Day 5 started with great intentions - Phil, Dave, Eddie, Chris, Neil and I were to grab early breakfast at the famous Ken's Pancake House then get a nice and early start to the days 120km ride from Hilo back to Kona. Heavy showers through the night and early morning made the thought of getting on bikes again even more painful! Avoiding the showers, we managed to pack away a lot of pancakes (coconut and blueberry) and a lot of bacon and eggs - the challenge laid down was for someone to order the bacon and eggs, waffles and Ice Cream. Challenge accepted, Phil managed to clean his plate - and also made it back to Kona first. I think maybe a re-think of race nutrition is in order :)
Getting a slightly l
ater start than intended, we all managed to keep the pace reasonable and slowly make our way up 90km to Waimea for a lovely picnic lunch with beautiful views. Wearily, we ate our lunch and saddled up for the 30km descent down Mamalahoa Hwy to Queen K then a hot and humid ride to our final destination, the Mauna Lani Resort.
Of course this wouldn't be 'Epic Camp' if we only did a 120km bike! Quick change and a 3km run to race registration. And then back in the vans for a ride to the swim venue for a quick 1km swim. (So you can understand why this blog is a day late!!)
A good end to the day was another great dinner with great new friends.