JOHN Johnine Tutaan knows the hubs and spokes of daily travel: he bikes to work.
Tutaan, a nurse at a hospital in Makati City, also pedals home to Mandaluyong City.
Cycling is good for the cardiovascular system and keeps the body fit, Tutaan said.
“It’s also a fellowship of different ages,” he said. “There’s a lot fun when [a] group goes biking.”
Tutaan’s love for the manual 2-wheel drive was brought by the congested roads of Buendia Avenue and the blue collar workers on bicycles escaping the traffic jam.
The latter were the first images that caught his eyes after stepping out from the hospital at the end of his shift.
Tutaan’s eyes followed the bicycle riders who skilfully and easily passed through narrow gaps between the sidewalk and a long line of crawling cars and sweat-smelling passenger jeepneys.
After breaking some legs at work, the bicycle riders were burning more calories to reach their destination, he thought. Those legs would hit home much earlier than his that were just slightly moving inside a public utility jeepney (PUJ) caught in a traffic jam.
He had had it. Inside the PUJ one day last year another bicycle rider was born.
Muscle memory
TUTAAN, the son of a retired Philippine Army officer, had just two problems as he resolved to use a bicycle to transport him to and from work.
First, the roads he rode on on a bicycle when he was young were inside a village and scarcely used by cars. Second, he doesn’t own a bike.
I used to bike when I was younger, Tutaan, who also aspires to be a professional rapper, said. But it was just a small one that anyone could use to jump unto and glide around the neighborhood, he added.
“Biking on a commuter lane is different,” Tutaan told the BusinessMirror. “You have to observe traffic rules so that you do not disrupt the traffic. You have to deal with speeding motorists.”
He admitted he was afraid of biking on the road with speeding cars. Some motorists are bullies, Tutaan said.
But as he advanced to become a skilled biker, he overcame his fear.
The 24-year-old Tutaan settled for a bigger bicycle, owned by a friend who loaned him one.
I used that to refresh myself on basic biking skills, he said adding he pedalled inside parks.
Two months later, in March last year, Tutaan bought his own bike.
We never make that much money but we “put enough [cash] on our bicycles.” Yes, wage earners spend money for their bicycle out of deeply entrenched passion for this manual transport machine, he said.
On the road
CYCLISTS do not get penalized for a traffic violation—a traffic enforcer can only shout when one breaches a road rule, according to Tutaan.
“We can counter the traffic flow but [most of us] choose to be professional,” he said. “We follow traffic rules. But I will go counter to the flow if I have a compelling reason. And for sure that will be rare.”
This time the bike he had in mind was a stronger and more powerful and useful one—a kind his legs would drive tens of kilometers, in and out of Metro Manila, on plane and steep roads, for leisure as well as for the wellness of body and mind.
“I practised around Mandaluyong, applying biking video tips from [a user-generated online video portal],” he said. “The videos include the proper body mechanics for climbing and going down a road.”
Group rides
TUTAAN joined several bicycle riders clubs for group rides, the first of which was to Cainta, Rizal.
One of the clubs, he said, has a member as young as Grade 6 and as old as 70.
Sometimes members of a club would ride bicycles to satisfy their palate. We sometimes rode to Antipolo just for mami (noodles).
When the ride is overnight, the group picks some fresh stuff from the market and cook them for dinner at their host. Fellow cyclists host them in Cavite, Laguna and Quezon among other places.
One of the clubs he’s a member of had already pedalled all the way to Pampanga and back. He said he’s preparing for a group ride to Baquio this year.
The country scene is one of the delights of these long rides, Tutaan said.
Wellness roots
TUTAAN graduated from Nursing at the Rizal Technological University (RTU) in 2014.
“I took up Nursing to give my life direction and to grant my mother her wish,” he said. His mother is a retired nurse who was a supervisor at the National Center for Mental Health.
Tutaan is the youngest of four boys.
His first job was as a field researcher—later on field supervisor—for the Ateneo De Manila University School of Government. The work required him to help evaluate health services of local government units.
He also worked for the Unicef in a joint project with PhilHealth Corp. on HIV/AIDS research and data collection as field supervisor, covering six hospitals in the National Capital Region and the Jose B. Lingad Memorial Regional Hospital in Pampanga.
Currently, Tutaan attends to patients seeking medical care at a public health center in Mandaluyong.
Pedal rules
ACCORDING to Tutaan, a bicycle rider must also learn how to follow rules. One of his clubs mandate not to leave a bicyclist behind, especially during group rides.
When a member loses his way, the group makes it a rule for everyone to return to the last intersection taken and message or call the group.
According to Tutaan, he follows personal rules when riding his bicycle.
When the body is good condition, it’s better to go biking for a short distance, more or less 30 minutes, without taking breakfast, he explained. Faster will fats burn.
“That’s when you had a good dinner and enough sleep.”
He advises beginners to not ride a bicycle if the body is not in good shape. He cited as example a biker who died from hypertension upon reaching Cainta, Rizal. He was drunk the night prior the long drive in the morning, Tutaan said.
“Sometimes peer pressure and our ego can harm us,” he said. “Do not force yourself or be forced by others if you are in no good condition. Stay within your limit. Don’t let ego overcome you.”
According to him, cycling builds patience.
“Some motorists are bullies. They intentionally run too close to the biker,” Tutaan said. “It takes a lot of patience to deal with such motorists.”
He hopes employers would set up secured parks for employees who report to work on bicycles. He goes to work and a recording studio on a mountain bike.
“Cyclists are eco-friendly. They decongest traffic,” Tutaan said. “By going to work on bikes, they save money for the future.”