NAWILIWILI — Motorists in the area of the Pua Kea Golf Course, Costco and Nawiliwili Road are reminded to exercise caution as bicyclists competing in the Road Race phase of the Kaua‘i Stage Race will be on the street starting
NAWILIWILI — Motorists in the area of the Pua Kea Golf Course, Costco and Nawiliwili Road are reminded to exercise caution as bicyclists competing in the Road Race phase of the Kaua‘i Stage Race will be on the street starting at 7:30 a.m. today.
The Road Race phase is the final stage of the Kaua‘i Stage Race that celebrated its second running, Saturday, with the start of the Time Trial. That event was followed by the Criterion event at the Vidinha Stadium parking lot.
Some 50 bicyclists took to the road from the entrance of the Kaua‘i County Council offices in Nawiliwili for a 10-mile loop that wound its way up to the Kipu intersection and back on the Kipu bypass road.
“This was quite fun,” said Hank Sobeleski, who contributes historic articles to The Garden Island. “This is the second one I’ve done and I’ve gone faster than I thought I could. It must’ve been riding with all the other riders.”
Sobeleski said he’s been bicycling for about five or six years and last year’s Kaua‘i Stage Race was the first time he was involved in that type of competition.
Riding in the Golden Master Men division with Kaua‘i Police Chief Darryl Perry, also a veteran of the Kaua‘i Stage Race, Sobeleski posted an elapsed time of 29:07.44, averaging 20.6 mph in the Time Trial.
Perry posted an elapsed time of 28:59.64, averaging 20.7 mph for the first Golden Master Men to cross the line in the Time Trial.
Mary Williamson, whose husband Binney Williamson had to deal with a flat tire before returning in the Criterion, said the event was a good one. She noted that this year’s stage race had riders from California and Belfast, Ireland.
“The cops all know Binney, so he’ll be the last one to leave for the Time Trial,” Mary Williamson said. “That way, they know when the last rider is out.”
She added that Peter Wilson, 20, of Ireland was here with his family celebrating his mother’s 50th birthday when he learned of the event and signed up at Kaua‘i Cycle.
For the event, the Irish rider was garbed in a suit emblazoned with “Maryland” as his dad took photos and mom lugged loose bottles of iced-down Primo during the Criterion.
Tony Lang, returning after earning overall honors last year, said the course for the Time Trials was a good one.
“It’s hilly, has wind and the undulations make it more tricky than other courses,” Lang said. “We have about 20 races a year in Honolulu, and Kaua‘i only has two — the Kaua‘i Stage Race and the recent Pedal to the Meadow. It’s fun to come and experience different terrain and ride with the Kaua‘i riders.”
Steve Foster, owner of Pacific Sport Events who anchored the timing table, said the timing system for the Kaua‘i Stage Race is the same system used at the Tour de France. Foster also supplied the equipment used to time last year’s inaugural Kaua‘i Marathon.
“I used to race with Darryl (Perry) when he was in Honolulu, and he knows the ins and outs of setting up an event like this,” Foster said. “Kaua‘i is lucky to have Darryl.”
Results from the Kaua‘i Stage Race will appear in a future edition of The Garden Island.
