So I went to the Manila Folding Bike Festival last June 23rd. The same one I’ve been hawking for a number of times in some blog entries past. Here’s what happened.

I didn’t fly back alone. Simon, a friend of mine, decided to hop in on the action as well. I took my Brompton and he lugged a CarryMe around.

We flew in during the dead hours of night, arriving in the Philippines early in the morning. After a couple hours rest or so, I headed over to meet Simon at his hotel. I swear, all the hotel staff were gawking as Simon unfolded the CarryMe. After another friend arrived, we all cycled the few kilometers to the venue at The Collective.

The turnout wasn’t so bad. People tended to arrive in batches. Of course since Folding Bike Pilipinas was part of the core planning committee, I did end up seeing a lot of my friends.

I even saw Eric, a friend from way back when! I think I haven’t seen him since grade school — over a decade and a continent away! Here he is with his cable-less Dahon Mu Uno. Very slick!

The Collective houses a lot of arty-vibe shops. Lots of pretty graffiti too. Quite inspiring.

Simon brought the most compact bike he had, a CarryMe. It took less than 30 minutes for someone to offer buying it from him though. That was not part of the plan! A hearty congratulations to Zaldy for purchasing it. It was fun to see everyone try out this tiny wheeled bike.

Of course, the bikes for the bike show! Not many people under the sun since it was too hot. The venue felt like a sauna at some point. Everyone just kept cool in the shade.

And some bikes weren’t part of the show at all. Like this Dahon Hon Solo that was brought in much too late to be a part of the judging. Too bad because it was really nicely done. I especially like the Surly flask.

Oh, and the Brommie parking section. Of course.

Even non-folding bikes went out to play at the bike fest. These shiny beasts are proudly Philippine made by Mity Mike! It would be kind of hard to steal a bike this personalized, yeah?

Since we were at the venue pretty much the whole day, we were able to see a whole slew of events going on.

At some point, there was a fastest fold contest among the different kinds of bikes.

There was a bike blessing headed by Pastor Ding Cristobal, a talk about the Firefly Brigade and its advocacies. Kris even talked about the beauty of bikepacking with folding bikes.

The Collective, as it’s name implies, actually houses a whole other bunch of eclectic stores.

Here is the bag shop Yadu where everything was on sale for half the price because it was Mr. Saulo’s birthday.

There was Hocus Bicycles and Screen Printing, where you can get your old bikes reconditioned or you can commission a new frame from bike builder Avelino Maldea.

There was also a media presence around the whole event. Here a local TV station films various bikes being folded and unfolded for a short spot. Simon gives it a go.

Even my bike had it’s 5 seconds of fame. I didn’t want to be on screen though so Lawrence took my place. Thanks!

Watch the short TV segment here. Another friend, Art, is featured on his daily commute with his folding bike to work.

So back to the bike fest… There was free silk screening! All you had to do was bring a dark colored shirt. I forgot.

And then there was the raffle. There were so many things to give away! Bike shirts, jerseys, bike accessories, and the grand prize was a Dahon Jack! The Jack ended up going to Brian!

What’s a bike show without the actual showing? Simon was a judge. He worked really hard under the sweltering heat.

Is it more fun to bike in the Philippines?

As for the final results… two of the bikes that won were pimped out Birdy’s.

Here is the winner of the 16″ wheel size category; a Birdy BD1.

The winner of the 20″ wheel size category was seriously pimped!

The Classic category was won by this Bridgestone Picnica.

The last category was the People’s Choice Award. It was won by this full titanium Panasonic Traincle. Congratulations to Larry!

Right after the actual show, the whole venue was changed to host the Rock Stage of this year’s Fête de la Musique. That’s RadioActiveSagoProject on the stage. I originally planned to stay but after a day under the sun, I was super beat. We decided to find a place to eat instead.

I can’t wait ’till next years’ Folding Bike Fest!