Riding with the Tradewind Cycling Team
Come ride with us!
Riding with us
The Tradewind Cycling Team offers a year round riding calendar with a wide range of routes. Every Saturday, we meet in various locations around Oahu, and occasionally the neighbouring Islands, for some great training rides.
Rides typically average around 60 miles and 4 hours in duration, but the rides are planned in advance to focus on training for upcoming races. So, when that 10,000 foot race to the top of Haleakala looms on the horizon, our rides contain a bit more climbing, and as the 112 mile race around Oahu approaches, we ride longer and at a more brisk pace. The idea is that consistently participating in the weekly rides contributes to the preparation of a rider for the races ahead.
Be sure to always abide by our Ride Rules for your own safety and the safety of others:
- NO HEADPHONES ALLOWED - if you have them on you for your ride home after the ride they should be not used and tucked away during the team ride
- The ride organizer reserves the right to BAN ANY RIDER from the ride for unsafe riding or insubordination.
- BE SAFE.
- Helmets required. NO HELMET-NO RIDE, no exceptions.
- Aero bar use is allowed under the following conditions: keep a minimum of 4 bike lengths away from other riders, no drafting of riders on aero bars, go off the front or the back of the group, make sure to announce that you are going aero to the riders around you
- Rotate to the left when in the pace line.
- Don't over-lap wheels.
- Do not run stoplights or creep through intersections.
- Show up on time, so we can all leave on time (most folks arrive 15- 30 minutes prior to departure time).
- No audio device use while riding. If you need to take/make a call, safely pull off the road and stop.
- Look out for each other (stop to help out with flats & mechanicals).
- Welcome the new riders, introduce yourself and help orientate them.
- Don't leave anyone behind (remember what it was like to be the new rider being dropped?).
- Help each other become better riders (share what you know).
- Have fun.
- Be a good paceline buddy.
If you're unfamiliar with riding in a Paceline on group rides, here is how to be a good Paceline buddy.
We never plan on accidents, but accidents do happen. Here's the Accident Protocol to follow if you or somebody you are riding with are involved in an accident.
Racing
This Islands of Hawaii have a vibrant and competitive road racing scene. Every year, a wide variety of races is organized to test all experience levels and road racing disciplines. There are both flat and hilly time trials, circuit races and mass start endurance races like the Dick Evans Memorial Road Race on Oahu and Maui's Cycle to the Sun.
In addition to overall placements, all races give additional awards by age and gender groups, so the young and young-at-heart always have stiff competition "in their own league".
Racing in Hawaii is a unique experience in that racers of all levels are welcome and encouraged to compete. It's a great way to be introduced to racing, or to test one's prowess against an always highly competitive field.
One day provisional USA Cycling race licenses can be obtained for several of the races, so there's no red tape to keep anybody on the sidelines watching.
Check out the current list of races and detailed information on each.
Our favorite routes
The races, special ride events and TCT training rides offer an interesting and exciting variety of scenic and challenging terrain. The coastal plains, central island highlands, inland valleys and volcanic ridges all in relatively close proximity afford cyclists of all levels suitable routes to meat every leisure or serious training objective.
Visit our Ride With GPS library of rides to see where we ride, and feel free to download the GPS tracks to your GPS enabled cyclometer to enjoy one of these great routes on your own.
Oahu Hill Climbing Challenge
A new tradition has begun with the Oahu Hill Climbing Challenge (OHCC). This innovative and friendly competition occurs early in the race season and is designed to help kickstart some serious training after the New Year is in arrears.
The OHCC works like this. Usually spanning about 8 weeks, a set of designated climbs around Oahu is selected, and the rider with the fastest cumulative speed for all the climbs is the overall winner. A rider may ride the climbs as many times as desired while the OHCC is running, and the best time for each climb will be recorded automatically. All a competitor must do is register for the OHCC, then upload their rides to Strava during the Challenge. The OHCC web site will do the rest.
Visit OHCC.xyz to see the results of the current or previous OHCCs.
