Central Luzon Loop 7-Day Solo Ride

Philippines | Jun 2025 |

Here are the details on my recent 1-week, 5-segment ride around the western part of Central Luzon, including the Provinces of Pampanga, Zambales, Bataan, Tarlac, as well as Pangasinan further north. Rather than do separate pages for each ride, I rolled this trip into one post.

Ride 1: Angeles > Subic

I flew into Clark from Coron after 10 days of diving. Lucky the plane departed—Coron had been hammered by a storm for days. But my luck ran out on arrival at Clark: the storm had just reached Central Luzon, dumping torrential rain.

From the airport, I grabbed a cab to the Red Doorz Hotel (15 mins), dropped off my dive gear bag with Whalelo.net storage (based at the hotel), and then walked 100 meters to Nice Bike Rental to collect the Honda XR150 I had booked. This was my second time renting from them, and once again they didn’t disappoint—solid bike, excellent service, highly recommended.

I debated staying the night in Angeles, but common sense prevailed: better to ride out right away. The trip to Subic was uneventful—busy highway, nothing scenic, heavy rain the entire way.

This was my first visit to Subic, a legendary naval port. I checked into Mangos Beachfront Resort, also legendary. As expected, the vibe here felt a lot like Angeles. I planned to dive, but the storm had other ideas—the bay was officially closed, and no boats were permitted to venture out. I ended up stuck indoors, barely left my room.

Ride: 95 km / 3 hrs

Stay: Mangos Beach Resort / $25 / **

Ride 2: Subic > Bataan Loop

Third day in Subic the skies finally cleared, so I headed south into Bataan Province, where I planned to trace part of the infamous Bataan Death March route and learn more about it.

The ride started beautifully—smooth roads with minimal traffic, winding through jungle-covered hills and offering sweeping views of Subic Bay. I passed the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant, an abandoned '70s relic, never commissioned due to corruption and controversy.

Further along I stopped at the Japan–Philippines Friendship Tower, a symbolic landmark and key junction for east- and southbound travel, as well as an important site in Death March history. From there, I pushed south toward Mariveles.

This road is excellent, but remote—few villages, little traffic, and long stretches of coastal scenery. That is, until I hit a massive mudflow blocking the road. I tried to ride through, but the XR’s front tire washed out. I went down hard, collecting some nasty scrapes and bruises, plus a gouge on my calf from the footpeg (a reminder why shorts aren’t ideal riding gear - duh). Bike, bags, and I all ended up smeared in thick, sticky mud.

I continued into Mariveles, which sits across from Corregidor Island. According to a local storyboard, the town was first settled by Chinese pirates back in the 1200s. It would’ve been great to visit the island, but time was short.

From Mariveles, I rode north along the eastern coast of Bataan, then cut back west and retraced the loop to Subic. Along the way I noticed roadside markers indicating every kilometer of the two Death March routes, and I passed a major WWII battle site—though I couldn’t stop to explore this time. I rode back to Mangos and booked in for another night.

Ride: 220 km / 7 hrs

Stay: Mangos Beach Resort

R3: Subic to Dawal

After 3-days in Subic, I rode north towards San Fabian, where I was going to meet an old friend, about 7 hours away. This was up the coast of Zambalese province, a fairly developed

area. This wasn't the most exciting ride, much of it a busy road with limited views of the coast, and the mountains on the other side of the road (including Pinatubo) obscured in clouds. After about 3.5 hours I called it a day, and did a walk-in at a small resort, a really basic room. I think the location was Dawal, but I am not sure.

Ride: 125 km / 3 hrs

Stay: ? / $12 / *

R4: Dawal to Tongdalian Beach

Next day I continued north to a place called Alaminos City, then headed west toward Dagupan, near San Fabian. Alaminos is a bustling town, and I did a pit stop at Rauchy Ronnies ("McDonalds") for breakfast. One thing really struck me here: it seemed to be home to the most attractive woman I had ever seen in one place in the Philippines (non GoGo bar, that is).

From there it was about 90 minutes to Dagupan, where I met my friend at her family homestead, then headed to Tongdalian Beach Hotel where I had a room booked. This is a surprisingly nice area of Luzon, lovely beaches and incredible sunsets, with nary an expat or international tourist to be found. A couple of highlights of this area were: 1) dinner 2 nights in a row at Matutinas, a highly recommended seafood restaurant; and 2) the scads of roadside seafood sellers, where I heartily noshed on fresh oysters for $2 a kilo.

Ride: 130 km / 4 hrs

Stay: Tondalian Beach Hotel / $35 / ***

R5: Tongdalian Beach to Angeles

The last leg of the journey, this is a really busy road in a heavily developed area of Luzon, which I knew as I had done the same route north in 2024, from Angeles to Baguio. The only POI of note along the way a monument to the Bataan Death Marchers, though there was no info there to explain the what/why/who of it.

Back in Angeles, I returned the bike at Nice, and walked over to Red Doorz and collected my dive bag, then took a cab to SM Mall and caught a bus to Makati.

Ride: 140 km / 4 hrs

Stay: caught bus to Manila

Route

Questions?

Drop me a line at terraxplor1@gmail.com, happy to help.