Trail and Urban Rider - Telly Buhay: Trail Blazers - Honda's First Trail Ride, General Nakar

They don't know yet what they signed up for.

For a very long time, only Honda remained the manufacturer in the Philippines to offer a dual-sports bike, the XR200. Most manufaturers dropped their offroad-going machines to get a piece of the pie of the underbone and scooter market. Honda seems to have a knack for predicting the future, hence they now own 50% market share in the motorcycle industry. Now, everyone seems to be going after this niche by introducing dual-sport bikes of their own. Not that they need it, just to prove to everyone that Honda still is the king of the segment, they invited riders who own an XRM, XR125, CRF250 and even the now discontinued XR200 to join in the first trail ride by Honda.

The whole Marcos Highway saw red as hordes of Honda riders rolled their way up Infanta to test the waters of Agos River. The riders seemingly unaware of the challenge they are to face, raced the snaking figure of the highway with zest and delight.

They still managed to make a few smiles here and there, as if looking forward to rock the sleepy town of General Nakar.

On the very arc welcoming us to the town, an immediate left turn saw the onset of one of the most challenging roads any bike will encounter; loose gravel. Riders soon found themselves enjoying maneuvering through the sneaky and slippery dry sandy feature of the road to "happiness".

Ten kilometers into the ride, the riders were stumped by the first real hurdle. A river. While some somewhat brave (read: manic suicidal) riders decided to push on and made it to the other side, others took time to contemplate on life and stuff, while deciding if they'll cross the river of death or not. Eventually racking up courage to do it, most made it to the other side while some stalled due to the large rocks lying at the river bed. Others still got an instant carwash, and personal bath as well, which is a normal thing in trail riding.

Of now they've crossed one river, now what? Oh yeah they had to do it again a couple more times. While some smart riders riders decided to just wait out the day and returned to the camp at Agos Resort, others still decided to feed the adrenalin rush that's jumping up and down their bodies. A few more crossings and we reached our destination. And more still decided to overshoot, unwittingly or not, to play around the wonderful playground.

"I'm gonna have one hell of a story to tell the grandchildren" reflects some of the riders who conquered their first trail ride. "Thank you Honda!"

slicks? no problemo!

The beautiful and cute marketing girls of Honda. Wish I were working there!

Always a fun ride with Honda!

He is the governor of the Dumagat Council of the whole Quezon. Had an interesting talk with the chief. He even offered us coffee as he saw us blazin' trails.