Monday, October 26, 2020

THE PANSITING

All the world's a pansit.

Birthdays and funerals, weddings and baptismals, fiestas and reunions, anniversaries, breakfast, lunch, dinner, merienda and lockdown food packs.

Mula Mavulis hanggang Saluag

Pansit, the original Pinoy fast food, has come a long way from the "pian e sit" sold by the panciteros and panciterias of old.

And I was the Pansit Man on sabbatical, shooting churches and eating noodles who in the time of the quarantine was called on to cook sotanghon with pork meat balls on Sunday, prep up for the wife's pancit canton on Monday, experiment on pasta with ragu on Tuesday, dare for a miki Abra on Wednesday, finally landed bihon guisado on Thursday, reinvent La Paz batchoy on Friday and ride for pansit-kanin on Saturday.

All for breakfast and to honor the last week of the 103rd Giro d'Italia and the first week of the 75th La Vuelta a Espana.

Tao Geoghengan Hart ITT-ied to pink at the last stage of the Giro so I asked Enola Holmes in England if Tao is indeed the next generation of British cycling.

"Shut the fuck up!" retorted Manuel and Driss who firmly believe that Wout van Aert will rule not just Belgium but the world.

They will be close enemies, the Ineos Grenadier versus a yellow bird from Jumbo-Visma, intense but mute like Siva and Regatta's dark drama because football is preferred over cycling in the slums of Singapore and Egypt, an enigma as tragic as the treasure and forbidden love stories of Hatshepsut and Senenmut during the 18th Dynasty, Ali and Zainab in the Ottoman period, and General Bishr and Naemat before the Revolution of 1952.

Ramkant played cricket in the hills of Jitvapur and dreamed of Umrika in Mumbai where he was smuggled in a cargo ship but ended up in Taichung, toiling with A-Ho under a sun in the sprawling grounds of the world's largest bike manufacturer whose Giant Revel will bring uncertain glory to the future of Spanish cycling: Max Soler who is a progeny of Luis through Trini, and Enric Mas who was descended from Soleras through the Carlana. 

I am the Phantom Biker and these are my stories in the time of Covid-19.

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