When quarantine was first implemented in Metro Manila, with strict social distancing protocols discouraging the use of public transportation, many cyclists were found in busy streets and main roads for a change. With it being the more affordable option given the circumstances, a lot of Filipinos without the means to go to work resulted to taking out their old bicycles or purchasing new ones to get to their destinations the old fashion way.

However, not all main roads in the capital are bike-friendly. In fact, the local cycling community had to take matters into their own hands and allocate small portions of roads to stand as informal bike lanes. After some back and forth with the local authorities, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) finally announced the construction of official protected bike lanes along main roads like EDSA. This move is a major step for the biking community to have a safer space to reach their destinations without getting into fights with buses, jeepneys, and other private vehicles.

Image via First Bike Ride Facebook

Now that it’s relatively less difficult to be a cyclist in Metro Manila, a community of bikers have grown in the form of First Bike Ride, spearheaded by founder Lester Babiera. The main objective of the group is to encourage more Filipinos to shift to the more active lifestyle of cycling from one place to the next. Not only is this mode of transportation as good as exercise, it’s also a lot more environmentally friendly with less oil, gas, and fuel emitted to the atmosphere, and into pedestrians’ lungs. If more and more people get into cycling, local officials and other abled groups may just pay attention and lead the transformation of urban planning to build better roads for all in the near future.

The First Bike Ride platform itself mainly targets newbies in the cycling community, as it regularly shares inspiring people who picked up their bikes for the first time, the amazing stories of riders dedicating hours and hours on the road just to reach their goals or just some good ol’ tips and tricks. Babiera shared that it was truly his intention to start the group and “be there” for aspiring riders who may feel intimated and ashamed to ask questions, and share their own stories.

First Bike Ride founder Lester Babiera

“I’m a newbie biker and it took me two months to finally be convinced to get a bike. Thanks to my friends who encouraged me. I realized that if I want to encourage aspiring bikers, they need to have a friend too, someone who’ll push them to ride a bike”, Babiera recalled during our brief interview.

“The reality is not everyone has that kind of friend. You see, some experienced bikers can be intimating when they starting bringing up expensive brands, the science of speed and upgrades, among others. I want aspiring and newbie bikers to be comfortable in shifting to the bike lifestyle. So I created First Bike Ride to be their friend…. naks!“

Ultimately, Babiera believes that this movement as a whole can lead for the Philippines to have better roads. By better, he doesn’t only mean good road infrastructure, although that’s very much needed too, he also put an emphasis on good road etiquette in which drivers won’t feel obligated to hog and dominate space. This includes sticking to designated lanes, no more squeezing big cars into small gaps just to get the upper hand, and just being more mindful in sharing the road with other vehicles, no matter the size. Of course, this all boils down to whether or not roads can efficiently allow drivers to fulfill their immediate need to go from one place to another with less hassle and headache.

“I believe that having more bikers will eventually make government agencies and abled groups recognize the need to making the roads better. Yes, I believe that bikes can be a solution to our traffic problems,” he stated.

A bike may be a small answer, but its impact might very well trickle down into reforming and reimagining the whole transport system as a whole, and that is precisely what we need to move forward as a society.

Since so much toxicity come out of traffic and our public transportation, revamping it to make the experience a lot more pleasant and friendly can also ultimately lift up the mood of the country as a whole. With less arguments in accidental collisions, less people constantly feeling late and rushed, and less frustration whenever we look at cars stuck bumper to bumper in endless traffic, wouldn’t we all just feel that much lighter?

It’s time to go back to the basics, and shift to the biking lifestyle. For starters, let’s demand for the construction of more bike lanes around the Metro, and eventually across the whole country.

Follow First Bike Ride on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/firstbikeride) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/firstbikeride/) as you start your own bike journey.