Honolulu Century Ride - A Different Perspective

I've done the Honolulu Century Ride many many times, and back in the day, there were few, if any Nihonjin. But ever since JAL began promoting this ride very heavily in Japan, there have been more and more riders. This past ride had over 1,500 people from Japan! So out of a total of 4,000, people from Japan made up almost 40% of the people.

Who knows...maybe in a couple of years, this ride may be like the Honolulu Marathon where MOST of the participants are from Japan.

One of my friends, Kushima-san and his wife, have done this century 5 times. He told me that back in 1998, there were hardly any Japanese people and the ride had a very "local" feel. But now, the feel is not like before...



For a real Nihon-jin perspective, click here: Kushima-san's 2006 HBL Century Ride Report. If you can't read 日本語, convert it in www.worldlingo.com and you can get a pretty good idea. Also check out the がんばれ Round-the-Island Ride report which he and his wife did only 4 days after the Century. Now that's more than I have ever done...and I live here!