I've managed to break in Brutus along with the gang with a small short ride to Tagaytay via SLEX on the way there and Daang Hari going back. This was the first time I've seen Taal volcano in all its splendor. She looks so deceivingly peaceful, and surprisingly since it was summer but the air was cool.Met up with Ed and rode out to see new buddy Gil and son already waiting at Puregold along Sucat. (Gil owns a shop near here and tomorrow is gonna be visiting the Brute for a fixer-up thingy.) After a few short introductions since it was my first time to meet Gil, we rode out south to Shell and met with Mandy and Boogie. It was the second time for me to see my ex-Dragstar and she was all dirty and messed up. I felt like she was looking at me with begging eyes, almost as if the bike and I still had a connection. I fixed some minor issues with a missing nut for the pipes in time for Cicero to join us and on we went to the next gas station - to meet up with the last two guys from Ed and Cicero's former group V-Twin - Dom and Chito, who by the way had awesome bikes.
So on we went southward - broom broom - road was a disaster really. Virtually under repair more than half of the way we were in it, littered with barricades, holes, uneven asphalt, gravel and sand - really not the ideal skin for our rubber. We missed an exit and overshot to the next, which gave us ample time for some snaps.
We circled back and exited out to Tagaytay and up we went till we reached a familiar place from my last ride with the Boulevard Boyz. Breakfast was grrrreeeaaaat. Had corned beef with eggs and I finished it in a jiffy. Twas really good. Spent an hour exchanging stories and met a mom who was very enthusiastic about our bikes. Turns out her young son who was talking with the other guys was a fanatic. It's refreshing to see and meet people like that guy's mom who're very supportive of their children's activities. It was nice really.
It was my first time too to ride Daang Hari and it was a way much better route than going through SLEX, but longer, a fact which I didn't mind since the roads were smooth and wide with lots of long stretches in between which makes for some fun throttle twisting. Cynthia, Ed's wifey, kept document of the whole thing:
