With an official guide Gelan and two of his friends, Cyril and Jun, who loaned us their bikes, Cindy and I road through the city of Legazpi and to the foot of Mt. Mayon. We stopped at Cyril's house on the way for lunch.
The hotel arranged the trip and they customized it for us as no one asks to bike up Mt. Mayon. The standard tours are trekking and ATVing on Mt. Mayon.
The bikes were front suspension, a little heavy, and not totally fitted for us (all Gelan did was adjust the seats), but they were very rideable and at least they provided helmets. Anyway, we felt safe.
The ride was an adventure from the start. With it's Jeepneys, motorbikes, tricycles, pedestrians, and lack of road rules, riding on Legazpi's roads was like "playing a video game," according to Cindy. We got used to the honking pretty fast, as drivers do not use turn signals here, they simply honk to pass you. Gelan, Cyril and Jun road with us. Gelan led while Cyril and Jun blocked traffic to help us cross the opposing traffic.
Like other poor, developing, highly populated places, people live wherever they can. Consequently, getting to Mt. Mayon hardly felt like riding in the wilderness. We road from city to rural area to the "danger zone" where noone is allowed to settle. The danger zone is where lava can potentially flow when Mt. Mayon erupts.
There was a bit of single track --- trail bordered by palm trees and made bumpy by coconut shells and lava rock. The most challenging part was not technical; rather, it was kind of a suffer-fest, riding uphill on ashes dotted with lava rock, in the heat and humidity. I may do the ride again: the views of Mt. Mayon in the clouds were well worth it!
Enough said, read what wiki's got on Mt. Mayon, and enjoy the photos from our little adventure.
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