If either of you who read this blog have been following for a while you’ll know I ride to Haleiwa from Honolulu from time to time. It’s a lovely ride and really, when you get right down to it, isn’t particularly difficult. It only about 70 miles from Makiki to Haleiwa via Hawaii Kai, Waimanalo, Kaneohe, and the windward and north shores. Good stuff.
Well it was time to do it again this weekend when I discovered I had nothing planned for Memorial Day. Yes!
The day dawned clear, blue skies in most of the sky and some cloud cover over the mountains, nothing unusual there. The trades were blowing strongly which is great for the most part…except that part that requires riding into them…sigh.
I chose to ride my Hunqapillar. My Bike Friday is still in it’s case. I need to pull it out this weekend and start prepping it for RAGBRAI it wasn’t yet available. I’ve got some work to do on it as nothing has really been touched since my Oregon ride over a year ago. Yes it’s been out of the case and used for a few things, including my Haleakala descent, but I haven’t really worked on it…new cables, so on and so forth.
I’ve done the Haleiwa ride on both the Friday and my Quickbeam before but I wanted gears for a change and my Hunq hadn’t yet done the full thing. It’s been as far as Waimanalo, but no further. So the Hunq it was.
My 700×38 tires seemed filled enough for the ride. I’d pumped them up a week or so ago so they’d softened and were ‘just right.’ I love comfortable ride. I filled up two insulated water bottles and promised I’d hydrate better than usual this time (and I did), and managed to get off around 6:30am.
I wanted to get the bulk of the ride in before the sun reached it’s peak. I ride slowly so I figured I wouldn’t be to Haleiwa till afternoon. I was right, but not by so much.
The first part of the ride is always the slowest. I have to get out of town which involves city streets from Makiki to Diamond Head. Since the streets were empty it was pleasant, cool, and stress free, but there still stops signs and traffic signals to deal with.
Once I got up the slope to the lookout over the ocean on Diamond Head I worked out the kinks in my still sleepy body. I took a quick water break and slapped on some sunscreen as the sun was now beginning to break free of the mountain clouds. Then off I went…into the wind.
Yep, the first part of the ride from Honolulu to Makapuu is the worst when trades are blowing. It seems to be pretty much straight into the wind and, given the general nature of the trades and the direction one must head it pretty much is. Still I didn’t feel the need to stop at my usual second stopping point and just continued on.
The Hunq was smooth today; no annoying clicks or pops, creaks, or shimmies. In truth that’s its usual condition, smooth as silk, but I’m always grateful for it.
Now as I said today I had gears and I’m going to give them credit for the fact that once I got to Makapuu I didn’t stop either. Normally the hill up from Sandy Beach, into a blasting wind, is cruel and unusual. Today the wind was in force and slope was still there as well, but I got to the top and didn’t feel I needed a break at all so…down I went.
I didn’t stop at the bottom of the hill either. Two water bottles negated the need to refill right away. I could wait for a bit. I continued on into Waimanalo, stopping at the first 7-11 to get a cold drink, a banana, and one of my favorite bike foods, spam musubi. It must be the seaweed because though I love rice there’s nothing really special about rice and “meat” (or whatever SPAM actually is made from).
Then I was off again, though the back roads of Waimanalo. The wind dies down back there which is a blessing because at this point one hasn’t “turned the corner” yet and it’s still coming at you. Then it was time to climb the hill past Kailua to Castle Hospital. It was finally time to fill up my bottles but that’s about all I did. Normally I rest here for a few minutes but…wow…the Hunq was taking care of me. I didn’t feel I needed a break. This could also be because I’ve been upping my mileage each week as I pretend I’m getting ready for RAGBRAI.
Even the hill from the Kapaa Quarry Road to Castle Junction didn’t seem as hard as in the past. Yes I was using my granny gear and yes I was slow, but my heart never pounded and at the top I simply kept going after a good pull on my water bottle.
From there it was a short ride into Kaneohe where I did finally take a break at a Starbucks for my morning coffee. I made a couple of phone calls while I caffeinated and then I was off again. Wow. I was third of the way there and didn’t really notice anything. There was only one rise resembling a hill left and it’s really pretty easy. It looks big from a distance but is one of those deceptive hills that seems smaller once you actually get there.
And now my favorite part of the ride. The wind was no longer head on, but coming in from the side and not has heavy as earlier in the day. The air was cool, the sun bright, the land green and pleasant. What more could you ask?
Really if there’s one ride I love on this island it’s the part of the island between Kahaluu and Kahuku, the true windward coast. It’s lush and green, the mountains are steep, the ocean generally clear and blue, the folks extra nice (and we are pretty nice folks here on Oahu to begin with) and the shoulders good enough for a bike with cooperative traffic when they aren’t. Oh a few tourists can be trouble, as well as a few kids with their hot rods in a hurry to get nowhere, but I’ve never had a problem out here.
I did stop at Swanzy Beach Park for another 7-11 break; another cold drink and a Clif bar. I didn’t want to overeat because I was already planning lunch in Haleiwa…it was looking like I’d make it in time for a normal lunch hour. Yes.
Back on the bike I continued on my way till I got to Kahuku and their famous, but shut down, sugar mill.
After another cold drink and a quick break I was off again for the final 17 miles or so. Now the wind had shifted to be mostly a tailwind and I was managing to keep my speed above 15mph most of the time. In fact I went past some tourists on mopeds at one point near the Turtle Bay Resort and noticed that I, old and overweight riding a bike with racks and a basket, was doing about 22mph with ease on a flat. Thank goodness for tailwinds. Yes, I know many folks are capable of that normally. I’m not. Nor do I care to train enough to be that fast on a regular basis. I like the way I ride, but I also like a little assist from time to time.
Waimea Bay was crowded but stunning…the water was oh so clear. What a day.
Traffic picked up after that and did have to pay attention to keep from getting hit by cars pulling out from various places or pulling in to park but on the whole I was passing traffic by now. It can really build up out here with all the folks going to and from the beaches.
And all too soon I was in Haleiwa. If you don’t know the town it’s an old place restored a bit and made into a tourist attraction. It has a lot of funky art and clothing shops, surf shops galore, and any number of places to spend money or get a snack.
The first thing I did was get a great fruit smoothie and then went across the street to Haleiwa Eats Thai and had a bowl of Tom Ka at Haleiwa Eats. Hmmm….just what I needed. Soup turns out to be surprisingly good food after a ride on a hot day.
And finally I hopped TheBus back to Honolulu. The driver remembered me from a previous ride when I’d been riding my Bike Friday NWT. This time I think he was even more impressed. The Hunq is a beautiful bike and today it performed like a champ. I can’t wait to do it again…next weekend? Hmmmm????