occurred on 6/20/10, and the title was literally what the ride was all about.  Around 7:30AM, we headed out from Coffee Talk on top of Waialae Ave. in a pack of 20+ fixed gear riders.  It’s amazing riding around the island with a group that large.  There were many hills that were very intimidating, which tested every ounce of your strength and stamina throughout the ride:

1.  From Hanauma Bay to Makapu’u lighthouse, which was the turnaround point for some people.
2.  Going up Pali to head towards Kaneohe.
3.  Pineapple Hill, the mother of all hills, 4-miles and consistent uphill climbing out of Haleiwa.
4.  Wahiawa into Mililani Town
5.  Mililani Town into Waipio
6.  Aloha Stadium climb up to Target near Foster Village.

Pineapple Hill was the main test of the entire ride.  People talked about it from before as if it was the worst thing they’ve encountered in their life, and I understood why while climbing it…  We finished the 100+ mile ride around 4:30 at Kakaako Waterfront Park for a nice BBQ on the coast.  It was a grueling ride that I’m very happy that I accomplished.  It really put things into perspective for me as to what I can accomplish when I put my mind and heart into something.  10+ mile sprint rides feel like nothing now that I know how my body reacts to different scenarios.  Same goes for my attitude towards my job and life in general.

If you feel compelled to find yourself or test yourself physically and mentally, I highly encourage you to try and ride around the island or do something comparable.  It really changes everything.

Just this past weekend, I had the chance to shoot 2 of the most elite camo green bB’s in the nation.  Some of you may recognize one of the from a previous shoot I did with my box, Aaron’s bB which has taken a new shape since the last time it was featured.  Aaron just couldn’t get enough of the bB bug and ended up redoing his setup entirely after laying low for a while.  New kit, new wheels, new suspension, new everything, it’s wonderful being able to see the transition take form through time.  Danny’s box has also been in the scene for a while, just recently bagged, his box only gets more rediculous everytime I see it.

It’s cars like these that gives me some hope for an already dissolved automotive scene in Hawaii.  Again no pun intended, I know there are alot of people out there that would heavily disagree with my opinion; everyone has their own voice.  I do wish the best for the tuner shops that are still around, it’s difficult to stay busy now days, and there’s only a few I know of who’s kept busy.

Aaron|Danny ACCESS // dohcresearch.com/features/aaron_danny

1. New ride, Cinelli MASH; an upgrade from the Iro Mark V that has been great to me. Fixed gear riding has become an attachment to my life. It’s helped me exceed my fitness goals (I haven’t been 147 lbs. probably since I was a freshman in college), meet a great group of people that for once aren’t involved in the automotive scene/industry, and gave me a hobby to keep things fresh in life aside from my other dying hobbies.

2. Out with the old. As of right now (and many times before), I’m over the automotive scene. Ever since the closing of Hawaii Raceway Park over 5-years ago, the scene has become stagnated to the point where small groups of people interested in different aspects of the scene (import, domestic, JDM, VIP, etc.) are in their own little world trying to make something out of what has already been lost in Hawaii’s automotive scene. It depresses me to continue to dwell upon nothing. I know I’m being negative, but until Hawaii gets a real/legit racetrack, the scene will never be what it was, nor will it ever be on par with standards from the mainland. I still respect the die-hard enthusiast who continue to keep their fight going, but I’ve seen many people exit the scene at the same time. What’s left are these new kids who are doing the same stupid shit we’ve done back in the day but up to a new level. Children attending Hellaflush that don’t even know what the hell Hellaflush means; probably don’t even own a car also.. It’s sickening.

3. Security. I seem to have one foot down at my job, compared to complete and utter chaos from before. My job is stressful, I’m not going to bitch about it. If your job doesn’t suck (not saying that mine does), either you’ve found a career that will last you a lifetime (which is rarely has found) or you’re lying to yourself. I’m comfortable in the position I’m in, for now. But as you know, that feeling of “security” always changes with the seasons. Things never stay consistent; the feeling of “happiness”, “security”, and any other positive words in the dictionary is just temporary and is easily replaced with negativity. I’m happy…