I had the opportunity to ride with Lori McCarney yesterday. Here are our stats and the map of our cycling voyage.
A few weeks ago the words “Lori McCarney, YOU ARE AN IRONMAN,” were recited as she crossed the finish line in Kona. So, yeah, you could say she’s one of the superhero moms in my world. Thanks to a lot of hard work to QUALIFY — because lottery entries had not yet begun — Lori was in Ironman Kona in 2009, but fell short of her goal when the clock ran out and the finish line was in sight. Heartbreaking. This video really wrenches your gut.
When I first met Lori about two years ago, I couldn’t tell what she was about. But as I go to know her, I became a believer in her positive spirit and personal drive. Lori doesn’t keep secrets and willingly shares training tips. Yesterday we discovered that we were riding with the same tires, Continental Grand Prix 4000s. Her Cervelo is such a little Maserati. I have bike envy, that’s for sure.
Sometimes Lori and I share age groups, sometimes we don’t. But that never matters to her. Lori gets it. Her training and goals are different from mine and everyone elses, but she believes there are plenty of wins to go around when she shares ideas and tips that help people like me cross their finish lines.
For yesterday’s ride I promised clear roads along the Ka Iwi Coast because of the road construction. Wrong! Construction makes progress and the one-lane closures weren’t there, so neither were our opportunities to ride without vehicles along this narrow and precarious curvy stretch of road with minimal shoulders. But we did it. Plan B was to go back along Heartbreak Hill and to ride through the Hawaii Kai farm lands out to Hawaii Kai Drive to avoid the road construction on Lunalilo Home Road. Success! It was a smart choice.
Mahalo, Lori! Great ride. Let’s do it again!
Lavagal 
I want to ride Kaiwi on one of those limited-traffic days. Banked turns are such fun.
Paula, how nice to share this story. You know, I am continually impressed by people who juggle many things, including working out and maybe even doing triathlons. You are a great example of this. I admire your ability to do such a great job raising your kids and enjoy a wonderful marriage, your very accomplished writing talent and your garden-to-table lifestyle and cooking prowess. I think we share many things besides our age group, which I will be leaving in January. Wow! Anyway, absolutely loved the ride yesterday and look forward to many more in the future! PS. The engine is much more important than the bike, but I do love my Cervelo!