Cycling fomented a revolution?
My unofficial cycling historian, Gorio Belen, wrote in a cycling forum last week about the book he read written by Augusto de Viena called “THE I-STORIES”, a compilation of first hand accounts of the Philippine revolution.Belen wrote that in 1896, Fr. Mariano Gil, the Augustinian Friar who exposed the Katipunan and the impeding revolt of the “indios”, wrote in his letter to a Spanish historian Wenceslao Retana, recalling how he discovered the existence of the revolutionary group.
This letter appeared in Retana’s La Politica de Filipina en Filipinas on
These times were in the lodges, but more often at banquets, dances, concerts and recently, what are called bicycle sports, have been utilized. Can you imagine the guys at the Mandaue Reclamation Area planning a revolution every Saturdays in the guise of bike races? It seemed that more than a century ago, bicycle racing was already alive and used as a tool for social change. Amazing! Here’s some more Belen:
The Americans came and introduced organized sports though the Philippine Amateur Athletic Federation in 1913 (forerunner of the POC) Amateur cycling gained popularity and some races were held under the auspices of the PAAF. Other races were held over the weekends in conjunction with local town fiestas.
Regular races was also held at Nichols (formerly known as Wallace AirField).One big pre-war cycling race that I know of is the
Unfortunately, my data on pre-Tour of
Thanks for everything, Gorio! I even doubt if PHILCYCLING has the same information as you have.
LACIO
Two weekends ago, my father’s gofer, a 27 yo kid named Lacio, passed away after a short fight with a form of sarcoma. The cancer only started last May but being a sarcoma, it spread like wildfire and took away a young man’s life in whom a family depended.
Lacio wasn’t very well educated and “lacking”, otherwise, he would have looked for a better job rather than stay with my father for more than six years. His academic shortcomings was made up by being industrious and loyal not only to my father but to all the neighbors around us. His bike, his cell phone, his services, his everything- it belonged to ‘hood and yet he never complained about it.
Lacio was a poor man’s handyman but he always comes through with whatever task you gave him. If you ask him if to fix the lights, bake leche flan or just anything else, he’d say yes even if I knew that he had the faintest idea of what you were asking him to do. I even think that he read minds since he’d do stuff before I even asked him to do it.
My father had a love-hate relationship with Lacio and wanted to fire him a few years ago. I tried to make him understand about the situation but I believed my father never understood, not until he was alone and Lacio at the hospital. Unfortunately, Lacio never took the advice and medication that the doctor gave him, saying that it made him threw up. But even if he did, we all silently knew that he was living on borrowed time.
Unlike some brave people who had everything thrown unto them and still have the grace to accept things as part of their lives, I questioned aloud in my deepest thoughts why somebody so young and so poor, would suffer such fate. Until now, I still have to receive an appropriate answer. Have a great journey, my friend! Ashes too ashes, dust to dust, and life goes on.
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