START THE YEAR RIDE
The Castrol-Scooterista Rally
January 23, 2005 Sunday 9 AM
Viewsite Restaurant, Tagaytay City
A Great Kick-Off Ride To Another Year
Sunday, January 23, 2005 5:30 a.m.. This was the big day and as we pulled out of our rendezvous point on the West Service Road in Parañaque, we saw the first sign that this was going to be another huge gathering of scooteristas. Passing by on the South Luzon Expressway in staggered formation were the Jet Riders Pampanga Chapter complete with police escorts and a back-up vehicle.
6:00 a.m. As we passed Caltex Filinvest, we saw a large group of scooter and motorcycle riders gathered in front of Starmart. We didn’t have time to stop since we had to be at Viewsite to prepare breakfast for 300 riders (little did we know that this number would be surpassed).
7:00 a.m. Viewsite Restaurant’s parking lot was almost empty, with only a few cars parked to the sides. However, there were already a couple of scooter groups that were there before us. Scuteria Ferrari, with their Ferrari red bikes and uniforms, parked their scoots and motorcycles right opposite the entrance where they would definitely catch everyone’s attention. By 7:30, the parking lot began to fill up. Various clubs and independent riders came in droves. The Villamor Riders, El Caviteños, XRM Riders and SYM Riders Club were just a few of those that we caught a glimpse of as they descended the gravel driveway.
8:30 a.m. By this time, we already had more than 400 registered riders. Breakfast was being served and Viewsite was beginning to look like a military mess hall—the first batch of riders that arrived were midway through their breakfast as the next group registered for the raffle and waited for their turn at the breakfast tables. This simple process showed the camaraderie amongst scooteristas–no one lingered at the tables longer than needed because they knew there were hundreds of hungry riders waiting for their turn.
9:00 a.m. We officially started the program with a big welcome to all the riders (500 and still counting) and a raffle draw of Mossimo shirts, bottles of wine from Arellano Wines and gift packs from our presentor, Castrol.
9:30 a.m. By this time, we already had 600 registered riders, most of whom were still busy having breakfast. It was time to unveil the new magazine cover. Dispensing with the fanfare, Editor-in-Chief Manu Sandejas went straight to the point and gave the audience a glimpse of what they would find in this new issue. The lucky 300 who were able to register for breakfast by getting a copy of the magazine were promptly given their copies. In fact, the magazines we brought with us were sold out in 30 minutes!
10:00 a.m. More raffle prizes to be given away. Hundreds of riders went home with a souvenir t-shirt of the Castrol-Scooterista Rally to Tagaytay. And a lucky rider from Motorhead Taguig went home the proud (and lucky) owner of a Nike Timing watch.
11:00 a.m. The last raffle prize was finally claimed and we all bade each other a safe trip back. Our last count put the crowd at close to 700 riders, backriders and visitors on cars. A great way to start the year and another great gathering of scooteristas. As we took down the last streamer at Viewsite, we talked about how the crowds at our events keep getting bigger and bigger. With summer just around the corner (and another Scooterista event in the works), we’re certainly looking forward to an even bigger gathering of scooteristas!
Thanks to everyone who made it to the Castrol-Scooterista Rally to Tagaytay, especially those who made it possible: Castrol Philippines, Nike Timing, Viewsite Restaurant, MotorcyclePhilippines.com, Arellano Wines, Mossimo, yehey.com and Wave 89.1.
