FROM THE SUMMIT

I went on a six-day bike trip on the Big Island of Hawaii last month.  I had intended for this column to be a day by day journal of the trip.  However, some days I did not make any entries, so you will see some gaps in my account of the trip.

June 17 – Prologue
This was my travel day.  I took BART to SFO Airport.  I learned that I have to remove my belt to go through security even if it is a plastic belt.  I had a three hour layover in Honolulu before arriving in Kona in the early evening.  My brother Glenn and I met our friends Don and Annie for happy hour then went to a nearby pub for dinner.  We got to bed early in order to be ready to start the bike trip the next day.

June 18 – Day 1
We met two of our Backroads guides, Ben and Kate, in the morning.  We also met the other members of our group of eight riders.  They shuttled us to a part at which we were fitted to our bikes and given an orientation talk summarizing what to expect on the trip.  We rode to a park where we could see the monument to Captain James Cook and had lunch at the park.  After that we rode back to Kona.  The day’s ride covered 34 miles with 3000 feet of climbing.  After the ride, I took a dip in the pool and got back to the room in time to catch the end of Game 6 of the NBA Finals series between the Heat and Spurs.

June 19 – Day 2
We shuttled from our hotel to the Kona Coffee Mill where we sampled some great coffees.  When we were sufficiently caffeinated, we rode along the coast to lunch at a bakery known for its sweetbreads.  From there, we had a two mile climb, sometimes steep, followed by a long flat or downhill stretch.  The other riders opted to ride downhill to the Punalu’u Black Sand Beach and shuttle to our lodge at Volcanoes National Park.  I attempted to ride to the volcano.  We had a 6:30 PM dinner reservation.  At 5:20 PM, I still had more than 10 miles and about 1500 feet of climbing to go.  I got in the van and shuttled to our lodge.  That is the second time I have tried to ride to the volcano and not finished.  I came closer the first time.

June 21 – Day 4
On Friday morning, we left our lodge at Volcanoes National Park and rode mostly downhill to Hilo.  Hilo gets a lot of rain, but it was clear today.  We continued on to lunch at the What’s Shakin’ Smoothie Shack.  The service was slow, but the food and smoothies were great.  Most of us rode another 10 miles to Waikaumalo Park where we got in the vans and shuttled to our destination.  We had ridden 50 miles and had another 62 to go.  We wanted to get to our resort on the coast in time to enjoy the rest of the day.

Gary
President, FFBC

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