Wednesday, October 14, 2015


TAGBILARAN CITY, October 12 (PIA)--The first local government pushed mountain trail bike (MTB) trail in Bohol is now in the offing, thanks to the vision of Alicia Mayor Marnilou Ayuban and local authorities, who see that beyond the town's grassy hills are interconnecting opportunities for sports and wellness. 

Short of easy to develop tourism spots despite a trove of potentials, the rolling hills and the different high this can give to those who indulge are a better bet against the town's almost inaccessible caves.

Alicia's stunning rolling hills and trails leading to sauntering peaks are easy giveaways to trail bikes, shared Godelia Lumugdang, town tourism and information officer during a test run on their 8.6 kilometer circuit Saturday, October 10. 

She said Alicia wants to hitch into the tourism bandwagon and its hills also caught the fancy of a tourism product development officer at the Bohol Tourism Office. 

Last Saturday, a team of 21 mountain bikers from Antequera, Alicia and Duero took over two hours of rough single trail conquering ridges through nearly impossible ascents and downhill trails of the rolling hills in Camba-ol, the town's identified mountain-bike showcase. 

"It is a challenge of how one can keep up with the big rings in seemingly endless climb and then the downhill is just wicked," a biker from Antequera admit. "Dropper seat post is recommended," he added. 

The bike course starts at the Cambaol barangay hall, just below the police camp and follows a barangay road that graduates into an eroded crude carabao cart trail. 

Then it builds up on elevation, fording creeks, footbridges and then across tricky sandy loam farm tracks, open country roads and open field cattle pasture grounds to the sauntering three peaks one has to hurdle to complete the circuit. 

"When Japan International Cooperation Agency asked us about what the town can offer, we submitted the hills and then we realized the possibility of a dirt bike ride to the ridges," Lumugdang said. 

But owing to the nature of the experience, mountain bike trail was the hands down choice it being environment friendly and impacts less to the community, the tourism officer added. 

"This is what we can offer to the Boholano and foreign trail mountain bike enthusiasts," she said promising to integrate all the comments and suggestion from the 21 trail bikers who went thru the whole circuit. 

Alicia intends to open the trail for competition in January, when they celebrate their foundation day. (rac/PIA-7/Bohol)

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