You ride on the shoulder. On the Queen K portion it is quite good. Just about as smooth as the main road with the exception of a few spots. On the part from Kawaihae to the Hawi turn around not quite as good as the Queen K portion, but still better then most roads that I have ridden on in other races.

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http://bigisland-will.blogspot.com/

I did that ride on a recent trip to the Big Island. Road conditions weren't as smooth as on Queen K, but not bad. I think you should be fine in tri shorts.

Jeff

This all relative to what you're used to training and racing in but I've found the road surface on this course to be one of the smoother ones I've been on. IOW, it's a non issue...

Thanks, Chris