2009 HALEIWA METRIC CENTURY
AKA HALEIWA ROAD RACE!
This morning I picked up Dev and headed to the Haleiwa Metric Century 100k (60 miles) Ride. Don't let the name "Ride" fool you, this ride attracts the islands top cycling teams and it's more of a Road Race. At 0700 we merged in with the Hele Wireless - Cambio boys. We quickly got organized and pretty much controlled the tempo of the ride. The new kits definitely stood out and looked good! Tony Lang, Charles Dias, Ricky Armstrong, John Akana, Mark Little, Samson Ramirez, David Lum, Dev Andrews, myself to name a few. I apologize if I left anyone off. The pace was rather quick as we kept most of the Team Hele up front to prevent a mishap. I heard there was a crash in the peloton somewhere after Turtle Bay Hilton but we never saw it. Dev learned a lot today especially how important communicating and staying alert at 27+ mph. About 5 miles from the turnaround Tony Lang pulled the train and I was sitting behind his wheel. We were screaming up an incline at 31mph! Couple of guys looked like they were on the brink of exploding! We hit the 30 mile turnaround in just a little over an hour! FREKIN FLYING!
We pulled in to the turnaround and I told Dev that its only a 2 min stop and they were gonna head back. I looked over and he barely made it to his bike and the leaders were off! I yelled hurry up! We took off and the pace quickly hits 29mph and we got about 10 riders. I noticed we were missing some HELE riders and Tony Lang tells me we should wait up and get the 4 other team mates. I said okay and notice John Akana, Ricky Armstrong, David Lum and HACC riders Ben Abney and Steve Chirco. I contributed and helped pull this group back to the lead pack. Now we were about 9 strong out of 15 riders. About the area around Turtle Bay Hilton Tony Lang, Mark Little and myself launch a brutal attack at 33mph! We rotated thru but my bike felt a little sluggish. Not thinking about it, I drop back into the group and continue hammering away.
I get to Sharks Cove and I notice my tire is going flat! Shit! Feeling great and hammering only to be taken out by a mechanical again! I pull over and check it out and since I was using my aero carbon wheels, I didn't have a tube with a long stem. I turn around and start hammering to get as close to the finish before having to slow down and walk. I turnaround and see a SUV with a guy telling me good job. I asked him if he minds me drafting behind him so I can get to the lead pack. He says sure! Yipppeeee! I latch on and he's pulling me at 37mph! Several miles from the Beach Park, tire explodes!
I was lucky to roll on the carbon wheel with a flat tire and not damage the rim. I look up ahead and see Dev but didn't have the speed to let him know I am back here. Overall I was very happy on how my fitness is progressing. I ended up riding 60 miles in 2 hours and 19 mins, with an avg speed of 24 mph. Not bad with a flat tire!
This weekend I am heading to the Big Island for work on Friday then race the Hawaii State 40k Championships! Should be fun! Thanks again to my Hele Team for a great ride! Sending a shout out to Steve Chirco who was happy to have jumped on to bridge the gap to leaders! It was fun!
Today was the NASCAR Talladega race. Very exciting end, in fact my tire looked like the race tires from the race. Damn thing exploded! Lucky I wasn't caught up in the "BIG WRECK"
AKA HALEIWA ROAD RACE!
This morning I picked up Dev and headed to the Haleiwa Metric Century 100k (60 miles) Ride. Don't let the name "Ride" fool you, this ride attracts the islands top cycling teams and it's more of a Road Race. At 0700 we merged in with the Hele Wireless - Cambio boys. We quickly got organized and pretty much controlled the tempo of the ride. The new kits definitely stood out and looked good! Tony Lang, Charles Dias, Ricky Armstrong, John Akana, Mark Little, Samson Ramirez, David Lum, Dev Andrews, myself to name a few. I apologize if I left anyone off. The pace was rather quick as we kept most of the Team Hele up front to prevent a mishap. I heard there was a crash in the peloton somewhere after Turtle Bay Hilton but we never saw it. Dev learned a lot today especially how important communicating and staying alert at 27+ mph. About 5 miles from the turnaround Tony Lang pulled the train and I was sitting behind his wheel. We were screaming up an incline at 31mph! Couple of guys looked like they were on the brink of exploding! We hit the 30 mile turnaround in just a little over an hour! FREKIN FLYING!We pulled in to the turnaround and I told Dev that its only a 2 min stop and they were gonna head back. I looked over and he barely made it to his bike and the leaders were off! I yelled hurry up! We took off and the pace quickly hits 29mph and we got about 10 riders. I noticed we were missing some HELE riders and Tony Lang tells me we should wait up and get the 4 other team mates. I said okay and notice John Akana, Ricky Armstrong, David Lum and HACC riders Ben Abney and Steve Chirco. I contributed and helped pull this group back to the lead pack. Now we were about 9 strong out of 15 riders. About the area around Turtle Bay Hilton Tony Lang, Mark Little and myself launch a brutal attack at 33mph! We rotated thru but my bike felt a little sluggish. Not thinking about it, I drop back into the group and continue hammering away.
I get to Sharks Cove and I notice my tire is going flat! Shit! Feeling great and hammering only to be taken out by a mechanical again! I pull over and check it out and since I was using my aero carbon wheels, I didn't have a tube with a long stem. I turn around and start hammering to get as close to the finish before having to slow down and walk. I turnaround and see a SUV with a guy telling me good job. I asked him if he minds me drafting behind him so I can get to the lead pack. He says sure! Yipppeeee! I latch on and he's pulling me at 37mph! Several miles from the Beach Park, tire explodes!
I was lucky to roll on the carbon wheel with a flat tire and not damage the rim. I look up ahead and see Dev but didn't have the speed to let him know I am back here. Overall I was very happy on how my fitness is progressing. I ended up riding 60 miles in 2 hours and 19 mins, with an avg speed of 24 mph. Not bad with a flat tire!
This weekend I am heading to the Big Island for work on Friday then race the Hawaii State 40k Championships! Should be fun! Thanks again to my Hele Team for a great ride! Sending a shout out to Steve Chirco who was happy to have jumped on to bridge the gap to leaders! It was fun!
Today was the NASCAR Talladega race. Very exciting end, in fact my tire looked like the race tires from the race. Damn thing exploded! Lucky I wasn't caught up in the "BIG WRECK"
Ben
ReplyDeleteI don't think I have ever seen "Super Ben" have as many flats as you have had out there. Must be something in the HI air...or on the roads. You used to never get a flat! Great job. I am sure you are having a blast and Dev is learning so much with these events.
Lance A