It's More Fun (riding the motorcycle) In The Philippines!

The past two months, Motorcycle Diaries got busy as we traveled around the most visited summer spots in the country!

Palawan for me is one beautiful riding destination, for a first time long haul rider or a seasoned one.

Old trees within a few minutes, and breathtaking views of Palawan's coastal roads, its a must for MC clubs to visit  this paradise.

Got a chance to meet up and ride with Palawan's Tamilok Riders. A group composed of Harley-riding dudes! And, got a chance to ride a vintage Beemer owned by one of the members.

Riding with the People's Champ

In his busy schedule as the lone representative of Sarangani Province, Rep. Manny Pacquiao was able to squeeze some time to ride with us.

Pacman has been a motorcycle fan for decades.

He's been riding since he was a teen ager in General Santos city, but mostly, Manny rode the smaller or underbone bikes.

A few years ago, he became president of GenSan's premier motorcycle club--The Barracudas MC--for one year.

After figuring in a minor bike accident, Manny stopped riding for awhile until last month when we invited him to ride again.

I offered the People's champ to ride the F800 GS , but he opted to go for a Honda Super 400.

Our ride from the Pacquiao mansion to the Sarangani Capitol was short (less than 10 kilometers) but very memorable.

Aside from the Barracudas, the Husky Riders joined our ride.

Riding on Rap!

Gloc 9 rides with us on Motorcycle Diaries!

I have to admit, I don't listen to local FM radio anymore, so I wouldn't know who would hold the number one spot on the latest music chart.

But, one doesn't have to listen to radio to be aware that Gloc 9 is one of the most in demand recording artist these days.

Performing on the latest tourism campaign of the DOT, having done a number of musical scoring for the latest films and other collaboration projects, Gloc 9 is hot.

Inspite of being the most commercially successful pinoy rapper today, Gloc 9 is also one of the most humble artist I've interviewed.

When Gloc 9 or Aris saw our BMW 1200, he was blown away, and said it was his dream to own a big bike similar to what we use on the show.

Test driving the 1200 GS, Aris was so happy with its performance.

I wouldn't be surprised if on Gloc 9's next rap, he expresses his love for motorcycles.

Asiong Rides Again!

Laguna governor E.R. Ejercito alyas Asiong Salonga, Kingpin ng Maynila rides with us...this Friday, January 28, 2012.

The much talked about movie spawned a number of Asiong wannabes on the net, copying scenes from the latest remake of the true to life story of Tondo hero Asiong Salonga.

The first Asiong movie starred the former president Erap--the uncle of Gob E.R.

Claiming his major influence is Pres. Erap, E.R. made his own version of the Asiong movie in 1988 but never had the critical and commercial success it is enjoying right now.

Kingpin ng Maynila won 11 MMFF awards including best picture and best director. There are some controversies surrounding the actual showing of the film that we discussed with E.R. being the lead actor and producer of the film.

We rode around Laguna on a pair of BMW motorcycles, our own GS 650 and a brand new S 1000, and visited the places where some of the scenes in the movie were shot.

In this photo, 'Asiong' gamely posed with me ala movie poster for a souvenir shot. That "Greasegun" I am holding is not a prop and it is really heavy. :)

Motorcycle Diaries....Fridays....8-9 pm on GMA NEwstv!!!

MD: Mounting the Bataan Death March Ride Cams

Shooting for Motorcycle Diaries is fun. I get to ride the motorcycle most of the time. The BMW GS is an awesome ride, I sometimes forget we're shooting for a tv show haha.

Lots of travelling, on a bike! Maybe the best part of doing the show. :)

But, its NOT pure joyride all of the time as it entails some real work behind MD's travel docu look and POV shots you don't usually see on other public affairs programs. At least, we try to make it look like the viewers are backriding with us with the kind of shots that we strive for.

Sometimes, it takes a whole 30 minutes to an hour every stop to set up the cameras that we use. And, we experiment a lot with the cameras that's available to us during the shoot.

In the Bataan Death March episode, we mounted a Vio POV cam on my helmet. On the first pic, you can see Ibba (dude wearing glasses) making some last minute adjustments before we roll.

The lens a size of a lipstick and can be mounted using velcros so we can move it around pretty easily. The catch here is that, it is connected to a small remote recorder that should be atleast a meter close to my body. Hiding the cable can be tricky, especially when riding on a bike in motion and running at the speed of lets say 80 km per hour.

Another cam we use is the very versatile Gopro adventure cam. Also on the first photo, Toto (tall guy in yellow) makes sure it doesn't fall off from its mount.

The Gopro we use most of the time since its very small and can easily be moved around for closer, more engaging angles. Although it covers a wide angle, it has some limits, particularly the amount of light that it needs. Mounting it on the bike can also be difficult considering the weather condition and the heat coming from the bike's engine.

The Bataan shoot I enjoyed so much, inspite of some "minor glitches."

NOTE: Mr. Toto Villanueva is our safety riding expert/coach. Toto has been riding the bike for more than 10 years and has ridden all over the country.

Mr. Ibba Bernardo is our resident tech geek in charge of camera mounting and other tech requirements needed for our shoots. He works well with still cameras too. :)

Backride with us every Friday, 8 pm on GMANEWSTV!

MD: Bataan Death March Ride Part 2

MD: Bataan Death March Ride

Typhoon "Quiel" was hitting the country hard the morning we rode to "Kilometer 1 " in Mariveles, Bataan...

Kilometer 1 marks the first step, to more than a hundred kilometers of the gruesome Bataan Death March where tens of thousands of Filipino and American soldiers died when they were made to walk from Mariveles to Tarlac during the second world war. Most of them died of hunger and illness during the death march.

A memorable ride we did for Motorcycle Diaries tracing all the markers from Kilometer 1 down to KM112. Backriding with me on this trip was historian Rhonnie Dela Cruz of the Bamban Historical Society.

The typhoon rains didn't stop us from finishing our trip to one of Philippine history's most unforgettable event, as we rode the GS 650 to the different markers along the highways, put up by Filipino-American Memorial Endowment, Inc.

Rhonnie shared interesting stories about the march, as he patiently related tales of patriotism of Filipino soldiers who braved severe hunger, extreme weather, and reported Japanese atrocities during the infamous march.

I must have passed by these roads several times on the motorbike, but didn't even notice these 3 ft high cement markers.

Plying this historical route, will never be the same again...

Black and white photos by fellow rider Ibba Bernardo.