LIHUE – The start of the bicycle- climbing season is just around the corner and Bicycle Racing Kauai and Tradewind Cycling are gearing up for their annual Memorial Day event.
Starting on Saturday, May 26, participants will “Pedal to the Meadow,” from the location of Kauai’s first stop light in Kekaha, up to just before Kanaloahuluhulu Meadow, in Kokee State Park.
“On Sunday, we do two events. In the morning, we do the Mana timed trial and that’s an out and back 11-mile race, where people are racing against the clock,” said Mary Williamson, race operations manager.
That’s in the morning. In the afternoon, they’ll head to the drag-way for Cycle on the Strip Criterium.
“It’s the perfect place for them to do sprint laps. Whoever does the most laps wins the race,” Williamson said.
Then on Memorial Day, there’s a fun ride on the Eastside open to all ages and experience levels for participation.
“The idea was to make it more worth it for mainland and off-island people to come and keep it affordable for the locals and manageable for those who are coming from other islands,” Williamson said.
Something that’s new this year, said Williamson, is there are scholarships available for the first 10 juniors who sign up.
The scholarship is made possible by a sponsor whose goal is to encourage youth into the sport of cycling.
For more information about the event, or to sign up, visit pedaltothemeadow.com
This is the ninth year for the organization’s signature event of the weekend, Pedal to the Meadow.
About 100 cyclists are expected to participate in Saturday’s event.
During the race, there will be road closures. Residents can expect Kokee Road, up to the intersection, to be closed from 7:30 to 9:15 a.m. and are asked to use Waimea Canyon Drive as an alternate route and to drive with care where the two roads meet and near the finish chute close to the meadow entrants at the 16-mile marker.
On Sunday, there will be bicycles on the highway from MacArthur Beach Park in Kekaha, out to Mana and back, from 8 to 11 a.m. Though there won’t be any lane closures during this race, cyclists have the right to take the lane, if the shoulder is hazardous.
The group asks drivers to drive and pass with extreme care and to allow three to four feet of clearance from racers. If passing is necessary, they say to watch for oncoming and downhill vehicles and to never pass on a blind corner.
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Bethany Freudenthal, Courts, Crime and County reporter, 652-7891 or bfreudenthal@thegardenisland.com
