Bacolod Spa

I didn't expect to be back, this soon.
Barely a month ago, I visited Bacolod Spa upon a friend's recommendation for a much needed whole body massage. Though I had a vivid picture of what's inside from the regulars, I still caught myself lost in amazement at the whole experience. The reception, with it's earth-toned furnishing and soft-toned lighting set the stage for a truly relaxing and rejuvenating quiet time.
Using the sauna was a first for me then. The usage instructions was too small for me to read plus the fact that the light was low, I elected to sit at the corner and observe how it's done. My 20-min stay in the room must have dilated my pores to maximum which sent rivulets of sweat  down my legs. It wellmade up for months of having skipped running and biking.
For the massage, I chose the combination of swedish for its relaxing effect and thai to loosen up the kinks in my unused joints. Unlike before, the one hour did not leave me feeling punched all over deapite my preference of the application of hard pressure. Really, I have nothing negative to say about the whole experience.
Therefore, when madam mentioned about taking us (Jen and myself) out for some relaxation, I suggested Bacolod Spa. And I am glad that our afternoon was a big hit.

Year Starter Ride: 2017

Leaving for a very strenuous physical activity on an empty stomach was a bad idea.  As my body clock has been accustomed to these last two weeks, I woke up, with much regret, past 7 a.m. already. The weather, however seem bent on my making good of the promise I made to relive my new year's day ride (albeit a day late) that the sun was still hiding behind Canlaon even at the late hour. I've been meaning to beat the distance I was able to cover then and there was no better time to do it than at the moment. With the likelihood of my coming back around noon, I made the motions of preparing breakfast for the old folks before leaving. I only had coffee.
As I pushed my way up the slopes of Cubay, the numbness on my hands has set it in. It was nothing out of the ordinary so I pedaled on until my breathing stated to become shallow and my sight, grainy. It dawned on me that I was about to faint from , obviously, hunger. Luckily, I hurdled my first my first steep slope and stopped at the shoulder to text Ivan. Well, I should have known better than expect. reply at such an early hour. Since I could still think clearly, I pushed my bike and crossed the hiway to enter a store. I ordered water, crackers and mentos which I finished in small biyes until my breathing went back to normal and my sight clear.
Not one to quit easily (at times, hehehe) I biked on until my legs couldn't  pedal anymore. I failed to see the marker but I went past Palencia which means I covered not less than 13 km uphill.
Going downhill was as challenging. J might need new brakepads soon for all the braking that I had to do.  The continuous negative gradient made pedalling unnecessary I struggled to change gears with no idea which one to use. I feel so blest to have completed my objective unscathed.
As a bonus, as I passed by San Roque, my maninoy Polding was at the waiting shed, nursing his cup of coffee while watching the hiway traffic. I stopped over for a spell and tried to make a conversation. All was well until something prompted him on his retirement which completely made him a different person. Oh, the tales that he spun from his head. The poor thing!
Year Starter Ride: Achieved!

2017 Starter- What could have been...

...had I fought my way out of sleep and relived last year's ride. The roads proved to be bike worthy from
1. the motorized (virtually nil) traffic
...online friends complained on scarcity of buses
...missed the customary new year's day lunch at bff's due to the absence of trikes
...biked through the rain to the vesper service for the same reason
2. the spirit-dislodging crack of fireworks
...most neighbors went away for the holidays ( hope this happens every year... hehehe)
...effective anti- explosives campaign of the DOH
...people have finally came to their senses and thought against the waste

Then, for everything there is a reason or reasons.

Holiday is a time for family and  I had an interesting morninng with mom choosing to notice the clutter on the sink instead of the fact that breakfast was already on the table when she woke up and with Sum looking like the cat who drank the milk with both hands covered in milk powder, unrepentant. As for me, after dropping off the imp, that late lunch I took with a bottle of lager left me lethargic and out for more than two hours with Season 8 of TBBT playing on my PC.

Tonight, after the briefest  sermon from Philippians 3:12-16, I made a quick stop at a vulcanizing shop to have J's tire pressure checked. It was something I have been meaning to do before going on a long distance ride. This might have been subconsciously pulling me back from taking an unprepared venture. So tomorrow is the the day!