2006 Race to the Sun - Haleakala

Haleakala was my best race of the year. Compared to Mauna Kea a few weeks earlier and all the other races I did this year, I did kind of what I was suppose to have done.

Although I didn't want to make any predictions...I felt that if I had a super race, I could do it in about 3hr 30mins. If I had a good race, it would be about 3:40's, and a so-so time would be in the 3:50's. Anything in the 4's would have been a total race meltdown considering the power to do 4hrs is probably in the 170 or so range for my weight.

So, my time of 3:39 and change, I'm pretty happy with. Especially (excuse coming up) since I did use the heavier Powertap wheel...although I did get some help from my friend Darin who let me use his super light and supple Conti Supersonic tire which I hastely mounted the nite before the race. That tire alone saved me about 70 grams compared to the heavier V Tri-comp I was going to use. I would have used Darin's super duper light 50 gram tube, but I felt that with the lighter tire, I didn't want to risk it and use my pretty light 70 gram conti tube. Luckly, I had no flats.

The race started for me in my usual fashion, LATE, due to an unscheduled but required pit stop right as they decided to start. Rushing to the line, I could have cheated in and just started semi-legally, but feeling guilty I decided to start the "legal" way. Hence, by the time I funneled through the start line, the leaders were long gone up the road already!!! So...ahem...adjusting accordingly, per my Powertap, when I actually got to the start line, my "real" time was actually closer to 3:39 than 40 :-)

With the data from my pt wheel, my ultimate plan to do under 3:30 was to try and hold an optamistic 225 watts for the entire race...FAT CHANCE! After 2hours in the saddle, my power dropped off drastically!!!


0:00 - 1:00 - 216 watts
1:00 - 2:00 - 222 watts
2:00 - 2:30 - 205 watts
2:30 - 3:00 - 184 watts
3:00 - 3:39 - 172 watts

Avg Wattage: 205 (210 normalised)
Avg Cadance: 74
Avg Speed: 15.6 kph
Dist: 57.15 km

Oh well...I'm happy time wise and even with the extra weight penalty of the PT, it definetly helped me more than it hurt. And if I could ever really hold 225 all the way to the top, I think my time will be in the low 3:20 range...although I gotta run my numbers through the analyticalcylcing calculator again, as I think my initial calcs were too conservative.

Draft @ 15kph??? (No wonder those pro riders need helpers even on climbs): Even though there was no real wind to speak of, there DEFINETLY was a draft that could be felt if you were with more than a couple people. Since I started at the rear of the race, I was passing people left and right, and you could really tell when you got behind a pack.

Passing a cheering Darin and Liana and Co. (me and Mark's support crew), Darin said that my friends David (left pic) and Mark (right pic) were WAY up the road...crap...thanks to that unscheduled pit stop. It took me about maybe 10 to 15 minuets of riding at 230-250 watts to finally get into a group of people who were going at a wattage that I felt comfortable at.

It was a pack of about 5 or 6 guys and 1 girl...with the girl at the front doing all the work!!! To my surprise, it was my teammate Louise of Tradewinds! After a couple of minutes recovering on the back, I made my way up the side and asked her why she was doing all the work, and she said that no one would pull through...now...how unchivelrous!!!

While on the front I would be putting out say 240 to 250, then I would obviously pull to the side and slow down to force the others to pull through. After a couple of rotations, I noticed that the pack was slowly dwindeling down so I decided to slow up a bit an conserve my energy in the draft instead. Just at that time, a super strong triathlete (tri-bars attached) decided to take up the pace making and pulled for a solid 30 minutes or so...just what the doctor ordered!

That tri-guy was super strong and I wasn't sure if I could match his pace...but eventually, he slowed down a little and I fould myself at the front of about 3 or 4 people. From there on, I just decided to ride by power and I started to slowly reel in people that were ahead of me.

A Funny Incident: A little over half way up the climb, I really was in a great rhythem and I sort of surprised this rider, as by this point in the race, you generally wouldn't have people passing you. So as I came up, I shifted gears, and he kind of glanced back over his left shoulder, causing his bike to veer slightly to the right. Right over this HUGE 3" high pile of COW DUNG! Luckly for him the cow pie was semi-petrified and it didn't stick to his tires...only a pair of 1" deep tracks left for prosperity...but it did slow him down and cause him to bounce off of the guardrail. When he got going straing agian he asked, "What the hell was that???" I told him, "Oh Brah...good thing that thing was dry...that was one giant pile of cow crap!...you going get some good luck now!!!" (Alghough...that usually only works with dogs...and dog luck!)



Feeling good in the middle portion of the race (for proof, see video above), I got a chance to really enjoy the scenery on this awesome climb. You go through the small kine local style Makawao town with it's kicker climb, thruough the beautiful pastures and towering pine trees in the up country Kula area, and on each switch back to the right, you can look out over the entire coastline to the ocean. Futher on up the climb, into the Haleakala National Park area, it is a semi moonscape of the rocky barren lava slopes of Haleakala above the vegitation line...awesome stuff. This has got to be one of the best races in Hawaii as there is no where on Oahu with this much smooth road, minimal traffic, and non-stop riding...a must do...

By this point, at 7,000 ft from the park entrace, after going through 4 bottles of my prefered gatorade/diet cola mix that was expertly passed up by our professional support crew, my stomach started to definetly not feel all that great. I had to literally force myself to down the powergels and hammergels I had. Stupidly...I hadn't used any gels in any training this past year and trying to do it on race day was very difficult. One thing I found though, is that the Hammer gel was MUCH easier to take than the 4x Sodium Powergels. One thing for certain, you can really feel the kick that these gels give as all of a sudden...you feel pretty good and it shows on the PT.

The last 10 or 13 km of the race was really hard for me. For some reason, I decided to stop eating as my stomach was revolting too much. Alghough I had already eaten 10 or 11 salt tablets and my legs decided to start cramping on an alternating schedule. And for the last hour or so, my power really dropped to the 180 range. To make myself feel better, I just kept on trying to think, "only 1 and 1/2 more tantalus'," oh well, that was the best I could do.

Road Kill ???: Just before the last 10k or so, I saw one of the few がんばれ riders from Japan all sprawled out along the shoulder areas of one of the turns. For a split second, thought he was dying...but upon further observation, it was obvious that he was suffering from some mean cramps! He must have also been a pretty strong rider too as I didn't catch him until this high up, I thought to myslef. Not much I could do except wave, smile, and keep on pedaling. To my shock, on the last 100 meters of the race, I heard some guy cheering someone in back of me, "you can catch him." Looking back, it was that Japan guy about 20 meters back!!! Holy crap...this was a race...was he going to sprint by me...after lying half dead in the road for I don't know how long??? As you can see by the pic, luckly for me, he was tired too and we limped in 2 seconds apart...wheww...would have hated getting passed at the line!

The last 800 meters of the race was definelty a crampfest as this last section is VERY steep, especially void of all energy in the thin air at 10,000 ft. The best I could do was to average 50 rpm in this section using my 34/27 gearing. What a bummer too...as I got caught in this last section by a teammate, Greg, whom I had passed about an hour before...oh well...atleast he was a fellow Tradewind rider...




Race to the Sun?: This year could have been renamed...Race to the Clouds...cause it was totally fogged in and FREEZING cold at the top, especially in your minimalist biking clothes. Good thing they had lots of thick blankets and hot coffee and free massages (thanks Atik) at the top. After all that effort, I decided to really soak in the post race atmosphere at the top. Braving the cold, I went up to the observation shelter at the very top of Haleakala - 10,023ft above sea level. Having been there in the past, I know how nice the view is from up there on a clear day...not today though...


19?? vs 2003 vs 2006: This is my 3rd time up Haleakala. The first time was back in the day when this race was an ITT and I think I did 4 hours or so. In 2003, with my 39/27 gearing, it was a total and utter sufferfest in 4hr 30mins or so. So...this year was MUCH better. In 2003, I remember doing the last 800 meters at a trackstanding 30 rpm (per my polar HR data).

2007???: If...I do this race again next year, for sure, I'll start on time so that I can draft and drift back, instead of trying to catch up like this year. Riding by wattage, I should be able to slot in with a group that is riding just a tad faster than my target wattage and stay in that group with the draft. That would definetly be the best way to get a faster time. Oh, that...and...having the same expert support crew (thanks Liana and Darin and Co.) and getting a new superlight PT carbon hub w/ 303...???

Parties and Ka Lima O Maui: Oh yeah, forgot to mention that one of the best things about this race is that the entry fee includes 2 awesome parties with all you can drink beer to boot. There is a pre-race party w/ all the pasta you can eat, and a post race party that had some great food provided by Outback Steakhouse, both held at the Paia Community Center. So, for $200 bucks, although on the high end, you do get 2 parties with all the beer you want, very well stocked aid stations, great volunteers and a ride down to boot, if you need it. Plus that, $100 of the fee goes to support KaLima o Maui, from what I can tell, a worthy and great organization helping the local people on Maui...it's all good...

My Fickr Photos Link: Here's a link to my Flickr Album of this race: My Pictures Maui 2006.

Websites: Cycle to the Sun Website: Cycle to the Sun
Race Results Link: Race Results
Race Photos Link: TropicalLight Website