Ring Ring Ring. That is my shitty phone in my office
going off, someone needs IT support!
Grey walls, blue carpets and bright lights sting my eyes as I daydream about our adventure in the Philippines. I write the last blog entry for the Mad 5 Dirt Ride for 2014, it is all over for another year. All the lads have headed home to Cairns, Perth and country Victoria.
What an adventure this time round, we had long days riding and ate sweet F.A. The adventures never ended, from boat rides to talking shit & drinking warm beer, we loved every moment.
As an adventure the Philippines wins hands down, we had scenic views across remote villages. We give the Philippines as a country the 5 out of 5 rating for remote adventures on a bike.
When we embark on these trips, we know there is an element of danger and a lot of unknowns. From Cambodia to Thailand to Burma, we've done quite a few of these rides now. Unfortunately, while the riding and terrain in the Philippines was amazing, we had a less than amazing time with our tour operator Philippine Off Road Adventures.
It was the lack of communication that brought this tour unstuck. Because of poor planning and no communication, we would arrive most nights to a town in the middle of nowhere with NO FOOD. We just didn’t eat some nights because the tour operator would say there is no food. We'd ride for 8-10 hours each day and barely got one square meal and very little water. Not good enough! No matter where we have ridden, there has always been a good meal and decent bed/or floor in clean places waiting for us at the end of each day.
Accom (that was part of the tour price) was also a worry. One night we were expected to sleep in an abandoned hotel. It was Brad's birthday and we said "F that" to that idea. We lived like kings and decided to stay down the road in much nicer digs - with food - for a whole $30 each.
Fred and Travis' trip got cut short because two of the bikes weren't serviced properly and were missing parts. Freddie took one for the team and gave the tour operator Jim his bolt, if it weren't for him we all would have had to cancel our trip. So the rest of us continued the ride and Fred and Trav made the long trip back to Cebu with the bikes.
We love our riding and will ride every year wherever the tour takes us. Lucky for us we had a good time, but no thanks to our tour operator. Win some lose some...
Grey walls, blue carpets and bright lights sting my eyes as I daydream about our adventure in the Philippines. I write the last blog entry for the Mad 5 Dirt Ride for 2014, it is all over for another year. All the lads have headed home to Cairns, Perth and country Victoria.
What an adventure this time round, we had long days riding and ate sweet F.A. The adventures never ended, from boat rides to talking shit & drinking warm beer, we loved every moment.
As an adventure the Philippines wins hands down, we had scenic views across remote villages. We give the Philippines as a country the 5 out of 5 rating for remote adventures on a bike.
When we embark on these trips, we know there is an element of danger and a lot of unknowns. From Cambodia to Thailand to Burma, we've done quite a few of these rides now. Unfortunately, while the riding and terrain in the Philippines was amazing, we had a less than amazing time with our tour operator Philippine Off Road Adventures.
It was the lack of communication that brought this tour unstuck. Because of poor planning and no communication, we would arrive most nights to a town in the middle of nowhere with NO FOOD. We just didn’t eat some nights because the tour operator would say there is no food. We'd ride for 8-10 hours each day and barely got one square meal and very little water. Not good enough! No matter where we have ridden, there has always been a good meal and decent bed/or floor in clean places waiting for us at the end of each day.
Accom (that was part of the tour price) was also a worry. One night we were expected to sleep in an abandoned hotel. It was Brad's birthday and we said "F that" to that idea. We lived like kings and decided to stay down the road in much nicer digs - with food - for a whole $30 each.
Fred and Travis' trip got cut short because two of the bikes weren't serviced properly and were missing parts. Freddie took one for the team and gave the tour operator Jim his bolt, if it weren't for him we all would have had to cancel our trip. So the rest of us continued the ride and Fred and Trav made the long trip back to Cebu with the bikes.
We love our riding and will ride every year wherever the tour takes us. Lucky for us we had a good time, but no thanks to our tour operator. Win some lose some...
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