Purposeful Purchase

 Photo Credit: Austin Kleon

As an avid mountain biker, I am continuously awed by the leaps and bounds bike components have evolved. 21-speed was, once upon a time, more than what a mountain biker needs to get him up that hill no matter how gnarly and technical that single track is.

Considering the founding fathers of the sport started on a 1941 heavy steel framed BFGoodrich by Schwinn and running on single speed drive trains with no suspension at all except that provided by its sprung saddle and smooth balloon tires, 21-speed bikes back then was thought of as the future. That was until 24 then 27-speed drive trains arrived.

Today we either have a 30 or 20-speed drive trains as choices. This apart from the dizzying other possible upgrades on forks, shocks, wheels, hubs and so many other which qualifies more as a bling rather than a move towards pedal efficiency and all of them promising to make better mountain bikers of us.

What I personally discovered out there on the trail was what you have on your steed does not create for you a brave spirit. Engaging those ruts, roots, tight switchbacks, rock gardens, uphills and, steep drops will all depend on how big your mountain biking heart is and not whether you have a SRAM XX or a Shimano XTR.

A friend would constantly tell me that “wala sa pana iyan, nasa Indian” or loosely translated as “it is not the arrow but the archer”. I think so, too. But I also have to admit that it does provide some level of confidence having state-of-the-art working with you; like that remotely adjustable seat post for example. However, without commitment, without a biker's heart working for you specially out there on the trail, there will be no engagement and we may as well call ourselves posers and not bikers.

This brings to mind my biking mate Alex.

Alex, on the left, inside our favorite trail with Ram

If identified by the region he comes from he will surely be labeled a tightwad. But Alex has always been my mentor when it comes to purposeful purchases. He is my walking specifications expert, my component and upgrades evaluator and, my product specialist. All these qualities and more makes him someone you would want to listen to when that upgrade bug starts to work its poison in your system. He would not hesitate to give you an honest opinion complete with the necessary technical computations if need be. And yet with all his unbiased views, there are still those who insists they are thoughts of an Ilokano. Ah, it can get hilarious sometimes.

The thing that I most admire about Alex is his willingness to suggest what he loves to call as “bang for the buck” items. A Fox fork maybe the bees knees or even that XT Servo-Wave Disc Brakes. But for Alex everything is relative and whatever is efficient and gives you joy when you pedal, no matter how entry level it may be, will always be of premium value.

For example, a Duro wire beaded tire for him is of tremendous value. It may pale in comparison to a folding bead Schwalbe Nobby Nic, may cost pennies and, may be scoffed at by those who think expensive is better. But that it exceeded his expectation is good enough for Alex.

After all, what others think does not make him a less of a mountain biker nor his rig less of a mountain bike. What will happen on our next trail ride, whatever it is that we will overcome, be it our fear or that intimidating rut, or the feeling of success after conquering that drop without ever uncleating, will be a reflection of what is truly in his heart as a mountain biker. That goes for the rest of us as well, inside those trails for the sheer enjoyment of the sport we come to love.

And I just can't wait for that next time.

There Is Hope

Jose Rizal once said that the youth is the hope of the nation. He, I presume, saw idealism and enthusiasm as traits that will free a nation, a character that essentially describes the youth.

Looking at the landscape today, however, wants me to question that view. Perhaps lacking in parental direction, most of our youth would rather be stereotypes than strive to become someone extraordinary. Making a difference threatens most of them because it can make them an outcast. They believe in being a member of a tribe but not on leading it.

During our recent trip to Iloilo I met two young gentlemen who made a severe dent on my view. 

A cousin is one of them. Carl, as early as grade school already set a vision for himself. It helped that he had a very good friend who had lofty ambitions but that is, in my view, more a matter of the extraordinary attracting another extraordinary. Indeed, you draw unto yourself all that builds your beliefs.

Carl is the youngest child of my widowed aunt who struggled through every adversity to make sure she sends all her children to good schools. It was this maternal effort that influenced this young man to pursue a vision. And now he is living it.

Rather than seek employment in a 5-star hotel, Carl was intent on making a name for himself as a hotelier. Now a rising star in Iloilo, he together with several partners acquired a 3-storey hotel right in the middle of the city. They are currently renovating it.

Surprisingly, in the midst of the facelift, it is business as usual for them and business has never been brisk. It takes a special hands-on approach in order for people to patronize you while you are busy reconstructing and Carl has that gift. He is essentially an other-oriented person, willing to go the distance to pursue his goals, always accommodating. He is passionate in his beliefs, full of enthusiasm about the future and driven, characters all of one who is a cut above the rest.

He is definitely his mother's son and Iloilo is blessed to have someone like him.

Another is a nephew, Philip. It is easy mistaking him for someone who is happy-go-lucky, a Red Horse drinking buddy even gadget crazy. After all most of those in his age group identify themselves this way.

But here is a young man so focused on his priorities, takes his father's wishes to heart and who, through his actions, taught me an important lesson on legacy and simplicity.

We had the good fortune to have lunch at their family's seaside restaurant in Dumangas, Iloilo. The superb cuisine there is sure to make this a pilgrimage site for the discriminating foodie. The uninterrupted view of Siete Pecados in Guimaras adds to the pleasant experience of dining.

But what has truly amazed me was that Philip, the owner's son that he is, served us lunch. To translate that: he waited on us. While most would choose bossing themselves around to glaringly show their being heirs to the thrown, Philip chose to personally serve his customers. No pretense, just uninterrupted service with a smile, an honest offering of self.

We had the chance to chat on this attitude during their short stop at our hotel a few days later.

Philip said that it was his father, my first cousin, who mentored them to treasure their family's legacy, a legacy that was born of hard work by those who came before them. While it may be quite far from the city, they all learned to embrace, respect and nurture what is being handed down to them for its significance. The lights in Iloilo maybe be so alluring but it is the family business in Dumangas that shines more brightly for Philip and his siblings. And they are all willing to roll up their sleeves to keep it alive, a trait so missing from most youths of today.

Whenever I find myself in a mall these days, rather than view all the materialistic tendencies of the youth with contempt, I try to think of Carl and Philip. With them and their kind all is not lost. Indeed, this nation will be buoyed by its youth for among them are those who has vision, who believe it and who are willing to make them come true.

Thank you Carl. Thank you Philip.

Signs And Directions

Recently, a friend of ours was lamenting on how her son has soon given up being a busboy at the newly opened Mang Inasal just outside our village shortly into his probationary period. He quit because he finds the work difficult.

I remember the same mother telling us some 10 years before it was perfectly alright with her if he would get a job as a service crew at the nearby Mac Donald's. Cecille and I were shocked. Is she sending her son to school, break her back so she can afford his tuition fees merely for him to learn how to say, in proper diction, “Good Morning! Welcome to Mac Donald's!” and “Thank for coming!”?

I do not understand her latest lament. If we are lazy as parents then we should expect lazy children. If setting up signs and directions for our children to follow we see as trivial mainly because they are laborious, then it is our fault once they go berserk. If their view of the world is myopic, they just inherited that from us. What you sow, you reap. There should be no blaming them.

Cecille and I chose homeschooling for Carmella because, while still feeling her way, we wanted to raise the sign post along her journey ourselves. For most, however, all that task is left with the school. We have good schools but schools are not washing machine in themselves. We can not, no matter how much sacrifice we have to endure in meeting those rising school fees, expect our children to end up “whiter than white” after a full cycle. All that is still up to us.

The world is noisy and the noise keeps getting louder for children to hear their parents. It now becomes even more necessary to persevere when giving instructions for them to follow, constantly hoping that in the din it is our voice they will keep hearing.