There’s no doubt, Kailua-Kona’s Sean Maynard is a cycling machine.
On Saturday, Maynard claimed his third consecutive overall win at the Hawaii Cycling Club Airport Training Time Trial. The 16.6-mile cycling race with 30 competitors began on the shoulder from Waikoloa Beach Drive and finished just before the airport under near perfect conditions — sunny skies and light winds.
Maynard sprinted through the finish line on his Specialized S-Works road bike in a lightning time of 38 minutes and 1 second, averaging a speed of 26.2 miles per hour.
He’s also won the last two Hawaii Cycling Club Training Time Trial events — September’s Hammerhead, an event consisting of four separate hill climbs, and the Kaloko Hill Climb known for its brutal 6.5-mile uphill grind. What’s amazing about his story is the fact that Maynard only returned to cycling in January after taking three years off from the bike.
Originally from Montana and employed as a project manager for Metzler Contracting Company for the last 10 years, Maynard said he stopped cycling 3 years ago because he was “just bored.”
“I used to race a lot and more competitively when I was younger,” Maynard said. “I used to race mountain bikes, cyclocross, and a little road racing. I did a lot of miles back then. After you do a lot of miles it’s just not as fun anymore, the training part. And I got busy with work. I like to experience different things and cycling can be very time consuming. I have the type of personality that does one thing, and I do it really intensely before I switch to something else completely.”
Maynard redirected his time to dedicating more hours at work and other pursuits but gained an unhealthy 27 pounds due to a lack of any cardio routine. By the time January 2021 rolled around, it was time to do something about it.
“You know, I was just really out of shape,” Maynard laughed. “But one of the reasons why I like racing and competing is honestly, for my son. I want to be a role model for my son. I think it’s also the image of who you want to be when you are older. I want to be a fit person, and I also want to be something for my son — I don’t know how else to say it. I want to be that someone who he can always look up to, always.”
Maynard said when his 18-year-old son was younger, he would place Maynard’s winning medals up on his bedroom wall. It was something special they shared then and those memories continue today. While Maynard’s son is not quite into bike racing yet, perhaps it might interest him in the future or at the very least, his son will remember “all the crazy bike races” his dad competed in.
Maynard shared getting back into shape was not easy. It took a lot of work and was harder than he imagined. He decided to return to eating vegan — a diet void of any animal product — which was more of a spiritual decision being that he was a vegetarian for 10 years during his younger years. Then, he decided to get back into cycling, which even for a former elite cyclist, turned out to be a somewhat painful process.
“When you are off your bike for a long time, it was my sit bones that hurt and it was the most painful thing in the world,” Maynard chuckled. “It’s basically a month before the bruising on your sit bones goes away.
“The first two rides I felt pretty okay going from Target to the airport, and then I did the Saturday group ride. I got dropped before we got to the airport. For someone who could ride pretty fast, it was humbling and embarrassing to get dropped before the airport. I think lots of people would’ve just given up right there.”
At 50 years of age, Maynard admitted that it took a little more work and most people probably would’ve given up. But he was determined, and kept returning to partake in the Saturday morning Hawaii Cycling Club (HCC) ride. Eventually, he hung onto the group and made it past the airport. As he built up more stamina, he was able to ride to the Veterans Cemetery entrance and now to Waikoloa Beach Drive before returning to the Target parking lot. Happily, he no longer “gets dropped.”
Maynard believes he’s “the least athletic person out there,” with most of what he’s trying to accomplish is physical therapy. “I try to fix stuff on my body. That’s the approach I’ve taken. At this point, I’m not trying to improve myself; I’m just trying to take care my body.
“At one point I got up to 220 pounds before I switched to a vegan diet,” he said. “So, eating healthy and a vegan diet has allowed me to have more energy to do the bicycling. I’m putting up pretty nice power numbers this year for not even having a year (of cycling) under my belt, just 10 months.”
Saturday’s Airport Training Time Trial
Maynard said he originally hadn’t planned on competing Saturday until he received an email from HCC race director, Tom Solis that an Oregon cyclist on roster planned to average a swift 26 miles per hour on the bike.
“That got me thinking and so I decided to sign up,” he said.
While he kept the 26-mile per hour goal as a target, Maynard said he doesn’t look at speed during a race. The most important is to keep his heartrate and power numbers (watts) in check.
“I went out a little too hard – as usual – and I kind of faded towards the end, but I kept my 26-miles per hour, which was the goal,” he said. “By the end, I passed most of the people who started in front of me, so I kind of knew (that he won with his time of 38:01).”
Second to cross the finish line, and first place in the tandem bike division was the amazing husband and wife team, Chris and Rachelle DeMarchi, in a fantastic time of 39:39. The next two spots went to Daniel Hartong and Michael DeCarli, who placed second and third in the men’s individual race, with their times of 40:15 and 41:20 respectively.
He also passed his target, Oregon cyclist Mikhail Kroshkin, who finished 10th overall in a time of 44:03.
Winning the women’s division was Alaska’s Rebecca McKee who stopped the clock at 42:52. McKee also won the last HCC race, The Hammerhead, and is a top age-group triathlete. Following McKee was Papaaloa’s Melissa Schad in a great time of 43:12, and Erin Rene in third at 51:29.
While Maynard is looking forward to the end of the year Big Island Training Time Trial Championships on December 11, a competitor who he felt was the most impressive athlete in Saturday’s race was long-time HCC rider, 77-year old Gerald Gruber. Gruber placed 11th overall in a speedy time of 47:19 and crushed four age group fields — the Men 60-64, 65-69, 70-74, and 75-79.
“I’m looking at these race results and I see this guy named Gerald Gruber who is 77 — he did 21 miles per hour! By far this guy is the best rider out there. To be in your 70s and doing 21 miles per hour is insane, he is incredible! I think that was the most impressive part of Saturday’s race.”