Hawaii Trip Day 3

Another Drunk disclaimer.... I'm up to like 7 or 8 drinks now and still writing. I can't be held 100% liable for my thought process now... : ) Sorry... Okay random side note: It's 11:48 on Monday December 20th. The Vikings just got the crap kicked out of them at TCF Bank Stadium by the Bears and I'm pretty sure I just saw some fireworks going off downtown Minneapolis. Not even kidding!

Day 3 - Wednesday December 8th
Miles - 31.66
Climb - 4170

Today we were prepared for a climb. It's a short day miles wise but after an easy 10 mile ride out of Hilo the road turns uphill and doesn't stop for 20+ unforgiving miles. In fact, now that I look at the map it looks like it turns uphill around mile 7.5. I just want to put my head down and ride.


Here's the only picture I have of the morning. It's the view from my room in Hilo. Not too shabby eh?!

So today was a total hill climb and a lot of people were psyching themselves out before the ride even began. I knew I could do it and I knew I could do it fast so I jumped out in front of the pack with Jeff who is clearly the strongest rider of the pack and we just hammered that hill. We had a nice little chat over the next three hours and just ground it out. We only stopped to refill our waters twice and other than that we just rode. Mile after grueling mile. To be honest it wasn't actually that bad. Jeff and I made it up the 4000+ ft climb in under 3 hours and we felt awesome! It really helps to have someone to ride with and to talk to.


This is what we arrived to. A beautiful home out in the country in Volcano, HI


They had a really nice lemon tree out in the front yard! Yum! Fresh lemons!

Jeff and I were the first ones to arrive so we had the luxury of sitting around and exploring the place before everyone else showed up. We also had first dibbs on the beer in the fridge! : ) Yeah baby! I cracked open a couple of Longboards and celebrated my speedy mountain climb! After everyone arrived we had some lunch and then headed out for Volcano National Park.


This is one of the lava tubes that we were able to explore.


Then we went down a totally unlit lava tube. We didn't have a light, only our cell phones and camera flashes. It was erie and totally awesome! This is one of the shots from the end of the tunnel.

Then we decided to move on to the crater rim trail. The trail was a little more than a .5 mile hike but was supposed to have some really cool views. We all headed out to see what we could find.



This is the crater. Pretty amazing when you think about it. This is all active volcano. It hasn't erupted for a long time but it's still steaming from the heat below.

Then... you're never gonna believe this... I was walking along the trail and who do I run into? My cross country coach from Augsburg! Dennis Barker! Are you f'in kidding me?! I mean I knew he was coming to Hawaii but he wasn't supposed to be on this island. They decided to take a day trip over to the big island and I ran into him! I mean what are the odds that we run into each other? This island, this park, this trail at the same freakin' time? It's astronomical! Anyway, it was pretty cool! Oh, and he almost didn't recognize me with the big ass 'fro! : )



Me and Dennis Barker. And yes, that is my real hair!

Then it was on to see a different view of the crater.


I kind of like the lei's in the foreground. I'm not sure what they are for but it adds a nice shot of life to an otherwise desolate landscape.


Ooops.. Excuse me! : )

When we got back to the house it was time for dinner. Darrell decided he wanted a fire so we built them up in both of the fireplaces in the house and got them going. Due to the high humidity neither of them really wanted to burn despite our best efforts. We made the best of it though.



We got them going for a little bit but they didn't last.

I really liked this style of housing. All of us were together and we had a great meal and great conversation. It felt like we were able to hang out and connect and it wasn't a chore. I really enjoyed this night and all the great chats I had with everyone. It was the first night I really felt the group gelling together. We were no longer 22 different people riding together, we were a team, a family, riding for a common cause. It was something awesome!