PERSON OF INTEREST SERIES: ELMER MANIEBO
A term "person of interest" is usually associated with someone who the police considers as involved in a crime, but there aren't enough facts to engender a belief that he is a suspect in its commission. In the biking community, such a person would be one who has done something to merit attention and even praise.
Some Pinoy cyclists have all the luck. They get to work abroad, find a foreigner for a partner/mate AND get to ride their bikes on weekends (making us all envious by the beautiful scenery that they encounter). One such cyclist is Elmer Maniebo. If you continue reading below, you would see why I had flirted with the idea of swapping my law career just to experience what this dude has made of his life. Well no, not really, but living in London is pretty enticing hehehe.
Elmer is 46 years old ("but i'm actually a 5 year-old kid inside") who hails from Gumaca, Quezon. He has worked as a Trauma Nurse Practitioner for the last 13 years in England together with his partner, Jeanie, with whom he has a son, Ethan (who is also a keen cyclist). Elmer runs a team of nurse practitioners that manages three (3) acute trauma wards and one elective surgery ward at Queen Alexandra Hospital (one of the biggest, newest and most advanced centers in the South of England). They deal with all sorts of acute trauma cases like road traffic collisions, spinal and traumatic brain injuries, upper and lower limb fractures and the like.
Elmer's roots in biking are similar to a lot of us, INCLUDING having his bike stolen. "I had my first brand new bike when I was on my third grade in Elementary in 1981," he begins, "which was stolen after a week outside our home in Gumaca, Quezon. My brother and I taught each other how to ride a bike ourselves on a fixed gear heavy steel bike we borrowed from my auntie. 'Tumingin sa malayo, huwag sa pedal!' she would shout at us." In 2009 when he was already in England, Elmer bought his first mountain bike, but he began getting serious in road cycling when Bradley Wiggins won the Tour de France in 2012 -- the first Briton to win the Tour after 109 years of waiting. Elmer said, "Cycling exploded in the whole of UK and Europe like never before. I was inspired to ride more by the 'Wiggo Mania' that hit Britain. Then Chris Froome brought 3 more TDF wins, Mark Cavendish continued to break records and Team Sky rose to the top of World Cycling. The Brits never had it so good this long."
Elmer and I discussed about the differences between cycling in Europe and in the Philippines. Among the points he raised are:
1. They have a government initiative called "Cyclescheme" to encourage employees to cycle to work by offering to shoulder 42% of the cost of the bike. Once you finish the 18-month plan, you can buy another bike or upgrade your existing bike through salary deductions. Elmer's cycle scheme plan goes up to about Php350,000 and almost half of that is paid for by the government.
2. Due to the temperamental British weather, he has a winter bike for the worst elements (snow, mud, sleet and grits) and a higher quality bike for dry and summer months. He says that "rain is nothing as long as you're prepared for it. We cycled in France all day for 72 miles on pouring rain and didn't bother us at all -- we had waterproof jackets and thermal shoe covers, gloves and head gears."
3. The general attitudes of European drivers differ. He explains: "The Brits are forgiving and understanding of the cyclist's rights. The Parisians are the worst drivers in the world, but rural France is a haven for cyclists. Germans drive fast but they'll give way to cyclists and slow down, then accelerate rapidly on their Porsches and AMGs. The Italians will scream at you and wave their hands vigorously especially in Rome, but rural Italy (like France) is a dream. The Dutch and the Belgians are the only cycling public in the world that has the best system. The Danish and Swedes are not too far off too -- I have cycled in Denmark and Sweden and never had it so good. Their coffee are to die for." Now you understand why I thought of exchanging careers with this guy??!
Elmer's longest ride was the L'etape London from London Velodrome to Essex County, a total of 120 miles or 193 kms (N.B. Hah! I just did an Audax of 210 kms :P) with an elevation of 7,200 feet. But his most memorable ride was an epic London to Amsterdam in 2016 -- 4 countries in 4 days with his cycling partner Simon Dymott. "Having cycled in different countries in Europe -- Spain, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Austria, Czech Republic, Italy, france, Belgium and Netherland -- it was my first taste of ultra distance cycling and I fell in love with it," Elmer swoons. He continues: "This coming June, we will be climbing one of Giro d'Italia's toughest climbs -- Passo Stelvio and Passo Mortirolo with around 5,000 cyclists, including the Swiss-Italian Alps along the famous Lake Como and Lake Garda -- probably one of the most beautiful cycling routes in the world."
Does this person ever work, considering the amount of cycling that he does?? Well, it seems that he has so much energy that he even has time to play rhythm and acoustic guitars for a Pinoy band in Southeast England called "the Southcoast Band". "We opened for Joey Pepe Smith during his UK and Europe tour in 2014", Elmer proudly says. "I have a black US Custom Gibson Les Paul, a Fender Telecaster, an Epiphany B.B. King Sheraton II electro-acoustic guitar and an Ibanez Classical electro-acoustic beast. My claim to fame? Noel Cabangon wrote the song 'Umuulan sa Tag-Araw, Umaaraw sa Tag-Ulan' on my son's bedroom here in Portsmouth, England when he stayed with us for a week in 2008."
Which is no wonder why, when asked if he was stranded on a desert island with a famous person, who would he choose as his companion, he had a ready answer: "Adele and a guitar. So we can make music together."
Last question, Elmer. May anghit ba ang mga puti pagkatapos ng ride? "Meron, pare. Whew! Di nga lang lahat."
Some Pinoy cyclists have all the luck. They get to work abroad, find a foreigner for a partner/mate AND get to ride their bikes on weekends (making us all envious by the beautiful scenery that they encounter). One such cyclist is Elmer Maniebo. If you continue reading below, you would see why I had flirted with the idea of swapping my law career just to experience what this dude has made of his life. Well no, not really, but living in London is pretty enticing hehehe.
Elmer's roots in biking are similar to a lot of us, INCLUDING having his bike stolen. "I had my first brand new bike when I was on my third grade in Elementary in 1981," he begins, "which was stolen after a week outside our home in Gumaca, Quezon. My brother and I taught each other how to ride a bike ourselves on a fixed gear heavy steel bike we borrowed from my auntie. 'Tumingin sa malayo, huwag sa pedal!' she would shout at us." In 2009 when he was already in England, Elmer bought his first mountain bike, but he began getting serious in road cycling when Bradley Wiggins won the Tour de France in 2012 -- the first Briton to win the Tour after 109 years of waiting. Elmer said, "Cycling exploded in the whole of UK and Europe like never before. I was inspired to ride more by the 'Wiggo Mania' that hit Britain. Then Chris Froome brought 3 more TDF wins, Mark Cavendish continued to break records and Team Sky rose to the top of World Cycling. The Brits never had it so good this long."
Elmer and I discussed about the differences between cycling in Europe and in the Philippines. Among the points he raised are:
1. They have a government initiative called "Cyclescheme" to encourage employees to cycle to work by offering to shoulder 42% of the cost of the bike. Once you finish the 18-month plan, you can buy another bike or upgrade your existing bike through salary deductions. Elmer's cycle scheme plan goes up to about Php350,000 and almost half of that is paid for by the government.
2. Due to the temperamental British weather, he has a winter bike for the worst elements (snow, mud, sleet and grits) and a higher quality bike for dry and summer months. He says that "rain is nothing as long as you're prepared for it. We cycled in France all day for 72 miles on pouring rain and didn't bother us at all -- we had waterproof jackets and thermal shoe covers, gloves and head gears."
3. The general attitudes of European drivers differ. He explains: "The Brits are forgiving and understanding of the cyclist's rights. The Parisians are the worst drivers in the world, but rural France is a haven for cyclists. Germans drive fast but they'll give way to cyclists and slow down, then accelerate rapidly on their Porsches and AMGs. The Italians will scream at you and wave their hands vigorously especially in Rome, but rural Italy (like France) is a dream. The Dutch and the Belgians are the only cycling public in the world that has the best system. The Danish and Swedes are not too far off too -- I have cycled in Denmark and Sweden and never had it so good. Their coffee are to die for." Now you understand why I thought of exchanging careers with this guy??!
Elmer's longest ride was the L'etape London from London Velodrome to Essex County, a total of 120 miles or 193 kms (N.B. Hah! I just did an Audax of 210 kms :P) with an elevation of 7,200 feet. But his most memorable ride was an epic London to Amsterdam in 2016 -- 4 countries in 4 days with his cycling partner Simon Dymott. "Having cycled in different countries in Europe -- Spain, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Austria, Czech Republic, Italy, france, Belgium and Netherland -- it was my first taste of ultra distance cycling and I fell in love with it," Elmer swoons. He continues: "This coming June, we will be climbing one of Giro d'Italia's toughest climbs -- Passo Stelvio and Passo Mortirolo with around 5,000 cyclists, including the Swiss-Italian Alps along the famous Lake Como and Lake Garda -- probably one of the most beautiful cycling routes in the world."
Which is no wonder why, when asked if he was stranded on a desert island with a famous person, who would he choose as his companion, he had a ready answer: "Adele and a guitar. So we can make music together."
Last question, Elmer. May anghit ba ang mga puti pagkatapos ng ride? "Meron, pare. Whew! Di nga lang lahat."
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