The Honolulu Century Bike Ride happens every September in Hawai`i, and is an opportunity for bikers to ride 25, 50, 75, or 100 miles together around the East side of the Oahu starting at Kapiolani Park. It is a highlight for me because it’s a time when I feel like a kid again, following my dad, a lifelong biker, who is still pushing me to keep up.
As I thought about why I love this event so much beyond the company of being with my dad and other inspiring bikers who are all pushing my body to move outside, I realized what it was.
It is a rare opportunity to ride on the roads you usually drive on, and when you’re biking instead of driving, you’re going so much slower and therefore seeing more.
You see the details in the beautiful things along the road you would normally miss because it passes by your window in a flash. Whether it’s a gorgeous gate in front of a house along Diamond Head, the details in the window of a historic house in Kahala, or the landscaping in the yard of a home in Hawai`i Kai, there is so much beauty along the 25 mile route.
And something new they started recently that was truly a highlight last year and so was my goal this year, was to make the cut off time to ride the Kaiwi coast before the road was opened back up to cars.
To weave up, down, and around along the cliffs where we can spot a ko`ae `ula fly and the waves crash agains the rocks below, it is the perfect “final stretch” to Sandy’s Beach, the 25 mile half way mark before turning around to make the journey back. This year, I made sure to keep up with my dad so that we’d have a little extra time along the Kaiwi coast to just take it all in. To take in what a slower life looks like with no cars, no noise, and just us on our bikes riding in the wind and feeling the salt water in the breeze.
I always seem to feel God in these still and quiet moments outdoors.
However, this quiet Kaiwi Coast can only be reached after the uphill climb. First, you must sign up for the ride, train, wake up, early for the ride, and make the time mark to have access to the uphill climb towards Hanauma Bay before enjoying this respite. And this year, that uphill climb was met with strong winds of opposition due to a hurricane south of the islands.
What uphill climb must you face head on before you can ride your Kaiwi coast?
Let’s find peace by piece in the slow climb, where we can see all that God wants us to enjoy that we so often speed past by.
“ I lift up my eyes to the mountains—where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.” -Psalm 121: 1-2
