Aloha Sports Kona unveiled Big Island’s first Indoor Cycling Studio this week with its grand opening at the Honokohau Commercial Center location on Monday.
The premier Indoor Cycling Studio is geared to provide the community a fun alternative to get in a good sweat indoors, rather than riding out on the roads.
Co-founder Janet Higa-Miller, who opened Aloha Sports Kona (ASK) with her husband, Grant Miller, took some time out of her busy schedule to share her thoughts about their new company, having a great alternative for cyclists who typically ride out on the roads, and some long-term goals for both the Indoor Cycling Studio and their company, Aloha Sports Kona.
Q: Where did the idea/vision to start Kona’s first Indoor Cycling Studio (ICS) come from?
David Wild brought the idea to Grant.
Q: Cycling safety out on the roads has recently become a very hot topic among triathletes and cyclists. How do you feel ICS will integrate itself into the athletic community?
Grant and I will always love cycling outdoors and we are experienced cyclists — but even we have thought twice about the risks taken with the new construction along Queen Kaahumanu Highway, increased traffic and incidents of accidents among cyclists and motorists. The Indoor Cycling Studio is a great group ride option and takes the risk out of getting out on your bike.
Q: What are some long-term goals for ASK’s Indoor Cycling Studio?
David Wild is our fearless leader at ASK Cycling Studio and his passion for this venue and type of workout will bring a new kind of experience to cyclists in Kona. Eventually we will host triathlon and cycling camps but David is the catalyst and we will follow his lead on this new venture.
Q: Both you and Grant seem to be truly passionate toward creating new and more varied off-road running and cycling events to promote a healthier lifestyle. Besides the ICS, what are some other long-term goals you envision for Aloha Sports Kona in general?
At this location we also have Trek Bike Rental operating and Brad Weinmann is newly on board to develop an Outdoor Retail Shop that we are targeting to open in April 2018. This should tie in nicely with the off road events that Aloha Sports Kona is planning in 2018. Look for a 50K Trail Run and Xterra Hawaii Island Qualifier to be announced soon. We have formed a trail run club named Run HI (Hawaii Island) which will organize off road training runs and founding members include Bree Wee, Patrick Stover, Mikey Brown and Sara Bloom.
Q: Saturday concluded the two-week free trial period for the ICS. Do you plan to add more sessions than the current three-day per week workout schedule?
Right now the group sessions will be tailored to David Wild’s schedule. As a full-time teacher this means evenings and weekends for group indoor cycling, and David will also offer individual classes to those who want a personalized workout. Eventually Brad Weinmann will conduct beginner and introductory sessions. We are very excited about expanding on this schedule in the future with guest instructors and visiting coaches. For those who want to be on our newsletter email list please contact ASK at: alohasportskona@gmail.com.
Q: Anything else you would like to add?
Grant and I are very fortunate to have a talented and hardworking group of people supporting the new ideas and the off road adventures of Grant and myself. And they believe in opportunities to bring new experiences to share with others both novice and advanced. We welcome especially the people who want to participate but are shy or intimidated about joining in. I can honestly say that once they meet David Wild and Brad Weinmann, they will see that no question will be unanswered at ASK and it will be worth that first step.