The week of the Hawaii ironman offered the opportunity to do an exploration of the potential options. I was in Hawaii to help with the timing crew and also help Tim Carlson with some of Slowtwitch.com’s coverage of the World Championships on Saturday. As part of writing about "age grouper lifestyle", Jonathan Toker, CEO of Saltstick joined in for the mission, along with support and photography from Tim Carlson. Prior to the trip, we were given a lot of input by a variety of cyclists with experience on Mauna Kea. Some pro cyclists said, “the winds might just kill you” and you “better have gearing” and “Mauna Kea is probably the single toughest climb you will ever do”, you listen. To say this is hard is an understatement. Between the grade of the mountain, and the lack of oxygen, Mauna Kea, makes Mont Ventoux of Galibier look like “second rate climbs”….and both of these make Alpe d’Huez look like warm up climbs, and Alpe d’Huez makes the Beast at St. Croix or Nasty Grade at Wildflower, look like neighborhood speed bumps.

Below are a few more pictures from this event.