Race morning!
We are all pumped – Lis, Patrick and Vinu are in good spirits, and they all look ready to rumble! Scott and I rode 80 miles of the bike course yesterday. That thing is a drag strip! Depending on winds and heat, it is a smoking fast course, at least the Queen K section. The pavement is glass smooth, and although there are lots of climbs, they are gradual and long. Our experience was 18-20 on the way up the hills and over 25 going down. Yesterday the winds picked up at Hapuna, close to the turn up to Hawi. We were out there earlier than the racers will be, but the wind was at our backs going towards Hawi. However this meant that coming up from Kawaihae the wind was blasting in our faces, making this steep little climb 5 minutes at 10mph. The other thing you notice is that the winds shift frequently on the Queen K depending on lava formations. One second you are going 28 and the next 17 for no apparent reason.
The weather here has been very consistent for at least the past week. partly cloudy in the am, and then clouding over at about 1pm. This is ideal for the racers, let’s hope it holds today!
Salty J
October 11, 2008 @ 11:32 am
Great alternate coverage this week. Looking forward to your posts today. Please tell Pele, Nutmeg and Patrick we wish them luck today.