Traveling by bike is one of life’s simple joys, and bike touring in Baler is where it all feels right: between the ocean air, the uninterrupted stretches of road, and vistas of the Sierra Madre and the Pacific, you’ll find that exploring the Philippines is best done by bike.
For this trip, I invited a small group of trusted friends to join me in Baler, where I led them across famous landmarks and learned that bike touring can also mean leisurely exploration as much as long-distance cycling.
Packing appropriately
A bike touring trip, even just for the weekend, takes a lot of preparation. You have to make sure your bike is in tip-top shape, bus tickets and homestay booked, and bags packed.
My panniers, handlebar bag, and stem bags are from Coyote Bikepacking Gear. They’re made of lightweight and waterproof army green X-Pac fabric with coyote brown accents. The whole ensemble cost P7,650, far less than what I would spend on international brands like Swift Industries.
Like my Lobo Loop experience, where my Leon Denim rando bag was delivered the afternoon before my ride, the bags arrived just hours before I was about to leave. Since I already packed my clothes and toiletries in modular packing cubes, all I had to do was slide them into the panniers and mount them on my front rack by Rack en Roll.
My handlebar bag stored my trail bars, inner tube, multitool, first-aid kit, and other non-essential gizmos, while my stem bags carried my phone and a spare water bottle.
Fully packed and ready to go, all that was left was to meet Leandro at his place and ride together to the bus terminal.
The bumpy midnight ride
Leandro and I left his house around 10:30pm for the Genesis Bus Terminal in Cubao. Our bus ride to Baler was scheduled to leave at 12:30am — arriving early gave us more than enough time to exchange our e-tickets for physical ones, remove our front wheels from our bikes, and place them in the bus’s luggage storage area. We were on an “Executive Bus,” which meant it was equipped with reclining seats and a comfort room, all of which made the ride just a bit more comfortable.
With the bus finally moving, I decided to sleep all the way. But neither of us could ignore the bumpy ride. I tried to keep my eyes (and mouth) shut; I don’t think Leandro slept a wink.
But then, this is better than gassing up your car (in this oil crisis? No way) and driving yourself some 145km through darkness, wary of switchback after switchback, and wondering if you’ll make it to your destination in one piece.
We arrived at the Baler Bus Terminal just before five in the morning. And there we had our first mechanical hiccup: Leandro’s front rotor did not fit in between the pads. It was a quick fix, and soon enough we were biking to Sabang Beach to watch the sunrise.
Sabang was already full of people eager to swim, surf, or laze around the beach before temperatures got too high. We took photos of our bikes while waiting for the sun to rise, a little after six in the morning.
With nothing else to do, we headed to our homestay, Chamie’s Place, and finally fell asleep.
Day 1 – An impromptu adventure
The first day was a choose-your-own-adventure kind of day as we waited for our other companions, Valerie of Valerides and Franco, to arrive from Pampanga and Baguio, respectively. Wil of Sakay.ph arrived later that morning.
When Leandro and I were more awake and energized, we took our bikes out with Wil to see what’s new with Baler. I have to admit: since 2017, so much has changed. More dining establishments and small resorts line up Sabang beach. But the overall character still feels intimate, unlike other surfing towns around the Philippines.
With no concrete plans for the day, Leandro suggested having coffee at KYU Cafe. It’s got Manila coffee shop prices with a lovely view of the Pacific Ocean.
We had lunch a little later at Yellowfin Bar and Grill. We ordered pork BBQ, blue marlin steak, and adobong kangkong with garlic rice; all of it was good, but the wait was disappointing. Service has gone down since the last time I ate there.
After having our fill, we decided to have another nap back at our homestay to prepare for a late afternoon/sunset ride out.
Rested up and raring for a longer ride, we set out to have merienda at Gagay’s first, which served katsu dishes. I had their original chicken katsu because I wasn’t feeling gastronomically adventurous, but it was delicious and filling enough for its price at P149.
From there, Wil and I followed Leandro to… wherever.
Some ten kilometers later, we regrouped at the I Love Ipil marker in Dipaculao, Aurora, and followed Leandro further off the main road. I’ve never been to this part of Aurora before, so this was a welcome detour, especially when our route ended at Ipil Beach, a long stretch of shoreline with powdery cream sand. Unlike Sabang, bordered by resorts and restaurants, Ipil felt more untouched. I hope it stays that way.
The sun was starting to set when we decided to ride back to Baler to meet with Val, who was arriving that evening. Instead of backtracking our way to the main road, we took a detour inside a coconut plantation with a gravel route. Our wheels skidded slightly on the sandy surface, while I was mentally reliving my Audax Iloilo semplang trauma. I had fun going off the beaten track–after all, what is bike touring in Baler without trying something new?
We made it back to Sabang as the sun disappeared on the horizon. We rested for a while–Leandro was having issues with one of his brake levers when we got back at the homestay–before biking out again to Kusina Luntian, a highly recommended place by our online acquaintances who frequent Baler. Valerie arrived just in time for dinner, and we all had the same dish: Wapang-Wapang na Liempo and kalamansi juice.
Day one was officially done as we rode back to our homestay to rest up for day two.
Day 2 – We actually did some bike touring in Baler
The actual bike tour happened on day two.
Our day started with a light breakfast at the only 7-11 in Baler, then we headed out to our first stop on the tour: the Zabali Hanging Bridge.
Not a tourist attraction per se, but something the locals use daily to get across the Tibag-Sabang River. Children also use this as a jump-off point to dive into the water. We thought that we could bike through the bridge, but given how rickety it looks, we dismounted our bikes and pushed them across.
With everyone safely across the bridge, we headed to our next destination: Ermita Hill.
Ermita Hill is known today as having the best panoramic view of Baler. And historically, it was where a few townsfolk ran… or climbed to… to escape a tsunami in 1735. Climbing up here on a bike is not a big challenge as I thought it would be, as long as you have a good range on your cassette. The ascent was short but punchy; if you’re used to the hills of Kapitolyo, this won’t be a big deal.
After taking some photos and selfies, we biked back down to the main road and sped off to Diguisit to visit two known landmarks: the rock formations and the roadside waterfalls.
Despite entering private property to get a closer look at the Diguisit rock formations, the sight did not disappoint. These rocks were formed by ancient volcanic activity and wave erosion because the province sits near tectonic boundaries. On the other hand, the Diguisit falls are a roadside attraction, but since it’s the dry season, it wasn’t much to look at. We took our time here to have a buko juice break.
From here, we went back to the Baler Town Proper using a 4km stretch of road–we took this route to avoid crossing the Zabali bridge back, even though that would have been a much shorter way. Once we reached the center of the town, I showed them two important historical landmarks: Aurora Quezon’s ancestral home and the Baler Church.
The latter was used during the Siege of Baler, where Spanish soldiers held out their defenses for 337 days, unaware that Spain had lost to the Philippines. This moment is often called “the last stand of the Spanish empire in Asia.”
We didn’t enter both places as we were getting hungry. We biked to Yolly’s Ihaw-Ihaw & Seafood Resto for lunch, but as the sun was getting high up, we decided to head back to our homestay for a nap before continuing further with the tour.
The penultimate leg of the bike tour was the Millennium Tree in Maria Aurora, about 14km away from our homestay. This Balete tree is supposedly 600 years old and has grown from its host plant, becoming a living being of its own. It’s one of the tallest strangler figs in Asia, and is known to be an abode for spirits in Philippine folklore.
We decided to have merienda at Kuya J’s Pancit Cabagan and Batil Patong, just two kilometers away from the Balete tree. There, we decided to skip the last leg of the tour–Ampere beach and rock formations–since we already went to the Diguisit rock formations.
We did, however, choose the road less traveled again by going for a sunset ride towards Aguang River back in Baler. But we were blocked by private property and, after taking an alternative route, had to face two backhoes and extremely uneven paths going to the river… that was blocked by a tall wall.
We decided to head back to Sabang when we saw an opening into the dry riverbed. The gravel was more loose than what we went through yesterday, so I dismounted from my bike and pushed through. I was relieved to get out of that space when we reached the highway again.
With the day done and dusted, we freshened up a bit at our homestay before having dinner at Ortus Tei, which was near Gagay’s. I was totally tired and barely finished my food, so I went back to the homestay with Leandro while the rest went to Sabang Beach to do some last-minute exploration.
We traveled some 60km for day two. You may look at my Komoot for the complete original tour.
Day 3 – One last ride before heading home
Since Val and Franco had to leave for Baguio early the next day, and Wil wanted to sleep in, Leandro and I spent our last morning in Baler biking to the Aurora Lighthouse. Supposedly.
It was a 20km ride with a hike-a-bike segment, but upon reaching the foot of the mountain where the lighthouse was located, the entrance was locked off. We back-tracked our way until we found stairs leading us to the Aniao Islet. We waited for the sunrise, which, unfortunately, was blocked off by clouds. I appreciated the morning ride though; and we headed back to our homestay to wait for Wil, who biked to Ampere beach.
The three of us regrouped and had coffee at Alley Cat Cafe back in Sabang, and soon after, a heavier breakfast at The Shack, a Filipino-Indian restaurant just less than a kilometer away from our homestay.
Our time at Baler had come to a close, as Leandro and I left for Manila by bus at noon. We arrived in Cubao just before 5pm, and made it back to our neighborhood in 30 minutes.
Bike touring in Baler is always a good decision
Traditionally, bike touring is often boxed into enduring long distances from start to finish. But bike touring in Baler offered a leisurely and immersive experience. What I’ve come to appreciate now is how it lets me stay in a spot and savor the moment with people who matter in my life.
The goal of bike travel doesn’t have to be about going far. It can just be about going somewhere, with good company, learning something new and remembering something fun, and letting that be enough. Sometimes, that’s the point.
The Philippines is a beautiful place to explore, but more than that, it’s a country worth understanding.
And the bike lets you do that in a way nothing else really can.
Feature photo from Wilhansen Li.
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