Puning Cave via Turungisan Road

There are 3 ways to go to Puning Cave:

1. The easiest way is via Norzagaray and Angat, it is accessible by car, mtb and motorcycle. (100% road)

2. Via Pinagtulayan Trail. 60% Road and 40% trail. Mtb's, dirt bikes and 4x4's often use this trail.

3. Via Matictic - Turungisan. 70% Road and 30% Trail, with a paved 2-3Km uphill resembling "the wall" of Timberland.

Our version of gopole.

Photo courtesy of Enrico Parulan.

This is a fun trail, I was chased by a huge bee for around 5 minutes which left me gasping for air, a young horse jumped out of the bush in front of me and ran like a scared dog, how cool is that? 

Photo courtesy of Enrico Parulan.

 Riding trails has its downsides, flat tires are the most common, followed by a broken chain. On this ride, we had 2 flats and 1 crash from lolo Tong, our most senior member at 53 years old, good thing he was wearing a helmet however, he injured his left hand and biked with 1 hand up to Shell, Norzagaray where Enrico's car is parked.

Mt. Balagbag, Rodriguez, Rizal

Unexpected Mt. Balagbag aka Helipad Ride

(2,400 feet above sea level)

This is our 2nd time to licao-licao via brick town. It was raining the day before so the trail was wet and muddy, the weather was a bit cloudy which is perfect for a long ride.

Brick town has this aura of peace and calmness. We were quite relaxed while traversing bricktown after quite a bit of pedalling from Sta. Maria, Bulacan.

Some really nice bikes at the Licao terminal. 

After eating our lunch, one of our buddies suggested that we climb Mt. Balagbag since it was really cloudy and it would be easier to climb with that kind of weather, after a quick votation, we started climbing. After 5 minutes, it started raining and we hurriedly went back to the terminal but we were already drenched and we decided to push on, rain or storm!

The mud really sticks to your tires and shoes and we were all laughing when we took a short break. We were pushing our bikes most of the time because of the slippery trail.

The trail gets steeper as you ascend, there is also a rock garden near the peak!

Lo and behold, a 360 degree view of clouds!

It was really cold and windy at the top, it felt like we were in Tagaytay on a cold night.

Descending was really fun and slippery!

We finally saw a glimpse of manila bay on the way down, it was an amazing view! 

On our next Licao trip, we will check out the mahogany trail!

Malangaan Cave (Marble Cave)

A Ride to Malangaan Cave @ Tukod, San Rafael, Bulacan via DRT

This place is for adventurers who wants to see and experience something new. The trek to the Malangaan cave entrance was the icing on the cake for me on this one, it was so awesome the it felt like I am in a movie scene. The biking experience is more on endurance and it was a bit boring to be honest because of the minimal trail and lack of breath taking views but what was waiting in Brgy. Tukod was worth the effort. 

Things to do in Malangaan Cave:

1. Spelunking

2. Swimming (natural pool)

3. picnic (huts are available for a small fee)

PS: 

1. Bring your bike locks if you want to explore the Malangaan cave.

2. Wear your all terrain shoes or sandals.