We felt trapped inside the apartment and biking to UP is not yet feasible as some side streets were still closed. So my daughter, Twin I, suggested we bike in BGC where they have dedicated bike lanes.

So we did. Waited for the sky to clear as it has been drizzling earlier yesterday morning. I loaded up our foldies at the back of the car, drove there for 40 mins then parked at OneParkade. I felt it was a bit safer to bike there since it was a weekend so the volume of cars is much less plus the bike lanes are protected by those orange posts that deter cars from occupying the bike lanes as they do in EDSA or C5.

Some sections of BGC don’t have bike lanes so we didn’t have much choice but to use the pedestrian lanes and sidewalks since I am with my daughter. If it was just me I can attempt riding on the streets.

We saw a bike rental in some parking lots. I haven’t investigated how these things work, like the bike only unlocks via an app? How do they keep these bikes from being stolen? In Taiwan they have something like Ubike there, the yellow rental bikes scattered all over Taipei. It makes sense since traffic in Taipei is bike friendly and their sidewalks allow bikes if there are no dedicated bike lanes. So if you live in one of the condos in BGC and work somewhere else in BGC, it makes more sense to get a bike or scooter than take Grab or a car. Parking in BGC is a nightmare as parking lots are always full.

So before going home, Twin I and I stopped at McDonald’s at the corner or 5th and 32nd street to get sundaes and cookies. Talk about carbo/sugar loading negating the calories we burned.

It was an eye-opener that I can bike in BGC on weekends but not with kids. It’s hard to keep them safe from the asshole drivers, like that taxi driver who entered the bike lane because he didn’t want to be held up by a red light. I shouted at the driver that what a prick he was for almost mowing us down.

So I told my daughter that we would just have to stick to UP Diliman for now, even just along University Avenue, until they open up the campus again for bikers and joggers. Maybe tomorrow, if I get off work early.