THIS year's Globe Cordillera Challenge will dare mountain bikers to conquer the rugged terrain of the Cordilleras through a grueling 90-kilometer ride on May 10, the longest trail ever since the biking event was launched five years ago.
The route is expected to test the stamina and endurance of the bikers. For the first two years, participants only had to pedal for 40 kilometers while 2012’s trail was the shortest at 27 kilometers though the most difficult to navigate. Last year's event stretched the bikers' limits with 68 kilometers.
Registration for the Globe Cordillera Challenge 5 opened during its community launch at the Mind Museum in Taguig City on March 17 at 6 pm. The biking activity is set to be held from Tublay to Kapangan in Benguet and back. Most parts of the route will pass by the rice terraces of Benguet, one of the best scenic spots in the country.
Organizers explained that Globe Cordillera Challenge 5 is not a race and participants are simply timed to measure their performance. Recreational bikers can join as long as they are physically fit to do mountain biking.
Participants to the event will not only join for the fun and challenge but will also do their part in helping to protect and rehabilitate endangered environmental areas in the Philippines.
The event aims to raise funds to establish 45 seedling nurseries under the Roots & Shoots nursery program of its partner and beneficiary, Cordillera Conservation Trust, a non-profit organization that provides environmental solutions and sustainable development strategies for the Cordillera mountain region.
Roots & Shoots cultivates seedlings needed to replenish the bald mountainsides to support the enhancement of community watersheds and prevent landslides in critical areas. It also teaches and creates the next generation of forest builders in the region's schools.
“The Globe Cordillera Challenge has always enjoyed enormous success in terms of awareness and reaction from the public through their donations. This year, we again hope to replicate this,” said Fernando Esguerra, OIC of Globe Corporate Social Responsibility.
Globe and CCT have built 55 seedling nurseries since the idea was introduced in 2012.
CCT Executive Director J.P. Alipio said, "We found that bringing people into our wild spaces has been one of the best ways of creating a constituency that cares for our mountain forests.”
Most of Luzon’s major river systems come from the Cordillera region and serves as the largest catch basin of rain water in the country that serves the irrigation needs of thousands of farms in Northern Luzon.