Back-to-back bike events in Oro this weekend

IT’S an exciting weekend that awaits Kagay-anons later this week.

Two back-to-back bike activities are coming up on June 3 and 4.

“Mag Bike ta Uy,” goes the slogan, so bikers in Cagayan de Oro should heed the call and get ready to mount their bikes and pedal away on June 3. As the City Local Environment and Natural Resources (Clenro) will be hosting a bike run in commemoration of World Bicycle Day.

Also happening on June 4 is the 2nd leg of the 2023 Pedal for People and Planet (PPP) hosted by climate advocacy groups Youth for Climate Justice- CdeO (Y4CJ-CdeO) and Philippine Movement for Climate Justice (PMCJ) to commemorate World Environment Day.

Both activities are open to all bikers in Cagayan de Oro City. There is no age requirement, so all bikers, young and old, can join in on the fun.

For the Clenro activity, the registration requirement is that participants must bring one pair of used bicycle tires and inner tubes. There will also be free jerseys for the first 100 registrants.

Meanwhile, free registration and free jerseys on a first come- first serve basis also await those who will join the PPP event.

Clenro organized this activity to increase social awareness in protecting the environment and promote a means of transportation that will not be using fossil fuels, according to Alejo Tagarda Salvane, Jr., Chief Admin, Clenro.

“Atong gi aghat o gi imbitar atong mga bike enthusiasts dinhi sa dakbayan sa Cagayan de Oro nga mo participate sila aning atong himoon nga ‘Mag Bike ta Uy,’ sa World Bicycle Day karon Saturday, June 3, alas singko sa kabuntagon,” Salvane, Jr. said.

“Katong mahiligon mag bike, mahilig og magpasingot, mag uban kita pinaagi sa pag register ug magdala kamo sa used bicilycle tires, one pair, ug usa ka interior aron inyong ma avail ang libre ug ma anindot nga jersey nianang panahona,” he added.

Concurrently, this is the sixth Pedal for People and Planet activity held in the city since 2022. The event actively promotes the use of biking as the most sustainable, zero-carbon means of transportation.

“We are hosting this activity to raise awareness of the issues of climate change, global warming, and sea level rise caused by the excessive use of fossil fuel for transportation and energy,” said Lenin Amidala Corrales, Y4CJ-CdeO officer.

“As our activity is part of an international simultaneous bike event, we hope that continuous engagement with bicycle enthusiasts in the city and other parts of the Philippines joining the PPP bike ride will encourage bikers to take on a more proactive role in combating climate change,” she added.

The June 3 Clenro bike route will start at the City Hall Mini Park, cross Ysalina Bridge, turn left to West City Central School, turn right proceed to Zayas, down to Silver Creek subdivision, onward to Calaanan, cross the Iponan river steel bridge to Bolao, Iponan, then to barangay Baikingon. The finish line is at Baikingon Elementary School.

Clenro came up with the idea to collect used bicycle tires because there is no facility in the city to process these, and the garbage collectors do not collect them in their garbage runs. These can be used in some other ways, such as materials for ornamental things.

There are people’s organizations in the hinterlands that will use these for various purposes, Salvane, Jr. said. There are a lot of uses for old tires in Baikingon, where the residents have various needs for them in their vegetable gardens, he added.

Coffee will be served at the starting point at the City Mini Park, while arroz caldo and champorado will be served at the finish line at the Baikingon Elementary School.

The June 4 PPP bike route, on the other hand, will start at the Cepalco solar plant in Indahag and will take the participants on an uphill route in barangay Gango, and a downhill slope all the way to Chelly’s restaurant in Kiliog, both barangays in the municipality of Libona.

As of press time, there are already around 600 registrants to the June 3 Clenro ride and 300 registrants to the June 4 PPP event.