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Has anyone done the race? I'm thinking about it for this summer. It's Saturday, July 4, we could do the Waimea Bay 1.2 mile swim the following Saturday and make a great trip out of it. I can't find any information about the bike part of the race. I did find a video of the 10K run and it looks just beautiful. 1K swim in Hawaiian water, the only thing I could ask is that it was longer. What about the bike?
Has anyone out there done the race? What can I expect?
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''Sweeney - you can both crush your AG *and* cruise in dead last!! 😂 '' Murphy's Law
I did it in 2013. Fantastic race. Great organizers. Festive atmosphere and had a great time. Bike is very non-technical with some tough climbs. Would highly recommend it.
I've done both freedom fest and the Waimea swim a couple times. Kualoa Ranch is a common spot for mtb racing on the island...a truly beautiful place and the site of numerous Hollywood scenes. Freedom fest is a fun race. The swim can be somewhat shallow in that area depending on tide, but still a beautiful spot. The bike leg is not very technical. Probably half jeep road and half single track witha few rock gardens...some short but brutal steep climbs. It's well organized by a fun group of people with lots of xterra experience. It has a somewhat local feeling...not a huge production of an event, which could be a let down depending on your perspective if you pay a ton of money to get there. It's a also a great opportunity to earn a slot to xterra worlds on Maui. It's where I got mine!
Thanks guys, this looks great. I was worried that the bike might be a muddy, rooty ride. What about tires? Right now I have Maxxis Ignitors or KnobbyNick/RacingRalph combo. Should I be looking for something different?
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''Sweeney - you can both crush your AG *and* cruise in dead last!! 😂 '' Murphy's Law
I'm not too much of a mtb tire guru nor experienced with those particular tires. My stand-by has always been Kenda Nevegals and I was usually happy with those in HI. I tried Kenda Blue Grooves for a while there too...actually I think I raced Freedom Fest and Xterra Worlds on blue grooves in 2013 and they were fine. They were fine when dry but when it's wet they lack the cornering traction for confidence so I went back to nevegals. There is plenty of rooty riding to be had on Oahu but not at freedom fest. Gravel or dirt jeep roads and grassy or dirt single track. Probably 5 or 6 short (~10 yds) rock gardens on the single track "return" along the valley side. There is always potential for it to be wet, but less likely in July than at other times. Even when wet Kualoa is rideable...not so elsewhere on the island. I rode a 6hr mtb race there and it rained much of the time.
This is all making me miss my HI home! I just moved back to the mainland 4 months ago..first snow forecasted for tomorrow..early mornings in a pain cave...all=:(
Last edited by:
Roadhog: Nov 25, 14 10:43
''This is all making me miss my HI home! I just moved back to the mainland 4 months ago..first snow forecasted for tomorrow..early mornings in a pain cave...all=:( ''
Are you in the North East these days? That's a big change from Oahu. I live in New York and I go over, usually to Oahu at least two time a year. I miss it as soon as I come home. the FreedomFest race followed by the Waimea swim sounds like a great trip to me.
Maxxis Ignitors are probably in the same class as the Blue Grooves. Mid-level semi race XC tires, I'll probably stick with them, tubeless.
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''Sweeney - you can both crush your AG *and* cruise in dead last!! 😂 '' Murphy's Law