunday, the day before Christmas eve. There I was, gasping for breath and beginning to question myself why I even considered going up this so called “cardiac hill” which to me was more likely to cause a “cardiac arrest” than any leisurely cardio-boosting adrenalin pump-up. I was with Yey, Bimbo & Des who are basically beginners in this biking trail which involves mostly rocky dirt roads that stretches from Sta. Rosa in Laguna all the way up to Silang, Cavite and back. The four of us had a good 15 to 30 minutes head start from the rest of the Sabak boys who’ve been up there countless times before. But as you could see in the picture, they still managed to catch up with me.

Yey and Bimbo managed to make it on the first stop uphill called the ‘buko stop’ (so named since bikers can rest & relax there to rehydrate with some refreshing coconut water after the grueling uphill climb). Des & I had to stop again and sit on fallen tree trunk and were already on the verge of giving up. At that time, I personally never felt that a coconut was worth all that trouble. But of course, I kept that dorky comment to myself. :D Then, the last two of the Sabak riders (Edwin & Jun) stopped by and casually chatted with us. It was more like a pep talk and they wouldn’t let us be left there by ourselves despite our prodding for them to go ahead to the next stop. Maybe they sensed that we’re ready to go back the other way and wait in our cars. hahaha! So the four of us went on. On hindsight, I’m so glad the Sabak boys encouraged us to go on with the ride. Here’s how I look upon reaching that buko stop. Read the rest of this entry ?

Posted in Personal, Photos, Rides & Travels, Topic Off-Vespa | 10 Comments »

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Maligayang Pasko sa lahat (Merry Christmas to all)!

December 25, 2007

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my wife Benz, my daughter Kite, me and Pyke
(photo by: Jayson Arquiza)

 

From our family to yours,
here’s greeting you the most wonderful Christmas
and even more blessings for 2008!

 

Cheers!
~John, Benz & Kite
www.weddingsatwork.com
whoridesavespa.com

Posted in My Vespa, Personal, Photos | 15 Comments »

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Vespa Club of the Philippines 2008 Officers

December 19, 2007

Last Friday, Vespa Club of the Philippines (VCOP) held it Christmas Party at Pivo Beer and Brats in Ortigas Home Depot complex (thanks for accommodating us, Rikki!). At the same time, Rico & Eugene (VCOP co-founders) decided to hold the very first election for the club on that same day. Here’s the list of of the VCOP officers for 2008.

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from left: Mario (sec), Rico (past prexy), Joseph (RD), Mon (VP), Dax (PRO) and me (prexy) [photo courtesy of Bob R. aka don vitto]

President - John Rana (bartmaniac)
VP / Tresurer - Mon Santelices (Naughty DOG)
Secretary - Mario Rodas (waspUP)
PRO / Enforcer - Dax Morfe (cruiserdax)
Ride Director - Joseph Santos (projectV)

I know what you’re thinking. I couldn’t believe it myself, at first. Me… Vespa club president? :D haha! Read here for some backstory so you won’t remain as shocked. ;) Read the rest of this entry ?

Posted in Local Scene, Personal | 18 Comments »

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Art Vespa: a Pop Art of my Vespamilya!

December 9, 2007

Enrico & Bing Gaw of Gallery 7 / Art is Me gifted us with our very own 16×20 family pop art. My wife & I were never really into buying paintings nor having big portraits of ourselves displayed in the house that’s why, for the longest time, our walls have been bare… until now.

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We felt that this pop art is the best compromise between a painting and our self-portrait: casual, colorful, fun, a bit self-indulgent but definitely not highbrow. :)

Enrico simply asked me to send a high-res photo via email and I submitted one from this series. After a few of days, we already got an email from Bing with a couple of studies for approval. We sent back our comments and color suggestions and that was all there is to it. The only time we physically saw each other was when I picked-up the actual artwork in their shop. It helped that we have an idea of the quality of their work.

 

Here’s a closer look of the final artwork of my Vespamilya. Read the rest of this entry ?

Posted in Art Vespa, Personal, Shop Talk | 4 Comments »

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