Self-sufficiency test: 

BtB Epic Challenge 

TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol, November 17 (PIA)—It would be a race, but one won’t win it without subduing the self, drawing power and will from the partner and an undying determination to surmount obstacles including getting past elevations that can only be peaked by endless grinding of the big cogs. 

This is Bike Ta Bai’s Epic Challenge 2018, Bohol’s first extreme cross country paired endurance race opened for 39 under, 40-49, 50 and above and the elite category and gets through 85 kilometers of highway, barangay dirt roads, trails including technical segments that can test one’s skills on two wheels and crunching pedals and creaking brakes. 

Set to be unleashed this November 25, 2018 from the Punta Cruz Historical Tower in Maribojoc are nearly 300 mountain bikers from Bohol and across the islands, the Epic Challenge is a race but more of a personal test of endurance, self-sufficiency, teamwork and the ability to motivate one another to get to the finish line. 

The Epic Challenge is an 8-hours race or more, but is also an adventure route that gets mountain bikers through a whole stretch of graded slopes, easy cruising along scenic barangay roads to painful grueling climbs that promise to use up that big cog in your set-up. 

And since the race may go over 8 hours, participants should bring with them trail food, energy packs and hydration bag with at least a liter of water. 

The challenge gets even tougher when, either it rains or its too much sun, organizers have warned. 

PREFERRED RIG 

As to the rig, amateur bikers may have to make do with a 26’, it being lighter on the climbs and easier to maneuver over technical segments. 

Having 11 x 46 cogs or over could be an advantage, but then again, it has to be the proper training especially during the long and arduous ascents. 

Or for the more powerful and is no stranger to the rugged terrain, 27.5 or 29’rs would be an advantage in the downhill segments as the bigger wheelset could easily skip over obstacles. The down-side, the race course has more uphill climbs than the glorifying downhills. 

Having a dropper seat is an edge on the technical downhills but taking the slope cautiously instead of rampaging through it could be a good idea. 

THE EXTREME LONG RIDE 

“Do not ever overstretch yourself, or an early cramp can get you and your partner to the sideline, keep your comfortable pace using the lease strain, because the route scouts expect you to use that reserve strength in the last 30 kilometers of the race,” advises Josue Hinay, trail scout and extreme distance mountain bike tour guide as well as event organizer member. 

Owing to the distance and the remote routes, organizers have made it mandatory for race participants to have bike helmets, spare inner tube or tube patch, tire lever, basic bike tools, air pump, extra chain and chain link, trail money in case one needs to buy something along the route and anything that makes one survive the race. 

The race organizers make it a policy that the bike pair must not be separated and has to check in together at every checkpoint; no one is allowed to go without the partner on visual contact. 

“This is a security measure, because of the long stretch, we may not have that many marshals, so the partners have to look after each other,” Gerry Marmito explained. 

THE ROUTE 

Unlike most bike races that start off on plain grounds and builds up to tricky climbs, BTB Epic participants face the first daunting challenge as they take the winding climb from the historical tower to Punta Cruz highway, a kilometer-long climb. Then a long downhill ensues from Punta Cruz to Bood and then to the relatively flat Poblacion. 

From there, bikers ride past the town center and takes the left turn towards Barangay Bayacabac, taking the rolling terrain until a technical section presents itself beyond Bayacabac school to Ponsod and then to San Roque where bikers emerge at the national highway to Antequera, backtrack to Toril, slash through and the crawl past Santo Rosario to Bantolinao, then off to San Isidro via Cansague. 

After traversing the creek, take the Tupas Road and the a left turn leads to Bungahan, right to Angilan and left to Bantolinao. 

From there, the pair, riding within visual distance must get to the highway to Poblacion then take the Candungaw to Sampoangon barangay road, then down to Sohoton, Canguha before taking the climb to Cabayugan Calape to Quinapon-an Antequera. 

Then, it’s off to Canlaas, then to Ubujan Antequera and then cross the highway to Nagtuwang, Loon, to Badbad and the scenic downhills to Loon, but before exiting the national highway, tandems take the left corner parallel to the highway behind the old Loon market. 

Then the punishing climbs start from the old cemetery to barangay Tan-awan in Loon about 414 meters elevation, to Jandig Maribojoc to Bocboc Spring and then take the right uphill barangay road climb to a single track to the municipal cemetery to Dipatlong and then race through the national highway to the moderate climb back to the Puntacruz barangay Hall and the finish line a kilometer downhill. 

“Epic challenge focuses on self-sufficiency and strength over distance,” biker and race organizer Gerry Marmito advanced the information. 

And owing to the distance and the remote routes, participants should have either a Strava, Garmin or any bike route apps on one’s mobile phone to verify the routes. 

Epic Challenge, is Bohols first endurance cross country bike race, and among the most recent efforts to open extreme mountain biking as an alternative healthy living sports tourism, that has the potential to spread out the development in the province outside the usual tourism circuits. (rahc/PIA-7/Bohol) 

PEDAL TO THE TOP. BtB Epic Challenge brings paired teams of mountain bikers to the mountains of Sampoangon in Calape, some 414 meters above sea level and the highest point in the 85 kilometer 8 hour cross country endurance race. (PIABohol/photo Bike Ta Bai)