Gilbert Dizon in action. Photo from www.crazyguyonabike.com.

ZAMBOANGA CITY - Gilbert Dizon, a 47-year-old cyclist, has been traveling around the Philippines on his bike for the last month and a half.

Dizon arrived in Zamboanga City on Sunday, after biking more than 4,000 kilometers along a route that started from Manila, then Ilocos Norte, Pampanga, Cagayan, Isabela, and down to Cebu, Bohol, Surigao del Sur, and Zamboanga City.

"Instead of a 'Visita iglesia' in 7 [churches], I saw more than 70 churches, and cities to add," he said in an interview with Zamboanga reporters.

Unlike other cyclists who promote environmental advocacies on long-haul bike tours, Dizon has a more personal reason for touring the "Philippine Loop."

He said he has a son who was diagnosed with Langerhans cell hystiocytosis, a rare blood disease where abnormal cells from the bone marrow proliferate in the body.

After his son recovered from nine years of chemotherapy, Dizon promised himself that he would "live life to the fullest."

For him, this meant touring the country so he could share his story with the people he meets along the way.

Dizon, a history teacher from Cagayan de Oro City, said he only carries a backpack, a pair of shorts and underwear, a pair of shirts, water, and a little money throughout his tour.

He is often helped along by friendly locals "Meeting people, especially in the provinces, I realized they deserve respect as much as every other person.

They helped me in so many ways...even with their meager [resources]," he said.

Dizon noted through his travels that though people vary in dialects or cultures, they also "share the same origins, hopes, and dreams."

He is set to return to Manila along the same route, and vowed to repeat his bike tour when he reaches the age of 50.

"Everyone can do it. One does not have to be an athlete. One only had to see what they should see," he said.

Dizon chronicles his journey, which he dubs as the "longest unsupported bicycle adventure in the Philippines", in an online journal at www.crazyguyonabike.com. The entries span 46 days. Report by Dyborrhae Jewel M. Reyes, ABS-CBN Zamboanga.