@postaday 100; #postaday2011
Yay! Today was the day. John and I left the house at the butt-crack of dawn to be as far from Hawaii Kai as one could be on Oahu. Well, just about. From nearly Waialua at Kaiaka Park, Hawaii Bicycle League launched the Haleiwa Metric Century at 7:30 a.m. this morning. There were more than 800 riders. After the ride I got to meet one gentleman named Brian from the Bay Area who said he had read my blog when he Googled the event. A new friend and potentially a regular reader? I hope so!
And before the ride I got to introduce John to one of my bosses at work, Fred, who clocked in a respectable full century time at under 4 hours. #fistbump!
Speaking of times, which is really what all this is about, it took John and me 03:03:55 to complete 56.20 miles with an average moving speed of 18.3 mph. Let’s just say I think that was the fastest pace I’ve ever kept. Much of it was being toward the front and with a lot of fast people. Some of it was wanting to do a personal best. And a small part of it is wanting to be really good at something since I can’t run and I’m not sure when I’ll ever paddle out on my surfboard again! And I will also say that I want to be the youngest person ever who is my age. Do you see what I did there?
After the ride I noted to John that I had burned just 977 calories. He suggested that I could go around the park a few times to make it an even 1,000! We got our t-shirts, I had a delicious tangerine, and that’s when Brian and another gentleman, both Navy guys, came up and talked to me about my blog. I think they recognized my number! One of the things I told them was that I’m glad it wasn’t even really exactly an entirely whole metric century. I’m glad it was just 56.2 miles and not 58 or 60 or 62!
Except for the half-way rest stop at Swanzy Beach Park, John and I skipped the others. Some observations: We encountered road kill such as a dead black cat, a chicken, a bufo frog, a windshield visor, and a T-shirt. There will always be little surfer groms at Sunset Beach on bicycles and little North Shore tweens going on 18. Folks with motorcross cycles in the back of their trucks can be impatient. People in bicycle kits come in all shapes and sizes. Some people deserve the amazing bikes they have. Some people amaze me by riding bikes that look like they are from another era.
But what I’m really amazed about is this wonderful ride my Twitter friend @FATJEFF created years ago when a Hawaii Bicycle League staffer. No hill was too taxing, the route is considerably gentle and wherever it narrowed, say at bridges and such, drivers allowed the bicyclists to proceed. We did, however, spot an ambulance and so we must consider the possibility that a participant got into some trouble. Let’s hope not!
C’ya next year? We’ll be there!
Lavagal 
you had a fantastic ride. all that training paid off. my lack of bike-specific training meant i was hurting in a few spots as the miles went by. the lack of hills was nice, but there was some pretty brisk wind today. you were super strong out there.
it’s always nice to earn a big lunch. now for the nap i also earned.
a couple of quibbles: we were up considerably before the butt crack of dawn, and were in fact in haleiwa in time to see her butt crack.
you failed to mention the two, count ’em, two squashed mongooses on your roadkill roundup. sad about the little black kitty and the handsome chicken. 😦
it was nice having bib numbers 2 and 3 this year. but do you think you could be a little quicker on the draw next year and snag number 1? ok, thanks!
You two kicked anatomy!