Tag Archives: Cycling

Get on your bike and ride

10 Replies
Cyclists in the 2026 Ironman 70.3 race in Hawaii, heading to and from Hawi.

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Bicycles and Biking.’ See more responses here. Yesterday, the Hawaii Ironman 70.3 race took place on the island so I went out to take photos of the cyclists as they went to and from Hawi.

A cyclist in the 2026 Ironman 70.3 race in Hawaii, passes the 30 mile marker
Only 26 miles to go.
Cyclists in the 2026 Ironman 70.3 race in Hawaii, riding to and from Hawi.
There were cars on the road too.
A cyclist in the 2026 Ironman 70.3 race in Hawaii, zips away from Hawi.
On the downhills, the cyclists went pretty fast.

The day was a hot and sunny with moderate trade winds, which meant the ride to Hawi was uphill and into the wind. The reward was turning around and zipping downhill with the wind at their backs.

A cyclist in the 2026 Ironman 70.3 race in Hawaii, pours water on himself
Water isn’t just for drinking on a hot day.
A cyclist in the 2026 Ironman 70.3 race in Hawaii, pours water on himself after he hit a pothole and crashed
The heat wasn’t the only problem. This cyclist crashed when he hit a pothole.
A cyclist in the 2026 Ironman 70.3 race in Hawaii, with a cut leg after he hit a pothole and crashed
Blood was shed.
An injured cyclist abandons the 2026 Ironman 70.3 race in Hawaii, after he hit a pothole and crashed
He had to abandon the race because his pedal broke, while other cyclists turned to head back for the half marathon to follow.

The Numbers Game #110

A bee forages through the blooms of a mock orange.
A bee on a Mock Orange flower.

The idea of The Numbers Game is to enter a number into the search bar of your computer and then post a selection of the photos that turn up. This week’s number is 232. Captions are on the photos. You can see more responses here.

A green turtle is illuminated while swimming in the waters off the Big Island of Hawaii.
A Green Turtle swims near the surface of the ocean.
The section of Crater Rim Drive that fell in to Halemaumau Crater at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
Parts of Crater Rim Road which collapsed into Halemaumau Crater during the 2018 eruption.
Blooming yucca flowers in Hawaii
Yuccas blooming in Waimea.
The entrance to Kilauea Military Camp in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
Kilauea Military Camp in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.
A wild turkey off Saddle Road, Hawaii
A Wild Turkey in a pasture off Saddle Road.
A cyclist rides below Upolu Airport with Maui in the distance.

No Bike Tours

A sign alongside the road at Pololu, Hawaii

Pololu is at the end of the main highway through North Kohala. It was popular with bike tour operators who would drop their clients in Hawi for the 15 mile round trip to Pololu lookout and back. However, the stretch from Kapaau is narrow and winding and the shoulder is slim to non-existent. It also gets a lot of traffic with people keen to see the views without getting all hot and sweaty. So after some accidents and more near misses, people lobbied to have the bike tours banned. This duly happened and is, on balance, a good thing I think.

I did like this sign, about 100 yards from the road end at Pololu. It seems a bit late to warn about the ban, but perhaps it’s meant to discourage tour operators from driving their clients to the end of the road and having them cycle back!

The Numbers Game #64

Yellow boat on blue water.

The idea of The Numbers Game is to enter a number into the search bar of your computer and then post a selection of the photos that turn up. This week’s number is 185. Captions are on the photos. You can see more responses here.

A wounded Cornetfish.
Proud parents.
Passion Vine Butterfly on a Tasselflower.
Dirt blown by high winds at Kawaihae.
Ironman racers, but the sign is what I liked.
Can’t see the wood for the trees.

The Numbers Game #17

A Pallid Ghost crab blends int o the beach in Hawaii
A Pallid Ghost Crab on the beach.

The idea of The Numbers Game is to enter a number into the search bar of your computer and then post a selection of the photos that turn up. The top photo was one of these and I thought, I must have run this before, but I hadn’t. It turned out to be a photo I’d processed, but neglected to move from my originals folder. Without The Numbers Game, I would never have found this!

This week’s number is 138. Captions are on the photos. You can see more responses here.

A green turtle swims in the waters off Hawaii
A Hawaiian Green Turtle swimming.
Crocodile Needlefish swim just below the surface in Hawaii
Two Crocodile Needlefishes cruise just below the surface.
Bentley Walker competes in the 2017 Ironman World Championship.
Ironman is hard work …
Bike pedals at 2017 Ironman World Championship.
… but colorful.

Ghost bikes

A Ghost bike near Hawi, Hawaii
A Ghost bike near Hawi, Hawaii

Cycling is a popular activity on the Big Island. The road from Kailua Kona to Hawi is wide with good shoulders, and it’s a favorite with cyclists because it’s the route of the cycling portion of the Ironman race. However, as is the case everywhere, it can be a dangerous activity, sharing the highway with large, fast-moving vehicles.

Ghost bikes serve as memorials for cyclists killed or badly hurt when things go wrong. These are two I see daily on my commute.