Day started off with a ride- 123km that was to take the ENTIRE day!!! This ride was the hardest last year…..and guess what, still the hardest ride. T, S and I started off 45min after the remainder of the group. Quick ride to the bottom of Waikalo where it all began. Climb was about 20km. Met some random cyclist along the way who happened to be the COO of a big company that just got bought out….ie. millionaire. He made it entertaining for a few km, but then we dropped him and continued on. When we made the left onto the HWY to get to saddle road the winds were so strong we were barely moving. Thank goodness this was only 4miles (which took FOREVER) Then came the dreaded Saddle road. Now this road I’ve been cursing all week as it is a full and steady climb all the way to the bottom of Mauna Kea rode with only one descent. We stopped for lunch about a mile in and then made our way. I thought we would be free from the winds but oh no, they were coming at us fast and strong. S and I kept getting blown into the middle of the street which provided some laughs during a horrible situation.
Then the climb….last year I only rode up 5 km. This year I decided I needed to conquer it! Off I went. So to put things into perspective, the climb up to the bottom was 55oo feet. The remainder 10km to the visitors centre 4700 feet, with the last 4km at 17% gradient. Absolutely nuts. Back was aching and all I wanted to do is pull over and stop but the thought of having to start from a stopped position not so appealing. I didn’t think it was possible to go 3km/hour and still keep upright but you sure can.
Finished off the day with a 10km run. Got D to drop us off 10km from home. This was torture and something I really did not feel like doing after that ride. Thanks to Stewie and S for pushing me along! Was really grateful for there company and they made me run the entire way lol.
Now time to SLEEP.
AZ