Nestled between the quaint towns of Hawi and Waimea lies a 22-mile stretch of winding road boasting some of the most spectacular scenery on the Big Island.
Nestled between the quaint towns of Hawi and Waimea lies a 22-mile stretch of winding road boasting some of the most spectacular scenery on the Big Island.
Kohala Mountain Road, known for it’s panoramic vistas of four volcanoes — Mauna Kea, Mauna Loa, Hualalai, and Maui’s Haleakala, is a highly attractive excursion for locals and visitors alike that begins in Hawi and snakes its way up for a total of 3564 feet in elevation gained.
Aside from showcasing Big Island’s famous ranching heritage, lush vegetation of ironwood forestry and prairie grass cradles each side of the pavement all the way to the summit.
Driving your car along this route is breathtaking, and on a bicycle the beauty is magnified to mesmerizing levels.
Sunday’s inaugural Kohala Kona Coffee Climb training time trial offered cycling enthusiasts the opportunity to experience this epic endeavor firsthand, in the form of a 14.4-mile quad-busting race like no other.
“It’s such a great place to ride,” said Daniel Hodel, president of the Hawaii Cycling Club. “It’s probably the most beautiful 10 or 12 miles in the county. You go from a climate like Hilo when you start out, and within ten miles you’ve gone from tropical Hawaii to a place like New England. It’s such a beautiful climb.”
Hodel added that with the weather being near perfect, participants faced only one challenge along the way.
“Getting distracted by the scenery was about the only challenge,” he joked. “You couldn’t have asked for a much better day than that.”
Beautiful and clear blue skies shined over the field of eleven cyclists who lucked out as Kohala Mountain Road can often present fickle weather patterns of strong windy gusts, drifting fog mists, and downpour rain.
While Mike Medina was the first to pedal his way to the top, taking the overall win with a time of 1 hour 19 minutes and 46 seconds, only two seconds separated the race for second place.
The friendly rivalry between Kailua-Kona’s Harry “The Hammer” Yoshida and Gerd Weber, both in the 65-69 age category, ended with Weber finishing ahead with a time of 1:20:48 to 1:20:50, respectively.
In yet another close finish, five seconds separated the next two spots with Kym Kiser, who was the only female in the group, taking fourth overall in a great time of 1:21:43 and Patrick Mitchell rounding out the overall top five in 1:21:48.
With the Hawaii Cycling Club organizing another spectacular and unique event, Hodel credits the idea of riding Kohala Mountain Road to the backbone of the club’s organization, Tom Solis.
“It was all Tom’s idea,” Hodel said. “I really don’t know what we’d do without him. He’s always volunteering his time all over the place and every weekend he’s out helping out at some function. He’s truly an amazing person.”
Record set at Post Pigout Peamania
It never goes unnoticed when there is a record set at a Peaman event. When you have world-class athletes filling the pages of the history books over the last 28 years, records these days are not easy to come by.
Yet two weeks ago on Thanksgiving Sunday, Kona’s Luis De La Torre was able to do just that. The 47-year old “ageless wonder” slashed the 2010 record of 35:10 set by professional triathlete, Chris Lieto, with a new time of 34:33.
Although the distance of ¼-mile swim and 2-mile run seemed relatively easy, having to do it twice – and in different directions – proved that one would need a strategic and tactful game plan. Go out too hard on the first loop and one would most certainly be plagued by lactic acid turning their arms and legs into Jello during the second round.
On that Sunday, De La Torre was pushed the entire way by 16-year old Cody Ranfranz. Ranfranz, who also holds a record of his own by being the youngest victor in Peaman Biathlon history at age 14, didn’t seem fazed to be on De La Torre’s heels – nor the thirty-year difference that separates the two — as that’s how it’s been the entire year.
Yet with each event, Ranfranz inches closer and closer to De La Torre as he continues to build strength and speed, leading many to believe that it will only be a matter of time before both will be in an all out sprint to the Peaman finish line banner. How exciting is that?
Another impressive fact to note is that Ranfranz also went under the record with his time of 35:04.
“It’s truly impressive to see a record being set when you think of the history of the event,” Peaman said. “And Luis is as fast as he’s ever been. To break a record like Lieto’s is not easy. It just goes to show how talented that guy is.”