Category Archives: Scenes

Get on your bike and ride

Cyclists make the turn at Hawi in the IRONMAN 70.3 Hawaii race on the Big Island.
A cyclist make the turn at Hawi in the IRONMAN 70.3 Hawaii race on the Big Island.

Yesterday, IRONMAN 70.3 Hawaii took place on the Big Island. It’s a triathlon featuring a 1.2 mile swim followed by a 56 mile bike ride and topped off with a 13.1 mile run. If all this sounds exhausting, as it does to me, bear in mind that the full IRONMAN race is twice as long.

A cyclist approaches the turn at Hawi in the IRONMAN 70.3 Hawaii race on the Big Island.

The world championship for the IRONMAN triathlon also takes place on the Big Island, in October. In both races, the turnaround for the bike leg is at Hawi on the northern tip of the island. For the October race the turnaround is downtown and a decent crowd gathers to cheer on the racers. The 70.3 event makes the turn about a mile out of town. By and large, only race volunteers are there to cheer on the cyclists.

I like to go out to watch both events. They’re colorful and dynamic. Sometimes I get caught up in the euphoria of it all and imagine myself on one of those bikes, leaning into the turn before heading back for the run. But then I go back to my truck and drive home.

For more information about IRONMAN, go to Ironman.com.

The turn at Hawi in the IRONMAN 70.3 Hawaii race on the Big Island.

Gone fishing

A man fishes on the Big Island coast.
I’m the the world’s worst fisherman with total catches counted on one hand and the price for those fish, in terms of lost tackle, etc., coming in around $100 a pound. However, a lot of people on the Big Island fish, especially when the moon is right, whenever that is.

This man was fishing on a calm, warm early-evening. It’s an idyllic-looking scene, but I wasn’t tempted to join him.

Bristle-thighed curlew

A Bristled-thighed curlew on the Big Island coast
Bristle-thighed curlew (Numenius tahitiensis) isn’t the most flattering bird name I’ve ever heard. In Hawaii it’s called Kioea, which sounds nicer. In May, these curlews migrate to Alaska (a jaunt of 2480 miles) to breed. They return to Hawaii (and other Pacific islands) in July and August. Since this particular bird was still around at the end of May, it may not be making the trip north this year.

For more information about bristle-thighed curlews, go to dlnr.hawaii.gov/wildlife/files/2013/09/Fact-Sheet-Bristle-thighed_Curlew.pdf.

Mars simulation mission site

THe site of the Mars simulation mission site on the Big Island of Hawaii

This little dome is where simulated Mars missions take place. Currently there’s a crew of six living in the dome on a 365-day mission, the longest such experiment to date. The previous crew lived in the dome for eight months.

The dome, at around 8,000 foot on the north side of Mauna Loa, is situated a little way off the Mauna Loa Observatory road. In the photo below it can be seen about ¾ of the way up in the center.

For an interesting article on the Mars simulation mission and its context in history see newyorker.com/magazine/2015/04/20/moving-to-mars. For information about the current, and former, missions, see hi-seas.org.

The road to the Mauna Loa Observatory

Helmet urchins

Helmet urchins on the North Kohala coastHelmet urchins on the North Kohala coast
Helmet urchins feed on algae at the water’s edge where they move about on little tube legs. I can’t claim to have witnessed any such activity, but for creatures that apparently just sit there, I find them quite cheerful and entertaining. Perhaps I should get out more.

To identify this, I used John P. Hoover’s book Hawai‘i’s Sea Creatures: A Guide to Hawai‘i’s Marine Invertebrates. His website is hawaiisfishes.com.