Feel Fine...

Today was a super great day...so...I'm hoping 2010 will be a really good year...hopefully a really good decade...

Since the legs have been feeling really spent lately I didn't expect much today, but, when I jumped on the bike this afternoon, they felt OK and even somewhat peppy. So, I decided to do a long ride out to Hawaii Kai and back. And, for the first time (maybe ever), I had an unbelievable ride out AND back.

When you hear someone say, "May the Wind Always Be At Your Back," after today, I really know how wonderful this is....especially with today's beautiful clear blue skies and perfect riding weather...

On the way out, with some pretty decent southerlies I was feeling fine and pretty easily rolling a 53-13/14ish gear on Nimitz, then Kalakaua, then Diamond Head Road and Kal Hwy. I was thinking I better not go too hard since it's going to be HARD riding back all the way home. But I couldn't resist, the speed felt so good...so...I kept on rolling the big gears all the way out. Up Lunalilo Home Road it was 53-12 and I'm flying way over 25 thinking...man, it's going to be a grind all the way home.

Took the left at the fire station and the wind feels not that bad...round bend back towards the ocean and it's not that bad again. Hit Kal Hwy and I'm flying back in the 53-14ish and I'm thinking What's Up??? Of course...the winds have somehow magically switched from Kona into into a light trade somewhere in Hawaii Kai and it's smooth smooth sailing all the way back!!!

Got home feeling spent, but great. Man!!!...what a great first long ride of 2010...

Kuraki Mai - Feel Fine
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For 2010 - "May The Wind Always Be At Your Back..."

Bike Story...

Shot of Diamond Head through the Manoa Mist - taken from Ualakaa State Park on Tantalus.


Did almost a 3 hour ride today including a Tantalus after about an hour of warm up. A couple of weeks ago I took 20.? minutes to get from the stop sign to the top. Today, I did it in 19 flat!...so I was pretty happy. I could really roll a bigger gear today and tried to do as much of the top half in the big ring (maybe my new big gear training plan is working \(.,.)/

Bike Story - So on my way back home, I usually take Young Street, but today, I decided to give Beretania a try instead...and, it was UNREAL!!! Got on at University Ave., and with a slight tailwind and what seems like a slight slight down slope, I rode NON-STOP syncing all the lights, from University to Punchbowl...just stroking the 53x12 and 13!!! Man...syncing those lights doesn't happen every day...and the speed in the moving traffic kind of reminded me of when I used to ride my motorcycle...that was some awesome stuff...

Another Bike Story...

A couple of weeks ago I was doing loops around Aliamanu Crater and had the coolest experience...

I almost always ride solo, but for a little while that day, I had a riding partner as a small mongoose ran along side with me. Actually, there was a new construction/dust fence along the right side of the road with absolutley no gaps in it. So, once the mongoose started to run along side with me, he actually had no where to go...running along looking for an opening in the fence. I just kept pace in back of him wondering how far he would go...

After about 30 seconds or so, he must have realized there would be no opening, so he stopped and let me ride on pass...

Bike Stories.....Southerly Winds and Smooth Roads...

Southerly Winds...the southerly winds the other day let me do something that I've really been thinking of doing since they FINALLY paved Puuloa Road...



On Monday afternoon, after just cruising around and listening to Utada Hikaru...on my last lap of Lagoon Drive, the winds changed just a bit to where you could really start to roll a big gear on the usually upwind return leg...

When I got to the last 1/2 mile of Lagoon, I was really moving with not too much effort and I must have stepped on something...cause I caught green lights at both the Keehi Lagoon Park AND Nimitz Highway intersections...

By this time, I'm really rolling the 53x12 and I blast through the Nimitz intersection and then get to do what I've been wanting to do...spin it up on the newly paved, smooth has glass, Puuloa Road.

Not wanting to let any cars get in my way, and in an fast moving Utada Hikaru trance...I decide whether it's worth trying to slip by the cars waiting to turn left at Wendy's...then just a couple of seconds later...it opens up and the cars begin to move, me almost on the back fender of the last car. The guy kind of sees me in the mirror and steps on it. I end up catching a draft for a short time and then just begin to crank it on Puuloa...what an awesomely smooth and powerfully effortless feeling it is...unreal...