The decision was made to finish at this famous spot at the pier in Kailua where the Ironman swim starts and the run finishes.  While I certainly didn’t do an Ironman, break and land speed records or win any medals, after finishing this journey I realize that it is an athletic achievement.  In fact, my body feels great.  I lost 12 pounds of pure fat and turned some of into solid muscle.  After 302 miles of riding over 6 days, I actually feel great.  Body and mind are well worked and in need of some less challenging days but overall I feel healthy.

We started this morning earlier than any other day I’ve had.  My alarm rang at 4:30 AM which didn’t matter because I was already awake from a night of constant brain activity.  With the last day approaching my mind was on overload.  How will my body feel today?  Will I have an accident?  Did I work through any of the personal things I wanted?  Did I get the closure I needed?  Will my legs last?  Will my bike hold up?  What are my loved ones doing?  Is anyone reading this blog?  The list goes on and on.  So with just a little sleep and a tired body I put on some clean bike gear (thanks Laura) rubbed my eyes and headed out the door.  We were on the road by 5:30 heading to Nahalehu to start our final leg of this journey.  At this point my biggest concern was where will I get breakfast?  We weren’t sure if there would be anything open.

When we go there we could smell the bakery but it wasn’t open yet.  So it was off to the gas station for some drip coffee and a cinnamon roll.  As soon as the sun was high enough and the road was lit we set out for the last 60 plus miles.  I was warned that this last leg was a little tough.  There were some steep climbs and the road shoulders were small and in some cases non-existent.  So with a deep sigh and a curious thought about how the day would turn out i started pedaling.

The good news about riding every day is the number one pain, your okole, goes numb around the 4th day.  So when I jumped on the seat this final day I didn’t feel a thing.  That actually worried me . We couldn’t have gone more than 200 yards before the strain of the hidden incline hit me.  We had started to climb already.  Why would today be any different than any other day?  It’s fitting that the last day would start with a climb just like every other day of this trip.

John’s legs woke up after a few minutes of the hill and he powered up.  My legs felt strong but there was just a lack of power remaining so the hill would just have to be a slow one for me.  All of the sudden the weather started to look like it might rain.  This turned out to be a positive thing for me because it came with a little boost of wind behind me.  The rain also helped me to refocus a bit just to be safe on the slick road.  After about 6 miles of climbing I reached the top and found John patiently waiting for me.

On the last day of a trip like this every mile finished is one closer to your destination.  Now I wasn’t in hurry to finish or have the journey be over I just finally started to feel like I was going to complete the journey.  I was closer to accomplishing what I set out to do.  Many of those questions that kept me up all night started to find answers and a giant gift of more than 5 miles of down hill in the cool morning air was in front of us.  We were almost to South Point.  The southern most piece of United States Soil.  Our journey wouldn’t take us off the main road to stand on that piece of soil but we could see it from a scenic

view point on the makai side of the road.  It was a beautiful view and one I had not seen all week.  Full of clouds, a touch of vog and rain in the air made the sight a welcome one to take in.  In the photo you can almost make out a wind farm.  Does the presence of a wind farm below us indicate the possibility that the morning may continue with a bit of a tail wind?  Lets hope so.

After South Point, John and I just rode for a while.  We powered through several little communities including Ocean View which is the first sign of potential sprawl that you will see on Big Island.  There are dozens of signs scattered across a horizon of graded land just waiting for someone to come in and develop.  The view plane is great so you can understand why someone would want to live there but developing this priceless gift just seems wrong.  I hope the next time I ride through Ocean View that I find the signs taken down and not replaced with homes.  let the land heal and restore the beauty there.

Our next stop would be yet another first for this trip.  An exotic animal preserve.

I don’t know what you call these guys but they seemed out of place.  Just when you are trying to figure out what they are you look to the left and see a zebra.  What is a zebra doing in Hawaii on the Big Island?  I have no idea.  Not pictured here are two Bison that I thought were showing signs of being a bit annoyed with us.  When a Bison stomps its foot on the ground several times I think that means, get the heck out of here or I’m going to fall on you.  Good thing there was a little wire fence between us.  That is sure to hold back these massive animals.  Stopping to take some photos and marvel at these animals was a welcome rest that included an opportunity yet again be surprised by this journey.  You never know what is at the top of a hill or around a winding corner or in this case at the end of the rainbow.

Since we pretty much skipped breakfast i spent the next few miles munching on a cliff bar and sucking down all my water.  We entered the South Kona district and I started to imagine that food had to be near.  I was right about the food but wrong about the venue.  i figured we could sit down somewhere and grab some eggs and coffee.  Instead, we were presented with something way better.  Right there on the side of the road was the most perfect fruit stand where John was waiting with a stranger and an extra bike.  The stranger was Nick and he was munching on a full cucumber.  Nick it turns out was from Seattle.  His reason for being in Hawaii was that he didn’t like the produce in Seattle during the winter so he set out to find a place that had fresh produce all year round.  How fitting that we found him at this most perfect produce stand.  There were so many options.  The cucumber looked good but I figured I’d leave the rest for Nick.  He looked hungry.  I grabbed a couple of oranges and a banana.  I kept looking around for the proprietor but didn’t see another soul anywhere.  I noticed that there was a strong box on the table that said, Mahalo, I have a family too.  John left some cash in the strong box hole and we appreciated the trust of this family that to allow us to enjoy the fruit of their labor and leave them its worth.

Nick’s story was interesting and makes my journey seem easy.  He flew in from Seattle with a back pack and a couple hundred dollars.  No real agenda but to hike around, forage for food and shelter and take it all in.  After a few days of hiking he decided to look for a bike.  he found the one you see in the picture for $100.00 in a Hilo bike shop.  He fashioned some sacks and crate to the back of it and was riding around it in slippas.  Comparing our bikes isn’t even fair.  Mine is custom built to fit me and my ride preference.  John’s is made out of carbon fiber and weighs nothing.  We both have gears for every situation and every comfort that a touring bike can offer.  Nick’s bike boasted some rust on the components, a frame three sizes too small for his body type and super wide tires with heavy tread that surely made climbing slow.  And, the bags on the back of the bike were full of food that he had been collecting on his journey.  All I could do was congratulate him on his effort and wish him luck and safety.  Something tells me Nick is just fine right now.  My guess is that he made his way up to Volcano to stay at the campsite he was hoping for.

Nick was the first bicyclist I had seen outside of my companions since the first day.  I was actually surprised not see others out on the road enjoying the perfect weather and great rides.  Nick wasn’t last bicyclist we ran into that day.  As we closed in on Kailua and started to climb again I met two San Franciscans in the most interesting way.  I fell off my bike right in front of them almost causing them to fall as well.

Just past the spot where the Hawaiians first spotted Captain Cook and Kealakekua was the best little coffee.  Just before the coffee shop was a big hill that was the source of my only fall on this trip.  i was actually surprised that I didn’t have any falls or even any flat tires so falling on this hill was bound to happen.  When you are tired, hungry, a little grumpy and mentally drained you tend to be less able to to the simple things.  Like pedal straight.  While climbing the hill I hit a spot where it was pretty steep and the shoulder was replaced by mango sized rocks that were stumbling into the road.  Pedaling with my head down and kind of winding I ran over one of these rocks and the front wheel just turned.  I was only going about 7 mph so I should have been able to pull out of this without a fall or at least unclip my feet and put my legs down to catch myself but that didn’t happen.  Instead I fell straight into the traffic side of the street and about 10 feet in front of the two travelers.  The next thing I heard was, “are you okay?”  “Yes, I’m fine.”  Then honk honk, “get out of the road a–hole.”  I picked up the bike examined it for problems, checked the tires and my body and found nothing wrong.  I took a breath and realized I need to eat and get my blood sugar up.  One more climb.  I prayed for food.

Food is what I got.  the Orchid Isle Cafe was at the top of the hill on the Makai side of the road.  On the Mauka side was John.  When I reached him he asked if I was okay.  At this point I figured the bikers must have told him I fell.  On the Makai side in front of the Orchid Isle Cafe I saw the two bikes that I had almost taken out.  This should be funny.

I didn’t catch their names but they were very nice people.  We ordered some sandwiches and sat down next to them to talk story a bit.  Turns out they were visitng from SF for the holidays.  They had big plans to explore the western coast by car but did not make a rental car reservation.  During the holidays you got to plan for that.  They were all out.  So these brave travelers went to our good friends at Bike Works and rented two touring bikes.  Without hesitation these two travelers became touring explorers without any complaint.  The best part is they were able to do everything that was on their agenda.  We met them as they were on the their way back to Kona to return the bikes and hop on an afternoon plane to Oahu and then San Francisco.

We got back on our bikes after enjoying a fantastic ham sandwich.  It was so good and it was the fuel I needed to finish.  The Orchid was to be our last stop until we hit Kailua.  The remaining ride was all down hill and super fun.  Since the afternoon was upon us we had a little head wind coming at us but it didn’t interfere with the descent.  Riding down the hill I could see the resorts and smell the ocean.  I was starting to get really excited and realized I still need to make it down safely.

We pulled up to the Ironman sign and I snapped a photo of my odometer.  When I just a few blocks from this spot 6 days earlier it read 595.

After the photo we decided to ride another 500 yards and up one more little hill to get a finishing beer at my new favorite bar on Big Island- Kona Brewing Company.

While this signals the end of the ride, the journey continues.  I have yet to absorb all that I encountered, faced, and conquered.  Look out for another post to wrap it all up.

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