The Day After Yesterday

I guess this means I'm still alive.
Kinda sorta.
The Haleiwa Metric Century Ride was great!
I think.
Taking pictures was kinda far from my mind so the camera stayed holstered.
Here's one image that will stick with me until next year:



That's pretty much the view I had for forty something miles of exasperation. My brother way ahead of me.
Okay, not really. Mostly.
Here's what the ride route looked like:



We got off at the back of the pack which was about seven hundred plus strong. It was pretty cool seeing all those cyclists heading out on the highway pretty much single file going out into the clear morning.
It turned out to be a gorgeous day.
Here's a pic of one of the aid stations around 20 clicks out:



My brother and I speculated that most of the riders turned back here. The returning pack passed us going the other way someplace past here. I forgot to check the mileage. The returning peloton was about twenty strong, hammering down the highway.
Made me feel slow. I think my brother wanted to hit the gas, but thankfully he had mercy on my soul and he didn't crush it.
Which was the story of the day.
Every time my brother would slow down and draft someone, I thanked my lucky stars and hoped he wouldn't overtake. Not that he left me with much of a draft; every time he went down on the aerobars, it felt like I was riding solo.
The wind was an ego crusher, for me anyways. It wasn't very strong, just relentless as we headed south along the coast. If it wasn't for my iron legged brother pulling me along, I would have been toast before the turn around.
Seriously burnt toast.
The halfway point was across the street from a 7-11.
Thankfully.
My brother fueled up and I had a Snickers Ice Cream Bar.
Here is where we ran into our only mechanical trouble of the day:



The bicycle gods must have taken pity on me for his flat gave me time to recharge my legs.
Not that it really helped.
By the time we got going again, most of the riders were gone. I estimate there were less than twenty people behind us:





The weather couldn't have been more perfect! The ride back was with the wind, which helped me sort of keep up with Iron Legs in front me. I guess he remembered me for we stopped off at Kahana Bay to chat with a Japanese gentleman who said he was coming back to do the Honolulu Century Ride later this year.
The water was crystal:




I wish I had taken more pics but the dude I was following was cranking along his merry way occasionally checking back to see if I was still with him.
The view was pretty much the same all the way back.
Sunset Beach, Pupukea(Sharks Cove), Waimea Bay, it was all flat with crystal clear waters. If I had taken any pictures, they would have looked like a postcard or something out of a travel brochure.
I'm telling you, there were so many places I wished I could have just rode my bike right into the water.
Lucky thing I didn't for I probably would have drowned.
I was pretty much done by the time we passed Waimea Bay and headed into Haleiwa.
Here's the last aid station at Sunset Beach:



As you can see, there was no one there but my brother and I and a couple of other riders. Coming in, it felt like I was the only one left out there.
Actually I don't think I was last.
I believe there were a couple of other people that came in behind me.
It was pretty close though.
Elapsed time was right about 4 hours at an average of 14.2 mph.
I don't think it was a full 100k.
Anyways, we had a nice lunch later that was like taking a couple of quaaludes. I got home and fell into a fatigue induced coma.
Iron Legs and I were talking about how it would be cool to ride from Makapu'u(a little south of Flat Tire Central) and head north up the coast to Haleiwa. It would be around a seventy mile ride along almost the whole length of the Eastern coast of Oahu and the wind would be at our backs.
We just need someone to pick us up at the end of our ride.
The route would look something like this:



That would be epic!
Summer is coming up so I may try to ride as far as Kaaawa, which was the turnaround point on Sunday.
Just to scope things out don't you know.
Anyways, it was a great ride. Easy to see why it's rated as one of the top 50 rides in these United States(by Bicycling Magazine).
I'll be going back for more torture next year.