Hey all, I’m starting this thread for a buddy of mine who will hopefully chime in here soon. He is going to be out in Hawaii next week and is looking to ride the Hawaii Ironman bike course. He doesn’t know the route - so does anyone have any information on it or suggestions for good places to stop or the best time to start, etc? Also, if there are some people or groups who regularly ride in the area?
Any information would be helpful, and be gentle with him, as he is a slotwitch virgin.
Anyways, Jack’s a buddy of mine and is trying to help me find a course map for the IM Hawaii bike route. For me personally, I’m going on vacation in Hawii next week and I’d like the chance to ride this course so I can better appreciate Kona on TV each year. I’ll never qualify for IM Hawaii, but I’m one of the other 98% of triathletes that just goes out and has fun training day in and day out. I don’t know what I’d do with all my time if I didn’t have swimming, biking and running!
So, basically, all I need is a good map! (I’ve got a bike rental just about lined up already.)
I would avoid the first part through Kailua-Kona, there’s a lot of construction in town on Kuakini Hwy…or at least there was during IM. You could start at the Kona Aquatic Center which is near the intersection of Makala and Kuakini (on the IM pdf map) and ride up to the Queen K, turn left and have a blast. There are some mini-marts before you start the climb up to Hawi, at the beginning of the 270. You’ll have a blast. BTW, bring an extra tube or two with you.
Look at hawaiicyclingclub.com they usually have a saturday ride on the Ironman course. To ride unsupported the whole course I would load up in town, there is a gas station about 3 miles from the airport, Kawaihae town and Hawi are all reloading places. I would start early and plan on being out there for the better part of the day. Grant at the Kona Bike Works should be able to tell you what is happening when ou are there. I would probaly pull into Kona Brew and tell people I rode the course. I could spend six hours there.
Hey all, I’m starting this thread for a buddy of mine who will hopefully chime in here soon. He is going to be out in Hawaii next week and is looking to ride the Hawaii Ironman bike course. He doesn’t know the route - so does anyone have any information on it or suggestions for good places to stop or the best time to start, etc? Also, if there are some people or groups who regularly ride in the area?
Any information would be helpful, and be gentle with him, as he is a slotwitch virgin.
Thanks,
Jack
This is kind of like when I was in jr. high, and I used to have to ask girls to dance for my friends.
You can probably talk to either Grant or Linda at Bike Works. I concur that I would probably blow off the loop through town because of the construction going on. I would probably just start at the Kona aquatic center and come up Makala and then turn left onto to Queen K. They just finished up a bunch of shoulder work just North of Hapuna. The shoulder gets very narrow around Mauna Kea to the turn off to Hawi and then it is pretty tight all the way to Hawi. After the morning commute the road to Hawi isn’t usually that bad.
I’d agree with skipping the town section where you head towards Keauhou, nothing to see anyways and lots of traffic and I guess construction.
Skipping that it’s easy. Just go up Palani, take a left on the Queen K, go 35 miles or so till you hit your first intersection which is a T, right up to Waimea, left down to Kawaihae where you want to go. There are a couple of little shops in Kawaihae to pick up food or you can stop at Hapuna Beach park for water on the left a few miles before the intersection. You’ll see signs for the beach turn off. It’s right after a big downhill and it’s probably the first left turn lane you’ll see after the airport. We started our Hawi ride there this last weekend.
Make the left downhill towards Kawaihae harbor, then it’ll flatten out for maybe a mile or two and you’ll see a road that forks off to your right heading up hill. I think it says Hawi, can’t remember. Anyways it’s an easy right turn, not a 90deg or anything maybe 30deg off the main road and it’s plain to see it starts going right uphill, that’s the one. I think there is a little store on your left about 50’ after you turn up the hill.
Head up there until, well until you hit Hawi. The turnaround is pretty early in the town but you might, well your friend might, want to spin through to check it out and maybe take a picture at the King Kamehameha statue that’s about a mile past town. You can fill up water at the statue. It’s what all the tourists do, the picture that is, not fill up water bottles while standing around in spandex…
Then turn around and go back.
check out the thread I put up a couple of days ago, search for awesome Hawi ride or something like that, it was killer!
If you are out for a leisurely ride and want to stop for lunch the King’s Shops at Waikoloa have a small food court with a good selection of some healthy food items. You can sit outside by your bike too.
yeah, and the Subway cookies are still 3 for $1.00 there and not $1.29 or so at other places!
Hey Mr. Larry, are you racing this weekend? If I asked you that last night, whoops bad memory;)
No I am not. I have had so many accidents this year I was afraid something would happen and I would miss the Honolulu Marathon. Starting to feel like a clumsy old man! Diane is getting me a cane for Christmas. I told her it had to be titanium or carbon fiber though.
Have your friend stop in or call me at Bikeworks (808 326 2453). I’ll be off Tuesday (12/6). In the rest of the week (including Sunday).
I’ve had several email and phone calls from athletes looking to ride the course next. He may have been one of them? Maybe he’d like to ride with one of them.
Grant or I will assist him with group rides if he’s interested. Just have him contact us…
Diane is getting me a cane for Christmas. I told her it had to be titanium or carbon fiber though.