Bruce Hildenbrand's Mauna Kea ride

tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18617572.post-15329676109680684942007-05-09T17:45:00.000-07:002007-05-10T09:25:49.137-07:00Bruce Hildenbrand's Mauna Kea ride<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_NiC3sEsKv4A/RkJsyZxmr2I/AAAAAAAAAAM/zivNhYgdNeo/s1600-h/IMG_1298.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_NiC3sEsKv4A/RkJsyZxmr2I/AAAAAAAAAAM/zivNhYgdNeo/s320/IMG_1298.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5062728544286060386" border="0" /></a> The rain pounding down in torrents all night long made it difficult to sleep, but when the gray dawn broke, there was only one thing on my mind. Hilo sits at sea level on the eastern shore of the big island of Hawaii. The extinct volcano of Mauna Kea towers over the port city at 13,700 feet. Fortunately, or unfortunately, it depends on your perspective, a paved road ascends to the Visitors Center at 9200' before loose, steep dirt and the altitude makes road biking less an adventure and more survival. With the Visitors Center as my goal and the rains clouds parting, I set off from Hilo wondering just what lay ahead on the 34-mile, 9200 foot climb. Luckily for me, I had my trusty Ritchey titanium/ carbon fiber BreakAway bike so, if anything was going to break down it was going to be the rider and not the bike. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_NiC3sEsKv4A/RkJsy5xmr3I/AAAAAAAAAAU/rslQOcG7yCc/s1600-h/IMG_1299.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_NiC3sEsKv4A/RkJsy5xmr3I/AAAAAAAAAAU/rslQOcG7yCc/s320/IMG_1299.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5062728552875994994" border="0" /></a> Following Saddle Road for the first 28 miles, I climbed to 6500 feet through fields of volcanic lava whose illuvial fans provided a stair-stepped path. The rhythm of the road was simple, 1/4 mile at 3-5% followed by a short 2-400 foot section of 11-13%. And so on, and so on and so on. A right turn onto Mauna Kea Observatory Access Road signaled the final 2700 feet of climbing. Riding new climbs can provide a unique and exciting experience, but when my cyclometer confirmed the first steep section was 12%, I had a premonition that there might be more suffering to come. The last four miles climb about 2200' with long sections of 12-16% and as predicted, it was my body and not the BreakAway bike that started to crack. Arriving at the Visitors Center was a welcome relief. I would like to think that I had conquered the climb, but to quote the legendary Warren Harding on his first ascent of Yosemite's El Capitan, "I seem to remember that the mountain was in much better shape than me." ~ Bruce Hildenbrandtr_scribenoreply@blogger.com