HONOLULU (KHON2) — The Honolulu Century Ride, Hawaii’s largest bicycling event, celebrated 42 years with the Ride Aloha festival on Sept. 28.
“This is a ride, not a race,” Travis Counsell, executive director at Hawaii Bicycling League, said. “And we emphasize that, you know, where we say come back next year, go a little further or do the same ride and meet new people. We get a lot of people that do repeats where they come next year and the year after and they build on the distance and go further and further.”
Kalanianaole Highway was fully closed between Hanauma Bay and Sandy Beach from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m. for the event. Modified lanes were also in place along the route to keep riders safe, with parking restrictions near Kapiolani Park where the ride began and ended.
According to the Hawaii Bicycling League, the first riders started at 6:15 a.m. and could choose distances ranging from five to 100 miles. The ride wrapped up at 5 p.m. with food, music and community activities at the Kapiolani Park bandstand.
“At HBL our goal is just to provide more people opportunities to get on bikes and this event is what we strive to get more people out there,” Counsell shared. “Give them a comfortable space to go whatever distance they want from five miles to 100 miles with friendly volunteers at our eight stations; good food, good times.”
This year, about 1,300 riders participated in the event. “We have about 300 people from Japan, about 300 from the continent, and a total of 1,300 people joining us, neighbor islands as well,” Counsell said.
Organizations said more than 1,500 cyclists and volunteers were expected on Oahu roadways for the day, with detours set up through Kealahou, Hawaii Kai Drive, and Lunalilo Home Road while the highway was closed.
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Riders enjoyed eight aid stations stocked with refreshments and plenty of aloha, helping everyone from casual bikes to century riders enjoy a safe and scenic journey around the island.