Get Outta Town

Chris particularly wanted to get out of town this weekend, so we packed up our dirt bikes and headed to Mana Road. Our last three trips to this spot have been thwarted by rain, wind and mist as we rode through the clouds. Yesterday was picture perfect. We started in Waimea and rode through rolling pastureland with views of Mauna Kea. As we progressed and began to climb the mountain we gained elevation and saw plenty of tall and twisted Koa trees and a forest of Redwoods and Douglas Firs. The Hamakua side provided summit to sea views with white caps visible on the ocean and towering cinder cones above us. A fresh, cool breeze blew and the trees gave off the fragrance of Christmas. We were definitely out of town. Fifty-five miles later we were refreshed though a bit tired and just a little chilly. We dusted off our pants and hit up the Chinese restaurant in Waimea for some hot soup and stir-fry.

Trials Riding on Hualalai's 1801 Flow

Chris likes to ride his trials bike on the lava near the airport but only when it's cool out. This kind of riding is slow and strenuous so cooler weather is a must. Trials riding is a specialized kind of dirt biking where the object is to make it through the obstacles without touching your feet to the ground. The lava is perfect terrain with lots of "obstacles" to traverse. The photo is of Chris doing a "nose wheelie" also called a "stoppie" if performed on a street bike. You do a nose wheelie by applying lots of front brake but not too much. Once the back tire is in the air you can set it down wherever you want, which allows the rider to make a zero radius turn. A handy manuver while riding on rough lava where deep cracks leave little room for turning.

Pizza, Anyone?

Another Ironman has come and gone. Each year, about 1,800 athletes along with their families and fans converge on our town, wear their Speedos on our streets, and sweat all over our grocery carts. Actually, I really like Ironman because it brings excitement and money to Kona each October. I always look forward to the event. And every year I am amazed again that anyone can swim 2.4 miles in open ocean, bike 112 miles in high winds and ridiculous heat, then run a marathon. As my mom likes to say, "I can't even drive that far!"

The more I see of the race the less inspired I am, however. Two seconds after the thrill of crossing the finish line, many runners can be found puking, falling down, shivering, etc. Why do they do it? The race creates an entire city of need in a 17-hour period. Huge circus tents become make shift hospitals with rows of IV's tapped into dehydrated athletes. Mobs of massage therapists, physical therapists, nurses and doctors scurry around like busy ants. It is in this light that I present a photo from this year's Ironman. Not the classic shot of a champion clad in a flag and orchid lei, but one of the empty pizza boxes piling up on the other side of the finish line, consumed by hungry athletes who just burned up an entire month's calories in eight hours.

Nice Nenue

I got this nice nenue, which is a fish we like to eat because it's not a cig candidate. Ciguatera is a nasty diesease that attacks the nervous system and it is contracted by eating reef fish. As a precaution, we try to only eat "cig" fish once a week and we fillet them to avoid eating parts of the fish that may have higher concentrations of the chemical.

I was proud of my shot because this fish was hiding under a rock 35 feet below the surface. I dove down and when he came out of his hole I got him.

Riding

We met some guys at church who wanted to go riding so we went down to South Point last weekend to play in the red dirt. I forgot the ocean gets that blue, it was so sunny and beautiful down there in the southernmost corner of the United States. We went several miles past the Green Sand Beach when I got a flat tire, so the ride back wasn't as exciting for me because I had to go slower. But it was still a blast! I am glad I married someone with such good hobbies, and he's willing to share the fun.

Chris enjoys the company of our new pals, Ben and Sam, during a dirt bike adventure at South Point.

I Love the Smell of Gun Powder

Chris, Larry and I went down to Manuka recently to shoot guns. We met a couple of gun fanatics who are fixtures at Manuka and they love sharing their passion for the sport. And there is practically no gun culture in Hawaii, so I bet a lot of people don't appreciate their enthusiasm.

They let us try several of their weapons and let us use their targets. Among the guns we used was a .44 magnum pistol that had some kick, and a super expensive high-power rifle with fancy scopes and things. (sorry, my gun lingo is limited) We also shot clay pigeons, which is always a good time.

Saturday Afternoon Ride

I am always amazed at the variety of landscapes this island offers. Saturday Chris and I took our dirt bikes to the 6,000 foot level of Mauna Kea to ride Mana Road. We zoomed down a path lined with stately Koa trees and cinder cones, and saw plenty pheasants, quail and pueo (native Hawaiian owl) Not far past Hakalau Wildlife Preserve we pulled off the road to take a hike. But the soft, tall grass beckoned us to take a nap instead. When we awoke, clouds had engulfed the mountian, so we decided to cut our trip short. Most of the way back we fought to see through the fog. Then it instantly lifted. We stood amazed at the edge of the clouds watching the wind blow and swirl them. It was as if God said, "right here and no further!"

Bikes swayed in the wind after today's Lavaman Triathlon. It must have been a tough race!

Welcome to Waikoblowa

Chris spotted a possible Queen's Bath near A Bay on an aerial photo so we headed up there to scope it out. It was a gorgeous day but we were constantly sand blasted by wind that was out of control even for Waikoloa standards. It makes me wonder how anyone completed today's Lavaman Triathlon. Journey is slated to play the new outdoor Waikoloa Bowl tonight, I sure hope it doesn't get cancelled due to high wind like the recent Mercy Me concert.

Two peat?

Last year I won the office bracket contest organized by our sports editor. Yep, even beat the sports editor. Naturally, I coughed up ten bucks and threw my hat in the ring again this year. The sad fact is, I really don't follow sports closely. I put about ten whole minutes into research on Yahoo.com before making this year's picks. But my performance last year is evidence that a bracket contest is really anybody's game.

Freediving for fish

Sarah and I entered a spearfishing tournament a couple weekends ago. I'm pretty new to the sport and don't feel very competitive about the whole thing, but we had a great time. Heading to the beach just after dawn we spotted a pod of Hawaiian Spinner Dolphins and two Humpback Whales right outside the surf break. We were in the water for about ten minutes when I landed two Palani with one shot. I knew it'd be a great day! A new friend, Carlos, decided to join us. All three of us shot fish and had a great time.

Checking in was a bit humbling, however. People had stringers full of heavy fish that put mine to shame. In fact, out of people who landed fish I came in dead last for number of points. But there were several divers who came back with no fish at all. Check out the biggest fish caught in the tournament that day- a 70 lb. Ulua. If I saw a fish that big in the water I think I'd run away, not shoot it!

My cute little stringer:

Biggest catch- a 70 lb. Ulua shot with a spear gun. Crazy!


Preparing for competition: Chris rigged up this tennis racket target so we do some target practice. We tested my gun Saturday near Lyman's surf spot in 25 feet of water.

Thanksgiving again?

Chris and Larry went hunting up Mauna Kea this weekend and Chris brought home two turkeys. He shot one young turkey earlier in the season and we ate it up in one meal. These recent turkeys were more like the 14-pound birds you'd find in the store. We cooked one last night and it will last for several meals. It has pretty good flavor but the meat is lean and dry so gravy is recommended.
Nice white meat:

You go, girl!

Chrissie Wellington, the female winner of Ironman, leads the race as she passes our subdivision on Alii Drive. She completed the 2.1 mile swim, 112 mile bike ride and 26 mile run in 9 hours and 6 minutes. She also set a record for the run course in Kona.

Preparing for Ironman

It was the day before Ironman and the excitement sucked us in. Chris made a last minute decision to throw his hat in the ring and started training in the pool pictured below. He was all set to for the 2.1 mile swim, but when he found out he couldn't use his dirtbike for 112 mile bike portion of the race he changed his mind.

We did have fun at the Ironman village where they let us try their Endless Pools and even gave us a few pointers on our stroke and they gave us a an underwater video of us swimming. We were sold on the pool, but it's hard to justify spending $10,000 on a "treadmill for swimmers" when you live a block from the ocean.

I love Ironman time. Big Islanders complain about the traffic and rude triathlets, but it brings business to the island and it's exciting. Thousands flock from all around the world for the annual event and I'm proud to live on the island that hosts it.


Setting up for the big day. The swim starts from the bay pictured here, and the 26 mile ends at the finish line to the right.

Chris gets some tips on his stroke while testing an Endless Pool.

Winner! Winner! Winner!


I am now $60 richer and I am enjoying all of the glory, honors and benefits entitled to me as the 2008 West Hawaii Today NCAA bracket contest winner. Here are the final results:

It's that time again...

...time to post this important document. So far I am in 4th place out of 8 people in our annual work contest. What does it say about the competence of our newspaper staff that I am ahead of both our sports editor and one of our former sports writers?

Tread Head

If my dirt bike lessons with Chris continue, maybe one day I'll live up to my college nickname, Tread Head. Nate first called me that at an AMA Supercross race in Indianapolis in 1996. I don't know if I've ever seen anything as delightful as Jeremy McGrath launching his bike 30 feet into the air, dirt flying, and smoke filling my nostrils.


I've never driven a motorcycle before, so for now it's slow going- practicing an obstacle course made of soup cans. I did pop my fist wheelie and lay a little rubber in the church parking lot, so I think there's potential.

I'm not a prophet

Chicago Cubs just lost to the Diamondbacks. They won't be going to the World Series this year even though I insisted with absolute certainty they would go and they would win.

I believed so strongly that this was the year. I'm not a huge sports fan, but Wrigley Field often beckons me. I even have dreams about it. When I stepped foot into that stadium this July after years of yearning to arrive at the address of 1060 West Addison I was overwhelmed with emotion. I believed with every bone in my body the curse had been broken and the Cubs would win the World Series this year. Isn't 99 years long enough to wait?

My soul is in anguish. How long, O Lord, how long? (Psalm 6:3)

Surf's Up!

On calm water like Bass Lake you can't wait for a swell to come in. You have to rely on a boat, not nature. I've always wanted to try wakeboarding and I finally got my chance, and I LIKE IT! It's just like waterskiing and snowboarding. Luckily, the muddy lake bottom is a lot more forviging than our reefs. I wiped out while trying to jump the wake and I planted my face in the mud. The lake was only knee deep!

1060 W. Addison

I've been a Cubs fan for as long as I can remember. When Jimmy built his White Sox fort down the street and I threatened to tear it down. In 1984 our elementary school janitor convinced the teacher to let us Cubs fans out of class so we could listen to their championship game against the Padres on the radio.

I begged and pleaded with my parents to take me to Wrigley Field. I always got the same reply. "You can't get there from here." They didn't want to deal with parking and traffic issues and year after year they dragged me to Comisky Park instead. In a recent dream I drove my Jeep to Wrigley Field while the words, "you can't get there from here," rang over and over in my head.

Now I'm a grown up and I've learned you can get there from here. Even if here is Hawaii and Wrigley Field is 4,500 miles away. The sun was shining, Old Style beer was flowing and the crust on the pizza was 3 inches thick. Cubs played the Giants. Barry Bonds scored two home runs but it didn't stop the old Cubbies from winning 9-8.

Let's Go Racin'

Denise knew I'd want to participate in the adult pinewood derby at her church. I'm still bitter about my girl scouting days. The boys built race cars and went camping, the girls stitched sit-upons- ridiculous square things you hang around your waist so if you have to sit down in the great outdoors your okole doesn't get dirty. But we never went outdoors so what the heck was the point?

Back to the topic at hand, the pinewood derby was a blast. This Cub Scout tradition is simple enough, build a car made of pine within certain measurement and weight guidelines, then see who's is fastest. They race down a grooved aluminum track. There's even software designed for pinewood derby, complete with electronic timing devices.

My car was a simple wedge design. I shaped the wood with a belt sander, spray painted red and blue stripes and named her Liberty. I dripped melted fishing weights into holes drilled in the back to increase weight.

Here's Liberty next to the General Lee and others. She placed 14th overall with 61 cars competing, and averaged 187 miles per hour (that's to scale with the size of the cars and track)