Friday, May 29, 2009

Kona Day One.

Loving the Lava!


I am sitting hear at 5:30 am kona time on friday... i could only sleep unitl 5. considering that's 8am PST I am pretty suprised i was able to sleep that late. i love flying west and waking up early feeling totally refreshed. more daylight means more time for fun.

For a day that included a 5+ hour flight yesterday was pretty rad. travel went smooth with the exception of getting charge $175 for beth's bike. lame.

we were in Kona by noon and at our condo by 1:30 after a quick stop at foodland for some grub and beers.

we headed straight for the fairmont hotel to check out the scene and lounge around their pool. beth decided to go ahead and check in while i hit the expo store to pick up some last minute gear for her bike/race that we left at home. what a zoo...


this photo is just funny to me.


ironman buffet anyone?

i can't really believe all the bikes i saw down there. seriously some many bikes in the 5-10k range. where do people get all this loot. i know i have a lot of bikes but i couldn't afford half of what i ride if i didn't get hand me downs and shop/sponsor deals.

the Queen K is a whole different story. i think there are 1400 people doing this race and about half of them were out on the Queen K yesterday afternoon throwing down some race watts!... and of course all aero'd out. i can't even imagine and the scene is like during the world champs in october. i think i saw more compression gear, aero lids, and carbon bikes than i ever have in a single day!

just some bike sitting next to the pool.


beth made quick work of the check-in and then we hit the pool and beach... and grabbed a drink.


we hung out for a while and then headed down to Hapuna Beach for a quick swim. the water was perfect and swimming actually felt great. i think it was the first time i have taken a stroke in 3 months!

helping jaakko carbo load!


we ended the long day with some killer sushi and a couple of beers. a perfect first day. i am ready for more!

sweet dinner date.


dinner. demolished!


we also grabbed a some ice cream on the way home... this guy was from San Diego and loved his job!

12 comments:

Ryan D said...

F - I miss hawaii! have fun over there!

GZ said...

It is freaking robbery what they are charging for bikes. Keep hitting the Dairy Queen K.

MJ said...

Kona rocks. I'm jealous. Have a blast!

Carolina John said...

awesome james! good luck in the race.

Luke said...

yup...jealous!

J.P. Patrick said...

.....and you shave for vacation?!!!! haha

FatDad said...

That table is sweet. Some sort of sick joke for all the tweaked out 'A' types!

Ryan Weeger said...

Dude, you love people like that working at DQ! Also, that beer your buddy is drinking looks stouty, or is that what Hawaiian IPA's look like?

GoBigGreen said...

DairyQueen and Spam are both home based in MN. YUM to one, ICK to the other.
Have fun and enjoy the vacay!

Zippy said...

I think that's the first time I've ever seen you clean-shaven. Whoa!

Caroline said...

Sounds like you guys had fun in Kona. Hope the Condo worked out ok. Wish I could have been there w/ you guys!!!
(PS- My new motivator to race well is that just maybe if I kick ass I could make it onto your "fast chics" blog list. haha!)

Benson said...

Dang that looks like a great time.