 | | Welcome HBL’s New Executive Director! |  Travis Counsell | Travis@HBL.org | Hawaii Bicycling League is pleased to announce Travis Counsell will be joining HBL as its new Executive Director, May 1. Many will remember Travis as HBL’s Events Director and Membership Coordinator for several years. Since leaving HBL in 2018, he gained a wealth of business experience as the owner of Bikeadelic, a retail business that rented bikes and helped people experience Honolulu on a bicycle. The impact of COVID on the business, and a desire to be near family meant a move back to New England for Travis, his wife, and their dogs. Of course, he landed in the world of bicycling again, that time as Executive Director of the New England Mountain Bike Association. (Yes, he loves mountain biking too!) We are happy Hawai‘i called him back and thrilled he’ll be back at HBL. We’re confident Travis will keep our nearly 50 year old organization effective and relevant to current and new members alike. |  Hundreds of riders depart Kaiaka Bay Beach Park at the start of the Hale‘iwa Metric Century | | Thanks to everyone who joined HBL’s return to live bike events with the 29th Edition of the Hale‘iwa Metric Century ride last Sunday. 757 registered riders, dozens of volunteers, supporting sponsors, and creative aid station champions made for a great day of biking with friends. The vibe was so positive, the weather was great and motorists were mostly courteous. There are things we couldn’t do because of lingering covid restrictions and things we can do better next time–and we will! We truly appreciate your support of the Hawaii Bicycling League. This event is a major fundraiser for our advocacy efforts which are central to achieving our mission of making our community a better place to bike. For example, HBL strives to have a good relationship with the Hawai‘i Department of Transportation. Did you know they got teams out on the course before the ride to clean shoulders, check for obstacles and make an active construction area as safe as it could be? We’ve followed up with them about the condition of Farrington Highway to and from Camp Erdman, and will share updates as we get them. We were absolutely thrilled to see you and to hear your laughter, see your smiles, and be reminded why we love biking so much. Check out this photo album! | | Announcing Hale‘iwa Metric Century’s FIRST EVER Aid Station TEAM WINNER! | Riders participating in this year’s Hale‘iwa Metric Century were treated to something very special this year – all the course Aid Stations were each championed by a different community organization who supplied their own volunteers, unique theme, and special spark of excitement. Registered HMC participants then got to cast their vote for which Aid Station gave them the overall best rider experience.
Over 440 votes were cast in the survey period. We are pleased to announce the 2022 HMC Aid Station Contest Team Winner! | Drum(or bike)roll please…
1st place goes to The North Shore Outdoor Circle! Mahalo for going above & beyond to make every rider feel welcomed, excited, and celebrated. It was a pretty tight competition and we are immensely grateful for the exemplary organizations that adopted each Aid Station and worked hard to give it their own pizzaz! ↓ Click the photos below ↓ to learn more about each Aid Station Adopter's organization! |  North Shore Outdoor Circle | |  Honolulu’s Men’s Shed |  Rotary of Wahiawā-Waialua | | |  728th Military Police Battalion of the US Army |  Boy Scouts Troop 223 | | |  Mark your calendar! | Honolulu Century Ride Following a strong HMC, we’re excited to announce that the 39th Annual Honolulu Century Ride will be held on Sunday, September 25th. We look forward to welcoming kama‘āina and visitors back in-person! Registration will be live soon. Can’t wait to see you there!
HBL.org/HCR |  Education from keiki to kūpuna, for motorists & cyclists. | |  Bring your ‘ohana or come solo & enjoy the live music, ‘ono grinds, bike rodeo, and more! | Keiki Bike Rodeo, Free Helmets, and Live Entertainment! It’s a proven fact that helmets save lives. Having bike-riding keiki learn what to do at stop signs can also help save a child’s life and keep their love for bicycles going strong! We invite you to come down to Aloha Stadium’s all-ages welcome Taste of O'ahu event on Friday, May 6th where we’ll have a keiki bike rodeo (free to participate!) where young riders can learn how to do a bike safety check (HBL provides the bicycles!), and cycle safely through our fun obstacle course. HBL’s BikeEd team will go over how to properly wear a helmet & thanks to a generous donation from DOH, those in need of a new helmet will get to take one home for free (while supplies last)! Find out more about the 5/06 (Fri) event at Aloha Stadium here. |  We want you to show off your best bike lights and reflective gear... May 28th is about to get LIT! | The Light Up the Night Ride with HPD is BACK! HBL is partnering with the Honolulu Police Department for a sundown safety cycle on the evening of May 28th (Saturday). Join us for this free family-friendly, police-escorted cruise through Waikīkī to build awareness about bike safety, shine light on the importance of using the proper lights & reflectors when biking at night, and get a chance to talk story with the HPD officers that help keep our roadways safe. Other community partners will be set up at the start, so before all the riders set off to cycle into the sunset, we invite you to come early to get a free helmet fitting, bike light, reflector, and info! You can even try your hand at the HPD Bike Patrol obstacle course that will be set up! Register for the 5/28 Light Up the Night Ride with HPD for free online at: HBL.org/NightRideWithHPD For you flashy folks out there… This is your chance to shine and showoff how you bike bright! |  Together we're making Hawai'i more bicycle friendly everyday! | | Pearl Harbor Bike Path Clean up. Hawaii Bicycling League has an abundance of aloha for the Pearl Harbor Historic Trail (you may know it as the Pearl Harbor Bike Path). It is one of few multi-use paths on Oahu, but requires ongoing attention to make it attractive to more bicyclists, walkers and families. This past Saturday, a semi-annual clean-up took place. A major coordinated effort among many community groups, the Navy, the C&C and a private company resulted in approximately 30 abandoned and stripped cars being removed. The next clean up will be in October. Stay tuned for how you can participate with HBL to take care of this “diamond in the rough”! |  I will be retiring the pink HBL hat I used to promote HBL and be quite easily identifiable! | | ▪ 5/06 (Fri): Taste of O‘ahu - HBL providing Bike Rodeo for keiki & free helmets!
▪ 5/15 (Sun): Honolulu Triathlon
▪ 5/21 (Sat): Maui Ride of Silence (Maui)
▪ 5/28 (Sat): Light Up the Night Ride with HPD
▪ 5/28 (Sat): Pedal to the Meadow (Kaua‘i)
| ▪ | 5/06 (Fri): Taste of O‘ahu - HBL providing Bike Rodeo for keiki & free helmets! | Check out HBL’s Calendar for a full list of all the free group rides, events, and other bike-related fun going on in Hawai‘i at HBL.org/calendar. Have a bicycle event that's not on our calendar? Email Bicycle@HBL.org. | | "How many years have you been riding with your current bicycle helmet?" | ↺ Last month's poll results:
‶Let's talk e-bikes. Which topic below you would like to learn most about?‶ | E-BIKE OVERVIEW: different types, Classes, motor-options, & how to choose the right one … ⌶ 67%
SAFETY: Controlling the power & how to operate safely on the road with others … ⌶ 13%
MAINTENANCE: Parts of the e-bike, cleaning & maintaining, tips on prolonging your e-bike’s battery life … ⌶ 20% | | |
