Busy weekend and the Beer Ride

This weekend was a three day weekend. I started Saturday with a ride up on the northshore. I got going a little late and arrived just as the group of one was taking off. Apparently I wasn't the only one who was having a hard time getting started 6 other riders showed up after me. We took a shorter route hitting Kole Kole and Dillingham Airfield before heading up Pineapple. The group split into two groups between Dillingham and Pineapple hill. I was in the second group and John was in the first. I was determined to try to catch him on the climb or at least keep him in sight. I thought I could see him a ways up the hill so I kept the Hammer down. After a while I lost sight of what I thought was him and figured he just too wide of a gap. I expected to see him coming down the hill but I made it up to the bus stop with out seeing John. I turned around a rode down to join some of the riders coming up. I saw John making his way up. Apparently he went around the circle instead of starting when he got to the hill so we could ride up together but it took longer to get around the circle than it he thought it would so he started behind me.

After I got home, my ankle was bothering me so I kept icing it and wrapping it, hoping it would feel better before Monday. It has been bothering me for a couple of weeks but not enough to stay off of it. It felt better Sunday except for a couple of times when I step on it wrong while washing cars at the Knights of Columbus Car wash. It felt much better Monday and didn't bother me at all during the ride.

Courtney had a very busy Saturday. She spent 11 hrs at the school practicing for her marching band then went to an all night lockin with the youth group at school. I think she had fun at both activities but she was very worn out.

Chris and I checked out the new Whole Foods in Honolulu. It was much smaller than the one in Omaha but what it lacked in size it made up for in High Prices. Milk was $10.00 a gallon. We did find a couple of items that were pretty decently priced. They had their store brand whole wheat pasta which was very good and only ran $2.00 and their red peppers were less than the commissary. Other than those items, I don't think we will be doing much shopping there.

Monday morning was the HACC annual Yard House ride. Yard House is a restaurant in Honolulu that has over 100 beers on tap. We met at the Gym and rode down Nimitz. We weaved through Honolulu to ride up Tantlus. I hadn't ridden up tantlus since I did the time trial back in April. I decided to see if I could beat my TT time. I was very pleased to ride a 24:56 which was over a minute faster than my TT time. We headed down Round Top which had recently had the top 1/4 refinished making for a very smooth decent. We stopped half way at the lookout for some pictures. Check out Jeff Adkins pics for some great views of the rain falling on the city: http://picasaweb.google.com/jdabama13/HACCOctoBEERfest# or Jon Laurions: http://gallery.me.com/jonlaurion#100206 . Chris and Courtney met us a the Yard House and we enjoyed a great meal with the group.

September ,a month in review

It is hard to believe that another month is done. September was pretty busy for me starting with the 24 hr race the first full weekend of the month. This year the HACC fielded two teams. Both teams focused on having fun verse trying to win. John Girmsey decided to give the solo event a go. Chris and Courtney took advantage of the opportunity to camp at Koaloa ranch and spent the night with me. The first few laps went pretty well. I was managing to clear all the obstacles and stay in my pedals. Unfortunately on my 3rd lap, i misjudged a drop and endo'd hitting pretty hard. After that, it rained off and on and I spent more time walking over the technical sections than I did riding them. I still managed most of my laps under 30 minutes and really enjoyed the race.

The next weekend, I headed to Mississippi for a conference. Several of my friends from Germany were at the conference and we had a great time drinking beer and talking about how much we missed Deutchland. My buddy Ron is stationed in Mississippi. Ron and I came into the AF on the same day, were in brother flights in Basic and went through tech school and our first base for 9.5 yrs. I probably spent more time with Ron than I did my wife and kids during those years. Ron picked me up at the Airport and took me to Hooters for Lunch. We spent most of the next Friday drinking beer, smoking cigars and talking about the good old days and all the characters we worked with. It was great getting to see him.

Curt, Denise and I played a lot of golf while we were in Mississippi. I started to get the golf bug and was playing some of the best golf I ever had. I have been trying to get out the Par 3 course since I got back but haven't had a chance. I even started to look at buying some new clubs.

Courtney's band has made great progress. Last year the HS band only marched in one game and look pretty bad doing it. This year they practiced all summer and really looked and sounded very impressive.

24 Hour Race

Here are some clips from this years race

Aug 2008

If you are a regular reader of my blog (that is if I have any regular readers left) you may have noticed a lack of blog entries. August was an extremely busy month for the Steele family.

The first weekend, I put aside the road bike and competed in a mountain bike race at Koaloa ranch. Koaloa ranch is a very popular tourist destination on the Windward side of Oahu where they have filmed several movies and TV shoes including Lost and Jurassic Park. It is nestled in a beautiful valley . The race included significant climbing on Jeep roads followed by some technical single track. This year my fitness level is definitely on track but all of my bike miles have been on the road bike. I started the race in the front of the pack climbing the hills feeling pretty strong. That all changed when we left the hills for the single track. I was definitely a fish out of water. When we lived in CA I was the King of the Single track riding the most technical trails with no problem. Not now. I was timid. I kept telling myself the advice I used to tell my friends "momentum is your friend" but couldn't force myself to listen to it. I kept stopping to walk over the technical sections. Needless to say the guys I left in the dust on the climbs did the same to me on the single track. Each lap I would pass a bunch of guys on the climbs only to have them pass me on the single track. I ended up in 9th place overall and 3rd in my age group.

The week of 10 -16 Aug was full of activity. At work we held our annual Manpower Conference which my office was responsible for setting up and at home, Stephanie had her College Graduation at HPU. Normally I wouldn't have been that excited by the conference by one of my best friends Curt was attending as our Career Field functional Manager. Curt arrived on the 10th. I picked him up at the airport and had him come over for supper. Ben graciously let me borrow his mtn bike and golf clubs for Curt to use. We were able to play golf and work in a bike ride between the conference.

Mom and Gina arrived on Wednesday for Stephanie's graduation. Stephanie really appreciated them coming since her graduation was kind of short notice. She originally planed on finishing in January but she was able to squeeze in a few more classes so she could walk in August. It was so great to see her walk across the stage. You could tell she was proud of herself as we were proud of her. The ceremony was held in the Waikiki shell, which was a beautiful. It was too late after the ceremony so we decided to have the traditional graduation dinner Saturday at the Hale Koa after going to the outdoor Mass.

To close out the month, I competed in the Annual Dick Evans Memorial Race. This ride has been going on since 1983 to remember a Cycling Ledgand who was killed while riding his bike in Honolulu. The race circles the island for 112 miles. We lined up in Hawaii Kai at 0545 and started with a police escorted trip across Honolulu. the first 30 miles was considered neutral as we tooled along at 20 miles per hour. It was great rolling through the stop lights. It took only 20 minutes to get from Ward Center to the Kuntz gate turn off. It can take as long as 90 minutes in a car. Once we got to Kunia road, the real race started as we climbed the hill. I kept telling myself what John Girmsey said about keeping with the lead group up the hill and was able to hold on. I was so glad I listened to John as I was able to recover as the lead pack dropped the tempo after the climb. I was feeling pretty good on the flat part of Kam Highway and decided to stay in the front of the pack. This was not good strategy as I used way too much energy. I was towards the back of the pack at the last water station and failed to make the break as the group attacked up the hill. I stayed in the chase group and we were able to catch up just as we hit the second long climb between Koneohe and Kailua. That is where I fell off for good. My legs were cramping and I barely made it up the hill. Luckily Casey came up behind me and he, I and another guy traded pulls until we almost caught the chase group just as they headed up another hilly section. Casey ended up getting a flat so I had to solo it into Wiamanolo until Shanon and another rider caught up with me. I stayed on their wheels until we hit the Makupu climb where my cramps started up again. I managed to ride all the way up the hill but couldn't keep Shanon's wheel. I was able to finish but had both legs literally freeze up with cramps after I crossed the finish line. My original goal was top 25. I finished 26th or 27th depending on where you look. Next year I may not be as strong but at least I will be much smarter.

I guess it is about time for a new post

My cousin Marci, her Husband Joel and her boys came for a visit last week. We had a great time introducing them to the pleasure of Island Life and the Tour De France. Marci has two boys Avery and Chanse. Avery is 15 and Chanse will be 8 on Marci and My Mom's (twins) birthday9 Aug 08. The boys really enjoyed the Beaches. We visited the Hickam Beach several times and also spent time on Sunset, Waikiki, and Kailua. I tried to convince Chanse that the Tour De France was the best thing on TV but he still preferred Sponge bob.

The Friday after they arrived, they went to the Hickam Beach in the afternoon while I was at work. The Top 3 club was hosting a party at the Beach so we decided to go to it. Part of the entertainment was a jousting stage. Joel, Avery and I signed up. I got beat in the 1st round by Avery then they needed another competitor so they let me joust against Joel. I won that one and had to take on Avery. By this time I was starting to figure the trick was to push instead of hit. I was able to beat Avery the second time but he landed one hit squarely on my shoulder which I injured in may. I was able to continue to joust and won an ipod shuffle. Marci and Chris both won $25.00 gift certificates and we all ate for free. I guess I got my $10.00 annual dues worth.

I took Monday and Tuesday off and we went all over Oahu. We found a nice hike through the rain forest while driving around on Saturday. We went back and hiked it Monday. Afterwards we drove to Tantalus Lookout and to punchbowl national cemetery. They also squeezed in a Luau, a trip to the Arizona Memorial and a shopping excursion to Waikiki. We hated to see them go on Thursday as we had a great time during their visit.

Yesterday, I raced in the Boca Stage Race road race. Courtney's Birthday is today so i didn't race in the other stages. I have had a cold coming on the last few days so I wasn't sure how I would do. The course was a 3.5 mile loop that started with a decent then had 3 climbs on the back side, the last leading towards the finish. My goal was to stay in the lead group as long as I could. The first lap was neutral then the pace picked up. Each lap we would hit it hard on the uphills and rest on the decent. There were 10-12 of us in the front group. On one of the Middle loops I gunned it on the last climb and got about a 100 meter gap on the rest of the lead group. I held it through the decent but slowed abit because I didn't want to fight the wind alone. I was hoping to break up the group up a bit as they accelerated to catch me. On they next uphill section, a couple of guys made a break for it. I bridged up and brought another rider with me. We stayed ahead again but were caught on the decent. The breakaway and bridge took it's toll as I could tell my legs were sore on the uphill section. I was able to hang on with the front which slowly started to chip away riders. The bell lap we were down to 5 riders. I took a pull on the section leading up to the last climb but was passed on the climb by 3 riders. I hang on for 4th place out of a field of 35 riders. I felt pretty happy with my results. After the race, I went to Momentum and had the bike tuned then headed home. We spent the rest of the afternoon shopping for Courtney's Birthday. Courtney had 5 girls over for a party and 3 stayed the night. I think they had a great time because they were up until 430 in the morning. Today we are going to celebrate her birthday with just the family.

Would ah, Could ah, Should ah: DIDN'T: Kalaeloa Crit

Sunday's Kalaeloa Crit was my best opportunity this year for a win. The course was perfectly suited to my riding. The short straights kept the pace to a level where I could hold on to the front and still keep a little reserved for the final sprint. Unfortunately, I let myself get boxed in on the back stretch had to wait too long to start my sprint. At the Hickam Crit, I needed the finish line to be about 10 yrds closer, for Kalaeloa I needed it to be about 10 yrds farther. I placed 5th overall in the 4/5 race and recieved my 3rd, 2nd place State Medal for the 4/5 41-45 yr olds. I also placed 7th in the miss and out race, 2 laps short of a prize.

This was the most enjoyable race of the season so far. There were alot of families watching giving it a real family atmosphere. The Cambrio team bbqed some hot dogs and great burgers and were sharing with all the teams. Thanks to all the HACC volunteers and John for making it happen.

Check out Bennie's great pics: http://picasaweb.google.com/gadawgs05/HickamAreaCylingClubCrit

It is the Most Wonderful Time of The Year

Some folks can't wait for the 4th of July weekend because of the fireworks, picnics and parades. Although I enjoy these things, the 4th of July Weekend starts for me the best three weeks of television of the year. There is something special about being able to turn the
TV to Verses almost any time of the day and watch cycling. I get up in the morning and get to listen to Phil Liggett for the beginning of the day's stage. At lunch, I get to catch the finish again with Phil. When I get home, I get to listen to Bob (Bobke) Roll cover the race. If I miss any of it, I can catch it again before I go to bed. That is the way TV was meant to be./