“Earth hour” ride Bohol 2018

Sets off from Plaza Rizal, 6PM 

TAGBILARAN CITY, March 21 (PIA)—Organizers of a pro-earth activity this Saturday, March 24 get off grid and put out their house lights for bike blinkers as they pedal around Tagbilaran to campaign for Earth Hour 2018, from 6:30 PM onwards. 

Banking on the strength of people especially when in numbers, Tagbilaran City Earth Hour Ride organizer Jude Ybas said they have over a hundred bikers: kids to adults, male and female volunteering to ride, turn–off their house lights and “Let Nature Shine;” the earth hour 2018 theme. 

What started as a symbolic voluntary lights-out in Sydney in 2007 to encourage millions of people to take action for earth and its people, major international iconic symbols soon got shrouded in darkness which affords people a chance to commune with the earth through stargazing, while the switch-off spread across major cities around the globe. 

Then the movement snowballed into different creative ways of people switching off their house lights, to governments switching off public monument lights, to malls joining by minimizing their power consumption and families enjoying candlelit dinners and other outdoor activities, to communities going for the cleaner solar power. 

In Bohol, organizers regularly conduct the earth hour ride: a wholesome cruising bike ride that moves around the city to spread the campaign to relieve mother earth of the strain from power consumption. 

This year, earth hour ride Bohol meets up at the Plaza Rizal at around 6pm March 24 Saturday. 

After safety checks which include bike condition, bike helmets, blinkers, brakes, hydration packs and water bottles and proper gear, bikers move two abreast from Plaza Rizal going to ICM via J.A Clarin St. 

Past ICM, they proceed to Dampas Barangay Hall, turn left going to Dampas Diesel Power Plant to Camella Homes, then turn left to Bool to the new Tagbilaran City Friendship Park. 

A request for the City to allow bikers’ access and stop over for recovery at the Friendship Park also allows for a group pictorial for report submission to World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the movement initiator. 

After the stop, bikers pick up the pace again to the Tagbilaran East Road past Villa Alzhun, then take the right turn to P. DelRosario St., then turn left to CPG East, ride past the Plaza Rizal, follow the CPG Ave to Belderol street. 

Then the bikers ride towards Cogon Market, past Plaza Marcela then left turn to Gallares St. for the second stop over at Lite Port Center. 

From there, it would be another very short ride back to Plaza Rizal for another potential photo-opportunity. 

This year’s earth hour ride is Tagbilaran City’s 6th bike for the environment night ride since the campaign reached Bohol shores. 

In the past two years, Bohol Governor Edgar Chatto has issued memoranda enjoining all government employees and barangay officials to help announce the Earth Hour and urged them to do alternate activities if they can not join the rides. 

Interested bikers can use any rideable bike: BMX, fixie, mountain bike, rode bikes, cruisers, tandems, trikes or pushbikes, as long as riders follow safe riding rules adopted during the mass ride, organizers said. 

They also urged homes along the bike routes to join in the switch-off for an hour at least and give the earth its much needed rest. (rahc/PIA-7/Bohol)