Category: 
January 30, 2008A link to this article appeared on my mybloglog page: Man braves cars, bureaucrats to bike on tollways. It tells the story of Chuck Thomas, a financial analyst at Dell Inc. in Texas who has been biking to work passing thru Texas 45 North tollway since October of last year.
Apparently, doing so is not illegal in this state, as he has received an email from TxDOT’s Austin district, saying that “though the tollways are designed for cars going 70 mph and that entrance and exit ramps would be especially problematic because the shoulders are thinner than on the highway proper… it is not is not against the law.”
Here in the Philippines, it is definitely prohibited by law to bike (as in bicycles and motorcycles) on tollways (expressways we call them here). And even if it wasn’t prohibited, I wouldn’t dare bike on them as it is extremely dangerous to do so, unlike in Texas where Chuck says he feels safe biking in the tollways. He uses the shoulders, of course, not the highway lanes. He bikes on the spacious 8 feet wide shoulders that are relatively new and made of concrete and are unusually smooth. Smoothness of any road here in our country would be an unaffordable luxury.
I bet he’s having a grand time doing so. According to the article, some tollbooths allow him to pass without paying, while others let him pay. Chuck says he is willing to pay what ever is due for his $600 Fuji Silhouette bike fitted with special commuter tires coated with Kevlar.
I have tried biking in EDSA, one of the major thoroughfares in Manila. I thought it was relatively safe and not scary but still, I wouldn’t recommend that bikers, even veterans and seasoned ones, to pass through it. It’s better to take some other alternative route. The ride may take longer though, but it would be definitely safer at any time than EDSA. Not only will they be avoiding accidents, they would also be sparing themselves from the super pollution plaguing that road. On a side note, the planned route for the 10th Tour of the Fireflies on April 20, 2008 will pass through some parts of EDSA and here’s hoping that drivers will take heed of the marshals who will be guiding the bikers throughout that ride.
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[...] here’s a little link love to A Pinoy Biker’s Philippine Rural Adventures, the blogger who tipped me off to this crazy (but well-intentioned) guy’s daily act of [...]
aha.. kaw pla ung na t.v. hehehe… galing ng blog mo pwede bng pajoin…
@repah: ako, me, na t.v., baka hindi ako yun. Hindi ko alam ito o baka mug shot ko yung nakita mo, pero hindi pa naman ako naaresto e. lol…
Hi, Rino! Just dropped by to say hello to my favorite biker. Neat article. There are places to cycle and places not to cycle… I am hoping to cycle in Paris this spring…
hi rino…just come to say hello..have a nice weeknd friend…;D
Hi Rino. Napa-wish ako bigla na sana katulad dito sa Holland ay may lane for bikers dyan sa Pilipinas. It doesn’t mean that it’s danger free but at least less ito.
Have a good weekend
It would definitely be nice if the Philippines became greener and more carbon neutral. Cycling to work would benefit so many.
Hey, thanks for visiting Your Love Coach. Do swing by my other blogs below.
Have a good cycling week ahead!
joy
A Pinay In England
The Goddess In You
Norwich Daily Photo
When I lived closer to work. I wanted to bike to work on a regular basis… but it was uphill both ways seriously.. it was a U shape. and the last thing I wanted at the end of a hard day was a monumental uphill bike ride home in bad traffic with tired, angry commuters. I tried it and i got my time home down from 2 hours to 45 minutes… but I literally just could not see myself doing that since most evenings I have to work in the studio anyway.
Only so much energy alloted to this poor body! 
I’m fairly certain it’s illegal to bike on the highway in Ohio … and even if it wasn’t you couldn’t pay me to do it.
it would be a really awesome sight kung one of these days, there will be more bikes than cars in edsa..it would be such a relief to the metro’s atmosphere, and to our ears - when we get rid of all the pollution and noise..
if more and more people could be like you sana..one problem din lang kasi that i can’t take (like most people i guess..) is yung init dito sa ‘pinas..
@sfgirl: wow, cycling in Paris, and in spring! How romantic, specially if you’re on a tandem with your love! Happy biking and do remember me when you are there!
@waliz: thanks for the visit.
@Thess: Bodo our new guy here in the office tells me that almost everybody there rides a bike. Is that true? There are places where there are bike lanes here, specially in Marikina where I live.
@Joy: how nice to hear from you! Yes, definitely it would be nice if we can rid our cities of pollution and all those nasty things associated with it.
@jon: of course, you wouldn’t want to get to your work tired after a biking so hard. But you know what, we have actually debated on this on my bike advocacy group, and according to some testimonies, including my own, biking actually improves endurance and strength so that after a while, biking even uphill becomes easy and doesn’t really make you tired at all! But of course this doesn’t happen in a week or so. You have to be consistent and really determined and motivated. Have a nice day!
@delmer: we wouldn’t want you to break any rules, would we? lol…but then that just adds to the fun of it…no it’s not really fun if you jeopardize yourself, of course. I’m just happy to bike where I am, but the guy is really making a statement doing so, don’t you think?
@elay: yes, it’s really hot here, but as for me, the exercise I get from biking outweighs the heat that our climate can dish out. Maitim naman talaga ako kaya hindi ko na inaalala yong masunog ako sa araw, hehehe…
Hi Rino, yes that’s true. The minute kids start to walk, parents gear them up for biking
I also bike a lot, yang ang aking ‘wheels’ *lol*
btw, how’s the Dutch guy at the office? Nakatikim na sya adobo? (^0^)
Have a safe biking weekend, Rino!
@thess: unfortunately, the Dutch guy resigned after two days of training. May personal problem with the wife daw. Tatlong taon na daw siya dito sa ‘Pinas but was staying in Bicol, province nung wife niya. So I think nakatikim na siya ng adobo at bicol express!. Have a nice day!
hey, i’ve been to EDSA from mall of asia up to monumento w/my road bike a lot of times already. and one thing’s for sure. every ride that i took has been a one hell of a ride!