After a long hiatus, I am blogging again! As I mentioned in an earlier blog, when I got to the island I started going on training rides with a group of Marines with the goal of completing a 235 mile bike ride in early November to commemorate the Marine Corps' 235th birthday. Despite the fact that I fell off in my training toward the end, I decided to participate in the ride! After two riders had to drop out for last minute injuries, there were only four of us who set out at 0015 on the morning of 13 November to complete the ride. We rode an out and back course, starting in Waikiki on the southern side of the island, heading up the eastern coast, out to the NW tip of the island, and down toward the central part of the island until we reached 117.5, then retraced our steps back. Although we all had lights on our bikes, riding at night was the most nerve racking part of the ride, especially on the stretches of road without street lamps. It was close to 10:00 when we reached the turn around point. We had two support vehicles driven by friends and family who met us for our rest stops every 1.5 hours and resupplied us with food and drinks. Around mile 140 my right knee and glute had moved past just being tired to being painful, and I decided to stop at mile 160. I did seriously consider trying to ride through the pain though. At that point, I was thinking, "What's another 75 miles?? I can push through it!" I came to my senses though, and hopped into one of the support cars for the rest of the ride. The other three riders finished just after 8 pm, clocking in at just under 20 hours!
Only the first picture is actually from the birthday ride. The other two pictures are from the Honolulu Century Ride in September, which we rode as a team.
Not going to lie, I haven't touched my bike since the birthday ride! I needed a break from riding for a little while.
The birthday ride is going to become an annual tradition for Marines on the island, and the Marine who started the team is hoping to spread his idea to other bases and create other chapters of the "Marine Corps Birthday Cycling Team." If I'm on island for the ride next year, I suppose I will have to go for the full 236, to redeem myself for this year!
