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Now on its third running, the 2008 Iron Man Challenge is the
biggest, attracting 107 of the country’s most avid and skilled
motorcyclists who rode through a 1,200-kilometer loop of Northern
Luzon in 24 hours or less. Held on January 5 and 6, the bikers took
off on a Saturday at 4 a.m. in Balintawak then crossed the provinces
of Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Nueva Vizcaya, Isabela, Cagayan, Ilocos
Norte, Ilocos Sur, La Union, Benguet, Pangasinan, Tarlac and
Pampanga, ending in Clarkfield early Sunday morning.
The Iron Man Challenge is not a road race but an
endurance run.
Started by Francis Rivera of the BMW Owners
Society of Safe Riders (BOSS), this year’s edition was
participated in by individual bikers and motorcycle clubs led by
BOSS; All the Time, Any Time (ATAT); Batangas Tire Burners; Bicol
Steel Horses; Bravo Bros.; Club 200; Lawin; LERAP; MSC Cycle; Team
Toybikes; and the Petron-sponsored Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (ADMG-Petron).
Topping the list of finishers is Joey Almeda,
who logged a record time of 12 hours and three minutes. This is the
third time Almeda finished first.
Other finishers (informally classed in
“competitive level”) who aimed to break last year’s record of
16 hours include Toybikes President Toto Ricafort—who is now a
two-time finisher—and AMDG’s bet Hubert Soriano. However,
Soriano’s motorcycle broke down in Gattaran, Cagayan, a mere five
hours into the ride.
There were some accidents reported. AMDG member
Fr. James Gaa had a mishap when he was low-sided by another vehicle
but was able to finish the event. Meanwhile, ATAT rider Elmer Pabale
suffered a collision in Bangui, Ilocos Norte, that left him with
injured knees and shoulders and a motorcycle that got stuck in
fourth gear. Despite the difficulties, Pabale managed to finish, a
feat considered by the other participants and organizers as a
testament to the resilient spirit of motorcyclists.
To further spice things up, Mayor Alfred
Romualdez of Tacloban City—an accomplished motorcyclist
himself—organized a P100,000-pot for any group of 20 participants
who could start the event, arrive at the various checkpoints and
finish as a group intact. One of the two bike groups who rose to
this challenge was AMDG-Petron led by its president, Nilo Vergara
(now a two-time finisher), and MSF-certified instructor Jake Swann.
The group was set to finish intact when one of its bikes
unfortunately broke down a mere 20 kilometers from the finish line.
LTO Chief Reynaldo Berroya—who is respected in
the motorcycle community, being an ardent biker himself—graced the
event’s awards ceremony late Sunday morning. Berroya and a 30-man
coterie of bikers rode to Clarkfield for the event.
Petron Corp. provided free Petron XCS fuel for
the participants through its network of service stations that lined
the route. Petron Sprint 4T oil also powered all the bikes of the
AMDG, ATAT and Team Toybikes.
-- Brian Afuang
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