Tour of the Fireflies 2012

We were greeted by sunny skies that (thankfully) eventually became overcast later that morning, making the ~35 km ride (33.1 km according to Strava; see below) more enjoyable.

This was the first time since 2005 that I joined the Tour, and the first time to have done so since going SS.

I drove to LT's house in Project 4 and we rode the rest of the way to the starting point in Tiendesitas for a supposedly 7 AM ride start (was actually 7:40 AM)

The route took us along C5 to Marikina, up along Katipunan, skirting UP on CP Garcia, out to Philcoa (where we caused a massive traffic jam along the QC Circle; mission accomplished!), along East Avenue to Timog then through New Manila, out to Ortigas, to return to Tiendesitas. Here's the ride I uploaded to Strava

This was another ride that made me realize how old and out of shape I already am. It was shorter than than the two previous Tours I attended by at least 15 km, and yet I was more tired than in both of those. Then again, this was the first time I did it on SS (excuses, excuses...). The worst part was the ride back to LT's house. I almost got glutes cramps on the shallow, but looong, uphill along Temple Drive.

On to the photos:

Up and over the Macapagal Bridge