We started out by riding along Mindanao Avenue at a leisurely pace of 15kph, making our way towards Valenzuela and Bagbagin road, crossing NLEX and eventually coming out MacArthur highway.
SM Marilao was the major stop. There we waited for everyone to catch up, especially those that had flat tires along the way. By this time we had ridden 20km. After an hour of waiting, we were off again, riding the until we reached the turnoff to Bulacan.
Another 10km we reached our objective, Barasoain Church. It being Palm Sunday, the parking lot was full and we had to make do with photo ops outside the church. There is also a museum but we decided to forgo due to our hunger.
Lunch was at Ihaws Grill, just a kilometer away, where you pick and choose what you want to eat, pay for the meal, then they'll grill the food for you. It was a test of patience for the hungry bikers!
After lunch, we headed to Calumpit to reach the 50km goal. Once that was achieved, we turned around and went the same route back to Manila.
The return trip took a bit longer, as a couple more flat tires delayed the main body. With the number of pitstops, we joked that we were definitely stopping if we see a halo-halo place (there were none, however).
By the time we reached the turnoff towards Malinta, a few of us, including myself, said our goodbyes and rode on down MacArthur highway until Caloocan.
When I got home, my odometer read 97.46 km. (I added a few more kilometers in the evening thus making my total 103.8km).
A stall selling Ube Siopao caught my fancy near the Bocaue Market and I just had to try it:
For Php10, why not, right? It had the consistency of siopao and the filling was also ube. However, you really had to work your taste buds to find that yam flavor. In other words, blech...
Here's the map of the route:
View Malolos Century Ride in a larger map
