Hawai'i by the numbers

As my little condo-construction/vacation/training camp comes to an end, here are a few numbers:

Miles ridden: 285
Longest ride: 70
Shortest ride: 12 (not all roads that appear on maps are actually built yet)
Most elevation in one strech: ~2600'
Best Beach at which to end a ride: Hapuna (Mauna Kea resort would be first, but they don't let bikes on the property)

Hawaii County Police Officers Killed in the line of duty: 3
Officer Manuel Cadinha was killed in 1918 during an arrest.
Officer Ronald "Shige" Jitchaku was killed in 1990 while trying to break up a brawl.
Officer Kenneth Keliipio was hit by a car and killed in 1997 while assisting a stranded motorist.

Engraving Day

April 25 was engraving day at the National Law Enforcement Memorial. 466 new names were added to the Memorial. 155 of them were Officers killed in the Line of Duty in 2005. The rest were Officers killed in previous years. Eight names from Colorado were added to the Memorial:

Officer Thomas Tobin, Colorado Department of Corrections. Killed in 1899 during the search for an escaped inmate.

Night Captain John B. Russell, Colorado Department of Corrections. Killed in 1913 in a shootout with an escaped inmate.

Officer Victor Bryan McMillin, Colorado Department of Corrections. Killed in 1961 in a correctional farm accident.

Sheriff Westley A. McDonald, Washington County Sheriff. Killed in an ambush in 1952 while attempting to arrest a suspect.

Deputy James L. Jackson, Washington County Sheriff. Killed in the same ambush as Sheriff McDonald.

Detective Donald Ray Young, Denver Police Department. Shot and killed May 8, 2005 while working an overtime assignment.

Seasonal Park Ranger Jeffrey A Christensen, Rocky Mountain National Park. Fell to his death July 29, 2005 during a backcountry patrol.

Special Agent Greg Ray Boss, U.S. Postal Service, Office of the Inspector General. Killed November 8, 2005 in a road rage incident.

Kaloko-Honokohau National Park

Sunday's ride plan was to go to the north end of the island. The winds were higher and gustier than Saturday, so I cut short my plan for a long ride and settled for 40 miles, ending at Hapuna beach for a dip in the ocean and a sunburn on my back. Despite the wind, a nice ride, considering Winter has returned, if only briefly to Colorado.

While heading north from Kona my rides have passed by the Kaloko-Honokohau National Historic Park, pictured above. From the highway, it's not much to look at. The visitor's center is in the middle of a brown lava field, across the road from an industrial area famous for Costco and Home Depot. Beyond the visitor center, however, is a wealth of natural beauty on the coast. Ancient fish ponds are now significant wetlands and a haven for birders. Green sea turtles are abundant along the beaches and the off shore reefs are home to numerous species of fish. Even though access to the site is easy from either the Marina or the highway, the area is quiet and can feel quite remote. The Park is actually within the Kailua-Kona limits and brings with it more urban law enforcement issues. On December 12, 1999 Ranger Steve Mukuakane-Jarrell was shot and killed while responding to a report of aggressive dogs.

Training Camp

Since being accepted to ride in the Police Unity Tour, I've been focusing my training to be able to complete the entire ride, which consists of 4 days of riding. The mileage breakdown by day is about 60, 100, 100 and 40. I started with a fair aerobic base and strive to increase my mileage by about 10% per week, gradually getting my body used to long hours in the saddle. Over the winter I used the trainer a lot on weeknights when it was too dark and too cold to ride outside. Not a fun way to increase hours, but pretty effective at intervals and sustained efforts over shorter periods.

The front range winter was fairly mild, but windy as ever. Rides were fun with a tail wind, but a tailwind inevitably means a headwind somewhere along the way and cross-wind gusts could be scary. So, taking a page from the pro cyclists who go someplace warm for 'training camp,' I'm on the big island of Hawai'i for a week to ride. (actually to continue with some ongoing improvement projects on property we own, but the idea of riding in Hawai'i sounds pretty good doesn't it?). As any Hawai'i IronMan athlete can tell you, the bike route is usually windy. Somehow the wind wasn't so bad on a different route in full view of the ocean. My first loop ride took me along the coast, up through some pretty pasture lands and back through the hills above Kona. I took a GPS along and turned it into a file for Google Earth. By the numbers: 69 miles, ~2600' elevation gain over 12 miles and a mostly gradual descent back.

Why the Police Unity Tour?

Those of you who are reading this may already know a little about the Police Unity Tour, since I've probably hit you up for a donation. Since I'm not out training today, I thought I'd share a little bit of the story behind my participation.

About a year ago a friend of mine who is retired from law enforcement on the east coast was talking up Police Week in Washington DC. My friend said that it is something you should attend at least once in your career, so I started to look into it. I happened upon a reference to the Police Unity Tour, a 300 mile bike ride over 4 days from New Jersey to Washington D.C. This seemed like a much more meaningful way to participate than to simply fly to D.C. and attend the various ceremonies and events.

As I looked into it further, I learned that the chapter of the Tour that I wanted to ride with only accepted 400 riders, with each rider expected to raise $1500 in donations and sell $200 in raffle tickets. I was pretty sure I could get the donations. I was less sure about selling raffle tickets to people in Colorado for a car to be raffled in New Jersey. I also wasn't too sure about making the 400 rider cut. I did not want to apply before I knew I could get the time off from work. (Police Week in D.C. falls during our Spring Riot Season, so time off is difficult to get). I did get the time off and was accepted to ride, but only after a phone call from the Executive Director to make sure I understood the commitment to raise money and be in shape for the ride.

I didn't really set any fund-raising goal other than to meet the $1500 minimum and sell those raffle tickets. Through the incredible generosity of friends, colleagues and family I've raised around $4500 in donations and sold even more than the minimum number of raffle tickets.

Between minor injuries, work and family commitments over the past few weeks, I'm a little shy of my goal of increasing training miles by 10% each week. I've still put in around 1500 miles since New Years and hope to put in a few hundred more before leaving for New Jersey on May 7.

We Ride for Those Who Died

April 16th, 2006 seems like a good day to start a blog about my participation in the upcoming 10th Anniversary Police Unity Tour. From May 9 to 12, we'll ride 300 miles from Florham Park New Jersey to the National Law Enforcement Memorial in Washington D.C. The ride raises awareness of Law Enforcement Line of Duty deaths and raises funds to support the National Law Enforcement Memorial.

April 16th, 2006 was a beautiful spring day in the Colorado Front Range.

April 16th, 2006 was Easter and fell in the middle of Passover. My training ride took me past yards where friends and families gathered to enjoy the warmth of the day.

April 16th, 1994 was the day Boulder Police Officer Beth Haynes was killed in the line of duty responding to a violent domestic.