“Short and sweet” seemed to be the only sensible words to get cyclists fired up enough to make the start line for what was bound to become a hurt fest like no other.
Surely there couldn’t be anything “sweet” about Saturday’s Alii Bypass Training Time Trial — a torturous grind up the new Mamalahoa Bypass road, where all-out maximum speeds over the short 2.9-mile distance averaged out to a slow 14 miles per hour for the fastest rider.
Alongside the surrounding beauty of Mamalahoa Bypass road that winds through an ancient lava field amidst lush vegetation and expansive views of Keauhou Bay, is the beauty and simplicity of what a cycling hill climb race truly represents.
It is the challenge of facing the demon of a task purely on one’s own efforts. Drafting, massive tailwinds, aerodynamic equipment and other advantages are simply factored out of the equation. It is a race where one’s will and desire to finish becomes the absolute driving force when burning legs and lungs are no longer willing to respond.
It is character building at its best.
Saturday’s time trial attracted a smaller field of athletes who ended at the southern end of Alii Drive, also known as “The Pit.” Racers attacked the climb in a time trial format, each starting individually on 30-second intervals.
Last year’s defending champion and course record holder, Keauhou’s Penn Henderson, made the quickest ascent to the top, winning in a time of 11 minutes and 54 seconds.
“I wasn’t sure how it would go having less fitness compared to last year’s event,” Henderson said. “Either way, I figured it would be an interesting test and I knew it would hurt the same regardless. I finished over a minute slower than last year which is huge on such a short course. The cool thing was seeing a bunch of the teen Waveriders hammering it out there!”
Kealakehe Waverider triathletes, Chris Prater and Malik Mariano, represented their club well with impressive finishes in second and third place overall. Prater pumped his way up the Bypass to set a course record for the men’s 15-17 age group with a stellar time of 13:10. Mariano followed in 13:14.
The race for fourth overall ended up being the closest race of the morning between Kona’s Kym Kiser and Sean Maynard. Kiser’s biweekly hill training sessions paid off as she crossed the finish line in 13:29, with Maynard one click back in 13:30.
Other notable mentions go to Scott Kruis, who won the men’s 50-54 age group in 14:54; Lori Montgomery, who was the second female and topped the women’s 55-59 age group in 19:31; Michael Chang, who took the men’s 55-59 age group in 19:59; Gerd Weber, winner of the men’s 65-69 age group in 17:02; and Gerald Gruber, who set a course record for the men’s 70-74 age group with a great time of 17:23.
As the Hawaii Cycling Club’s training time trial season winds down, there comes a change among the HCC board members.
Mike Wolf, who has been the HCC president for the last two years, decided to relinquish his role and devote his time and energy to Tri Hawaii, a nonprofit community service organization. Tri Hawaii will offer a free triathlon training series in 2015 devoted to helping athletes complete Olympic, half-Ironman, and eventually, full-Ironman distances.
Taking the helm as the new president for the remaining 2014 and upcoming 2015 year is Kailua-Kona’s Daniel Hodel, an avid runner, cyclist, triathlete and longtime HCC board member. But more than feeling excitement, Hodel admits that he was initially reluctant, and even now, feels anxious with his new responsibilities.
“When I stepped back one, everyone else stepped back two,” Hodel laughed about taking on his new role. “I think the cycling club is an important asset for our community and I just want it to stay healthy. It’s done a lot, and put on a lot of events over the last 13-14 years that I’ve been here. We’ve all taken advantage of that and there comes a time when you do have to put in some time yourself to try and maintain the thing.”
Hodel added that he would like to maintain or refine the club’s scheduled events and is looking forward to bringing back other races that had off years.
“It would be nice to get ‘Sea To Stars’ back in the saddle again,” Hodel said. “And also be a site where people can get information for calendar events. There’s a lot going on the island where people are trying to put together new events and we want to try and be helpful to those events.”
Many may wonder if there are any perks to being the new HCC president?
“None!” Hodel chuckled. “My term will be as short as possible, I’m ready to step down as soon as we can get people up to speed and ready to go. We are always looking for new board members for anyone interested and a place we can get fresh ideas, feedback, and possibly some good suggestions.”
Throughout the Hawaii Cycling Club’s 17-year history, several of our island’s top athletes have held the honorary position. Three-time Ultraman World Champion, Kona’s Gary Shields, is credited with starting the popular cycling club and has carried the torch as president for nearly a decade.
“I was 42 years old when I started the club,” Shields said. “I had won Dick Evans over in Oahu that year and saw how many cycling clubs there were. When I came back, I told a few other riders of my idea to start an organized club. At that time there weren’t any on the island, and I knew there definitely would be a lot of interest.”
Shields said that although there were several names for the club tossed around, he decided to call the Kona based-club the Hawaii Cycling Club, in hopes to have the club be more inclusive islandwide.
From there, Shields got to work quickly to get the Hawaii Cycling Club up and running. He sought out sponsorships from local businesses that amassed nearly $25,000 in the first year. He designed the club’s first cycling jersey decorated with names of local sponsors surrounding a hammerhead shark, the team name. He also created the club’s first website with hopes it would attract athletes of all fitness levels and to grow the club into something significant.
“It was a lot of work in the beginning but it was also rewarding to see how quickly it took off,” Shields said. “But it was especially rewarding to have been able to sponsor the expense of riders to fly over to Oahu to compete as a team. I loved seeing our Kona guys going over there and doing well. I think that was the best years of racing on the big island and I’m proud that the club was a big part of that.”
Now, 17 years later, the Hawaii Cycling Club continues to thrive.
“I’m happy the club is still there and people are passionate enough to keep it going,” Shields said. “When I think back to how it all started and all of the years riding with the club, it will always be great memories for me.”